If The Cap Fits

Europe.
What you know is probably true. The various countries stereotypes fit wonderfully well. Apart from Luxembourg which doesn't have one because it's way too small to make that much of an impression. I wait to be corrected there.
San Massimo is a suburb of Verona and very stereotypically Italian, right down to the young woman serving beer in red hot-pants and the youngish men trying to show off to two young women running a bar who had no interest in men at all. It's a bit of a caricature of itself but it works and I like it.
I may even return one day.

The Path

So here it is.As always I consider the process better than the result but that's par for the course. So how did I get here? Here's a quick recap.The chord sequence started out on the iPhone app Chordbot. The MIDI file was supposed to go into Beaterator on the PSP but that didn't quite work out so I tried it on the Yamaha QY100. The result was much better but I re-entered the chords manually which turned out well. I then produced a MIDI file on the QY and dropped that into the Yamaha RM1x and re-voiced everthing and also edited some volume information. The track was recorded on a Tascam 424 MKIII and guitar and keyboard added.After all that what have I gained? Well, the QY and RM as working partners are a great combinaton that I'll use again. Chordbot is still my favourite music app and in my opinion the best song writing notepad out there. At some point in the future I'm going to write my own patterns for the QY and build a track from scratch but for now it's back to my neglected FL Studio. There are a couple of things to work on there and one is sitting in Chordbot right now.I hope somewhere in this process that I've at least given you inspiration to work with old and new technology. MIDI is still an amazing format and it's still the universal language of music. It talks to any bit of kit and that's its power.Long may it reign.
While I'm here I'd like to thank Palm Sounds for his interest in this project and for adding links on his blog to my posts. Check my Blog List on the left and please subscribe to Palm Sounds.

RM1x

So, did I fall in love with it again?
Yes yes yes yes yes!!!
It's an awesome bit of kit. I had worried a bit about MIDI editing but that's half the fun. With the QY100 supplying the sequence the RM1x takes over and perfects genius with brilliance. I've been tweaking the track all evening and it sounds wonderful for a backing track made from presets and a touch of adjustment.
Will I write a tune this way again?
Absolutely. It's so much fun being this hands on. From iPhone to tape in a few weeks. I love my DAW but I love this method too.
It makes me happy.

Dedication

How much time have I spent on this project?
Well, I spent all of this evening re-writing my track on the QY100. I then transferred it to the RM1x where it didn't sound so great. I'm really hoping that the next phase which is a voice re-assign helps me fall in love with the RM1x the same way that writing this track has made me fall in love with the QY100.
I know for a fact that I haven't pushed the QY100 to its limits and I also know that the RM is a more powerful machine. If I spend an equal amount of time with the RM I'll be rewarded, right?
I hope so. Only time will tell. You can sense the doubt. I know it's the same doubt I had with the QY so I'm hoping that by trial and error that doubt goes away.
Fingers crossed.

One Step Forward Two Steps Back

So here's where we stand.
Ive been playing with the MIDI file on the RM1x today and I've learnt a lot about its MIDI editing capabilities. It's all good. But, at some point in the proceedings I've messed with MIDI velocities on the QY100 and there's a huge drop in volume in the main track section. What I need to do is write the track from scratch in the QY100 and make a new MIDI file for the RM1x. It's a pain but much less of a pain that editing each note by hand.
What I will say is that I'll have a much better backing track for the Tascam when I'm finished. It's been a good learning process going through all this and everything gets easier the more I play. It may be back to square one for now but I'll be back to this point in no time.
You live and learn.