What you are about to read may surprise you.
Each of the keys on the keyboard is named with a letter. The key names start at A and go to G, then they start over. Take a look at the image above. Each key in the image is labeled with its respective note letter. The piano is tuned to the C scale, which starts at C. (More on this later.)
Chords provide the foundation of music. But what is a chord? Continue reading
My brother, who created the CD cover art for Symphony of One, has started his own website to promote his work.
Check it out at: http://hlcsgraphics.wordpress.com.
Digital instruments are becoming more and more impressive.
The most common MIDI instrument is the keyboard. Most (if not all) electric keyboards output MIDI via MIDI ports or USB.
Also fairly common are the electric drum kits:
Now lets talk about less common MIDI instruments. The Akai Ewi, or the Yamaha WX5 MIDI Wind Controller, for example:
Check out the EWI in action at http://www.akaipro.com/ewiusb. Just like the MIDI keyboard, the EWI can be used for different instrument voices. The less expensive EWI USB uses computer software for its voices, whereas the EWI4000s has included sounds.
A much newer technology is the digital guitar, and arguably the best on the market is the You Rock Guitar™:
The You Rock Guitar™ uses a touch-sensitive fingerboard and provides a guitar solution that doesn’t need tuning. Given the quality of the included instrument voices and the price tag of $200, the You Rock Guitar™ is impressive. Check out the you rock guitar here: http://www.yourockguitar.com.
This last one may be strange to watch.
Though technically not a digital instrument, the electric violin in the video is able to play MIDI with the use of software. While many are used to “seeing” a keyboard make the sound of other instruments, not many are used to the phenomenon of seeing a violin make a trumpet sound.
I had to include this next video:
When we see these amazing new instruments and think about their possibilities, we should remember that God is the one who has given men the ability to create.
Watch the video below.
Now watch this one.
In the first video, you will here a virtual orchestra. In the next video, you will hear a real orchestra. It does sound more realistic, yet it is poorly mic-ed. The comparison of the two video reveals just how advanced sample players are and how important MIDI is for the musician.
What is MIDI?
What is a sample player?
A sample player is a program that interprets MIDI data. Unlike a synthesizer, which reads MIDI and generates a sound, a sample player reads in MIDI and plays back samples. A sample is simply a sound file. In this context, a sample is a single note. So when I play the notes C, E, and G on my keyboard, the sample player plays back samples (sound files) of the notes C, E, and G. Often, as is the case with the software I use, the samples are recordings of real instruments. This is one (of serveral) reasons that the above virtual orchestra sounds so real: in part, it is real.
Hmm… 
Note: Sample players are more complicated than I describe here, as for the sake of simplifying the post I have left out some details.
Video of Richard Birdsall‘s Knights and Magic
For some time now my Dad has been encouraging me to put together a collection of songs to show others. So now I have finally put together such a collection.
Click on the Downloads page to get the “CD”.
