First, about me. I have been taking music through Royal Conservatory for about ten years. I have Grade Three Theory, and Grade Nine Piano, and college. My interests lie in all forms of music, classical, alternative, jazz or electronic, I agree with the saying "If it sounds good, it is good." So I find that writing music is a natural step forward from playing music. I use a SW1000XG, a pro MIDI card. I also use a Soundblaster Audigy for sampling and effects. I also experiment with software synthesizers.
I very
quickly developed an enjoyment of MIDI years ago, because of
the freedom it allows the composer to have. My main goals in writing
music are to achieve three main things:
(1) Good Melody Lines: too often synthetic music is just four or eight
bars repeated with a few minor variations. Sounds nice at first but
after a while it loses its charm. With a good melody line the music
becomes much more interesting.
(2) Accompaniment: to produce good, full sound, that covers all the
frequencies possible for a human to hear, from 15hz to 15000hz, you name
it, I want it all in. Of course, not every piece would sound like
this, some variety is necessary. But I have heard MIDI files that
made my ears bleed from high-pitched squeaks with no bass whatsoever, and
similarly, all bass and no treble sounds more like standing under a freeway
hearing the tractor-trailer trucks drive over.
(3) Genuine thought: Music is emotional, no two ways about it. Flat
meaningless arranged frequencies any computer with the right software can
produce. Writing music requires genuine effort, and genuine thought.
Hopefully,
as I gain experience, I will become better. Personally, I find that
writing music, whether it is -good- or -not- is very therapeutic, the most
enjoyable hobby I have.
Aaron Walz
is a student at Sonoma State University in California who is also into
composing game music (and also composing purely for the pleasure of composing.)
Don't miss his web page, and his collection of MIDIs, recordings, and a CD!)
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