Nuisance of Sequencing before time!

[reith]

Not sure if this should go here on in the DAW section......a bit borderline.

In a recent topic I defended my composition method of coming up with a score and then trying to fit it into a sequencer. I can't deny the temptation, though, of getting on with sequencing to check if it sounds about right - laziness on my part because I'm normally not happy with something that doesn't sound right in my head.... I don't want to get into a habit of messing around on the sequencer then transferring the results back to a score - although that's hardly worse than trying it out on a piano (in league with imagination) to find out if it works or not.

However, my current piece was thought out, drafted very roughly on paper then put into the sequencer as I went along.

Now I find it really doesn't work. I can see what's wrong with it. But I've also wasted a lot of time. A little more patience and resist listening to a facsimile of the piece and I wouldn't have waded in so far.

Obviously I won't scrap the lot but I'm deleting the computer file and putting the paper away for a while.

Does anyone else have problems like these? - Just hoping I'm not alone!

[chckn8r]

It's never wrong to work in a way that you feel is comfortable. Just because someone else writes on a sequencer, doesn't mean that you need to ditch your method.

I know many composers who just jump into playing parts in their DAW and bypass the notation aspect until the very end. Other's do it at the piano - notation first. There's nothing wrong with either.

I like a compromise of both. I typically write out themes and harmonic ideas at the piano, then take those to the sequencer, using a piano patch to expand upon things as I find if I have the initial kernel down, I can use the sequencer's various functions to help manipulate things (transpose, cut 'n paste, etc.) From there, if I'm orchestrating for a live ensemble, I'll take it away from the sequencer and put everything down into Sibelius manually (I don't like using Sibelius as a playback engine - it sucks). If I don't have to write out parts, but rather play it on my own, I'll orchestrate from the piano sketch to parts in the sequencer.

D

[MaestroX]

There is no right or wrong way to do it. I remember reading a forum thread where different users were arguing that using a sequence to compose is inferior to writing by hand (Comparing John Williams with Hans Zimmer). The thread got down right silly in the end but my shock was that these people viewed using a sequencer as a negative thing (this was on a music technology forum ).

There is no doubt that these two composers write very good film music but they both arrive at their desitnation differently. In my opinion its fine to use whatever tool you wish to compose and arrive at your final composition by any means you wish.

Does anyone else have problems like these? - Just hoping I'm not alone!

I think anyone thats worked with a sequencer has this every once in a while. Its hard to work within their contraints somtimes.

[ttw]

Whatever works. Haydn always worked out his stuff (quartets, symphonies, etc.) on the piano. Bach usually just wrote things out but he did improvise and write the improvisations later (and he rearranged his stuff and Vivaldi's too.)

The final result is all that matters.

I tend to go back and forth between Finale; using Finale's playback; and playing sections on the piano.

[reith]

Well, I just realised I did put something almost straight onto a sequencer - the "jungle challenge" though I made a score first with pastels, more or less mimicking the sequencer layout, then broke up another work to recycle some of the material. Some of the Varèse-like chords were worked out at a piano but they were wadges of white on the black paper. So, yes, we all have our ways but I forgot about that!