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Sampling & Synthesis
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© S. Wilkins 9 April, 2005

Setup a MT System - for FREE!

The Ideal and Free OzMusEd Computer Music System. You can get away with setting up a perfectly functional Computer Music Studio on your home PC for virtually no cost. Here is the ultimate free OzMusEd Computer Music system that will cost you a big fat $0.00 to get you going. And, it's all LEGAL!!

For serious recording you need THREE essentials:-
  1. A Sequencer program
  2. A good soundcard or Virtual Sound Canvas (click here then scroll to bottom)
  3. A Wave Editor program

1. A Sequencer

A sequencer is the software that turns your computer into a recording studio with audio and midi tracks. Use Logic Rocket or Cubasis - InWired.

There is also a newer version of Logic Rocket available called Logic Fun. The only place we have been able to find this is on the Cover CD of the Computer Music magazine. This has the added bonus of being able to print scores and export standard MIDI files.

If you prefer a more classical method - that is, by writing notes onto manuscript paper - you should use Finale Notepad. Drag and drop notes onto musical staves, play and listen to your page as you write.

2. A MIDI Sound Source

All computers come with sound cards that can record and play audio at CD quality. Basic soundcards in systems often have poor quality MIDI sounds that sound tinny and tacky.

If you have a good sound card such as the Creative Sound Blaster Live! or some equivalent, you don't need to worry about getting a better MIDI sound source. These sounds will do nicely. Usually, computers designed for gamers will have good MIDI sounds onboard.

If you have a basic sound card and can't stand the whimpy sound of any MIDI files you play, don't fear. You can download a Software Synthesizer which uses the computers CPU to generate high quality sampled MIDI sounds. Your MIDI files will sound a whole lot better!

Use the Virtual Sound Canvas. Roland are now offering the first version of this synth for free, with one catch - it fades after a minute of playing. ;-( You then need to stop and start your MIDI sequence from wherever you were up to.

To ensure the software synthesizer is always used to play MIDI files, set it as the default MIDI instrument under the Sounds and Multimedia section of your Control Panel.

3. A Digital Audio Editor

If you intend to record digital audio (guitar, vocals, etc) then you will need to be able to make slight changes in your recordings or cut and paste whole segments by editing wave files. Check the page. It has most of the features of the big programs and is all you will need for most basic stuff.

Check out the OzMusEd page for links to more free software that you will find useful.

Further Reading

How can computers assist me in my composition? (HSC Online)

What You Need and Where to Get It (Computer Music Magazine)