EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

Le 7 déc. 04, à 12:07, Bill Canty <Bill@...> a écrit :
>
>
> If you have the time could you please tell us more about the
> ornamentation? Like, exactly what ornaments are typically used? Do
> particular ornaments have particular functions?

> How would you make them
> sound as authentic as possible with a sample (apart from using a sample
> of the whole ornament, that is)?
Wow, you ask to open the doors of a wide universe ! :-D
Well I think it needs some other development, sorry if I'm a bit long 
(what I'm afraid to be ! ) and it needs some time for me to do it in a 
foreing langage (for me ;-), so certainly the thread will be a bit lost 
…
I  did a lot of traditional music adaptation in Logic, what made me to 
do a big work on phrasing, and helped me to understand how traditional 
grooves work, but not specifically to have a "pipe's sound like" and 
not with pipes samples : I did it mainly with flute or accordeon family 
sounds, or also clavichord (which has the same dynamic limitation than 
the pipes). My purpose was  to have a phrazing that makes the music 
playing right for a reel, a mazurka or what else (that I knew the 
"groove" rules).

Ornementations depends a lot of the kind of pipes (each bag pipes have 
its own fingering and technics, although there are common things - 
there are not hundred of ways to close and to open a hole ! ) and music 
played (each music and tradition and dance, has its own rules, its 
langage and accent - I'm not really sure of the word)
each bag pipes have its own fingering, which can be "open" (as on a 
recorder -flute), completely "closed", only one finger up at a time 
(Northumbrian small pipes, baroque musette or bulgarian gaïda) or, for 
most of pipes, in between (one or more holes open at a time but low 
fingers on the chanter when upper holes are open) ; and each music has 
its own rules for pulsation and phrasing. So it has a great influence 
on the type of grace notes that will be used.
The more common - and simple - ornaments that are made on all the pipes 
(or on the flutes ) are what is called the "cut" (which litterally cuts 
the note that it attacks) : a grace note made with a note higher than 
the one that is ornemented (actually, it works like that for a lot of 
traditional instruments).
Well it can be the note just one step up or higher. What decides which 
finger will cut is that the higher the grace note is the harder the 
attack will be.
But things can be quite more tricky (for the Highland bag pipes or 
uilleann pipes for example). Something else is that the grace notes are 
made by only one finger (for speed), which most of time results in a 
"false fingering" and an "out of tune" note (most of time - but not 
always, once again it depends of the type of pipe and music - grace 
notes has to be understood as a "sound" effect to give more power to 
ornementated notes,  and not as an melodic ornementation).

All the scottish ornementations are codified and it's written music : 
although scottish pipes are certainly these which need the highest 
technical level to "sound" right (it's good or bad, but no way 
between), but it uses only cuts and not at all glides nor vibratos, 
what makes MIDI writing quite easier. Soyou just need to know how are 
built these ornementations, which actually are sequences of grace notes 
- (something as sub-programs)… but it's quite another story is to play 
them !  :-D
There are also music softs for playing scottish pipes music (in a 
training purpose) but only on PC AFAIK. On Mac, a more intersting one 
is an abc soft called Barly (abc system is a very simple and light 
music writing system in text format, adapted - and made for - 
traditional music, initially irish and scottish) which can play with a 
rather convincing phrazing and grove. It can be helpful for those who 
are intersted in traditional music (enough to spend a bit of time on 
it) : it's well documented on the abc system and on modal scales in 
western european traditional music, even gregorian, and with examples 
of tunes it plays : it can give the groove of an irish reel or  jig and 
export in MIDI file, so as to understand what's happening for phrazing. 
As it's quite off topic here, you can post me about that privately ;-)

So Bill, about your question, I suppose it concern scottish bag pipes 
(perheaps just for now ;-)
The easy way would be I make MIDI files with the sets of 
ornementations. That will need some time for me as I'm still on other 
time eater jobs  ;-)
But I'll do it because  I'm anyway interested in the job of making a 
computer play pipe's music. Well I'll tell the list when this job (and 
pipes sampling one) will be done (not before january, but hope not 
later ;-)


--
Gérald

ryckeboerg@...
http://ryckeboerg.free.fr