DJMusic

On another note, I'm having a hard time of understanding if the last page or so of comments have been sarcastic or not. Are there people out there who honestly look forward to a time where a live orchestra is a thing of the past and all performances are done by a computer and are exactly the same? How sad that would be....

I'm a pretty firm believer that this will never happen. Today people feel that the western classical tradition is dying, new works aren't getting publicity, and only the old blue hairs attend classical concerts. Twenty years ago people felt that the western classical tradition was dying, new works weren't getting publicity, and only the old blue hairs attended classical concerts. Fifty years ago people felt that the western classical tradition was dying, new works weren't getting publicity, and only the old blue hairs attended classical concerts. One hundred years ago people felt that the western classical tradition was dying, new works weren't getting publicity, and only the old blue hairs attended classical concerts. My prediction for the future is this: People will feel that the western classical tradition will be dying, new works won't get much publicity, and only the old blue hairs will attend classical concerts.

I'm sure glad someone else called him out on that. I didn't want to have to show what an donkey hole I can be while I'm still pretty new here. :)

You're right, the general public hardly ever goes to concerts anymore. What percentage of the general public do you think would actually buy classical albums? I'd argue that 1% of the general public goes to concerts, and that 1% of that audience would actually buy an album. I'm not trying to market my music for mass audiences to buy, I'm trying to market my music to community orchestras, high school band and orchestra directors, private studio teachers and college professors. Ask someone like John Macky or Eric Ewazen, you think they make their money from selling CDs?

I've never heard of a composer paying to have his piece played... Just like I've never heard of a sandwich maker paying someone to eat his sandwich...

Quel est utile pour un, peut ne pas être utile à l'autre.

I saw that! Brick killed a guy! Did you throw a trident?

That's exactly why I'm asking "Do I really need one?" Because of many responses I think I've discovered, from a creative process perspective, I don't need it. So thank you, you've helped me answer this question. It also brought up another possibility in mastering recordings. To be honest, I didn't think of this before. This is definitely something I'm looking into now. So again, for this advice, thank you! I don't believe I'm "wasting everyone's time". Just because you didn't convince me to buy a DAW and sample libraries, doesn't mean you wasted time. Your insight reaffirmed my doubt of actually needing one, in turn potentially saving me several thousand dollars. So definitely THANK YOU for that!

This however, I don't think is very valuable to me personally. I have a fairly strong inner ear and know what my music will sound like from looking at it, I rarely use even the playback on Sibelius while I'm working. To be honest, even with thousands of dollars in high quality samples, I would not trust a computer playback with the finer aspects of orchestration, balance, and texture. These are things that only studying scores and live recordings can give you.

This makes a lot of sense, to use a DAW more for finishing rather than creating. I too am curious what you mean by it working seamlessly with Sibelius. If I use Sibelius for creating before the performance, then Pro Tools for editing after the performance, I don't see how any work would overlap between the two programs. After I've printed my score and parts, I'm pretty much through with Sibelius unless I go back and make major changes.

I love it! The hardest part has already been done!

It depends on what I'm writing for. I have two main markets right now; friends in collage, and friends recently graduated who are beginning their teaching careers. If it's for a friend still in college, then the audience is typically university music students and faculty who attend student recitals. If it's for a recently graduated friend, then the audience would be friends and family of the students in middle/high school music programs. What is my ideal audience? Probably the same as my current audience but on a much, much larger scale.

I have done this in the past, but it's a bit of a hassle working with two files simotaniously <--- I apologize for the spelling error, I tried my best, but I'm so wrong the computer doesn't even know what I'm trying to say, so I give up!

My logic comes from a money stand point. My large ensemble pieces sell for about $50, my chamber works about $30, my profit margins are approximately 50%. Currently I have a fairly small network, maybe 10 to 20 teachers and performers and two music stores in Arizona. On average, I would have to sell 125 units just to break even on a $2,500 investment of VSTs and sound libraries. In the three years that I've been selling my music, I've earned probably $600 (like I said, I'm still pretty new to this). At this rate, without expanding my network, it's going to take upwards of 12 years to make that money back! Now here's where I have to question the future: All this technology will do is make my midi-mock-ups sound less fake, most of what I promote I use live recordings (better than fake-midi-mock-ups anyway). Will having better sounding files of non-recorded music really help all that much in the grand scheme of things given my small network? I think not. What if I invest $2,500 into promoting my work more professionally online? Right now, you can't find me on google unless you know me, that's not very helpful when trying to get your name out there. What if I invest $2,500 into more efficient copying and publishing equipment, boosting my profit margins up 30%? What if I invest $2,500 into traveling to national conventions to promote my work personally to performers across the country? Can I break even in less than 12 years? Yes, I'm pretty confident I can.

I really enjoy his insight on texture, balance, and function. However, my favorite thing about his videos is how he feels the need to wear the same outfit for every video! Reminds me of a cartoon where the characters always wear the same clothes. I'd love to see his wardrobe, I imagine he has 20 of the same outfit nicely organized across his closet.