Trained musicians, composers and directors in rock, jazz and classical…and their loyal fans … face a new breed of computer-based “slave” performers who offer perfect pitch fidelity on every note, don’t need to be paid every night, never get over time pay, don’t complain, and even remember instantly every note of every past and present performance. Who are they? The R2D2-like synthesized “voices” imbedded within digital grand pianos, oboe, acoustic and electric guitars, even layered-up entire orchestras are the new wave of in-your-PC performers!
What’s In It For Play-At-Home Performers? Think unlimited playing possibilities to bring out the very best of your music. No longer limited by training, technical virtuosity, money, nor the aggravation of acoustic instruments constantly requiring expensive tuning, the best digital piano designs reflect contemporary digital sampling at its best. 88-note keyboards…absolutely stunning fidelity based on digitized sampling of the world’s greatest acoustic grand pianos…add in perfect pitch instrument voices from rock guitar and tenor sax to oboe, flute, organs, acoustic guitars….add playback and sampling of your favorite CD’s…instant recording of musical phrases…countless drum and rhythm beat choices. Pay once…and big dollar discounts over old-fashioned acoustic instruments…and a future of virtually infinite compositional combinations unfolds.
Full Orchestra Lurks Within Electronic Music Keyboard And PC Combos. “What will you have…mock turtle soup or real turtle soup?” No more an Alice-in-Wonderland question, the line separating “real music” from fully synthesized audio art is rapidly obscuring any former quality advantage that “real” musicians may have held over 1st generation electronic piano or “canned” rhythm set programs.
* Multi Instrument Play. Any number of latest-generation digital stage piano designs can sample or play up to a thousand or more separate instrument “voices” or sound textures. Play it alone, one voice at a time, or simultaneously play several instruments.
* Multi Track Recording At A Finger’s Flick. When your Mom taught you how to play the piano…on that prized family heirloom upright acoustic piano…you played notes and scales and learned the do-re-mi of rudimentary and benign tonic scales and patterns. However…where was the “music”? Modern instrumentalists, striding across digital and electric keyboards don’t have to wait. With a keyboard command, a modern player and instantly build an entire band, or orchestral sound. The digital piano is one platform. The nearby PC and screen is the other platform.
Getting Great Musicians And Great Performances At Bargain Basement Prices. Let’s say that you’re an enthusiastic budding song writer. For a few thousand dollars you can buy an off-the-wall fully loaded Korg or Roland digital piano. You practice, lay down some tracks and musical fragments, develop some recursive feedback “loops”, add drums. Any extra costs so far? Nope. But, your compositions begin to “push the creative envelope” and you decide that you’ve got to have a more complex sound fabric, with the talents of truly professional musicians. Where do you find these performers? How much will they cost? What about studio time, and production costs?
* Money Matters & What Technology Buys Today. A few years ago money would become the ultimate barrier-to-entry for budding composers. Throw out $50,000…money which you don’t have, must borrow…all for a total shot-in-the-dark artistic roll of the dice. Now, exploiting the best digital piano on-board technology plus rent-an-orchestra PC based “virtual orchestras” means you might do the same production for under $1,000.
Digital Keyboard And Virtual Orchestra Explained. Getting perfect fidelity is all about instrument sampling. Getting the absolutely perfect pitch and fidelity for every note in an instrument’s natural range is time-consuming technical work. An instrument like the acoustic guitar might take the “programmer” over 5 minutes in order to create under 10 seconds of actual programmable tones. Multiply that project time by the total number of notes…and instruments….in a composition and it’s no wonder that the digital age of music is the avant garde leading edge into the future. Pure sounds. Instant access. Infinite programmability. Low costs.
