Digital Classical Music

1. Attractiv Digital Classical Musicc: Classical Music with "DTM"
 Digital Classical Music refers to classical music that utilizes digital technology for its creation, performance, and distribution. This includes technologies such as MIDI, DAWs, sample libraries, and synthesizers.

 In Japan, the term "DTM" (short for "DeskTop Music") is widely used to describe all kinds of music produced using digital technology. In other words, the term "DTM" is Japanglish.

 Now, in order to be able to play the piano, violin, or any other instrument to a certain degree, it is essential to work tirelessly at it from a young age. During that time, many people give up, lose interest, and leave the instrument.
 So, "DTM" is the answer. "DTM" is a general term for using a computer to create music and sound, and it has a very strange appeal. The mysterious charm is that you can enter into your own unique musical creation activities through "DTM" even if you do not play an instrument. You can compose music, and you can also perform. As long as you don't make any input mistakes, you can play a great piano piece without any miss taches. But merely playing accurately according to the notes does not make it music!

2. MIDI sequencing in "DTM"
 Let's use a piano as an example. Actually, by using special software (DAW: Digital Audio Workstation), it is possible to simulate the same action as playing the piano down to the smallest detail, such as the pitch of each note, the strength of the keystroke, the interval between the next note, and the way the pedal is pressed. This is called "MIDI input in a DAW". In other words, it is based on the MIDI standard.

   Reference: MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)) The "sound data" is a standardized and digitized representation of the various elements of sound (instrument, height, intensity, length, etc.). Therefore, unlike audio data, it is a series of numbers, etc., and can be easily processed by a PC.

 By the way, I use a DAW named "Cubase Pro". The piano sound is produced by a piano sound library that is built into this DAW. (My DestTop Sytem)  Therefore, as long as the input of the score is correct, it is possible to produce sounds as if you are playing well on a live piano. However, it is difficult to achieve a good performance unless the input is interpreted musically beyond what is written in the score. In other words, it depends on whether or not you can properly interpret the score and express the conditions that emerge with your sequencing technique. This is what makes it an interesting subject for research. The live piano embodies them through its own body, doesn't it?

 Normally, when playing a piano sonata at a recital, unless the pianist is very familiar with the music, he(or her) must spend a lot of time thinking about the overall flow of the piece and drawing a blueprint of how each note should sound. The same goes for MIDI input. I spend a lot of time in remote lessons with my musical advisor, and most of my MIDI input is completed in a very long time.

3. Sound Library to be incorporated into DAW
 Now, a piano sound library is audio data sampled from a live piano played under various conditions. The sound library I am using now is Synchron Concert D-207, released by The Vienna Symphonic Library based in Vienna, Austria. It is sampled from the Steinway & Sons D-274″, the flagship concert grand piano made by Steinway Hamburg, which costs more than 22 million yen. The library is huge, about 120 GB. The DAW selects the sounds that match the MIDI input conditions from this library, and plays them continuously. Therefore, considering the delay time between selecting and playing the notes, a certain level of technology and computer performance is required. In fact, it can also be connected to a keyboard and played as a piano. This is an electronic piano itself.

4. The Expansion of the World of "DTM"
 Now, by changing the sound library in various ways, it is possible to perform a full orchestra or African folk music. Of course, Japanese instruments (Shamisen) is also possible. The problem involves the quality of the sampling. So far, it is said that the closest to a live sound is a naturally decaying instrument such as a piano. String instruments played with a bow, such as the violin, require the player to control the tone quality from the beginning to the end of each note. This makes it quite challenging to shape the sound. DAWs are able to simulate this using unique technology, but it is considerably more difficult to create sounds than with a piano. As AI technology advances in this area as well, it may become easier to perform.
 Although it is not mentioned here, it is already common practice in many areas of music composition and live performance to use such a system to create music. Related technologies are also widely used in the process of recording live instruments and making CDs. I would say that I am probably in the minority of those who create sounds like me.

5. Classical music with "DTM"
 You can find many MIDI files of classical music in the world if you google a little. There is probably not a midi file of classical music that is not available. However, most of them are simply converted from scores to MIDI without using a DAW, and many of them do not take into account the various elements that make up music. Therefore, they are far from classical music performance. In this blog, I would like to carefully experiment with sound creation using a DAW to produce the kind of performance "I" would want to play, and share it with all of you to listen to."

 However, although I love classical music, I have never studied music properly. I also started playing the cello because I liked it after I retired, but it is now entering the realm of preventing me from becoming a blur. I started MIDI sequencing simply because I wanted to be able to play my favorite sounds by myself, but the longer I kept at it, the more I was drawn into the world of MIDI. The deciding factor was that, thankfully, I was able to get a former colleague, a pianist, to give me remote lessons on a cloud-based system. This musical advisor gives a recital every year focusing on Beethoven's piano sonatas and Bach. I started the lesson by trying to perform the main piano sonata for that recital as well. At first, it was difficult to make progress due to my low level of musical ability and lack of skill in MIDI sequencing, but with his strict guidance, I think I have managed to make it sound like music here....

 I did some research for my own work, and found that there are surprisingly few examples of classical music being performed on a DAW today in Japan. There are some postings on YouTube and Sound Cloud, but I think the following sites are the only ones that are currently publishing music on an ongoing basis. In the United States, VI-Control is well known.
              Classical music typing study
              I-Dur Virtual Orchestra
              Windy softmedia service
              Play music hall
              VI-Control