outline

Creating Digital Music

Creating Digital Music

• Generate tones
• Put tones together in patterns
• Put patterns together in sequences

Introducing Sawcutter

• Freeware
• Used for simple music composition
• Easy and visible

Generating tones

• Choosing a waveform
• Playing a tone
• Arrow keys for waveform amplitude
• Drawing a waveform
• Setting the envelope
• building chords

Creating a pattern

• Large rectangle represents 1 measure
• Use mouse to drag notes in pattern
• Right click to erase
• Multiple patterns

Sequencing the patterns

• Right click a pattern to add it to sequence
• Click in sequence to delete
• Working with multiple channel
• Muting a channel

Advanced sawcutting

• Adding a sample
• Playing with effects
• Adding noise
• Adding reverberation

Saving Files

• Saving the song settings
• Recording a song
• Saving a recording

Introducing Buzz

• A higher-end sequencer
• Uses machine metaphor
• Thousands of devices

The machine metaphor

• Generators generate sounds
• Effects modify sounds
• Templates are pre-defined kits

Using Generators

• Use same basic concepts as synth - sawcutter
• Some generators are stock
• You can download many more
• As a beginner, stick with drum machines, synthesizers
• Others allow you to use samples, other advanced features

Hooking up generators

• Go to Machine screen(F3)
• Right click on main screen to bring up generator list
• Shift and drag to connect generator to Master (amp & speakers)

Creating a pattern

• Go to pattern editor (F2)
• Select machine from drop-down list
• Look for 3-dot columns (...)
• Use keyboard as piano keyboard
• Z key plays the note C
• Use insert, delete to modify song
• Right-click and choose pattern properties (ctrl-bs)
• Rename pattern
• ctrl-enter to create a new pattern

Connecting patterns in a sequence

• Go to sequence editor (F4)
• Select a machine by clicking on its column
• Choose a pattern from list on right
• You can mute, break, insert, and delete patterns

Selecting part of a song

• Mute machines by clicking on machine name
• ctrl-b marks beginning of a segment
• ctrl-e marks its end
• play the segment to hear how it sounds
• You can edit the pattern as it plays if you wish

Modifying a machine

• Double click on a machine in the machine editor (F3)
• A list of parameters will appear
• Most machines also have a drop down of presets
• Play with settings to generate different sounds
• You can modify machines as they play
• Some machines feature online help

Modifying a machine in the pattern

• You can also modify directly in the pattern editor
• Each parameter of machine can be changed on each pulse
• Most of the time this is not necessary
• Useful for boosting volume on certain notes, changing tone on the fly

Using the 808 drum machine

• This machine replicates a real-world device
• It has a matrix of pads
• Experiment to see how they sound
• Other drum machines allow you to use actual drum samples

Saving a file

• Saving a buzz file saves instructions not the sound
• Much smaller file size
• Allows editing
• Works only in buzz

Exporting a wave file

• Under view menu, choose hard disk recorder
• Specify a file name with the button
• Choose autostart/autostop
• Play your song in no-repeat mode
• Wave file will be on disk