How to Be A Rockstar

Yes, you can be a rock star*. That's right! While you are sitting here in front of your computer you're absorbing information and if you follow the links you will depart on an aural journey of a sonorous wonderland of freeware, virtual instruments, music theory and electronica music. You will gain the ability to read the guitar tab ( but maybe you already do), explore sitar, cello and sax.

My only goal for this hub is for people to have fun expressing themselves with digital music.

Where did my fantastic journey begin? I first started composing music with Finale notation software. Finale is a delightful program because after you enter a few notes with a click of the mouse you can play it back, then export it to an mp3 and study your compositions for hours on an mp3.

I highly recommend trying LMMS software (freeware), this DAW (digital audio workstation) loads in virtual plug ins ( virtual instruments ), sound font 2 player, you can plug in other VSTi into this software, has tutorials and a forum and a fans you can find on youtube. I have had success with plugging in DSK Indian Dreams, Asian Dreams and Overture.

I have found freeware at vst4free.com and vstplanet.com.

I believe freeware encourages people to learn and embrace technology instead of avoiding the unknown and it creates a more knowledgeable group and a learning environment.

Technology is ever increasing and we as artists learn to adapt. I heard at www.musicmastermind.com will be offering sound cloud technology with music making software. Sounds awesome! I can't wait!

On a similar note there is a cool tracker that you can try and make your music without installing any software, sounds cool. You can give it a test drive at Skale Tracker.

Round 1

Notation vs. DAW

The beauty of a notation software is that you can write notes in a variety of instruments with a click of your mouse, qwerty key board or midi keyboard. Your write and it plays back with the dynamics and articulations that you have written. It plays backs so you can hear and make quick corrections and notation software such as Finale exports to an mp3. Mention the name Finale or Sebelius on Composer's Forum and members know that you are using a notation software.

A software such as LMMS is a DAW, a midi sequencer with a lot of goodies inside that includes virtual instruments, a sound font 2 player, drum kits and supports virtual plug ins. You can enter notes with a click of the mouse, your qwerty keyboard or your midi key board. You can connect a midi keyboard and when you press your keyboard it controls the notes played on screen. When you open the piano roll you can choose to record the notes that you play on your midi keyboard, but before you do that select the note length and you can select minimum length of 1/16 up to a whole note. In order to use the midi device you might need to install the driver from your keyboard manufacturer, set your keyboard to PC on, PC1 or PC 2 and on the instrument's interface click on the word midi then click enable midi input, click enable midi output.

The con against composing on a DAW is that you are limited by your samples (virtual instruments). For example, in order to play piano staccato on your DAW your VSTi needs to have a sampling of piano staccato, or you have it in you music library or you adjust the note length and reverb, decay controls to come close to your sound.

The benefits of using a DAW include learning the art of music production, adding effects, taking control over the finished product, your music! Virtual instruments are a marvel of technology the way they sample notes from an instrument with algorithms turn it into an instrument and you make a song! That is good technology. With a DAW you can take a sampling of your own voice in a wav file and turn that into a virtual instrument and you can even use it in the beat editor along with drums. You can adjust the reverb in the GUI, and in the interface click on FX and add effects to add more richness to your sound.

Conclusion: Comparing a DAW to a notation software is like comparing apples and oranges. Using a notation file is good because it keeps you focused on your writing with precision and is meant for a live band. Using a DAW is good because there is so much to explore and many artists use it with a live performance.

Guitar Tabs and Notation

At How To Read Guitar Tabs you can learn how to read guitar tabs as well as how to play this lovely instrument. It is simple and makes composing from guitar fun. Six guitar strings when played with an open string ( no fingers on the frets) correspond to the notes E, A, D, G, B, E.

Here's a sample chord in guitar tab.

x = don't play that string.

0 = play an open string.

The number = the number of the fret. For example #2 on any string means finger presses the string on the second fret. So #2 on string B transforms it to a C # (sharp) note.

Sample Chord

Strings

E--4

B--3

G--2

D--2

A--x

E--x

The notes played in this chord are E, A, D, G#.

Let's see a sample measure:

Strings

E---------4-------4

B------3------3---

G-----------2-----0

D--2---------------

A------------------

E------------------

If you were to enter the notes from the guitar chord E, A, D, G# in the piano roll of a DAW you would find these notes on two octaves E4, A4, D5, G# 5. The same notes on a 61 key midi keyboard the notes would be E3, A3, D4, G#.

If you have a 61 key midi keyboard or are thinking about purchasing one do your reasearch before you buy and read the manual online if it is available. Weighted keys make for a more expressive play. A midi keyboard with it's own built in speakers adds bulk and weight but it is a more versatile instrument.

(The note C4 is the middle C that you would find in LMMS piano roll and the website The Orchestra Users Manual ).

My curiousity peaked and I wonder what chord did I make? I strolled by GOOTAR and found the reverse chord finder with the results of A major 7 sus 4. Nice. What makes gootar.com great is that you can hear your chord in the reverse chord finder in guitar or sitar.

Decoding Chord Jargon

Some songwriters and composers refer to some chords as 1,3,5 chords as the basic building blocks while some consider a 1,6 chord sublime. A 1,6 chord would have the notes 6 keys away and a sample chord would be F,D. Here is an example of a 1,3,5 chord C major

that contains the notes C, E, G.

Difference Between Major and Minor Chord

Distance between the root key for a major is 4 half steps and and a minor has 3 half steps.

When you click on a GUI the VSTi controls pop up. Each virtual instrument has a different looking GUI but they have control knobs that change note length and quality.

Indian Dreams is a beautiful example of a GUI. Clicking on the photo allows you to change instrument from sitar to tabla. There are several controls that regulate note length and quality. A is attack and affects note length (in this photo you will notice that the thin black line means that it is set at minimum level). D is for delay. S is for sustain ( this is set at mid level). R is for remain. F is for fine tuning. The photo shows the default levels and they are set at optimum levels but you can change them by click and drag up or down.

Indian dreams is a one layer VSTi plug in, but some have several layers. DSK Brass has 2 layers. DSK Overture has four layers meaning one you hit a note you can hear it in piano, viola, bassoon and an orchestra section for example.

One interesting note. Not all GUI's have controls. Some only display the image of the instrument and the and the name of the developer.

Alexander Støver, a Norwegian rockstar of Binarpilot, created a buzz with his controversial article new opportunities  are created for artists in the music business because it changes the environment in which artists must adapt in the digital environment. In this interview with NRK (translated from Norwegian to English) Alexander Stover describes his goals, releases free downloads of his album, and suggests that social microtransactions and subscriptions may offer money for the budding rockstars.

Our Local rockstar IXXY creates an ongoing buzz through keeping us posted with his lated album, hubpages and weaving his music videos, through facebook, youtube and Universal Salon, and being a generous spirit willing to help others.

I encourage future rockstars to do their research, see what's out their and visit other artists, ask questions. Sound cloud is a lovely software/service where artists share their music on webpages and it is fascinating to view the sound wave as you play it.

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Composer's Forum Music Composers Unite!

This is a great site and wth 2,000 members and growing you can be sure it is an active community where members share ideas on music theory, music critiques, technology that deals with DAWs, midi files, virtual instruments, and music business. Some members are newbies while others work in the music film business. For those considering becoming a member you need to have a few samples of your music in mp3 form ready to be uploaded. If you wonder what software of the member use includes: notation (Finale or Sebelius), DAWS include Cubase, Reaper etc, and extensive music libraries, solid instruments, midi keyboards.

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Checklist
What do I need?
A little bit of talent
Desire to learn, to practice, to share without inhibitions your music. Some individuals are too inhibited with their music, stop over analyzing! Writing a song means there is much to learn and with technology it is a never ending process. GOOD!!!
Have a plan and enjoy every break through, everything you learn, people you meet.

P.S. Give a standing ovation to our local pianist and trombone player :)

P.S. again! Let me know if this hubpage needs to be rewritten, or if any corrections need to be fixed?

Have an awesome time creating something good!