Aere's Music On The Roland D20 Synthesizer
In 1983 (as I recall), I purchased a Roland D20 synthesizer, which was at the high end of the line of synthesizers creating music using hardware synthesis.
At that time, music synthesis using sampling technology was still somewhat new, though beginning to catch-on.
I chose the tried-and-true technology because it had to be able to perform a set of requirements I had thought out, and that was the only machine with which the sales person could pass that set of requirements.
Here is a picture of the Roland D20 synthesizer, extracted from a picture of a later music workstation in my home, years later:
The
Roland D20 has an on-board sequence-editor ('word processor' for
music), so it could be used in a performance without needing a
computer, though sequence-editors on a computer are even better, and
I eventually switched to using them almost entirely (note the monitor
screen in the background).
I hooked it into my home stereo system, producing excellent sound.
The keys are velocity sensitive (producing a louder or softer note, depending on how hard you hit the key), as with a piano. It only has 61 keys (as opposed to a piano's 88), which posed challenges in playing my piano music live, though I could record it into the sequencer transposing the sections I needed the low notes on, and utilizing over-dub recording.
The lever to the left of the keys, when moved left or right, controls pitch-bend (like the variable pitch of a Trombone), and when pushed forward (with the thumb) controls the amount (depth) of the vibrato (a control called modulation).
Musical pieces, finished, or being worked-on, are stored on diskettes, using the diskette drive at the left end of the keyboard (with the diskette case above it). As of late 2016, those diskettes (written in the 1980's) are still readable, with no errors.
I have a sustain-pedal plugged into it, which is necessary for playing piano music.
Over-dub recording on the D20 is really easy.
As you hear the earlier-recorded music playing (and knowing where you left off), you just start playing when the music gets to that point, and continue to the point in the music you are comfortable with, upon-which you just stop playing, and stop the sequencer.
It then suggests you play it back to see if you like it. On listening to the playback, it asks if you want to keep it or not. If you elect not to keep it, it's easy to try recording it again. If you elect to keep it, your new starting point is that much further along into the piece.
Orchestrations Of My Piano Music
Once I got experienced using the Roland D20, I started orchestrating my piano music.
The first step in that process, was to play the piano piece into the sequence-editor. The next step was to improvise other parts (using various instrument sounds I liked), along with the piano music.
When all of the parts are created, there is a finishing process, where the 'instruments' are placed in the proper positions in the left-to-right stereo sound field, using the pan-control. Then I would do a volume-control over-dub recording for each part, adding a level of expressiveness beyond the velocity-sensitive keys, and controlling the relative loudness of the various parts.
You are free to use this work in any way you want to, as long as you attribute me as the author. Depending on the scope of the use, it would be nice if you could also tell me about it, at: aere@keymusician.com
This
work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Here (accessed by the link below) is an example of the music I produced using this process. It's my Intermezzo # 1, with two additional instrument sounds, the Flute and the Bassoon.
Notice in this piece, that rather than use a piano sound (which is somewhat mediocre on this synthesizer), I used a sound called “Vibe String”.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Aere's Intermezzo # 1, on the D20, with Flute and Bassoon
The above is a good example of the orchestrations I did of my piano music. However, you don't see a long list of links below for each of those pieces. The reason is that I have re-imagined these pieces using a better synthesizer purchased in the early 2000's.
Having all of these pieces recorded as MIDI sequence files, which is the performance data (which notes pressed & when, and how hard they were pressed, along with the modulation, volume, and sustain-pedal controls), is recorded, rather than the actual audio.
In other words, it's like recording a piano-roll for a player piano, only for a synthesizer with various instrument sounds, in easily reproducible electronic format.
This allowed me to take the performance recorded into the Roland D20 synthesizer, and play it on a more modern (and much more capable) Yamaha S90 synthesizer, with more realistic instrument sounds.
So all of those pieces appear in the next chapter of my musical life, under the “Aere's Music on the Yamaha S90-es Synthesizer” link. But that's getting ahead of the story. There's still a lot to explore in this chapter first.
There are a number of pieces that were difficult to convert to use the newer technology, and therefore are preserved in the form they were created-in, on the Roland D20 synthesizer. I actually did convert these pieces, but they sound better the way they were originally created, so they appear in this web-page.
Alpine Stillness
This is the first piece I composed directly on a synthesizer, rather than being an orchestration of one of my existing piano pieces.
It depends on an instrument sound on the Roland D20 called "Atmosphere". This sound morphs over time, and is hard to reproduce on either General MIDI, or on the Yamaha S90 synth. The morphing-over-time aspects of the sound cause timing problems using different sounds on other synths.
On my “Re-Imaginings” album, I did include the version of this piece converted to play on the Yamaha S90-es synth, but it sounds better in its original form, and it is included in original form here.
It uses the “Atmosphere”, “Warm Bell”, “Oboe”, and “Flute 2” sounds on the Roland D20 synth.
The scene I picture for the music, is a clear, sunny, cool, windless morning, in the high Uintah mountains. There are darker sections, visiting caves.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Reverie
I liked the prior piece so much, that I created another piece using the same instrument combination. With these instrument sounds, it is again better on the original Roland D20 synthesizer than it is on other synths, so it is included in its original form here.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Improvisations With Classical Piano Music
The pieces in this section are classical piano pieces, where I performed the piano part, and with that, I improvised one or more additional instrument part(s).
Prelude in E-Minor, by Chopin
I played the piano piece using the “Vibe-String” sound. With that, I first improvised a Cello part, and with those two parts, I improvised a Flute part. I am really proud of this performance.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
I did manage to convert this performance to work with a General MIDI synthesizer (Qsynth, on Linux), which I think is equally good. This lets you hear the same piece played using more modern, quality sampled sounds.
In this piece, I used a Grand Piano sound for the Piano part, and I substituted a Viola for the Cello part (it's more in the Viola range), and an Oboe (and at the end Bassoon) for the Flute part.
Prelude in E-Minor, by Chopin – General MIDI
Beethoven's “Moonlight” Sonata, 1st Movement
I played the piano piece using the “Vibe-String” sound. With that, I improvised a Flute part. I am really proud of this performance.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Beethoven's “Moonlight” Sonata, 1st Movement
Orchestrations of Classical Piano Music
The pieces in this section are classical piano pieces, where in one case I performed the piano part, using a different instrument sound, and the other where I orchestrated (and performed) various instrument parts, in place of the piano part.
Nocturne, by Grieg
I played the piano piece using the “Vibe-String” sound. I really like the sound of it with the “Vibe-String” instrument, and am really proud of this particular performance. I like this instrument sound better than a piano – especially for the 'bird trill' sections.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Solvejg's Song, from Peer Gynt, by Grieg
In this piece, I orchestrated individual instrument parts, and performed each one (one at a time), totally replacing the piano part.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Solvejg's Song, from Peer Gynt, by Grieg
Sonata 'Pathetique' (2nd movement), by Beethoven
In this piece, I orchestrated 8 individual string instrument parts (each using the “Cello 2” sound), and performed each one (one at a time), totally replacing the piano part. It was challenging keeping them all together.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Sonata 'Pathetique' (2nd movement), by Beethoven
Intermezzo Opus 118 # 2, by Brahms
In this piece, I orchestrated individual instrument parts, totally replacing the piano part. The parts were put-in note-wise, so it is only an orchestration – not a performance. I orchestrated several of the Brahms Intermezzos in this manner. This one is an example.
So here is the piece (an MP3 file), accessed using the link below (use your browser's “Back” button to return here after playing it):
Intermezzo Opus 118 # 2, by Brahms