Music • Sound • Video • Art

I am about 3/4 of the way through Logic 9 Explained by Eli Krantzberg (available at Groove3). Eli has put together a thoughtful, well-paced, and logical (no pun intended) introduction to the software. If you are new to LOGIC or moving over to it from another DAW, you will save a lot of time and head scratching by taking the time to go through this set of tutorials. I found it particularly useful in moving over from Digital Performer for instance.

A few pros and cons:

Pros

• Lessons are chunked nicely at about 8 minutes each on average. This makes them quite “snackable”; It’s easy to grab a lesson or two in the morning or when you have a moment between things.
• Lessons build on each other. Eli does not make the common mistake of referring to things or concepts not yet covered in his previous lessons, so the confusion factor (especially for someone new to this stuff) is really minimized.
• He goes at a nice pace and his screen captures are clear and easy to follow.
• There is no “fluff” or unnecessary banter. He is friendly and informative, not cheesy or overly chatty.

Cons

• He sometimes says that certain techniques or methods are important to note, but does not take the next step and say why they may be important to note. In some cases it is obvious why it may be important, in other cases, not so much. It would be helpful to provide a little more context.

Like all products of this type, this straddles the line between “training” and “demonstration”. Nevertheless, you can still learn from a well done, well structured demonstration and Eli has definitely put one together. (In my view, training requires some level of interaction with the material. If it is a completely passive experience, it falls more in the realm of demonstration. To bring the interactivity to it, I open LOGIC on a separate monitor and create a parallel project to practice the techniques and methods Eli covers. This works great, and I’ve actually come up with the nub of a couple of pieces I will come back to later for further development!)

There are other videos out there, most notably those offered by MacProVideo. Their LOGIC series is also quite comprehensive. (In particular, I like the Tips N Tricks and Master Class by Steve Horlick.) However, for an introduction and explanation of LOGIC, I find Logic 9 Explained to be a more straightforward and useful offering than its MacProVideo counterpart. I also find the Groove3 web-based interface to be much more stable than MPV’s customized “feature-filled” player.

I’m looking forward to checking out the rest of Eli’s series.

Once more unto the breech....Another year cometh!

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable New Year celebration and many good wishes for the new year!

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So…music-related resolutions for 2010. Given my success rate with last year’s resolutions, I’m trying a different strategy: PFPS (pick few and pick strategically). This stuff gets “first emphasis” and effort this year. So here goes:

1. Make consistent progress on developing my keyboard playing skills and increasing my understanding of music theory.
2. Deepen my understanding and abilities with my “foundational” software tools. Specifically LOGIC, LIVE, KORE and a couple of VIs…
3. Continue to consistently post to, develop, and expand subnoto::indico

More realistic or just more fuzzy?

Peace all and a good year to you..

So. Exactly one year ago today, and despite the advice of a good friend, I publicly made a set of new year’s resolutions. So how did I do?

1) No new synthesizer plug-ins between January and June 2009. – Hah! Two weeks after writing that post, NAMM ‘09 hit and then I wrote about a bunch of stuff that I wanted. (Incidentally, at least 4 of them I bought over the next few months.) My lack of time for music has not lessened my acquisitiveness for (soft) synths it appears. I even picked up a Roland JV2080 on ebay on the cheap recently.

It’s out of control. I need a 12 step program. That said I am looking forward to NAMM 2010…

2) I will complete the various tutorials and learning projects that I have started for the tools that I own. – Umm. Sort of. I did complete the NI DVD on Kontakt and almost completed the NI DVD on Absynth. (These are some great resources; unfortunately they were made for Kontakt 2 and Absynth 3 and are getting “long in the tooth.” There is still much that is useful however, and if you can pick them up on eBay, it is well worth it.) I also went through a lot of the MacProVideo stuff for Logic. Very helpful too. (I would have gone through more, but frankly their N.E.D player is flaky these days and I’ve started to explore alternatives like GrooveBox.) In any case, the list of tutorials currently awaiting completion is long: Propellerhead RECORD, LIVE8, MAX for LIVE, Omnisphere, etc. I have to figure out where this fits in my schedule.

(Btw, GrooveBox had/has a sale going on: $99 for 1 year of unlimited online access to its tutorial library (regularly $299). Seems like a no brainer.)

3) I will recommit to my piano practice. Nope. Not even close. I had to halt my formal lessons before the end of the spring 2009 semester. (It does not look like I will be able to start my lessons again until fall 2010 at the earliest.) More than anything else on the list, this bothers me.