tron on synthesizer

Synthesizer Files

In 1992 I bought a Korg 01W/pro synthesizer. It was a fantastic instrument that I got a lot of use out of and had very good samples of orchestral instruments. I also bought a MIDI file editor known as Cakewalk. My intention was that I could use that to begin orchestrating The Revelation of Nature and other works of symphonic nature. However, I could not find a way to send multiple MIDI channels to the Korg so I programed the Korg to mimic an orchestra based on the note value and amplitude, i.e., statistically the most probable instrument - thus the name, statistical orchestration. That concept also enabled me to play the keyboard as if it were an orchestra. Playing softly would produce quiet string and woodwinds while playing heavy would swap some of those for brass. I carefully tweaked the thresholds so that there was a continuum from soft to loud. In Cakewalk I would edit a single instrument, but that instrument was this statistical orchestra. That worked very well and over the next few years, I created files for the Overture, Second Movement, and Fourth Movements. I experimented with concepts for the First and Third Movements but those had a long way to go. It was not until early 2003 that I decided to focus exclusively on finishing those movements. That was accomplished by the fall of 2003. A few years later, Cakewalk became SONAR which I used for many years. The SONAR file conversions are also provided below.

This is the statistical orchestra I used. The instruments are physically located with bass instruments to the left and treble instruments to the right. That differs from a typical orchestra on stage but had the benefit of helping me mentally focus on an instrument part in the presence of other instruments. The statistical orchestration often does an acceptable job, and it provides me the opportunity to hear my music close to as intended. A number of instrument combinations are not possible, and I tailor the Cakewalk files to fit the limitations.

The P0, P1, P2, P3, and P8 pages below are this individual programming pages on the Korg. This custom program is contained in my Korg in A24: Orchestra

Brass2	OrchTrpts	Timpani	Bass&Cello	Analog Pad	Clarinet	Flute	Flute
P0: TIMBRE
INT	INT	INT	INT	INT	INT	INT	INT
01G	01G	01G	01G	01G	01G	01G	01G
B62	A12	B39	A47	A27	A73	A83	A83
V040	V040	V040	V040	V040	V040	V040	V040
P1: TRANSPOSE
T=00	T+00	T+00	T+12	T+00	T+00	T+00	T-12
D+00	D+00	D+00	D+00	D+03	D+00	D+00	D+00
6:4	5:5	9:1	3:7	7:3	3:7	4:6	5:5
P2: WINDOW
127	127	127	127	127	89	89	127
090	090	127	001	001	001	001	001
G#4	E6	C4	E3	G9	C6	B6	G9
C2	A4	C2	C-1	C3	F2	D4	F6
P3: MIDI FILTER
P1:x	P2:x	P3:x	P4:x	P5:x	P6:o	P7:o	P8:o
C1:o	C2:o	C3:o	C4:o	C5:o	C6:o	C7:o	C8:o
D1:o	D2:o	D3:o	D4:o	D5:o	D6:o	D7:o	D8:o
A1:x	A2:x	A3:x	A4:x	A5:x	A6:o	A7:o	A8:o
P8: EFFECT
FX1 22:Xover		Chorus:ON		Mod:NONE		I+00
L040	R075	>S12	D050	T+00	L+10	H+08	50:50
FX2 01:Hall		:ON		Mod:SLIDER		I+05
3.2	D060	E62	HD30	L-04	H+00	>75:25
[SERIAL]		Out 3 = L			Out 4 = R