September 5, 2005

Virtual Music Studio

Music Studio 10 Deluxe (**** out of four) is your personal music studio, albeit a virtual one, in your PC. The program includes a wealth of functionality that allows you record multiple (up to 64) tracks of music one at a time; these tracks can include instrumentals, vocals, or narration. You can then edit the tracks, add a variety of special effects and blend the tracks into your final production for an audio CD, movie or video soundtrack. Although designed for use by semi-pros and the professional, the program provides enough help to guide the hobbyist (given time and patience) through creating a satisfying music project.

The program contains two parts: an Audio Studio and a MIDI Studio. Music created in the MIDI Studio can be used to mix into projects in the Audio Studio, and vice versa. Tutorials

step you through key features as well as "How-To-Do" specific tasks.

MIDI Studio is a MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) recorder and editor, and the introduction and tutorial serve as a great way to learn about MIDI. MIDI is synthesized music played by a computer’s sound card or connected MIDI device (keyboard, synthesizer or similar). A MIDI file does not contain recorded music–-it contains instructions to the synthesizer about what note to play, what instrument (voice) to use for that note, how loud to play it, how long to play it and any special effects. Typically, multiple channels are used--a channel for each type of instrument you want in your selection. For example, one channel will be the lead piano, another bass, another guitar backup, another drums, and so on. The program supports 16 channels.

In each channel the music is built with modules (sequences), which can be repeated (looped) or copied and pasted later in the song. In the Arrange Area of the display, each channel will be stacked on top of the next to show the relation of the sequences in each channel to each other. When the selection is played, a Song Position Line moves along the channels, left to right, to show exactly what is being played. Drums a little off-beat? Set a Cycle Mode to repeat the offending section and do click-and-drag adjustments in realtime while the music is played to get it right Use the metronome if needed. These and other features make editing MIDI music easy.

To get music into the program you must connect your computer to a MIDI-capable keyboard. Select the desired instrument on the keyboard, and record your selection into a channel in MIDI Studio. While listening to your first recording, "lay down" another track using a different voice, and continue until you’ve built up your entire song. Add audio, such as a vocal (real, not synthesized), and you’re ready for the big time. Many more features are included in MIDI Studio: the ability to show music in standard musical score notation for easier editing, the ability to mute various channels to isolate one instrument and more. Save your creation as a MIDI file for playback on other computers or MIDI instruments.

Audio Studio module is a multi-track recording and editing program. You can use MP3 songs, WAV files or video soundtracks from your hard drive, downloaded music from the Internet or music you’ve recorded from a CD or microphone. You can only record one track at a time, but you can keep laying down tracks for different instruments, vocals and effects as needed.

The Arranger displays tracks one on top of another, with each selection becoming an object--so you can cut and paste, copy, lengthen or shorten each part, add a multitude of special effects such as reverb, chorus, distortion, and much more. There are two editing modes: VIP and WAV. The former allows arranging or rearranging of objects, and the latter allows editing the music material directly. New features in this version include the ability to edit instrumental solo phrases for pitch to better harmonize with the rest of the music, automatic percussion tracks, spacial effects and Task Assistants, including Tool Tips and Tips & Tricks for help.

The Mixer feature gives you control over volume, stereo L to R pan and other effects for each track or for all tracks simultaneously. A normalization function adjusts output level to 0 db, and a four band equalizer can be set for each channel, along with compression, reverb and more.

The completed project can be saved as a VIP (virtual project) file, which preserves all the individual track information for future editing or exported as a WAV or MP3 file or a finalized audio CD ready for CD mastering.

Music Studio 10 Deluxe is a multi-featured program--and we’ve only touched the surface–but needs time and patience to master. Help is available online, in the 98-page printed manual or the 710-page Reference Manual on disk. Some knowledge of music and MIDI is helpful.

Note: It is illegal to download, transfer or trade copyrighted music without paying for it unless specifically allowed by the copyright owner. There are Web sites, however, offering free MP3 music for downloading.

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