Playing music, what I found useful
May 20, 2014 7:40:01 GMT -5
Post by ioreth on May 20, 2014 7:40:01 GMT -5
As many know my great adventure at playing music in a group did not go as planned. But I still learned quite a bit have an in inkling of some things the pros know when they are translating or writing music for in game. Unfortunately, I did not learn those details.
Limitations:
The main limitation is that no LOTRO instruments are in tune, except perhaps the theobro (base guitar type thing) Most people just ignore it and produce music with the parts by instrument and leave it at that. The "pros" listen and compose according to which instruments it takes to give the most accurate sounds and tones needed to faithfully reproduce the music for how many instruments they have. 7-12 seems to be optimal. One thing they do is combine two LOTRO instruments to reproduce one in the original. Another is to use the instruments LOTRO has for parts you would never dream of. A bagpipe in our band was never played as a bagpipe, yet it was in nearly every song. It had characteristic that could be used to become other instruments. Another thing the pros do are volume changes, the folks who simply translate midis take the volume as it comes. Unfortunately I never learned to combine instruments or adjust volume.
My plugins for playing:
Everyone I have worked with use a plugin called Songbook. It works by assembling and organizing your music files (ABC format) in your music directory then compiling them into an index file. When the program is open in game there is a neat list, sub-folders, etc how you can choose your songs. An (optional) place to choose your instrument and a button to push to start. There is also the ability to synchronize playing in a group. This is used by all the bands I know. I couldn't play without it.
Lyrical is a plugin that allows you to enter your song lyrics, one stanza per line, and then push the key as the corresponding music is being played. It takes player interference, it does not do it automatically. It has some other uses as well, I have mine set up with one elvish greeting per line, I quickly highlight the one I want and push the button. This way I have a nice greeting without as much pause as if I was typing it.
Production:
The files that the instruments play are called ABC notation, they look like name.abc. The original use seems to involve translating to and from midi files and they can have full concerts in a minimal amount of text (it is a text based file) Whereas a midi might be very large, an ABC can be minuscule compared to the original. There are translation problems to simply take a midi ABC and play it, but there are programs to use that translate a midi or abc file into one the LOTRO instruments understand.
firefern.rklotro.com/ <-- FireFern. An on-line midi->abc converter. I have not used it but the "pros" and many others prefer it
code.google.com/p/lotro-maestro/ <-- Maestro. PC midi/abc converter. This is the one I use. Not the finesse, but is simple for me.
lotro.acasylum.com/abcplayer/ <-- ABC Player. This is the program I use to play back ABC files on my computer it is ~approximately faithful to the in-game sound.
Song sources:
Use at your own risk. No, they are not dangerous, but some music is far from being proper to audiophiles.
Some of these I have not used yet and just discovered them.
www.lotro-abc.com/
lotrotunes.clickmadly.com/
sites.google.com/site/lotroabc/songs <-- scroll down
www.thefatlute.eu/
dolory.seesaa.net/ <-- Japanese
www.lotro.com/en/forums/showthread.php?40311-ABC-Songbook <-- LOTRO forums, takes some searching but good
I know I am forgetting something, I always am.
(I can't seem to just hight light rows of text and then click the list button. I'll figure it out later)
Limitations:
The main limitation is that no LOTRO instruments are in tune, except perhaps the theobro (base guitar type thing) Most people just ignore it and produce music with the parts by instrument and leave it at that. The "pros" listen and compose according to which instruments it takes to give the most accurate sounds and tones needed to faithfully reproduce the music for how many instruments they have. 7-12 seems to be optimal. One thing they do is combine two LOTRO instruments to reproduce one in the original. Another is to use the instruments LOTRO has for parts you would never dream of. A bagpipe in our band was never played as a bagpipe, yet it was in nearly every song. It had characteristic that could be used to become other instruments. Another thing the pros do are volume changes, the folks who simply translate midis take the volume as it comes. Unfortunately I never learned to combine instruments or adjust volume.
My plugins for playing:
Everyone I have worked with use a plugin called Songbook. It works by assembling and organizing your music files (ABC format) in your music directory then compiling them into an index file. When the program is open in game there is a neat list, sub-folders, etc how you can choose your songs. An (optional) place to choose your instrument and a button to push to start. There is also the ability to synchronize playing in a group. This is used by all the bands I know. I couldn't play without it.
Lyrical is a plugin that allows you to enter your song lyrics, one stanza per line, and then push the key as the corresponding music is being played. It takes player interference, it does not do it automatically. It has some other uses as well, I have mine set up with one elvish greeting per line, I quickly highlight the one I want and push the button. This way I have a nice greeting without as much pause as if I was typing it.
Production:
The files that the instruments play are called ABC notation, they look like name.abc. The original use seems to involve translating to and from midi files and they can have full concerts in a minimal amount of text (it is a text based file) Whereas a midi might be very large, an ABC can be minuscule compared to the original. There are translation problems to simply take a midi ABC and play it, but there are programs to use that translate a midi or abc file into one the LOTRO instruments understand.
firefern.rklotro.com/ <-- FireFern. An on-line midi->abc converter. I have not used it but the "pros" and many others prefer it
code.google.com/p/lotro-maestro/ <-- Maestro. PC midi/abc converter. This is the one I use. Not the finesse, but is simple for me.
lotro.acasylum.com/abcplayer/ <-- ABC Player. This is the program I use to play back ABC files on my computer it is ~approximately faithful to the in-game sound.
Song sources:
Use at your own risk. No, they are not dangerous, but some music is far from being proper to audiophiles.
Some of these I have not used yet and just discovered them.
www.lotro-abc.com/
lotrotunes.clickmadly.com/
sites.google.com/site/lotroabc/songs <-- scroll down
www.thefatlute.eu/
dolory.seesaa.net/ <-- Japanese
www.lotro.com/en/forums/showthread.php?40311-ABC-Songbook <-- LOTRO forums, takes some searching but good
I know I am forgetting something, I always am.
(I can't seem to just hight light rows of text and then click the list button. I'll figure it out later)