User Manual

ARTURIA – BRASS 2 – USER’S MANUAL

There is nothing original in noticing that the center of musical creation has switched to

the computer platform during the last decades. The evolution of composition modes

associated with software sequencers and hard disk recordings, along with virtual

instruments and effects, have undeniably had an impact on the nature of musical

creation. The musical genres particularly suited for computer creation, those using loops

or electronic sounds and processing, have seen a large and significant growth.

In this context, the contemporary musician that searches to integrate a brass section into

a musical piece has a choice: either hire a performer that can play his piece in a studio,

or find an electronic means that simulates a brass piece at low cost. This being said, the

two choices are not exclusive; a composer might wish to program a brass part

individually as a preview before recording a real performer for the final version of the

song.

In any case, a composer that constructs the basics of his work on a computer and wishes

to program individual instrument parts, such as a solo trumpet or a section of

saxophones, is always looking for new ways to express himself.

The first possibility offered to him is the use of a sampler. With such a tool, musicians

can easily perform the recorded sound of each instrument on their keyboard.

Unfortunately, this simplicity often has a price: a certain lack of expression, flexibility and

instrument control. Once the performance is captured within the individual sample, it’s

difficult to modify the performance into something resembling a live player. The search to

find the right sample can also be long and tiresome, which often does not match the

productivity criteria set by the music industry today.

For a composer the second method consists of introducing a complete loop/cycle in the

composition; that is to say a small, previously recorded musical phrase that guarantees

an expression and interpretation closer to reality. Unfortunately, the downside of the loop

is that we cannot modify the content, articulations, tone, or the mood, which strongly

limits the musical usefulness of the recorded phrase.

Beyond sampling and loop playback, there is yet another solution – physical modeling.

Particularly through research done at Stanford University (USA) and IRCAM (France), the

concept came forth to emulate acoustic musical instruments with mathematics – and

created a new path of musical exploration. The third method is, by far, the most

promising since it allows the composer to recreate the performance of an acoustic

instrument with all its finesse, while working within an interface that is familiar. Thus, in

the case of physical models, keyboard control permits a level of expression that samplers

don’t offer. In this way, the composer once again becomes the interpreter, escaping the

trap of limiting technology, and is allowed to once again focus on the creation of

expressive music.

Of course, let’s not pretend physical models are the Holy Grail of music, offering the

exact same quality and expressivity as a live performance. The musician maintains a

strong advantage since the player defines what the results must be with the instrument

as they are performing. However, the path established by IRCAM opens a new generation

of physical models, based on the technology called “Non linear multiple feedback loop”,