I have heard comments of that being a composer is paper and pencil however some days have passed and we have these wonderful tools that will inspire composers and arrangers like us. Once Henry Mancini told us in one of our arranging class: "What is important is the result, not really the vehicle " (something like that)! Congrats..
Thank you for the kind words, Milo! StaffPad has been such a useful tool and it is gradually becoming more refined with each iteration. The quality of some of the integrated sample libraries (e.g. Berlin Series, Spitfire) serve to inspire while writing! 🙂
Yes! I use the 3rd Gen iPad Pro 12.9” (2018). While older and less powerful than the current generation, it is still plenty powerful and the extra screen real estate is very helpful.
While the M1 chip is significantly more powerful than the A12X/Z, I’m not sure if you would see any real world difference in performance with StaffPad. I personally have the 256GB as I found it as an excellent open box deal, but I’d recommend 128GB at a minimum to ensure ample space for the add-on libraries as well as other software you might desire.
Michael, I'm very impressed with the passion of the arrangement of this well-known piece of music... quite tricky, in its emotional balance, light and darkness in the orchestrations, and the choice of the instrumentation that serves your intent. I absolutely adore your use of the horn (my passionate instrument of choice), along with your counter-melody or repeated motifs. It really pulled on my emotive side bringing what you hoped, peace and serenity. I think there are a few places you could rework to bring the harmonic foundation and orchestration a little more closely linked with the melody... sometimes we force a counter-melody or phrase of notes to fit at the expense of the harmonic structure (high point/climax) of the melody... speaking from experience. Your work is brilliant and well-developed. This is my first piece of yours I've heard and I want to commend and congratulate you on such a high degree of musicality and orchestration ability. It was the highlight of my evening.
I appreciate your thoughtful comment and feedback, Marshall! While the timeline of this project was relatively short (over several evenings), I agree that there are areas where the countermelodies could benefit from further “massaging” to achieve more optimal harmonic/textural balance! 😊
Rafael, I’m so delighted to hear that you enjoyed it! Please feel free to message me through FB or through my page email and I can send you the score/file. 😊
Thank you, Benjamin! StaffPad has certainly been a helpful tool! Personally, I find the Berlin Series to be the most audibly pleasing, particularly with more expressive pieces calling for tempi less than 100 bpm.
Michael, this is just so beautiful, emotive. I am not good at reading sheet music at all, but with your piece, it's making me want to learn music notation seriously ! I've resisted before, but right now, I'm changing after seeing what you can create. It would be amazing if I can create music this way, rather than sitting in front of a midi keyboard or desktop. Can I ask you - did you do all of this on staffpad, or did you have to import/export with other desktop applications at times? Do you create better by notation or by playing keys? And if you can help me - is there a way I can maybe try learning notation/staffpad, starting with your piece if you do not mind sharing your file with me. Thank you Michael.
Chris! I appreciate your thoughtful comment and I’m delighted to hear of your interest in music notation! For this particular arrangement, I used solely StaffPad and utilized the Berlin Strings, Brass, Woodwinds, and Harp libraries for my playback. All dynamics, phrasing, and balancing were adjusted with the included “dynamic layer.” As for my approach to writing music, it all depends on the project and instrumentation, but I generally utilize a combination of keyboard and notation. When it comes to orchestral writing, I actually prefer notating first it as it allows me to be more thoughtful in how I craft the musical lines and “weaving of the fabric” so to speak.
Hi Michael, Thanks for sharing this beautiful score and playback. I am awaiting a surface pro that I bought to arrive shortly. I bought it mainly to get into the Staffpad echo system. Could you tell me how much work was invested in the dynamic and phrase editing in this piece compared to note input? The reason that im asking is because I already have high-quality Kontakt libraries and am a Dorico and Cubase user. I am very happy with those wonderful products but would like to reduce the amount of time I spend in midi editing. Do you find this type of work on Staffpad to be easier/more time-efficient than in a conventional DAW/main stream notation software? I would highly appreciate your opinion on that. Thanks.
@@alontrigger Thank you for listening, Alon! I, too, have used a variety of Kontakt libraries, except with Logic Pro. While this setup allows for optimal control over phrasing, articulation, and dynamics, it can be quite time consuming to create a quality recording (as you described). Personally, I have found StaffPad to speed up my workflow by around 50%, in part, due to the ease of editing phrases and dynamics within the app and the fact that I do not need to coordinate my work between a notator and DAW. Of note, the available libraries in StaffPad generally perform more realistically at slower tempos (
