Need Piano Collaborator...(or miracle MIDI site)

[MoonMix]

hello...

 

ya' know...I've been scoring this pop ballad...which...(according to my most knowledgeable, honest musician friends)...should be a a killer hit.

 

thing is...I'm not a pianist. I'm a good songwriter...I can play basic piano chords & score the basic tracks...even write the occasional realistic sounding embellishment...but there's nothing like the sound of a real piano man, banging away chords on a good pop or R&B ballad; & also throwing in tasty tidbits IN BETWEEN chords & vocals.

 

so...that's what I need...world class FILLS, I guess you could say. so is there anybody here that would fit that bill...who would be willing to collaborate w/ me on a MIDI file basis...

 

or is there any such thing as a MIDI site that provides piano fills/embellishments...???

 

thanks,

 

 

MM

[rsadasiv]

Johnny-Boy is a much better pianist than I am, but if you don't get any other bites I could give it a shot next week.

 

What kind of style/arrangement are we talking about?

[blue2blue]

 

hello ... ya' know...I've been scoring this pop ballad...which...(according to my most knowledgeable, honest musician friends)...should be a a killer hit. thing is...I'm not a pianist. I'm a good songwriter...I can play basic piano chords & score the basic tracks...even write the occasional realistic sounding embellishment...but there's nothing like the sound of a real piano man, banging away chords on a good pop or R&B ballad; & also throwing in tasty tidbits IN BETWEEN chords & vocals. so...that's what I need...world class FILLS , I guess you could say. so is there anybody here that would fit that bill...who would be willing to collaborate w/ me on a MIDI file basis... or is there any such thing as a MIDI site that provides piano fills/embellishments...??? thanks, MM

It's not for everyone, its odd, 80s-holdover Tonka Toy interface invariably illicits groans, its tools UI is button-crazy -- it definitely takes a sec and a half (or more) to get on its wavelength -- but you might find some of what you're looking for in the Band in a Box software.

 

Its central purpose is to quickly generate MIDI arrangements in a number of styles (like so many of these things, they seem oriented to making their money on style-pack add-ons), although it can also be used to generate melodies, solos, harmonies, and such, as well. (You may find the generated solos to be a bit of a mixed bag -- but the interface for the solo and melody generators has a lot of fairly atomic control. And, of course, no one says you can't take the good bits from multiple solos and such.)

[rockinrobby]

If you can already play "kinda" here's a good trick,

 

1. Play the guitar at a much slower bpm, i.e., if your song's at 120? Play it at 80 with the guitar and a dummy vox track.

 

2. Listen to the 80 bpm track and "practice" the piano part.

 

3. Record at 80.

 

4. Listen to that and practice the fills.

 

5. Record the fills.

 

6. If you're dual hand impared? Finally go in and do the left hand.

 

7. Speed it back up to 120, and edit to taste ;-)

 

You can listen to the keys and organ on my stuff, I couldn't do it live, but I can sound like a keyboard player... And a damn good one.

[blue2blue]

Robby's got some good tips there. I didn't have the option of slowing things down on my old 4 track rig in the 80s (my keyboards and synths were mostly pre-MIDI at the time, anyhow, the only sequencers I ever had were in drum machines) -- but I got pretty good at doing everything with my right hand. In fact, I was probably a lot better and more natural in many ways playing bass on keyboard than on bass guitar (which I played in bands for some years.)

[rockinrobby]

Yeaup :-) Check out Boo Gee Woo Gee on my page if you don't believe me :-) Again, I couldn't do it live? But with a computer and even a basic understanding of music theory and a midi keyboard, and even a modicum of patience? You can really do virtually anything.

[cada7]

PM me if you could please. I might be willing to help out, and also have a friend who is good at raw blues style (would need a little timing cleaning).

 

I am not really sure why I am responding to this as I have my own and others projects to work on, but maybe we could work something out. I would be reasonable with a satisfaction guarantee. I've covered numerous styles over the years, and this doesn't sound too tough on face value.

 

Let me know your deadlines, and provide some stylistic samples. I can even render audio (sampled piano).

[cada7]

Have any of you tried synthesia? it is a great little 'game' tool which reads MIDI and is fantastic for learning. I just rendered a MIDI file from a recording for a piano player who does not read at all, and this little app worked great.

 

http://www.synthesiagame.com/

[Axegrinder009]

Buy a copy of the latest Band-in-a-Box. It's the composer's best friend, trust me, as you can change things and immediately see how the changes affect the song. Countless professional musicians use it for backing tracks at live performances, etc. It now has Real Tracks that aren't midi, but played by real pro musicians.

 

Hey, I get no royalties, but I'm just a big fan of the software. You can download a demo and try it for free.

 

In any event, good luck to you.

[Johnny-Boy]

Shame on all of you!

 

Just kidding.

[rockinrobby]

Here's the deal, 20 years ago? I was just getting in to writting and recording? And I was a guitarist. I went to the piano player who played for the church I was attending, and since I sang in the choir? I figured I could get her to play the keys on my tune? The "first" tune I ever recorded (original) and she said, "sure, just give me the sheet music?" And I looked at her like she had 3 heads and said, "BADGES!!?? WE DON'T NEED NO STEEEEENKING BADGES!!" Because I did not, and still cannot "read music". However, I do understand theory. She was like, if it's not on the sheet, I can't play it? And I was like, "it's easy? It's D/A/G and the break is like Bm/A/blah blah blah and she was all "No way Jose?" So rather than find someone else to do it? I bought a keyboard and figured it out. It took me about a month before I could record it? But I played it, and it sounds pretty damn good :-) Now I couldn't then just sit and "play piano" on whatever, but I could play my song? And through the years, practicing and then playing on all of the subsequent tunes? I have become a piano player... You will regret it if you don't try. It's a lot easier to learn to play than the guitar.

[Silent Heart]

Does it have to be an unpaid collaborator? If not, then do you know about places like this? http://studiopros.com/studio-musician.php No, I'm not affiliated with them, it just seems like what I would do if I really needed a keyboard part. Not sure if they can supply MIDI.

[MoonMix]

holy cow...!!!

 

thanks everyone.

 

(forgot to come back right away...sorry).

 

I'm leaning toward rockinrobby's suggestion (he_ _ of a boogie, there!)...although...cada7...I'll be contacting you in a week or so, if that's acceptable. [i just got really busy w/ some recording/mixing/mastering clients; & my own stuff has to take a back seat for a bit to pay the bills.]

 

thanks again, all...great input.

 

(btw-1/2 of the piano track in question IS from B-i-a-B. I went through a mess of styles & found ballad chordings that sounded realistic...then went crazy MIDI editing mixing & matching. I did the intro, the other half & the bridge myself, in real time).

 

 

MM

[rockinrobby]

I mean I can show you what somebody who CAN'T play the piano can do :-) Shoot me a copy of your song, to rrobbin3 (at) bellsouth (dot) net

 

I'm working on the keys for a tune I'm doing now that my cousin wrote. Most of my stuff is like 3 chord rock? So it's pretty easy. His tune has a bunch of weird chords :-( So I need to practice it for a few daze... Then I'll get it in a pharase at a time, then I'll edit it, and "viola'" :-) I'm telling you. I am a guitarist. If you don't play piano I can convince you I can. And if I can have a few days, and a daw? I can convince "anyone" I can. And if you start now? in 5 years? You'll be 5 years in to it :-) 10? 15? Hell, at some point? "You'll be a piano player!" :-)

[Johnny-Boy]

John Root is currently the collaborative pianist for the studio of Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School. Mr. Root also works as a freelance artist in the New York area. He began his studies at age 9, entered the North Carolina School of the Arts at 15, and four years later moved to Philadelphia to study with Yoheved Kaplinsky, first at the Peabody Institute and then at Juilliard where he received his master

[blue2blue]

This jackass Andyjor had filled that quoted post with links apparently to a Nike counterfeit store. (Which I just finished editing out after banning the jerk.)

 

But they might well have been a malware-drive-by site.

 

Please, folks, mouse over any links you find before clicking.

 

The spammers are all over this place.

 

And, please, report any suspicious activity using the little white, red-rimmed triangle in the offending post's avatar section (the one with a one or blobby exclamation point in it). That will send me and admins an email and we can investigate for you.

[Johnny-Boy]

Thanks Blue! Glad I didn't click on the links.

 

I didn't think something was quite right with the guy, so I Googled his user name. You'd think the guy would be smart enough not to use the same user name on other sites (he's spread like manure all over the web).

 

Here's one where they banned the nitwit: http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/members/andyjor-299950/

 

John

[rockinrobby]

Blew, please turn a jaundice eye toward ANYTHING I post? The lynx usually lead to naked pictures of me in the shower? But I typically cut and paste my head on to porn stars bodies? But it gets worse? It