Accents, Grace notes, Crescendo, and Frogs

[Bobby]

Hello there,

I've completed the "MODPlug Tutorial By Mister X a.k.a. Kim, adapted by Kokki" which I've just discovered probably means I've been using the legacy version of ModPlug Tracker. Anyway, I then created a piece for piano from sheet music.  It's not much but sounds okay except for a few technical difficulties.

* How do I accent/marcato a note?

* Is there any special way to do a grace note (appoggiatura/acciaccatura) or do you just stretch the pattern out long enough you can stick them in without disrupting the timing?

* How loud is pianissimo?  I assume you'd set that in "global volume" but what values correspond to what classical designations?

* How would I do a crescendo / diminuendo.  I looked at this thread http://forum.openmpt.org/index.php?topic=267 but I'm afraid I had trouble following it.

Lastly, about samples.  MODPlug comes with the GM.DLS sample library.  Is there better piano samples available and where would I find them. I'll also be interested in organ samples but don't know how to go about finding them.

And for something completely different, I'd really like to find samples of "frogs".  You know, ribbid, croak, crikk, and all like that.  Is there such a thing, and where might I find them?

Thank you for your time, help, and insights.

[Saga Musix]

Since OpenMPT is not a software for writing music in the classic style using staff paper, many of these things have to be "faked", if you want to call it like that.

* How do I accent/marcato a note?

By playing all other notes more quiet. When using samples, you can f.e. set the "default volume" on the sample tab to 48 for each sample, and then put a v64 volume command next to a note that needs to be accented

* Is there any special way to do a grace note (appoggiatura/acciaccatura) or do you just stretch the pattern out long enough you can stick them in without disrupting the timing?

Put the note on the previous row, and put a note delay command (SDx) next to it. If the current song speed is 6 ticks per row, you could f.e. try SD4 (delay by 4 ticks)

* How loud is pianissimo? 

How would you want to measure that? In decibels? I'd say maybe a quarter of the original volume. I have no idea. Just try experimenting by putting volume commands next to notes until it sounds good to you.

* How would I do a crescendo / diminuendo.  I looked at this thread http://forum.openmpt.org/index.php?topic=267 but I'm afraid I had trouble following it.

again, by putting volume commands next to notes. you can put a volume command on first row of the crescendo or diminuendo one with a low or high value and then one on the last row with a high or low value, then make a selection from the first to the last row, right-click and choose "Interpolate volume".

Lastly, about samples.  MODPlug comes with the GM.DLS sample library.

Plenty. For best quality, you could use a soundfont player plugin (f.e. sfz) and load a good soundfont into it. For example the Equinox Grand Pianos (seach on the internet for it) if you only need pianos. A good full general midi soundfont is SGM-180.

And for something completely different, I'd really like to find samples of "frogs".  You know, ribbid, croak, crikk, and all like that.  Is there such a thing, and where might I find them?

Try Freesound.

[.^o]

some here too
http://eng.universal-soundbank.com/aquatic-animals2.htm

[Bobby]

Thank you, both. I'll have to spend more time with samples so we'll see how that goes.

Jojo, those are exactly the type of answers I needed. I'll work through each process and I'm confident I can get some good results. Thanks again.

[Harbinger]

Altho it may take a while to learn how to transfer your classical composition skills to tracking, it can be done. I compose a LOT of classical music with MPT; there are actually very few classical directions that can't be done by ModPlug!
The only thing you'll need to worry about is finding the right samples or plugins to bring out a realistic sound. Just do some research with you favorite search engine, and like me, you'll find what you need. 

And don't forget to look at the OHM or the MPTWiki pages for help learning this great piece of software...

[Skaven]

* How would I do a crescendo / diminuendo.  I looked at this thread http://forum.openmpt.org/index.php?topic=267 but I'm afraid I had trouble following it.

If you're making your song in .IT/.mptm format, you can also use the volume envelopes in the Instruments. You can create several instruments that all use the same sample(s) for different notations. Let's imagine you have a string sample and and instrument for it for Marcato. You can copy that instrument by selecting it, then Shift-clicking the "New instrument" button, then give the new copy a volume envelope that starts from zero, then gradually slides to top volume. And you now have an adagio or crescendo string (depending on the rise length).

This way you don't have to type in special commands or volume values.