Miroslav Philharmonik Sounds Manual

Orchestra & Choir Workstation

IK Multimedia. Musicians First.

Sound Manual

Miroslav Philharmonik

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Contents pag. 5

License and copyrights pag. 8

Miroslav Philharmonik Sounds Collection pag. 111.1 Historical notes pag. 111.2 About Miroslav Vitous pag. 111.3 The Dvork Hall pag. 131.4 Instrument positions pag. 141.5 Instrument extensions pag. 15

Instrument descriptions pag. 192.1 Instrument categories pag. 19Woodwinds pag. 20 Piccolo pag. 20 Flute pag. 20 Alto Flute pag. 20 Bass Flute pag. 20 Oboe pag. 20 English Horn pag. 21 Clarinet in Bb pag. 21 Bass Clarinet in Bb pag. 21 Bassoon pag. 21 Contra Bassoon pag. 21Brass pag. 21 Trumpet pag. 22 Flugelhorn pag. 22 French Horn pag. 22 Tenor Trombone pag. 22 Bass Trombone pag. 22 Tuba pag. 22Percussion (Tuned) pag. 23 Glockenspiel pag. 23 Celeste pag. 23 Vibraphone pag. 23 Marimba pag. 23 Crotals pag. 23 Cowbell pag. 23 Tubular Bells pag. 23 Plate Bells pag. 24 Gong pag. 24 Timpani pag. 24Percussion (Untuned) pag. 24

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II

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

6Miroslav Philharmonik

Keyed Elements pag. 24 Organ pag. 24 Piano pag. 25 Harpsichord pag. 25Strings pag. 25 Violin pag. 25 Viola pag. 25 Cello pag. 26 Double-Bass pag. 26 Harp pag. 26 Guitar pag. 26Choir pag. 26 Female Choir pag. 27 Male Choir pag. 272.2 Articulations pag. 27

Instrument Organization/Programming pag. 293.1 Parents, Child and Combi presets pag. 293.2 Folder organization pag. 293.3 Child presets pag. 323.4 Macro descriptions pag. 34

Combis pag. 374.1 Combi descriptions pag. 37

Keywords pag. 395.1 Keyword descriptions pag. 39

Credits pag. 41

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

7Miroslav Philharmonik


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Miroslav Philharmonik Sounds Collection

Historical Notes

Miroslav Philharmonik is the sequel to the legendary Miroslav Vitous Symphonic Orchestra Samples orchestra library produced and recorded by jazz prodigy Miroslav Vitous in the 1990s (1993-1999). The original Miroslav Vitous recordings were done by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in the famous Dvork Hall in Prague.

Originally released for AKAI and the most popular sampler platforms of that time, the collection comprised of six CDs between solo and ensembles orchestral instruments and choirs.

Miroslav Philharmonik includes more than 1,300 orchestral and choir sounds and over 7GB of sample material on 2 DVDs. It includes the full sample content of the original Miroslav Vitous Symphonic Orchestra Samples enhanced with previously unreleased sample material and addi-tional instruments recorded at high resolution by Miroslav Vitous.

About Miroslav Vitous

The life of Miroslav Vitous (Figure 1.1) has been successfully invested in musical pursuits from early childhood until present day. Bassist / guitarist / composer, Miroslav Vitous was born in Prague on Dec. 6, 1947. From an early age, his musical talent was instantly recognized and cultivated until he became the living jazz prodigy and legend that we know now. Vitous began his musical studies on violin when he was 6, followed by piano (ages 9-14) and finally bass. Revered highly in the Jazz scene of the 60s and 70s, he is best known for his work with musicians like Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Herbie Mann and Herbie Hancock. He went on to become one of the founding members of the band Weather Report and has worked with some of the greatest musicians of our time.

Not only did Miroslav Vitous have the groovy heart of the bass-playing jazz musician, but in his early years he was also touted as an Olympic freestyle swimming contender and a classically trained exceptional scholar. Originally attending school at the Prague Conservatory, Vitous won a schol-arship to the Berklee School of Music and then moved to the United States. Vitous won the scholarship as first prize in a jazz competition in Vienna in 1966. Almost immediately becoming unhappy in what he felt to be reme-dial studies at Berklee (compared to that of the high conservatory), Vitous dropped out and practiced jazz techniques eight hours daily on his own for a year. He studiously enhanced his skills playing bass, diligently perfecting his craft to a record player and a tape recorder, energetically finessing his playing ability and improvising to the music.

Chapter 1

1.1

1.2

1 - Miroslav Philharmonik Sounds Collection

Figure 1.1 - Miroslav Vitous

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Shortly after musical stints with the likes of the Bob Brookmeyer-Clark Terry quintet, Art Farmer and Freddie Hubbard, he was hired by Miles Davis to play bass. Landing a gig with Miles Davis paved the way to break his career wide open as a respected and serious jazz musician. Miroslav Vitous combined elements of his native Czechoslovakias folk music with the ever-evolving jazz canon. Vitous started playing in a recurring trio with Chick Corea and Roy Haynes on Coreas 1968 album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs. 25 years later, after many successful hit records, Miroslav Vitous went back to his classical roots and became chairman of the New England Conservatory (a highly respected classical school with a jazz department), contributing to the development of future musicians.

During a time when he was tired of playing, Miroslav Vitous expanded his classical creative vision for the benefit of all musicians. Ultimately he sought the larger musical vision of an orchestra, an environment where all of the greatest musical pieces have emotional elements embedded into them. Miroslav Vitous was able to capture this emotion when he recorded his highly acclaimed orchestral library at the Dvorak Symphony hall in Prague.

Discography:2003 Universal Syncopations2001 Infinite Search [Collectables]1992 Atmos1985 Emergence1982 Journeys End1980 Miroslav Vitous Group1979 First Meeting1978 Guardian Angels1977 Terje Rypdal - Miroslav Vitous - Jack DeJohnette1977 Majesty Music1976 Miroslav1976 Magical Shepherd1970 Purple1969 Infinite Search [Embryo]1969 Mountain in the Clouds

Also Appears On:1999 Tones for Joans Bones/Mountain in the Clouds1998 Bireli Lagrene and Special Guests1997 Woodstock Jazz Festival, Vol. 11997 Woodstock Jazz Festival, Vol. 21996 Impressions of Paris1995 The Rainbow Colored Lotus: A Big Hand for Hanshin1995 Tom McKinley/Miroslav Vitous1993 Polygram Classics & Jazz: May 931991 Star1991 The Tomato Sampler1990 Atlantic Jazz: 12 Volume Box Set

1 - Miroslav Philharmonik Sound Collections

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1989 Oceans in the Sky1984 Trio Music: Live in Europe1981 Trio Music1978 Rypdal, Vitous, DeJohnette1977 Big City1971 Works1969 Atlantic Jazz: Fusion

With Weather Report:1975 Tale Spinnin1974 Mysterious Traveller1973 Sweetnighter1972 Live in Tokyo1971 I Sing the Body Electric1971 Weather Report [1971]

And about 50 other records with many different musicians.

Awards Down Beat (U.S.A.), Swing Journal (Japan), and Jazz Forum (Europe). Musician of the Year Jazz Forum for Infinite Search album. Nominated for two Grammy awards (with Chick Corea). Every year since 1968, he has consistently been ranked in the top 3 for

Best Bass Players in the World.

The Dvork Hall

The original Miroslav Vitous recordings were done by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in the famous Dvork Hall (Figure 1.2, 1.3) in Prague. This beauti-ful hall is located inside the Rudolfinum, and also serves as the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Dvork Symphony Orchestra.

The Dvork Hall, world renowned for its elegant acoustics and exceptional quality sound, was named after the great composer Antonn Dvork (1841-1904).

Antonn Dvork excelled as a highly revered and respected Czech composer in his day because of his European tours and his time in the United States.His eloquent music embodied the Romantic period and the awakening of nationalism. His musical genius expressed itself in all genres: choral music (Stabat Mater, 1877), symphonic (The 9th New World Symphony, 1893 and 5 symphonic poems), opera (Rusalka, 1900), concertos (Concerto for Violoncello, 1895), trios, quartets and quintets and the Slav Dances (1878).

The Dvork name lends important significance to the Hall, as if it houses the true spirit of the composer. The Dvork Hall is also called The House of Artists.

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Figure 1.2 - The Dvork Hall

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There are several concert halls in the Rudolfinum, the sumptuous Dvork Hall ranking among the finest creations for 19th century Czech architec-ture.

Built between 1876 and 1884 in the neo-Renaissance style, it initially housed an art gallery and museum of decorative arts. It is an outstanding example of Czech Neo-Renaissance style. The curving balustrade is deco-rated with statues of distinguished Czech, Austrian, and German composers and artists. This superior architectural design adds a fine quality to the acoustical elements of the hall, making them far more impressive and grand when compared to that of any other concert hall. The seating capacity is a little over 1,100 seats.

From 1918 to 1939 the Dvork hall was the seat of the parliament of the first Czech Republic. Today it is one of the citys most prestigious concert halls and now the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Many of the major concerts of the Prague Spring music festival are held here. The first concert given by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra took place on January 4th 1896 and was conducted by Antonn Dvork at the Rudolfinum-Dvork Hall.

Instrument positions

For immediate acoustic realism, the string, brass and woodwind sections have been captured in the proper acoustic orchestral positions (Figure 1.4).

It's important to note that the orchestral instrument positions often vary according to the choice of the conductor. The number of instruments can vary as well but a complete symphonic orchestra generally includes thirty violins divided in two groups (first and second), around ten violas, ten cellos


Figure 1.3 - The Dvork Hall

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and from four to eight basses. The woodwinds are almost always grouped in twos, for example two flutes (with an piccolo), two oboes (with an english horn), two clarinets and two bassoons. The brass normally consists of two trumpets, from two to four horns, three trombones and a tuba. To these instruments are added classical percussions and other classical instruments according to the scoring needs.

Instrument extensions

Figure 1.5 shows the extensions of the instruments included in Miroslav Philharmonik referred to the Piano keyboard.

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Figure 1.4 - Instrument positions

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Figure 1.5 - Instrument extensions

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Chapter 2

2.1

Instrument descriptions

Instrument categories

Below is the list of instrument types included in Miroslav Philharmonik:

Woodwinds Piccolo Flute Alto Flute Bass Flute Oboe English Horn Clarinet in Bb Bass Clarinet in Bb Bassoon Contra Bassoon

Brass Trumpet Flugelhorn French Horn Tenor Trombone Bass Trombone Tuba

Percussion (Tuned) Glockenspiel Celeste Vibraphone Marimba Crotals Cowbell Tubular Bells Plate Bells Gong Timpani

Percussion (Untuned) Agogos Bass Drum Bell Bongos Castanets Chimes Cymbals Claps Metal Plates Shakers Snare Tambourine Triangle Woodstocks

2 - Instrument descriptions

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Keyed Elements Organ Piano Harpsichord

Strings Violin Viola Cello Double-Bass Harp Guitar

Choir Female Choir Male Choir

WOODWINDS

The wind section is traditionally known as woodwinds even though not all the instruments are made of wood. Philharmonik Woodwinds include Piccolo, Flute, Alto Flute, Bass Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet in Bb, Bass Clarinet in Bb, Bassoon, Contra Bassoon.

Piccolo

The Piccolo, or Octave Flute, is about the half the size of the flute, it is made of two pieces and its tuned one octave above of the flute, which gives it its characteristic brilliant sound. It is made of either metal or wood.

Flute

The western classical concert flute (or transverse flute) is a edge-tone instrument with a body shaped like a cylindrical tube with holes and keys, consisting of three pieces, and usually made of silver. In the top piece (head joint), the embouchure is where the player blows air in the tube to emit sounds. The desired sound is obtained by opening and closing the holes therefore shortening or lengthening the air column vibrating in the tube, producing different pitched sounds.

Alto Flute/Bass Flute

The bass flute and alto flute complete the transverse flute family. They produce lower pitched notes generally used in slow orchestral movements where more bodied sound can be easily heard.

Oboe

The Oboe is a double-reed instrument made of wood and has a cone-shaped tube body with an aperture toward the end. The strong characteristics of its sound make it one of the most important soloist instruments in the orches-


Piccolo

Oboe

Flute

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tra. The Oboes tone is produced by the player drawing the lips between the teeth into the mouth. The player then focuses the air through the reed at high pressure. This vibrates the reeds against each other and sets the air in motion in the body of the instrument. Different pitches are produced by changing the length of the tube, through the use of keys, and shortening or lengthening the air column vibrating in the tube.

English Horn

The English Horn is technically an alto Oboe, tuned a fifth below the Oboe. Like the Oboe it is a double reed instrument. Its sound is lower and richer than the Oboe.

Clarinet

Clarinets are single-reed instruments, most commonly tuned to Bb or A. The tone of a clarinet is usually a warm and rich sound however it can vary widely. This is one of the many reasons the instrument has a wide range of uses. The bass registry (chalumeau) has a darker sound, while the high one is bright and expressive.

Bass Clarinet

This popular clarinet variation plays like the clarinet, only an octave lower. It is usually made of blackwood. It is tuned in Bb.

Bassoon

The Bassoon is double-reed instrument, the tenor of the oboe family, with a cone shaped body generally made of rosewood or ebonite. It is very long (more than 7 feet of tubing) and it is folded in two for easier handling. It has a rich and deep sound character, especially in the bass register.

Contrabassoon

The Contrabassoon is a variation of the Bassoon. It is longer (16 feet) and tuned one octave below the bassoon. It is the bass of the Oboe family.

BRASS

Included in this family of instrumentation are the trumpet, french horn, flugel horn, trombone, and tuba. These are wind instruments made out of metal with either a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece. A vibration is pro-duced by the performers lips which sets the column of air in motion through the (usually) brass tubing and amplified by the bell. The pitch is determined by the length of the tube. Notes are produced by closing valves or moving a slide. This changes the length of the tube, shortening or lengthening the air column vibrating in the tube, producing different pitched sounds.


English Horn

Clarinet

Bass Clarinet

Bassoon

Contrabassoon

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Trumpet

The trumpet can be considered the soprano of brass. The modern trumpet has more than 4 feet of tubing wrapped into a compact shape. It has three valves and a cylindrical bore ending with a bell shaped aperture. The stan-dard orchestral trumpet, built in B-flat, has a range of about three octaves It has both a piercing, brassy sound and a soft, muted sound.

Flugelhorn

The flugelhorn is a valved bugle developed in Germany. It has a conical bore. The design pitch is typically middle C or B-flat. The flugelhorn has a mellower sound than the trumpet.

French Horn

The French Horn (often called just Horn) is a brass instrument with a long cone, spiral-shaped bore which ends with a large bell-shaped aperture. Modern French horns have three valves which lower the pitch a semitone, a tone, and three semitones (minor third) and the design pitch is generally in F. Placing the hand in the bell lowers the tone and this way of playing is called stopping. It is a very expressive instrument, capable of producing a large variety of sound.

Trombone

The modern trombone has not changed much since its invention, when it appeared in the XV centurys orchestra with the name of sackbut. It has 9 feet of tubing and a cylindrical bore. There are seven playing positions of the slide (coulisse). The slide is made from one tube tightly fitted over another. There are two kinds of trombones. The Tenor member (usually simply called Trombone) and the Bass Trombone. The trombone is the one used in orchestras unless a lower sound is needed. The tone produced is rich and mellow.

Tuba

The Tuba (or Bass Tuba), is the bass instrument of the brass, and its a metal wind instrument with a folded tube of wide, conical bore and a flared bell. It was designed to fill an urgent need in brass bands for a satisfactory bass to the valved bugle. The Tuba, has 13 feet 9 inches of tubing wrapped in the body, with four or five valves. It is usually played standing upright and it is used in the orchestra to reinforce the harmony with its a full, rich and powerful tone.

PERCUSSION (TUNED)

A percussion instrument is made of sonorous material, which produces

French Horn

Trombone

Tuba


Flugelhorn

Trumpet

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sounds of definite or indefinite pitch when shaken or struck. Percussion instruments can therefore divided into two categories: Tuned (defined pitch), Untuned (undefined pitch).

Glockenspiel

The name glockenspiel comes from the German language and means to play the bells. The glockenspiel resembles a small xylophone, but it is made of steel bars. The glockenspiel is typically played with mallets, pro-ducing a high-pitched sound that is bright and penetrating.

Celeste

A Celeste looks like a small upright piano, however it consists of a glock-enspiel-like xylophone which is struck when a key is pushed. Its tone is delicate and ethereal.

Vibraphone

Vibraphones belong to the Xylophone family which includes instruments with wood or metal bars that are played with mallets. The vibraphone has two rows of bars, arranged like piano keys with tubular resonators below each bar, with lengths varying according to the pitch of the note. Vibrations from the bars resonate as they pass through the tubes, which amplifies the sound. The range of the instrument is usually four octaves.

Marimba

The orchestral marimba is pitched an octave lower than the xylophone, with bars made of wood. It has a mellow tone.

Crotals

Bells with body entirely closed and hollow, with a metal pellet inside.

Cowbell

A thin walled iron bell mounted on a frame, without its clapper removed, used as an orchestral percussion instrument, often to mimic the dry sound of bells worn by animals.

Tubular Bells

Tubular bells are sets of tuned metal tubes made of brass with different lengths, suspended vertically from a large metal frame. The tubes are arranged similar to a piano keyboard. Each bell is struck with hammers on the top part. They are provided with dampers operated either by hand or by a pedal connected to the damping bar.

Glockenspiel

Celeste

Marimba

Vibraphone


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Plate Bells

Musical plates usually made of bronze.

Gong

The gong is a percussion instrument shaped like a disk. It is made of ham-mered metal, like bronze, and it may be made in various sizes, having either definite or indefinite pitch. Many gongs have a central dome, but some are flat. Most also have a turned-down rim. Orchestral gongs have a diameter of at least 3 feet.

Timpani

The timpani has a round head stretched over a bowl-shaped shell. The shell is made of metal, usually copper, while the head is made of animal skin or plastic. They are made in various sizes and they are usually tun-able and played in pairs. The head tension may be altered by means of a footpedal which actuates tensioning elements and it is played with mallets often doing hits, rolls and glissandi for a dramatic dynamic effect in the orchestra.

PERCUSSION (UNTUNED)

Philharmonik includes the complete set of orchestral Percussion including: Agogos, Bass Drum, Bell, Bongos, Castanets, Chimes, Cymbals, Claps, Metal Plates, Shakers, Snare, Tambourine, Triangle, Woodstocks.

KEYED ELEMENTS

Organ The traditional pipe organ consists of many pipes, each single-pitched, supplied with compressed air by mechanical bellows. Aside from the manuals, or keyboards, which can be used to produce a note, there is also a pedal board. When a key or pedal is pressed, valves are opened and the compressed air is directed into the pipe associated with the key or pedal pressed. The collection of pipes of a given type is called a register, and the organists control knob for a rank is called a stop. Pulling the stop means opening the valve to let air into that register of pipes, when the cor-responding key on the keyboard is pressed. Some of the largest organs have more than a hundred registers.

Timpani

Organ


Gong

Triangle

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Piano One of the most popular and versatile of all modern instruments is the piano. In the orchestra it is usually a soloist. Depressing a key on the piano engages a complex mechanism called the action which causes the ham-mer to strike the string, from which dampers have been lifted, producing sounds for as long as the dampers remain lifted or until the energy has dis-sipated. The grand piano has about 230 strings for the 88 keys which span the frequency range 27.5 Hz (A0) to 4186 Hz (C8). The relatively soft hammer structure, gives a dramatic attack to the tone without sounding harsh.

Harpsichord

A stringed keyboard instrument family including also Spinets and Virginals, developed during the 14th and 15th century, widely used until the early 19th century when it was superseded by the piano. The metal strings are sounded by plucking with a small piece of material called a plectrum which is attached to the key mechanism. A stroke on the key raises the plectrum on the other end so that it plucks the string.

STRINGS

A string instrument is defined as an instrument that has strings that pro-duces sound by a vibration made when rubbed by a bow, plucked, or struck. This vibrates the wooden instrument, causing the air inside to vibrate as well and act as a resonator. The pitch is determined by the length, tension and density of the string. The notes are produced by shortening the vibrat-ing length. This is done by pressing the string against the body of the neck with the finger.

Violin

The Violin is the most commonly used member of the modern string family and is the highest-sounding instrument of that group. Its four strings, tuned a 5th apart with the notes G, D, A and E, are stretched over a high arched bridge that permits the playing of one or two strings at a time, as well as the nearly simultaneous sounding of three or four as chords. The wider end of the instrument is placed between the players left shoulder and chin, while the left hand encircles its neck, the fingers stopping the strings to produce the various pitches. Sound is produced by drawing the bow across the strings to make them vibrate, or by plucking the strings (pizzicato). The violin is the most versatile and expressive stringed instrument because it has a wide range of tones.

Viola

The Viola is the alto of the violin family, and it also has the responsibility of playing the tenor part in the string quartet. Larger and heavier than the

Piano

Harpsichord

Violin


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violin, it is tuned a fifth lower and has a darker, somewhat nasal tone. The strings are tuned a fifth apart at C, G, D, A. Cello

The Cello, or Violoncello, is the second largest member of the Violin family of musical instruments. It is tuned an octave below the Viola and serves both as a melodic and bass instrument in chamber and orchestral music. The body of the cello is approximately 30 inches long and is much deeper than those of the Violin and Viola. The cellist is seated and supports the instrument between his calves, with its lower end raised off the floor by an endpin.

Double Bass

The Double Bass, also called Contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched member of the orchestral string section. The standard double bass has four strings and a range from E an octave below the bass staff, upwards for nearly three octaves, although some instruments may have five strings in order to extend the range downward. The strings are tuned a fourth apart. The performer must stand to play this instrument or use a very high stool.

Harp

The concert Harp has six and a half octaves (about 47 strings) and is approximately 6 ft high and 4 ft wide at the widest point. The notes range from three octaves below middle C to three and a half octaves above. The lowest strings are made of copper-wound nylon, the middle strings of gut, and the highest of nylon. The concert Harp uses the mechanical action of pedals to change the tuning of the strings.

Guitar

The classical Guitar is a hollow-bodied acoustic guitar with nylon strings. The six strings are tuned to E, A, D, G, B, E, a fourth apart except for the major third interval between B and G. Frets are placed to make them a semitone apart. The classical guitars top plate is generally made of cedar while rosewood is favored for the backs and sides because it is very hard and tends to contribute to a brighter sound. A round hole 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 in diameter in the top plate creates a cavity resonance which strengthens the sound produced.

CHOIR

The human voice is the oldest and most spontaneous sound source that has been used to create music. A singer generates sounds when airflow from the lungs sets the vocal cords at a regular periodic oscillation. Frequency is controlled by the tension of the vocal cords and the tone quality by the

Harp

Guitar


Double Bass

Cello

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formation of the vocal tract. The four basic categories of voices in choirs are: bass, tenor, alto and soprano.

Female Choir

Alto: the deepest female voice, a range from one octave above to one octave below low E in the treble clef.

Soprano: soprano, the highest voice, usually extending from middle C to the C two octaves higher.

Male Choir

Bass: lowest male voice. A typical bass has a range extending from around the F below the bottom of the bass clef to the E above middle C.

Tenor: the highest normal male voice; A typical tenor will have a range extending roughly from the C an octave below middle C to the A above middle C. In a mixed-gender choir, females may also sing as tenors.

Articulations

Below is a list of the articulations (various playing techniques) included in Philharmonik in alphabetical order. Sometimes they are related to a single instrument while other times they apply to more than one instrument cat-egory (i.e. Staccato is used for strings, brass and winds while Tremolo may only be for strings ). They appear in the name of the instrument fully or abbreviated (between parenthesis).

Crescendo (CRESC)Increasingly loud, a building up of volume and timbre.

Dtach (DET)Term used for strings played with separated notes.

Expressivo (EXPR)Notes played with more expression.

FlutterA rolled r tonguing used with brass and woodwinds. Glissando (GLISS)A glide up or down the pitch scale with individual notes being played and heard.

Legato (LEG)For woodwinds it means notes are played without tonguing. For Strings it means smooth, slurred notes.

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Marcato (MARC)With notes marked, accented.

MuteThe sound of the notes is reduced. Some instruments may be played with a device called a mute or sordina which not only diminishes the volume of the instrument but also changes its timbral character.

Pizzicato (PIZZ)For strings it is the plucking of the string, as opposed to bowing.

Portato (PORT)Carried note.

Spiccato (SPICC)Very short notes.

Staccato (STACC)Short and separated notes.

Sul PonteFor strings played with the bow near the bridge.

Tremolo (TREM)For strings it means a rapid up-down bowing.

Vibrato (VIBR)Notes are played with modulated pitch.


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Instrument Organization/Programming

Parent, Child and Combi presets

Miroslav Philharmonik sounds are organized into three different types of presets: Parent, Child, and Combi presets. The Parent sounds are the first displayed within the sound folder and contain the sample waveform data of the sounds as well as its basic programming. Child Presets can be saved as variations of a particular Parent sound, by changing its programming with the powerful engine parameters and effects. When a Parent sound has Child Presets linked to it a black arrow appears on its left in the browser window. By clicking on the arrow the Child presets linked to that specific parent sound are displayed in the browser and can be loaded by double clicking on them. Since Philharmonik can load up to 16 Parent/Child sounds simul-taneously, a Combi preset can be used to save any combination of them and makes it possible to produce complex multi-layer patches as well as multi-timbral set ups. Combi presets are used to load a complete Orchestra set with one click or a complex single instrument type with all its articulations and many other creative uses combining the various parts of the orchestra.

Folder organization

Here below is the folder organization of Miroslav Philharmonik sounds and an explanation of special sections that are particular to this collection (Figure 3.1).


Brass

- Ens Brass

- Solo Brass

Choirs

- Female Choirs

- Male Choirs

- Mixed Choirs. Sampled with a full choir of male and female together overlapping for the full sound of mixed male and female voices as well as an extended range across the keyboard.

- Split Choirs. Convenient ranges of male and female choirs split across the keyboard for a wider range while retaining the separate character of male and female voices.

Chapter 3

3.1

3.2

Figure 3.1

3 - Instrument Organization/Programming

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Elements

- Dyn Perf Elements. These dynamic performance sounds have velocity switching between various orchestral ensemble combinations built into the single patch. They are much larger in size than most patches but they offer a convenient instant dynamic orchestra for making orchestral Combis that use up less parts (and polyphony) to get a larger interactive orchestral sound.

- Misc Elements

- Mono Elements. Most of the sounds in Philharmonik are stereo

and many of them were also designed to be preserving their spacial positioning within a true orchestral set up. This folder has a compilation of mono versions of many of these sounds for the benefits of both flexibility in user panning as well as their ability to take up half the amount of polyphony as stereo sounds. This is ideal for adding them as layered instruments to Combis. In some ways you can also consider these to be light versions since they also take up half the amount of ram to load as their stereo version counterparts.

- Special Ranges. There were some special low and high range maps that were brought over from the original Miroslav libraries. These are convenient and useful for loading and taking up only the ram needed just for these specific ranges and they are especially useful in Combi layers with other instruments and ensembles.

- Orchestral Player Noises. Real orchestral recordings often have the sound of the players breathing, coughing, rustling and sometimes even talking (especially in between performances). We went back to the original Miroslav recording sessions and pulled out a variety of differ-ent orchestral player noises that you can add in for extra realism and fool the ear into thinking they are hearing a REAL orchestra because of the presence of these elements.

- Percussion Elements. Here youll find each individual percussion instru-ment sample on its own and mapped across the whole range of the keyboard. It is initially set to be the same root pitch across the whole range of the keyboard. This allows you to use the range functions of Philharmonik to essentially remap the sound to wherever you want it to play. This is ideal for Combis where you want to either layer certain percussion in different areas of the keyboard or perhaps make your own velocity switching up to 16 parts or other useful things. In addition to this all of the Percussion Elements have a special macro knob called Pscale which stands for pitch scaling (see 3.4) which allows them to pitched in various ways across the keyboard.


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Orchestral Sections

- Brass Wind Sections. These are mixed brass and woodwind sections with various layers of trumpets, trombones, French horns, flutes, oboes and more. The benefits of this are instant full brass and wood-wind sections that work well on their own and are also ideal to use within Combis for taking up less polyphony and CPU power to get a full orchestral sound.

- Mixed Orchestra. These are mixed full orchestra sounds with various layers of strings, brass, woodwinds and choirs in one sound. The ben-efits of this are instant orchestras that are fun to play on their own and they also work well within Combi layers for taking up less polyphony and CPU power to get a full orchestral sound.

- String Sections. These are mixed string sections with various layers of violins, violas, celli and basses in one sound. The benefits of these full string sections with different articulations are that they work well on their own and they also work well within Combi layers for taking up less polyphony and CPU power to get a full orchestral sound.

Other Instruments

- Cathedral Organ

- Classical Guitars

- Classical Harps

- Concert Grand Piano

- Harpsichord

Percussion

- Chromatic Percussion. Percussion instruments that are chromatically tuned such as various mallet instruments, bells and other.

- Full Percussion Maps. Maps of various percussion instruments spread across the keyboard in both general MIDI and other mappings. These are ideal for sequencing and having access to many different percus-sion instruments at once.

- Percussion Menu Maps. These maps are for individual articulations of one percussion instrument type. They are mapped chromatically start-ing from C3 and offer a menu of the various individual samples of that instrument. Each note in the map is set to its same root pitch and the pitch does not track chromatically.


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Miroslav Strings

- Ens Strings

- Solo Strings

Miroslav Woodwinds

- Ens Woodwinds

- Solo Woodwinds

Child presets

Child presets use standard prefixes that describe particular sound program-ming and give information about the instrument character and how to use it. Below a list of the suffixes used in Philharmonik.

AMV Aftertouch/Modwheel/Velocity, these are deluxe child presets designed to be the most responsive to these three controllers. Modwheel controls the volume swell with the full playing level being when the modwheel is all the way up. Aftertouch is set to Push the volume and brightness of the sound according to the pressure of your fingers on the keyboard (if your midi keyboard has aftertouch capability) and finally the velocity is set to vary the speed of the attack (VSpeed) as well as the start point of the sample (VStart) to allow for more animation of the expressiveness of the instrument or ensemble.

BC1 Breath Control, for brass and woodwinds these patches are designed to instantly respond to a breath controller affecting the volume dynamics in real time if your midi keyboard or wind con-troller has this option.

BC2 Breath Control, for brass and woodwinds these patches are designed to instantly respond to a breath controller affecting the volume dynamics as well as the brightness tone in real time if your midi keyboard or wind controller has this option.

EXPD Expression Pedal, variation of the attack as well as a direct set up for external expression pedal (CC#11) set to control the volume swell (Macro A).

RNG Range Optimized, an alternate version of the parent sound with just the upper and/or lower zones optimized using the Stretch engine to enhance the sounds playable range.

3.3


33


STCH Stretch, an alternate version of the sound using the STRETCH engine on all zones to allow advanced independent control of the sounds pitch, tempo and harmonics. In these patches the mod-wheel is often pre-assigned to adjust the tempo or speed of the sample playback.

SLW Slow, a version of the sound with a slower attack time and slightly longer release. In these patches the modwheel is assigned to vary the speed of the attack in subtle adjustments.

FST Fast, a version of the sound with a faster attach time and slighter shorter release.

THT Tight, all samples are set to end shorter then the parent with a tighter sync in decay and/or release via envelope programming. This is often used for detache, portato and staccato sounds where the players may naturally have played with subtle changes in duration and this type of patch offers an alternative tigher ver-sion. Both can be useful. In these patches the modwheel is often set to vary the degree of tightness in the release of the sound.

LNG Long, slow attack and long release which can be great for a washy atmospheric sound with lush ensembles. In these types of patches the modwheel is assigned to control the release length.

DRK Dark, a version of the sound that is darker via the use of on board EQ or filter. In these types of patches the modwheel is often assigned to adjust various levels of darkness in the timbre.

BRT Bright, a version of the sound that is brighter via the use of on board EQ or filter. In these types of patches the modwheel is often assigned to adjust various levels of brightness in the timbre.

CRS1 Crescendo 1, a crescendo and swell with a slow attack and decay fade to a lower sustaining level. In these types of patches the modwheel is often set up to adjust the decay time of the crescendo envelope.

CRS2 Crescendo 2, a cressendo that either has a building attack to a high peak sustain level or other crescendo variations. In these types of patches the modwheel is often set up to adjust the speed of the crescendos build-up or other.


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Macro descriptions

Macros are used in Philharmonik to give instant access to custom sound-shaping performance controls, pre-defined by Sonic Reality, the sound designer of these sounds. These allow the user to modify the sound in real-time through the simultaneous activation of several parameters within the powerful IK sound engine.

Swell Swell, volume expression with a smooth control of the level of the sound ideal for creating interactive swells and other time-based volume performances via a MIDI controller such as expression pedal or modwheel. The default is set to 120 with 0 being the quietest and 127 being the loudest. Default MIDI CC is 12 although in some combis it is also set to respond to CC#11 which is expression pedal.

VSpeed Variable Speed, this controls the velocity to attack amount of the amp envelope. This allows a range of slower to faster attack to be controlled by the velocity. It also works relative to the attack setting of envelope 1 so that the more you increase the attack of envelope 1 the slower it is at the lowest velocities. Increasing the VSpeed makes the attack faster at the higher velocities. Since real orchestra instruments have variation of the speed of each attack, this parameter can be used for more variation in the performance expression of the sound and youll find it used often in EXP child presets as well as in peformance combis. The default of this macro is 0 in the parent sound which is off with the range up to 127 being the highest. Default MIDI CC is 13 although in some combis such as the articulation control switches it is also controllled by Modwheel.

ATPush Aftertouch Push, with real orchestral instruments a player can use more force and get a louder sound and often brighter timbre as well. By turning up this macro this can be simulated using a keyboards aftertouch control (if the keyboard controller has aftertouch which not all keyboards do, check your keyboards user manual for details). So, when it is turned up the sound becomes initially slightly darker and can be made to be brighter and louder in your performance using your keyboards after-touch or pressure on the keys as you play. The default is set to 0 which is no effect and from the ranges 1-127 with 127 being the highest you can increase the amount of afterouch to filter and amplitude. Default MIDI CC is 14.

VStart Velocity to Start Point, turning up this macro allows the sound

to start at a different point within the sample and it gradually plays closer to the true beginning of the sound the harder your velocity. This can be great for timbral variety in the attack of the sound since with orchestral and choir sounds there is often a lot

3.4


35


of sonic variation at the beginning of the sample. Most of the sounds in Philharmonik with the exception of the percussion, piano and some other sharp attack instruments have settings with the necessary compensations for VStart to be used on its own without hearing clicks on attacks that could happen due to playing at various start points. However, if you are experiment-ing with VStart settings and you hear unwanted clicks on the attack then you can avoid them by adjusting the VSpeed and/or Attack of envelope 1 parameters for a smooth taper of the beginning of the sound. The default setting is 0 which is off with ranges from 1-127 and 127 being the highest for increasing the velocity to sample start amount. Default MIDI CC is 15

Pitch Pitch, this macro is for real time control of the pitch via a MIDI controller. This is often used for percussion instruments to be able to use the pitch in a different way than the pitch bender which is often spring loaded. Using a modwheel or expression pedal you can simulate the pitch pedal of timpani and other sounds. Default setting is 64 which is normal pitch and going from 64 to 0 goes down one octave and from 65 to 127 goes up one ovtave. Default MIDI CC is 14.

PScale Pitch Scale, this macro is usually used for sound such as percus-sion elements and other material that is meant for layering in combi performance patches. It allows for the sound to be set to trigger the same root pitch on all of the keys when it is at its default of 64 to a full chromatically tuned version across the keyboard when set to 127. When set to zero it does a reverse tuning where higher notes get lower going up the keyboard. The settings in between 0 and 64 and between 64 and 127 offer in between pitch scaling which can be useful for special effects or more subtle pitch variance from key to key. Default MIDI CC is 14.

This is useful for having multiple pitches in a variety of degrees and directions for example on percussion instruments. This way you can play a percussion instrument now as a tuned chromatic instrument such as the case with bells or timpani. Other times you can just use as a layer in a Combi with flexibile polyphony settings when triggering from multiple keys (tip: when used in a Combi layer at 64 which is root pitch across the keys you may want to set the polyphony to 1 so that a chord does not trigger the same pitched sample multiple times which would sound odd or phased. Sometimes even just turning the PScale knob up a little bit can avoid this if you want a polyphony setting higher than one and want to have a bigger sound with multiple percussion playing at once).


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Combis

Combi descriptions

The Combis included in Philharmonik are organized the following way:

- Advanced Ensembles- Multi Setups- Dynamic Layers- Orchestral Splits

- Advanced Ensembles. These are multi-layered Combis that have various key range, velocity, aftertouch and other controllers interacting with dif-ferent orchestral instruments and textural parts. They are designed to be inspirational as instant orchestras for live performance or composition. Try playing them at different velocities and adjusting the modwheel and/or pressure on your keyboard for a variety of different timbres and dynam-ics that can make you feel like you are the conductor of a live symphony!

- Multi Setups. This section includes COMBIs that have a variety of differ-ent performance articulations such as staccato, pizzicato, tremolo etc. for more diversity and realism in midi performance. Each performance articu-lation is assigned to a different Part, so using these different performance articulations is as simple as switching to another midi channel in your sequencer. This is the easiest way to access multiple types of articulations from a single instrument type in a MIDI performance.

They are some of the more advanced types of patches in Philharmonik and require more CPU power to run. The reason it takes up more CPU power is because each COMBI makes up the performance variations of a single instrument. So if you wanted to use these multi-setups for all your orches-tral sections, it would take multiple instances of Miroslav Philharmonik if you did not first bounce each COMBI to audio before loading the next. They are ideal for bouncing to audio tracks within your host sequencer which would make it possible to use multiple patches of this type within one piece of music without as much added strain on the CPU.

The user is able to play up to 8 different articulations, depending on what the Combi has loaded from that instrument category. The following is a list of common articulation types that can be found in the slots of part 1-8. Philharmonik Multi Setups:

- Part 1 Regular or Legato- Part 2 Staccato- Part 3 Short (2nd Staccato, short Dtach or Portato, Pizzicato...)- Part 4 Medium (Dtach, Portato, Fast Legato...)- Part 5 Complex (Tremolo, Flutter, Trill...)

Chapter 4

4.1

4 - Combis

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- Part 6 Alternate Timbre or Dynamic (Mute, Soft, Harmonics, Sul Ponte...)- Part 7 Misc. performance articulation- Part 8 Misc. performance articulation

- Dynamic Layers. These are layers that take advantage of Philharmoniks Combi velocity range features which allow multiple parts to be set to play at designated dynamics. They offer easy and flexible control of the timbre and volume of soft to loud or other variations of the sounds in Philharmonik via midi velocity.

- Orchestral Splits. These are Combis that take advantage of Philharmoniks fast and easy way of setting ranges of layered instruments so they can be split across the keyboard. This allows two or more sounds to be played simultanously from different areas of your keyboard or other midi con-troller which opens up more potential for seemless combination of two different instrument or performance articulation types.

4 - Combis

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Keywords

Keyword descriptions

All Philharmonik instruments have a set of hidden keywords which can be used to locate any instrument directly.

Each Philharmonik sounds can contain to up to 32 hidden keywords which have been incorporated by the sound-designers.

Examples of searchable keywords:

Acoustic, Agogo, Altoflute, Arpeggio, Bass, Bassclarinet, Bassdrum, Basses, Bassflute, Bassons, Bassoon, Basstrombone, Bell, Bellplay, Bells, Belltree, Bongos, Brass, Castanets, Cathedral, Celeste, Cello, Cellos, Chimes, Choir, Claps, Clarinet, Clarinets, Classical, ClassicalGuitar, Congas, Contrabassoon, Cowbell, Crescendo, Crotals, Cymbals, Detache, Drums, Englishhorn, Expressivo, Fastbow, Femalechoir, Flugelhorn, Flute, Flutes, Flutter, Frenchhorn, Frenchhorns, Full, Gliss, Glockenspiel, Gong, Grandpiano, Guiro, Harp, Harpsichord, Horn, Legato, Long, Malechoir, Marimba, Metalplates, Miroslav, Mute, Noises, NoVibrato, Oboe, Oboes, Orchestra, Orchestral, Orchestralperc, Perckit, Percussion, Piccolo, PipeOrgan, Pizzicato, Portato, Rolls, Shaker, Shakers, Short, Slow, Snare, Spiccato, Staccato, Stoneplay, Strings, SulPonte, Sulponticello, Tambourine, Timpani, Tremolo, Triangle, Trombone, Trombones, Trumpet, Trumpets, Tuba, Tubularbells, Vibraphone, Vibrato, Viola, Violas, Violin, Violins, Woodblocks, Woodwinds.

Chapter 5

5.1

5 - Keywords

40


5 - Keywords

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Chapter 6 Credits

Miroslav Philharmonik created by IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality.

Original data from Miroslav Vitous Symphonic Orchestra Samples collection.

Philharmonik sound programming by:

Dan DashnawDavid KerznerMark HinebrookDavide BarbiDustin (Lupus SM) CrismanJeff (Zamplebot) BrownAlex DingleyJimmy BlankenshipTone CurlIvan LandronRobert Mirabelle

Thanks to:

Miroslav Vitous and the many musicians and engineers who have made the product so great.

The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and MUSA Ltd. for the photos of the Dvork Symphony Hall.

Garth Hjelte for help with translations.

Miroslav name used under license from Universal Syncopation Ltd. Photos courtesy of Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and MUSA Ltd.

Philharmonik is a trademark property of IK Multimedia Production.Miroslav name used under license from Universal Sincopation Ltd.All other trademarks property of their respective owners.www.philharmonik.com

IK Multimedia Production, via dellindustria 46, 41100, Modena, Italy.Phone: +39-059-285496, Fax: +39-059-2861671 IK Multimedia US LLC, 1153 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy. Sunrise, FL 33323Phone: (954) 846-9101, Fax: (954) 846-9077, Tech Support Phone: (954) 846-9866 www.ikmultimedia.com

6 - Credits

IK Multimedia. Musicians First. www.ikmultimedia.com

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Miroslav Philharmonik Sounds Manual

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Transcript of Miroslav Philharmonik Sounds Manual