The Guide to Midi Orchestration

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of Midi orchestration
Review: As a folk musician who was overtly sceptical of anything that did not involve actual hands-on performance this book has transformed my views on midi orchestration after being persuaded to give it a go. The masterful explanation of techniques combined with the lucidity and clarity of the author's vision on arrangements and range of fascinating interviews make this the absolute must read for novice and master alike.

Rating:
Summary: What we've been looking for
Review: Gilreath's book has been a life-saver for me. Anyone who is writing for samples and electronic/computer emulations must have this book. It is a comprehensive guide to achieving the maximum realism for orchestrations written in the MIDI environment. I'm a composer for documentaries and games and I do a ton of emulative work. Gilreath's book has helped me tremendously. I can't recommend it enough.

Rating:
Summary: Worth sifting through
Review: I'm new to both orchestration and MIDI, and I did find this book helpful. Gilreath describes the practical limitations and strengths of acoustic instruments (i.e., range, timbre, articulation, etc.), and provides guidelines to help you mimic those characteristics in your MIDI compositions. I feel that the reviews of sample libraries were helpful, because many of the libraries mentioned (Miroslav and Siedlaczek in particular) are still widely used today. There wasn't a lot of "meat" with respect to the MIDI standard itself, but that wasn't the aim of the book. The focus was on MIDI orchestration, and in that, I feel the book succeeds reasonably well. If this book ever gets expanded and reprinted, a CD with lots of examples of the techniques and concepts Gilreath covers in the text would be extremely helpful. This is a book about music, after all.

Rating:
Summary: Worth sifting through
Review: I'm new to both orchestration and MIDI, and I did find this book helpful. Gilreath describes the practical limitations and strengths of acoustic instruments (i.e., range, timbre, articulation, etc.), and provides guidelines to help you mimic those characteristics in your MIDI compositions. I feel that the reviews of sample libraries were helpful, because many of the libraries mentioned (Miroslav and Siedlaczek in particular) are still widely used today. There wasn't a lot of "meat" with respect to the MIDI standard itself, but that wasn't the aim of the book. The focus was on MIDI orchestration, and in that, I feel the book succeeds reasonably well. If this book ever gets expanded and reprinted, a CD with lots of examples of the techniques and concepts Gilreath covers in the text would be extremely helpful. This is a book about music, after all.

Rating:
Summary: The information is there, but ...
Review: People who are using electronic instruments to emulate orchestras should read this book, since it has a lot of information. But be warned that the writing is inept, there are misspellings, nonstandard capitalization and punctuation, and just plain wrong words. Any editor could have fixed these problems, but the book is apparently a one-person effort.

Rating:
Summary: The information is there, but ...
Review: People who are using electronic instruments to emulate orchestras should read this book, since it has a lot of information. But be warned that the writing is inept, there are misspellings, nonstandard capitalization and punctuation, and just plain wrong words. Any editor could have fixed these problems, but the book is apparently a one-person effort.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I thought it would be
Review: The world of MIDI orchestration is new to me, so I thought a book that was titled "The Guide to MIDI Orchestration" would give me a comprehensive approach to the subject. But, there was little of the absolute basics - like "hook your keyboard to x and you will get y," or "Your notation/sequencer program works by folding tab a into slot b," etc. There was a cursory discussion of orchestration, but many other books cover that more competently, plenty of text was dedicated to orchestral sample libraries (always a risk when discussing a field which relies on technology which becomes obsolete so frequently), and even a bizarre section that was devoted to interviews, but altogether of little help to a rank beginner like me. So, I can't really recommend this book to someone who knows nothing about how to get into MIDI orchestration. And, if you already know what you are doing then you won't want or need this book anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I thought it would be
Review: The world of MIDI orchestration is new to me, so I thought a book that was titled "The Guide to MIDI Orchestration" would give me a comprehensive approach to the subject. But, there was little of the absolute basics - like "hook your keyboard to x and you will get y," or "Your notation/sequencer program works by folding tab a into slot b," etc. There was a cursory discussion of orchestration, but many other books cover that more competently, plenty of text was dedicated to orchestral sample libraries (always a risk when discussing a field which relies on technology which becomes obsolete so frequently), and even a bizarre section that was devoted to interviews, but altogether of little help to a rank beginner like me. So, I can't really recommend this book to someone who knows nothing about how to get into MIDI orchestration. And, if you already know what you are doing then you won't want or need this book anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I thought it would be
Review: The world of MIDI orchestration is new to me, so I thought a book that was titled "The Guide to MIDI Orchestration" would give me a comprehensive approach to the subject. But, there was little of the absolute basics - like "hook your keyboard to x and you will get y," or "Your notation/sequencer program works by folding tab a into slot b," etc. There was a cursory discussion of orchestration, but many other books cover that more competently, plenty of text was dedicated to orchestral sample libraries (always a risk when discussing a field which relies on technology which becomes obsolete so frequently), and even a bizarre section that was devoted to interviews, but altogether of little help to a rank beginner like me. So, I can't really recommend this book to someone who knows nothing about how to get into MIDI orchestration. And, if you already know what you are doing then you won't want or need this book anyway.

Rating:
Summary: MIDI Orchestration - Made REALLY Simple
Review: This book is a _must buy_ for all MIDI home studio junkies. If you've never been able to make an orchestral piece sound "just right," this book will point you in the right direction. The book covers all of the instruments in an orchestra, how to tweak the samples for maximum realism, and finally how to arrange them into a cohesive piece. Includes great advice on composition and sample libraries. Even those with minimal MIDI sequencing experience will find this an invaluable resource.