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hi i am confused about how to play logic midi files and audio files in a live situation, how to do it well and not make it look like i am playing along to c.d. i a karaoke style. i dont know how you can play and stay in time etc. can you use a sampler?

thanks alex

Hi again,

Before I posted the above message I had written out a lovely essay length question, as I went to post it I see the message: 'posting failed' or the like and on trying to go back realized my whole post had disappeared. I then wrote the above in a frustrated state so I will now add some more info…..

I am a singer/songwriter – boring I know. I have written a handful of songs over the summer and have recently started to gig. However, the majority of these first gigs seem to be small venues where everybody is doing the same singer/songwriter thing.

I want to be a bit more interesting and having already recorded my tracks with accompanying audio and midi files on logic pro 7. I think it could be useful to add these over the top to spice up my sets.

I was hoping someone interested in electronic music in a live situation could tell me some good avenues to explore in order to create a tight live sound.

What are the standard ways to achieve this?
Are samplers a good idea?
Or shall I use my laptop live?
Or maybe some kind of pedal?
Or keyboard with a built in ……………?????

Thank you for any information at all,

I am just a confused rookie


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Use a MIDI controller keyboard, program the bulk of the arrangement to playback from Logic, and reserve a substantial part for you to play live on the MIDI controller through a softsynth or something.

Last live electronic show I did, it was a two man gig, and it was chaos. We used some of the stuff he and I composed as musical beds and we improvised over top with synths, guitars, and other instruments. We had a blast, and the audience seemed to dig it, even if they weren't quite sure what the hell was going on...

thanks so much mate, i'll have a look at those things, any recommendations, what kind to use? are there any videos of your gig?

cheers

Does anybody else know anything that could be of use?

The most egonomic way to do it is to keep all additional(recorded) music within the computer on their own tracks.. audio AND midi. The more external sound sources, the harder it is to transport, wire up and control.

Logic has great internal midi instruments. Depending on how diverse the requirements are, you have complete drum sets, pianos, strings, horns, and a bunch more instruments just sitting there inside Logic.

How you set them up is your choice. As mentioned, a controller is a great way to record midi instrument tracks. A midi equiped guitar is another. Once the tracks are inside the computer, a simple interface with L/R analog outputs is all you need to get the sounds out to the PA system. The same interface should allow you to record audio tracks(background vocals, guitars, etc.) into the computer on their own tracks.

The tradeoff is that you need a computer with a relatively powerful CPU and a lot of internal memory(RAM). Shouldn't be a problem with what's available today. In it's simplest form, a laptop and a small interface should be all you'll need.

Best, Paul