cphollis Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Forgive me if this is already well-known to our forum members, but it was a revelation for me. I have been on the lookout for a realistic solo horn sound, and found it a while back on iOS with the SWAM Trumpet. What I was lacking was a good XYZ touchpad midi controller to manage expression, vibrato and flutter/growl. I came across this video showing how to turn your iPhone 8+ into a great XYZ midi controller. Basically, you load one piece of free software on your iPhone ("miditure") and a second bit of free software on iPhone and iPad to establish a bluetooth link ("midimittr"). Takes a few moments to set CC codes and channels, and then you're good to go! [video:youtube] (search for "How to send iPhone MIDI MPE to iPad" if link isn't working) I've been woodshedding with it for the last few days, and I'm now at the point where I can do realistic-enough solos that would fool many people. It took me a while to coordinate the proper RH technique and LH controller. Harder than a pitch wheel, but doable. The z-axis (pressure) mapped to expression is wonderful. I didn't want to spend money on a XYZ-capable hardware controller without making sure I'd put it to good use. Of course, this iPhone controller can be used with other software instruments. Side note: keep an eye on the SWAM instruments. The horns are here today on iOS, the solo woodwinds are coming over soon from MacOS, and then the solo strings. I did figure out how to run multiple instances of SWAM to come up with a passable horn section. Quote Want to make your band better? Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Now, that is news to me, and really cool. Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AROIOS Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Very cool trick, thanks for sharing it, cphollis. The video title is bit confusing. What he demonstrated is monophonic expression. The "P" in MPE refers to doing what he did on multiple notes simultaneously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphollis Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 Very cool trick, thanks for sharing it, cphollis. The video title is bit confusing. What he demonstrated is monophonic expression. The "P" in MPE refers to doing what he did on multiple notes simultaneously. You're absolutely right. Better to describe it as a configurable X/Y/Z midi controller or similar. Quote Want to make your band better? Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Can this technique be utilized to drive an OSX application from an Iphone as midi controller? It would be nice to be able to add virtual sliders or an xy pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphollis Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 Can this technique be utilized to drive an OSX application from an Iphone as midi controller? It would be nice to be able to add virtual sliders or an xy pad. It appears so Quote Want to make your band better? Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 I have some frustrations about the small quibbles that keep iOS from fulfilling all my musical needs, but it's truly breathtaking what the platform is capable of as a music performance tool. Production is one thing, and I think desktop OS still has the leg up in many ways, but the iPhone and iPad can really serve as instruments with a little bit of time, practice, and creativity. Anything to remember that this is a fun time to be alive... Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Mike Metlay Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 I use midimttr a lot, but miditure was a new find for me. Thanxmuchly! Quote Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1 clicky!: more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my book ~ my music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.