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StaffPad
New Version 1.3 updates with some reported issues/suggestions like Dark Mode, multi-track MIDI import fixes and more -
https://www.mobilemusic.us/articles/ios/239-staffpad
Issues reported -
https://www.mobilemusic.us/articles/ios/191-staffpad-review-and-issues
Comments
The CineSamples IA Libararies are on 50% sale again:
CineBrass $49.99
CinePercussion $49.99
CineStrings $49.99
Tina Guo Cello $19.99
CinePiano $34.99
CineStrings Solo $34.99
Taylor Davis Violin $19.99
VOXOS Epic Choir $49.99
I own the VOXOS Choir, Solo Strings and the Tina Guo Cello. I've heard good things about the Brass and Percussion.
Brass and Percussion are indeed good! I picked up the woodwinds despite already having the Berlin as it comes with a Bass flute and I'm trying to build a mini flute choir so the more variation the better.
I find the cine brass a bit fuller compared to Berlin brass but my comparisons have been limited
I gave the choir a workout test to see what's possible with syllables.
There are 8 "instruments" selectable to add to a composition (you can multiples and
any instrument can play polyphony/chords).
Only the FULL CHORUS can articulate the syllables. I played:
https://forum.audiob.us/uploads/editor/1l/bmliwtfw4k7u.png
@McD looking forward to hearing some of these in a musical context. I seem to recall also that the solo soprano and solo boy support legato phrasing which sets them apart from the others.
I tried a short experiment making a choir backing track for some ambient space movie
music... I imported it into AUM and added immense reverbs and some Roli Noise presets:
@McD very ethereal sound, I can imagine that poor choir floating around in space, forever. I used to play World Of Warcraft many years ago and this is the sort of thing they would use for background ambience in large cathedral type places in the game,
On the Apple iPad Pro announcement video David William Hearn, Director of StaffPad, is quoted saying:
I need to see that. Getting past the pencil will really speed things up for a lot of keyboard players. And if a piano can be the input so should a lot of music apps, right? Time will tell
as musicians get their hands on the new iPad Pro and an updated version of StaffPad.
Hopefully that is a new Apple API that is not just for the newest hardware. I wonder if they cannibalised some of the code from the musical memos app that got discontinued. If they turned that into an API for devs to use then that would be good news. I pray that I do not need to buy a third iPad in a little over 12 months to use this new feature in StaffPad...
I saw this ⬆️. It was a big reason I didn’t keep staffpad, because you couldn’t play in parts with a midi controller. Now I might have to check it out again.
The impressive part of this was that it wasn’t a MIDI controller. It was a piano. A proper, acoustic, non-Midi piano and transcription was real time.
Wow, I did not notice that. I just assumed it was a MIDI keyboard.
Staffpad NEWS:
Staffpad has merged with the "Muse Group" and announced that an upcoming version will
add audio tracks (i.e. import audio stems into a Staffpad score and NOT record audio). This will be very useful for import the audio track of a video and then composing music that matches the essential events in the audio. It's also helpful for adding drum tracks, etc.
At the M1 iPad announcement, Staffpad was shown rendering audio input directly into musical notation... it's expected this will require an M1 Model to support this feature according to an announcement by the Muse Group director that was later recalled for providing to much future information. That's a good practice because some software gets pulled pack or the supported platforms amended when the updated product finally ships.
The potential for StaffPad code to render Musescore apps is an intriguing idea. I think Musescore does a better job rendering MIDI into notation than Staffpad does.
What's important to me is seeing the product have a strong financial footing for additional
updates and enhancements. I have purchased a lot of additional Libraries from the Cinesamples folks while they extended a 50% off sale. I like their products and their lower
pricing a lot.
Thanks for the update @McD. Will be interesting to see where they take it and whether we might get some more IAP sounds in the future. I know they were working on one a while back (some big band thing?).
@McD exciting news! Except the part about a new iPad. Maybe I can wait a couple more years
There was some chatter about a port of "OrchestraTools 'Glory Days' Library" to Staffpad in August of 2020. We'll probably hit the anniversary of the comments before we see an actual product :^(
I'd love to have that. I tried to do a funk horn section with the horns I own and it's was just awful. Orchestral players tend to use a very light attack. Funk players will start and stop a note in a 32nd note... like staccato 16th's which by definition are 32nd on and 32nd off.
There's not way to get that out of Staffpad with orchestral brass so a Big Band library might help. A funk horn section using Jerry Hey's line up would be totally amazing.
Better to write funk horn sections using a MIDI app and synth brass that allow you to control
an ADSR envelope and really punch up the articulations is the only way on iPad/iPhone to
do the James Brown like funk. Tower of Power might require a great library since they hit the start and like to do sudden motto voce and swell up to "mf". That would need a library with an articulation for that style and maybe some automation effort.
Still, for orchestral/cinematic film music on iPad nothing touches StaffPad. Even the default library that you get for the cost of the product can deliver a reasonable score for fake film music... "fake": meaning a passable copy of a real and often very expensive thing. Like an $80 engagement ring:
https://forum.audiob.us/uploads/editor/xp/0qyxyu9d4uix.png
Staffpad also looks good without a jeweler's loupe to check for the small imperfections.
This is my most recent effort... my kids think I'm pretty cool:
"Annie Smart" digs it too. I suspect most SoundCloud commenters are bots but in this case:
Annie Smart is "A female composer, singer, musician, pianist, piano teacher, choir leader (Heart of Scotland choir), song writer living in Bonnie Scotland! I have grade 8 piano with distinction and an LTCL piano diploma."
No shirt... no shoes... no service. I am humbled by her CV. I have a BM... a Bachelor's of Music (with a specialization in Education). But getting a certified "BM" out in 4 years is really pushing it, right? Of course it was a "State School" so it's pretty low rent compared to Randy Newman's education at UCLA where he studied music but dropped out one semester shy of a B.A. Slacker.
I'll bet his three uncles who were Hollywood film-score composers: Alfred Newman, Lionel Newman and Emil Newman knew he was ready to work and that the degree doesn't matter that much compared to the results you can get from an orchestra on a soundstage or in the studio with the bets players in LA.
@McD thanks for bringing this back to our attention. Deserves way more than 6 listens. This is evocative and atmospheric.
The trick is to find a cool chord progression and work through assigning the parts. I'll bet
one of the Chord apps that outputs MIDI would be a great way to start something.
In this case, I focused on the C minor to Ab Major 7 progression that is core to the "Downton
Abbey" theme. There's bunch of very evocative film progressions pioneered by the masters like Bernard Hermann... C minor to Eb minor is a great one. Chord that differ by a 3rd up or down and break the "scale" of the first chord.
What I love about StaffPad is not having to figure out the transposition that I had to do in college with Bb trumpets and Eb Alto sax and such. It was a maze of key signatures and hand copying of parts only to get a small ensemble to play a composition once and never even get a recording since that would cost you dearly.
Now I can hack out something and upload the finished results to SoundCloud in a few hours.
Good times for college composers and probably middle schoolers too if there's a budding Mozart out there with an iPad and generous Grandparent dropping iTunes cards into the birthday cards.
Teenager scores horror movie music for his cousin that wrote, directed and starred in iPhone made film. The Orson Welles version of Bille Eilish and Finneas. An Award winning film made before dropping out of high school with a GED.
Enjoyed that @McD ! Good sounds coming out of the Voxos, you have inspired me with the use of the soprano as a lead instrument there.
I started my library splurge with their "Tina Guo Cello" and followed with the "Cinesamples Solo Strings" to get a decent violin but also getting another cello a viola and bass. The pizzicato bass turned out to be good for slow jazz genres.
Cinesamples VOXOS Choir at 50% off was my second ticket purchase. It's so good that when I got a big iTunes budget from a birthday I added their CinePerc (150 instruments) and CineBrass libraries at 50% off and the "Ann Davis Violin" (which has too much vibrato for my tastes but is very good at portamentos).
The Choir going "Ha ha ha ha" is something I'll probably go back and fix. I can just copy those notes to another instrument for the rhythm without the unintended weirdness.
That soprano soloist was a complete surprise. I love that there's no add vibrato... just a very pure tone.
The other library vendors Orchestral Tools and Spitfire have yet to offer any sales but Cinesamples has offered 3 sales events in a year.
@McD thanks for this justification of my purchases. The forum at its finest.
I think I followed you and what was on sale. I have an aversion to $99 products that never offer a discount.
Solidarity.
I’ve almost completed the Berlin series. Two more packs to go (won’t be picking up the pianos/ harps)
You are edging me on... I need a new M1 iPad first.
Looks like everything is discounted at the moment, including the Spitfires and Berlins.
Guitars are free!
StaffPad app is discounted for $59.99
From browsing through the forum, it seems that Staffpad is a rather brilliant app and also, at least in ios terms, a huge money sink.
Could you guys confirm or refute this? For an easy test, is there anyone here who did NOT spend at least as much on adding more stuff to Staffpad later than on the app itself? Thanks much.
So, will it notate midi from a keyboard controller? Or not?
It can be a money sink but the basic sounds without any IAP are better than a lot of the other options on iOS and I am told this is very cheap versus the equivalents on desktop. When you look at what you get included versus the sale price then it is a no-brainer for me, considering what you would spend on individual iOS apps to make those noises.
You do need a pencil and the note entry can be frustrating. People should not discount it out of hand or be put off if they think that notation == hard. If you can get your head around programming a step sequencer or piano roll using 1/nth notes then basic notation is just a different way of expressing that.