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Hello, I have some doubts about how to translate some instruments, could you give me an explanation of what they are? Because sometimes a single word does not work for me. Thank you
Program (MSB LSB)
5 (121, 2) Electric Piano 1 (velocity mix) -> what does mix mean? is it like mixing colors?
7 (121, 1) Harpsichord (octave mix) -> what does mix mean?
7 (121, 3) Harpsichord (with key off) -> What does key off mean? According to wikipedia it is to drop how to drop a box, but it can also be out of tune.
27(121, 1)Electric Guitar (pedal steel) -> do you mean that the pedal is steel?, because wikipedia says that it is steel with a pedal (which doesn't make sense to me)
29(121, 1)Electric Guitar (funky cutting) -> shaky or scared? 🙂
29(121, 3)Electric Guitar (muted velo-sw) ->deaf with speed change?
29(121, 0)Electric Guitar (muted) -> what does muted mean?
30(121, 1)Guitar Pinch -> This appears on wikipedia as pinch which in Spanish is defined as: Twist by squeezing with the thumb and another finger, usually the index, a small amount of skin and meat. Is it really called that?
63(121, 3)Jump Brass -> Is it brass or metals?, in this case use brass as metals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrYqZLQOn0c , and JUMP?
85(121, 0)Lead X -> Wikipedia translates this as "Solo", It's right?
85(121, 1)Lead X (wire lead) -> I can't think of a better translation than just wire, or lead wire (lead as the chemical element)?
Posted : 21/06/2023 5:31 am
Carlos,
Some of these will not translate, rather the translation will make even less sense than the enlgish name. Someone has created a sound, and the sound has become well known and has been included in the GM sounds. The name given means very little, other than to distinguish the sound from other sounds. Musicians are more likely to be familiar with the english name anyway.
Regarding the Pedal Steel Guitar, this is a specific instrument (popular in the US esp re Country & Western music). If you use google to look up 'pedal steel guitar' you will find a lot of info regarding the instrument, which is like a gutar but played flat on it's back on a table, or a stand, or even on the player's lap. There can be pedals, as per a piano, to modify the sounds. The 'steel' bit comes from a steel rod which is moved over the strings as they are plucked. The wiki page includes samples of the sounds.
The references to 'lead' are as per 'I lead, you follow'. Your reference to 'solo' is close. A lead instrument would usually be a higher quality sound for use playing individual notes, i.e. the melody, rather than chords for accompaniment. So a 'lead' guitar sound could be (must be ?) a better sound quality than a standard guitar sound for just strumming chords. Ditte re keyboard/Synth sounds.
The reference to 'Brass' refers to Brass instruments, horns, trumpets, etc, and the 'Jump' bit will be some sort of reference to the general structure of the sound, maybe a sudden start to the envelope?
Not sure about the harpsichord ones, but (in general terms) a piano usually has two strings for each note, and they are tuned the same. The hammer hits both. There is a damper pedal to mute the sound if required. I think the harpsichord uses more strings, and they are not necessarity tuned the same, so there's a much more ringing sound. The 'octave' mix preb means that the indiv strings could cover an octave (more than usual). The harpischord usually needs the ringing sound, so maybe a damper is NOT usual but GM2 gives you an option WITH a damper?
I'd suggest you try to talk to a musician in your own country, whi may be able to suggest what names might benefit fro a translation, and which ones do not need it?
Geoff
Posted : 21/06/2023 12:08 pm
Topic starter
[quotePost id=18897]I'd suggest you try to talk to a musician in your own country, whi may be able to suggest what names might benefit fro a translation, and which ones do not need it?[/quotePost]
Since I didn't think about it before, I'm going to see if I can ask a music teacher 🙂
Thank you, it has helped me, I prefer to translate as much as possible because I find that it is bad to mix languages.
Posted : 21/06/2023 5:22 pm
Just a brief note about harpsichord construction.
Traditionally they have a smaller range than a piano, spanning maybe four to five octaves only.
Each note has a single string which is plucked, not struck. i.e. more like a harp.
In baroque times the plectrum would be a quill, i.e. part of a bird feather.
The plucking is at a fixed velocity and therefore the instrument is not capabable of the dynamics of a piano.
They work well in a small chamber space and not at all well in a hall. Dynamics are provided by playing chords.
And it's because of the fixed quietness of the harpsichord that pianos were later invented and became commercially available, in Germany in 1746.
Of course, electric MIDI emulations are different.
Posted : 22/06/2023 12:46 am
