Synthestration is the art of
composing music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
in the form of a
MIDI mockup
A MIDI mockup is an extensive demo of a recording project built using virtual instrument software or hardware to stand in for acoustic instruments.
These extensive demos are frequently used in projects requiring large budgets to record, such as f ...
. A mockup is an extensive demo of a musical recording, for playback by computers triggering virtual instrument software or hardware, to emulate an
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
l recording.
The process involves inputting notes into a computer sequencing program as
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
data, which then produces those
tones via virtual instrument software/hardware. This is followed by significant programming in order to realistically mimic the ensemble playing of an orchestra.
The term is a combination of the words 'synth(esizer)' and '
orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...
'.
"Synthestrated" mockups are frequently used in projects requiring large budgets to record, such as film scores. A mockup allows the director, or producer, to hear the compositions in a setting that approximates their final version, allowing them to approve or alter the project before the budget has been committed to record live musicians. However, because the replication of acoustic instruments has progressed steadily, MIDI mockups are occasionally utilized in the final score on films, in cases where time has run out, or due to budget constraints. For big-budget films, mockups are eventually converted into an orchestrated
score, and recorded by a live orchestra.
MIDI
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