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Creating Dynamic Soundtracks Using Layering
The time has come for interactive soundtracks on the web. Broadband
Internet connections are attainable for most businesses and consumers,
and compression technology has become standardized. Tools such as
Macromedia Flash offer powerful functionality for integrating synchronized,
multi-layered soundtracks. So why are most developers still using
loops?
The answer is that longer, dynamic musical arrangements still require
too much download time for the average end user, even with the availability
of faster internet connections. Luckily there is a compromise: using
component audio pieces and layering techniques a designer can reduce
file size and break away from the tedium of beat loops. The use
of this techinque allows the developer to create the feel of a custom
full production soundtrack to their multimedia projects without
exposing the user to extreme download times. As the visual component
of web sites continues to advance, these techniques will provide
the opportunity to offer interactive audio accompaniment that enhances
the multimedia experience. The goal here is to have the end user
reaching to turn their speakers up, not off!
Here's how it works. Most music is made up of many instuments played
in rhythm and harmony with one another. In the recording studio,
these instruments are recorded onto separate tracks. These tracks
are then individually mixed and re-arranged to create the final
product, a song. DoReMedia's approach is to leave these songs in
their un-mixed format, essentially turning the multimedia designer
into the recording studio producer.
For effective synchronized multimedia, the developer needs as much
control to shape the soundtrack as to shape the visuals. Pre-recorded
production music tracks don't provide this flexibility. DoReMedia
Sound Families™ do.
Sound Families give you 3 "sets" of sounds: Layers, Chunks, and
Sound Effects (SFX). This tutorial will focus on Layers and how
they can be used to create dynamic, interactive soundtracks with
small file sizes.
A typical Sound Family will have 4 to 6 layers, for example: drums,
bass, rhrythm guitar, lead guitar, and synth. These instrument parts
make up the main musical theme of a song. Each instrument part,
or layer, is the smallest repeating riff of each instrument - usually
1, 2 or 4 bars (2 - 8 seconds) in length. DoReMedia Sound Families
are engineered so that each of these short layer parts are accurate
to the millisecond in length, and therefore loop perfectly. This
is critical to keeping layers synchronized, as you will see in the
following illustrations.
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