04) Midi, Chords, Loops and Co.?

Expressions I use in the Blog;

Midi: What is MIDI ?

MIDI is a set of instructions that allow a hardware or virtual instrument to reproduce a musical performance based upon the information being sent to it.

Chords: A chord is a group of notes which sound at the same time. Chords are usually made up of three basic notes, (but any of the notes can be doubled up without changing the nature of the chord).

Loops: A loop is a repeating section of audio that can be played over and over again. A sample is a piece of audio that is played once and then stops. Loops are often used in electronic music, as they can create a hypnotic or trance-like effect

What I use and have to learn to handle it (2023):

FL Studio Producer Edition 21: The Producer Edition has everything you need to write, produce, mix, and master professional quality music. It comes with over 80 instruments & effects, Multi-track audio recording, Audio Clips, Mixer (100+ tracks), External MIDI control.

Unison Audio: "We help you produce pro-quality music while eliminating all the guesswork, frustration and overwhelm. Take your music to the next level with Unison now."

The Unison MIDI Chord Pack comes with over 1200 MIDI files that you can drag and drop into your own tracks, instantly creating a professional sound.

Native Instruments: Native Instruments as a company was founded in 1999 in Berlin, Germany, where its headquarters are still located. Founders Stephan Schmitt and Volker Hinz began using the name Native Instruments in 1996.

Native Instruments is a German company that develops, manufactures, and supplies music software and hardware for music production, sound design, performance, and DJing. The company's corporate headquarters and main development facilities are located in Berlin, with additional offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Paris, and Shenzhen.

Komplete 14 Ultimate (Native Instruments): With Komplete 14 Ultimate, you get all elements included in the first two bundles – and then Ultimate is particularly interesting because it adds 21 Orchestral and Cinematic Instruments as well. If you score for film, video games or even a TV or online series, this selection may be the best pick.

It includes: 21 Orchestral and Cinematic Instruments, 18 Synthesizers, 48 Sampled Instruments, 15 Percussion Tools, 31 Effects, 65 Expansions, Kontakt 7, Piano Colors

Action Strings 2, Session Guitarist – Picked Nylon, Session Guitarist – Electric Vintage

Spotlight Collection – East Asia. Plugin Alliance Effects and Ozone 10 Standard;

Komplete Kontrol 32M (Native Instruments): MICRO-SIZED KEYBOARD CONTROLLER

32 compact keys to control all your instruments and effects

Sleek and solid design, fused with professional production features

Comes with a powerful software package, including synths, basses, drums, effects – plus Ableton Live 11 Lite

SonuScore: SONUSCORE was founded in 2012 as a label of the award winning music and sound production studio Dynamedion and was created by the same team that founded the highly acclaimed BOOM Library.

Ancient Duduk Phrases (SonuScore): Ancient Duduk Phrases allow you to travel through space and time. Originating over 1,500 years ago in Armenia, the duduk instrument is listed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List and has found its way into countless musical productions.

Lyrical Bundle (SonuScore): CREATE EMOTION IN YOUR COMPOSITIONS

We are proud to present to you our first collection in the Lyrical series – a collection of virtual instruments, whose power is unmatched with common sampling methods. It combines the best of both worlds: the creative freedom that a composer enjoys – and the expressiveness and emotionality that a true instrumentalist unleashes. Everything at your fingertips – all with the same ease of use. This compatibility allows you to easily switch instruments and streamline your workflow even further.

Best Service: Best Service, founded 1986 as a pioneer in the upcoming sampling market is a Munich based Company, committed to providing the best virtual instruments and sound library experience possible, covering an exceptional range of inspiring tools for musicians.

Eduardo Tarilonte: is an award winning sample library developer. He is the creator of libraries such as Forest Kingdom, Epic World, Era Medieval Legends, Cantus, Mystica, Shevannai, Desert Winds, and more. His libraries are used by major Hollywood composers for movies, tv series, video games and documentaries.

Forest Kingdom 3 (Eduardo Tarilonte): The sounds of forests and jungles

Mother Nature conducts what is probably the greatest orchestra on our planet. The wind blowing through the leaves, the birds chirping loudly – countless natural instruments are constantly writing new and unique songs. Forest Kingdom 3 is the long-awaited sequel to the award-winning Best Service Forest-Kingdom-Series that transfers the sounds of forests and jungles to computer-based songwriting studios.

NADA (Eduardo Tarilonte): NADA – meditation sounds

Nothing is the primordial sound or the first vibration from which all creation arose.

“After a lifetime of going through many musical styles, one has always been close to my heart. Because, inside me, it's a significant part of my soul and my essence that I can't let go of: New Age Music – to which I owe everything; what I am and what I feel. I went from Ethnic, Folk, Ancient music to Soundtrack, and every note I wrote or sampled was imbued in some way. At times he thought he had left, never to return, but he was always there, sleeping and nourishing these new styles while at the same time giving them all his spirit. Now it's back, more beautiful than ever. NADA is a spiritual journey through the deepest sounds of my soul” - Eduardo Tarilonte

Sweetspot: Plug-ins, DAWs, samples and everything for your studio are at Sweetspot! Virtual instruments, VST effects and Audio Units for immediate download. The office is in São Paulo. I buy my software from them.

What´s new in 2025?

Since I'm not a musician and don't know anything about music theory, I use a few "crutches" which I'll list below:

FL Studio Producer Edition: When I bought the FL Studio it was FL Studio Producer Edition 21, now it´s FL Studio Producer Edition 25.1. What´s new?

AI Chord Progressions are the harmonic foundation for the emotions evoked by your music. Some Progressions feel bright and joyful while others evoke feelings of darkness and mystery. Chord Progressions can be memorable, can signify a genre and most important for you as a producer, a great chord progression sets you up for success by establishing the key and note structure for the melody and bass to follow. Starting with a solid progression makes writing the rest of your just that much easier.

And now with the new upgrade there is also a AI Bassline generator, to get a little help.

FL Studio Starter is a free, entry-level version of the FL Studio music production software. It's designed to help beginners get started with music production using a simplified version of the full program. The Starter Pack includes loops, samples, and project files to help users learn songwriting, sound design, mixing, and track organization.

Unison Midi Wizard 2: MIDI Wizard 2.0 is a music production plugin that generates chord progressions and melodies, aiming to spark creativity and help users finish songs faster. It offers various modes, styles, and genres for generating unique musical ideas, with built-in synths, samplers, and effects. The plugin is designed to be a tool for inspiration and workflow enhancement, rather than a replacement for human creativity.

"Well, I don´t like it. Some of this system is useful, but the melodies are mostly useless. It seems like a kid throws his toys in the air and watches what happens when they fall back to the ground. I hope they work on this stuff and make soon an upgrade."

Scaler 3: Scaler 3 is a music production plugin designed to help with chord progression generation, melody development, and overall music theory workflow. It's a versatile tool for both beginners and experienced musicians, offering features like chord suggestion, scale exploration, and a multi-track arranger for building full song ideas.

"That´s a great plugin. It helps a lot for wannabe composers like me. I can only recommend it."

Komplete Ultra 15: It´s a unfortunately payed upgrade from Komplete Ultra 14. Komplete 15 Ultimate Upgrade is a software package from Native Instruments that provides musicians with a vast collection of instruments and effects for music production, sound design, and performance. It includes over 150 premium instruments and effects, including Kontakt 8, Guitar Rig 7 Pro, and iZotope Ozone 11 Standard. This upgrade is for users who already own a previous version of Komplete Ultimate, such as Komplete 8-14 Ultimate.

"There is a lot of new stuff. I like mainly the Action Woodwinds, Vocal Colors, Session Guitarist – Acoustic Sunburst Deluxe, Session Bassist – Upright Bass, Session Ukulele, Duets, Rudiments and the Rudiments. A lot of thing to explore."

Ethera Gold Atlantis 3.5 is the latest version of a female vocal instrument for cinematic, fantasy, and epic music. It's a powerful tool for composers, producers, and musicians, offering a wide range of vocal possibilities, including realistic True Legato, a Hybrid Vocal Engine, and polyphonic vocals. This update features a redesigned user interface, adaptive True Legato technology, and expanded presets, making it a comprehensive vocal library.

"That´s a real fantastic and huge library of femeal vocals. It´s fantastic, my problem is only to find the right notes to make a track. But this is my personal problem. I'll sort this out somehow."

Zero-G Samples are audio samples, virtual instruments, and sound effects from the British company Zero-G Ltd. These products are used by music producers, composers, and multimedia developers worldwide for music creation, soundtracks, and sound design. Zero-G specializes in high-quality, copyrighted sample libraries with loops, beats, riffs, and more for various creative projects.