Friday, April 21, 2017

EDM and Brass Midi's

There is a lot of EDM music today that features brass, but sadly they use midi tracks instead of the real instruments. Here's a pretty popular EDM tune that does just that...

Higher Ground by TNGHT


This brings to question the issue of why do these artists use midi's instead of the real thing?

I think the main reasoning has to do with accessibility, time, and cost.

Midi's are now easily accessible, and the brass sounds are continually being improved upon. Brass midi instruments sound more realistic than ever before. Although they do not sound real by any means, for an EDM artist the fact that they can use something "close" to the actual sound at the push of a button seems more logical than hiring someone to play the music. There also isn't a stigma behind using things such as midi, autotune, among others to alter the music because it is normal for EDM music to sound completely digital.

Time and cost factor in because hiring the musicians, setting up the recording session, and paying all the fees behind creating recording take time and money. Again, when EDM artists do not have the pressure to use live recordings, the don't see the need to go to all the trouble to create them. Also, it's important to note that typically EDM music only features short riffs or motives with the brass instruments, so it's debatable whether its worth it to record brass when the music used is so short in length.

Although in some cases midi's are replacing brass instruments in EDM music, there are still some artists using actual brass instruments. This means there's hope for us yet! Although it's unlikely the use of brass ensembles will be the new big thing in EDM music, it's encouraging to see artists making use of the actual instruments in their songs.

Higher by XXTRAKT


Mercy Me by XVII


1 comment:

  1. Cutting corners is a bummer and missed opportunity for both EDM musicians and brass musicians. You never know if you're going to both benefit and create something exceptional. I have a friend who (Sax) lives in Tennessee right now and it she has been persistent with contacting local pop musicians, rappers, etc. and asking to collaborate with them while she plays Sax. She's now featured in an album in the background instrumentals thanks to her use of Twitter.

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