I’ve reverted to the original voice for the melody line, a mellow jazz grand piano from the HALionOne VST instrument set in Cubase. I think this is much warmer than the synth voice from yesterday’s version and contrasts nicely with the overall electronic feel of the piece.

I’ve also added some arpeggios, done a little more work on the arrangement and begun to think about the overall direction. It’s getting closer but still needs some work yet.

After spending way longer than expected on “Capitulation” (thanks again for all the critiques on the Steinberg forum), it’s time to dive headlong into the kind of music I really want to create. Capitulation has been an excellent way of getting to grips Cubase fundamentals and, in that context, I’m pretty pleased with the outcome. But what really excites me is the potential this product offers. There is still so much that I have absolutely no knowledge of.

For example, to date I’ve only used the VST instruments which come with Cubase. I’ve not tried to work with midi instruments and other sample files. I’ve stumbled upon a huge catalogue of drum sounds (from Access to Roland, calling at FLKits, Korg, Simmons, Rhodes and Roland en route). But at this stage, I’ve no idea how to make use of them. Will I need a separate drum sampler or can I “import” them into Cubase? Questions, questions. But the road to discovery is sure to be an interesting one.