Yeah, if you can get it to sound real...go for it. Either way it's an effort.

I wanted Tin Whistle in a song. I bought a few, and just couldn't get the hang of it. What did I do? Played 1 note in a rythm, and used VV to change the pitch into a melody! Then a Synth flute mixed back to round it out.

I am also starting to like using synths for bass guitar (even though I own and play bass guitar). Many times I use the real bass for fills, and everything else is "faked". The tone is just so much warmer than my bass rig.

I can say I agree with a lot of people over here.

When a song, image or whatever is born or sculpted in your head it has to get out of your head and take shape. When a painter sees something in his imagination and uses not only paint, but photography, ink, wax, colored light ... just anything to create what is in his head, does he cheat? No - he is just using just the tings he has in his reach to create what he is seeing in his mind. He has no sun, so he creates one with paint and maybe light - and there it is... just as he imagined it. Did he cheat or did he just use what was available to create what he want to create?

Same goes for music. Sometimes you hear a song and it has to go out. You just use anything to create what is in your mind. Is creating something cheating? My idea is to create first and sculpt later on. If you do not lay down the framework of what is in your mind you risk losing it all in the process of being perfect. Lay down the bare roots of your mind process with anything you can use, can handle and what is available at that moment or risk losing it all. When you have laid down the rough picture and bare frame then, and only then, it is time for fine sculpture and refinement. You can replace the synths with the real instruments if you want to. Do anything to make the "picture" more "real".

To hear a song in your head is not cheating although you do admittedly not play any instrument at that very moment. It is all just a cloud of chemical/electrical impulses in some braincells (altough you could see the brain as the ultimate musical instrument). To use anything in your reach to shape what is in your head is not cheating in my opinion. So - please don't wory and just create and be happy...

Just my 5 cents.

Bottom line is, your songs will never sound as good as they could unless played live by a group of musicians who know there instruments. everything else is emulation and never quite right. That said, ignore what I just said and direct your music to where it takes you.
It will be what it will be.

Learning guitar is very difficult if you have not played it from an early age... I've played since I was 12 so that's 40 years this year :-) So It's second nature for me? But I'm still no Batsbrew :-(   And never will be. I've taught myself to play the piano, which is considerably easier to learn than guitar because you have access to midi.. Guitar requires a lot of patience if you're trying to learn it. If you stick with it, you can learn it and play pretty well, but everyone I've ever seen who's tried to learn it later in life has given up :-( If you really want to learn it, you should take lessons and practice, over time, slowly, you'll get it. I play guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, dobro, and a little fiddle. My next instrument is a lap steel, after I finish putting my attorney's kids through college.

Cheating, schmeating. Whatever it takes to get you music completed. I favor learning whatever instrument I need, but the fact is, I simply don't have time to learn ALL instruments, not while working 40+ hours a week and maintaining house and home and domestic tranquility. Not if  I want to compose and record my songs, anyway. If you're just playing for the fun of it, learn the entire orchestra if  you're so inclined. But if you want to accomplish anything, like finishing a song, for example, cheating could well be the way to do it. Plus, I just don't have the room for a drum kit.

Andrew G


Hi all,
 
I currently play piano/keys and a little bit of drums to create my tunes, and am having a good time with it.  I have tried on and off to learn the guitar but to be honest I always get frustrated and play the piano instead!
 
Anyhow, I have recently come across the Real Guitar/ RealStrat soft synths, and they seem just the ticket when it comes to making guitar accompaniments for my tracks.   I am tempted to pull the trigger on them, but theres something niggling at the back of my mind....
 
Is using software to imitate a guitar part technically 'cheating'?.  Do any other non-guitarists use soft synths to produce guitar tracks with a clear conscience?  Should I just spend the money on guitar lessons instead and be done with it?
 
Please help me through this (musically..) moral dilemma!
 
Andrew

I do exactly what you do in reverse.  I play guitar and bass but use Jamstix for drums and Band in a Box for Piano.  I make no apologies.  To me it is the same as hiring a session musician.  I am a songwriter first.  Learning to play more instruments is low on my priority list.  I want to hone my composition skills more.
 
On an aside, I am separating from my wife and am looking forward to gobs of time to play music.  I am planning to buy a piano lesson DVD so I can start to learn at last.  I still doubt that I will sound as good as BIAB for sometime.