The first midi type instrument was a player piano.

I have the Ivory II piano sample program because I can't afford a $45,000  Yamaha C7, nor will it fit into my bedroom studio. 

I have the East West Symphonic Orchestra sample program because I can't afford to hire the whole orchestra, nor can I fit them into my bedroom studio, and they won't let me into the hall.

I can afford to have a Taylor 12 string guitar so I have that, so I guess I am a musician, yes no ??
 
Sample programs offer a solution to these problems.
 
 
 
 
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I don't beleive in samples, but then again, what are synth patchs? Samples of someone elses sound wave designs. So I suppose there are different types of samples. Ones that are per note, ones that copy a group of notes or a pattern of notes.

spacey  
 
Unlike Chuck I spent my time learning for me.    
   
   
   
    
 
Chuckybaby
"@rain..good point,couldnt agree with you more.
it has been fun every part of the way.
i mostly play for me,which is like a theorpy in itself." 
  
  
  
 
this is a little confusing to me spacey ?
did you even read any of my posts ? 

Think whatever you want. No matter to me.
Been 57 years without you and will do the rest just fine without you.

Now don't think I'm confused about that too.

I'm in awe of musicians, or should I say instrumentalists? I haven't played an instrument in years, (might change that), but I'm just a button pusher here. I'm not ashamed of it, though, creativity has many outlets. Everybody has talents, they just may not be the same ones...

OK...

I play one instrument very well: classical double-bass
A 2nd instrument well: folk mountain dulcimer
At different points I've dabbled on piano, cello, and rarely violin.  OTOH, guitar was rather a disaster.

All that to say, I am delighted to have some orchestral instrument samples.  For writing chamber music and/or orchestral/large ensemble type pieces that I could never ever begin to afford to have recorded live, having samples to do quite decent mock-ups when necessary is a real plus.

Crg


I don't beleive in samples, but then again, what are synth patchs? Samples of someone elses sound wave designs. So I suppose there are different types of samples. Ones that are per note, ones that copy a group of notes or a pattern of notes.

What if someone uses NI's sampled Scarbee Rhodes piano and plays it via MIDI from weighted keyboard controller. Is he less of a musician that some one playing a real Rhodes? I contend that the same level of skill is required in each case. 
 
 

People either get it or they don't and you can't talk logically with them on this subject. I liken it to talking about religion, politics, etc.

If you want to call yourself a musician if you put out a song of bits and pieces of other people playing music, when all you did was click and drag their recordings on to a timeline ... then by all means go 'head.

I don't care what I'm called.  I just want to make things that sound good to me.  If others happen to like it, that's just a bonus!

When it sounds so real you can hear the rosin falling off the strings and the bow on the fiddle..... that's all I want.  Nothing more, nothing less. Since I don't have the time to learn the fiddle.....I use synths. 

Sampled or real.... doesn't matter. If it sounds real, then that's all one could ask for. 

Hasn't that been the goal pushing midi all along?  To get the synth sounds as real and as close to the original as possible....?  Why else would they use all those controllers for attack and decay and velocity if it wasn't to try to imitate as closely as possible the sound of the  Rhodes or the trumpet or the violin? 

I do believe they are getting really close with some of the products on the market.... give them another 5 to 10 years..... the progress will be amazing.

Despite all that,,, yes, it is still a noble and worthy pursuit to learn and master the playing of real instruments. I am still pursuing that goal with the guitar, the keyboards and most recently I have added a mandolin to that line up of things to learn to play well. 

The modern musician can be someone with nothing but samples and loops nothing but artificial intelligence software synths, nothing but real instruments or some combination of all of them. If the result is pleasing to the ear and to the soul... it is music regardless of how it was created. Music, after all, like art, comes form the soul of the person, not a bunch of hardware and software.