Do you need to mix a song but you don't have a pc with your sequencer and plug-in? Are you an amateur who wants to approach the world of digital audio production without spending money or using the CPU of your computer too much? The innovative technology of cloud computing finally makes it possible to create or edit music tracks at any time with only one constraint: having any PC, smartphone or tablet with an internet connection. To learn more about the general characteristics of cloud computing, you can read the first part of the article here.
The "cloud" of the network provides us with some music editors / creators, such as the couple Roc e Myna. Curiously, the two programs belong to a website that has nothing to do with the music field. They are in fact tools made available by the now famous site / application Aviary, which very well replaces the very expensive image editors like Photoshop and brothers. To be able to use the Aviary services, all you have to do is register for free. If you don't want to create a new account, you can log in directly using your Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo or Soundcloud profile, which will also make sharing with your friends faster. Sign up with peace of mind, even just for a trial, because the site's policy is "we won't share, sell or spam": you won't be bothered by copious email notifications or advertisements.
ROC (http://advanced.aviary.com/online/music-creator):
Roc (Fig.1) is a limited creator. It is not intended for designing entire tracks, but rather for creating short 8-beat loops in 4/4. The editor is the most intuitive there can be: it consists of a single page, a simple screen to fill with your own beat (Fig. 2). On the left we have the references of our 12 lines, in each we can load a sound. There are 50 presets that include for example sets of percussion or synth bass, piano sounds and even an original set of retro videogames sounds. If we are not satisfied we can load our sounds or sample new ones with a rec function. The basic functions are all there: pan and volume of the single samples, tempo, master volume, volume of the single note or percussion hit (velocity mode), possibility to create random loops. After completing our file, we save it in seconds. In addition to the title, we can add a short description to our song and the indispensable tags to be found by other curious users. We can resume the piece at any time to edit it. With Roc we build the small pieces that we can later mount with the help of Myna or any other editor. We can indeed download our creations as mp3 or as wav and continue the work offline as we always have.
MYNA (http://advanced.aviary.com/online/audio-editor):
Myna (Fig.3) is the editor that comes to our aid for mixing our tracks. As with Roc, there is currently a maximum limit for our song (6 minutes). We can import files that have a wav, aif, mp3, wma, m4a, ogg extension. It is also possible to upload tracks from the SoundCloud database (ours or those of other users who wanted to share them) and of course also draw on the internal Aviary database to use the Roc Beats created by us or "public". A new feature allows you to use a series of Quantum Tracks (APM Music) samples created by cybernetic composers and made available to us to combine, modify, remix them. To make the research work easier, the samples are divided into categories and subcategories: for each genre we will have intro, loops and ends. We remind you that, while we have full authorship of a work entirely created by us, we will not be able to use for commercial purposes tracks that contain samples of Quantum Tracks or other users without first obtaining a license. Besides the maximum length limit, Myna seems to be a pretty complete editor (Fig.4). 
It has within itself all the basic tools we need to edit our songs: automations, effects whose parameters are fully editable (Fig.5), as well as of course the options for loop, stretch, trim and reverse. After finishing the mixdown, we can keep it online or download it by choosing between mp3 and wav. The whole, needless to say, is of a disarming simplicity.
Being an online platform, Myna and Roc add something that our Cubase, Pro Tools and Logic do not have: the possibility not only of instant sharing but also of collaboration with other users on the same file, exactly as happens for Google Documents, only that the file in question is not text but audio.
For a "musically active" user the advantages seem to be:
• have very intuitive programs with all the basic functions without having to pay a cent; it already happened with the free software in circulation, you will tell me ... but which freeware is updated and improved every day so as to give us maximum performance and timely resolution of errors at all times? none so far; this kind of cloud software (as happens in the case of Ubuntu) has enormous room for improvement;
• fast sharing and the option of “multi-recording” with other internet musicians;
• no longer need a powerful PC to use audio editors;
• no longer need a fixed memory to save your creations;
Obviously we are talking about advantages for non-professional users, who do not need who knows what hard to find orchestra samples recorded at the Royal Albert Hall. On the other hand, I am sure that soon we will see commercially distributed discs exclusively recorded in the cloud.
The disadvantages are:
• limited software, not yet complete for professionals, but more suited to an amateurish or experimental approach;
• slowness in loading the Roc tracks (we are talking about ten minutes, a little too much!);
• the risk, if we keep our creations exclusively online, of losing everything if the platform fails overnight or has sudden malfunctions;
• as much as we want to trust the seriousness of this or that site, the risk of theft of a work increases considerably compared to recording a song in the familiar offline environment in which we are the only spectators of our creation;
Whether the tip of the balance tends more towards the pros or towards the cons is an absolutely subjective question.
In the third part of "A cloudy future" we will talk about the most common use that a user can make of cloud computing in the music field: the online storage of all their songs. Phenomena like iCloud, MP3Tunes and Google Music are changing the digital market. But they have hidden implications to be explored more carefully.
Stay tuned!
Annalisa DeMartinoDo you feel the need to mix a song but you don't have a PC at your disposal with all the required sequencers and plug-ins? Are you some amateurs who want to approach the world of digital audio production either avoiding any outlays or occupying your own computer's CPU too much? The innovative technology of cloud computing finally makes it possible to create or edit music tracks at any time except for one condition: having at one's disposal whichever PC, smartphone or tablet as long as an internet connection is available. If you want to learn more about the general details of cloud computing, you can read the first part of this article here.
The web “cloud” allows us to use some music editor/creator softwares such as the Roc and Myna couple. Funnily enough, the two programs belong to a web site which has nothing to do with the music field. As a matter of fact, we're dealing with available tools from the already famous Aviary site/application, which finely replaces the very expensive image editors like Photoshop and all. In order to take advantage of the Aviary's services it only requires signing in for free. If you don't
feel like creating a new account, it's given the option to access directly via your Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo or Soundcloud profile, so that sharing with all your friends will be much faster. Safely sign in straight away, even just for a test run, for the site policy is “we won't share, sell or spam”: you won't be bothered with an avalanche of email notifications or adverts.
ROC (http://advanced.aviary.com/online/music-creator):
Roc (Pic. 1) is a limited creator. It's not meant to create full tracks, but rather for creating short 8 bar loops in 4/4. The editor is one of the most intuitive ever: just one page to represent it, a simple window to fill in with your own beat (Pic. 2). On the left side there are our 12 line references, we can load a sound in each one. It offers a good 50 presets which group sets such as percussion or synth bass, piano sounds and also an unusual set of sounds from old videogames. If we're not pleased with them, we can load our own sounds or rather sample some new ones by the recording function. The basic functions are all there: pan and volume for each sample, tempo, master volume, single note volume or percussion beat (velocity mode), the opportunity to create random loops. Once our file is finished, we can save it in a few seconds. In addition to the title, we can add a short description for the track and the indispensable tags in order to be tracked by other curious users. We can load the track back at any time and change it. Roc allows us to create small pieces which can be later put together with the help of Myna or whichever editor. In fact we can export our creations to mp3 or wav and keep on working offline as we've always been used to do.
MYNA (http://advanced.aviary.com/online/audio-editor):
Myna (Pic. 3) is the editor which helps us mix our tracks. As in Roc, there is a time limit for our song (6 minutes). We can load files with extensions like wav, aif, mp3, wma, m4a, ogg. It is possible to load tracks from the Soundcloud database (our own ones or the ones from other users who are willing to share them) and obviously to access the database within Aviary in order to use the Roc beats we created or the “public” ones. A new feature allows us to use a series of samples from Quantum Tracks (APM Music) created by cybernetic composers and put there for us to combine, modify, remix them. To make it easier for us to find them, they have been divided into categories and subcategories: we'll find intros, loops and ends for each genre. It's worth reminding that, though having the full authorship on anything created by ourselves, we will not be allowed to use tracks containing samples by Quantum Tracks or by other users until we get us a license for it. Apart from the time limit, Myna seems to be a rather complete editor (Pic. 4).
It contains within itself all the basic instruments we need in order to edit our tracks: automations, effects whose parameters are completely editable (Pic. 5), besides the loop, stretch, trim and reverse options. Once the mixdown is done, we can save it online or download it choosing between the mp3 or wav format. Needless to say that everything is as simple as that.
Being them online platforms, Myna and Roc add something to what our Cubase, Pro Tools and Logic are lacking of: not only it allows instant sharing but also collaborations among other users on the same file, as it happens for Google Documents, with the exception that the file in question is an audio track.
For an active user in terms of music production, next seem to be:
• Having some very intuitive softwares and all their basic function at our disposal without spending a cent; it already happens with the free software around, you would say… but which software is updated and upgraded on a daily basis so much that it offers us its highest performance and the timely solution to any mistakes? None thus far; with this kind of software in cloud (as well as in the case of Ubuntu) there is vast room for improvement;
• quick sharing and the “multi-recording” function among other musicians on the internet;
• No need for a pc any longer which should be powerful enough to allow us to work on audio editor;
• No need for any fixed storage any longer in order to save our creations;
We're clearly talking about the pros in relation to non-professional users, who don't need whatever nowhere-to-be-found orchestra samples recorded at the Royal Albert Hall. But then I am sure that soon we'll also witness to the commercial launch of records which have only been recorded via cloud.
Cons are:
• limited softwares, not yet complete for professionals, but more suitable for a happy-go-lucky amateur or experimental approach;
• slowness in loading the tracks within Roc (ie about 10 minute time, a little bit too much!)
• the risk in losing everything if the platform should close or be affected by unexpected malfunctions;
• as much as we are willing to trust a whichever site, chances of getting a stolen work raises dramatically in comparison to recording a track within the familiar offline environment where we are the only ones to witness our creations;
It's absolutely a personal question whether the choice is towards pros or cons. In the third part of “A cloudy future” we'll be talking about the most common use of cloud computing which can be done by users within the musical area: online storage of every one's own tracks. ICloud, MP3Tunes and Google Music phenomena are altering the digital market. But they hide consequences which needs closer examination.
Stay tuned!
Annalisa DeMartino
Italian to English translation: Humbert of the Judge
