# Can You Discriminate MIDI from LIVE? - The 6 Minute Game (Winning Mockup's Announced)



## Lionel Schmitt (Dec 1, 2017)

Good luck and much fun! I hope you will have some  moments. 
http://picosong.com/wF2rk/



Spoiler: Credits and solutions



1. *MIDI* Thomas Bergersen - A Secret Kept (Videohelper Productionmusic)
2. *LIVE* Human Origin - Bounded By Space (CPM Productionmusic)
3. *MIDI* Jean-Gabriel Raynaud - Rogue Demo
4. *MIDI* Andy Blaney - Sergei's New Hat
5. *LIVE* Michael Kamen - The Swiss Border
6. *MIDI* Jean-Gabriel Raynaud - Triple Trouble
7. *LIVE* Alexander Röder - Waterworlds (Sonic Liberty Productionmusic)
8. *MIDI* Andy Blaney - The Hidden Affair
9. *LIVE* James Brett - Wizneyland (Extrememusic - Directors Cuts)
10. *LIVE* Anders Niska Klas Wahl - Dispersing Mist (Universal Productionmusic)
11. *MIDI* Dirk Ehlert - Angel of Agony
12. *MIDI* Maarten Spruijt - Mtv Gameawards Score
13. *MIDI* Thomas Bergersen - Inhuman Growth


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## jules (Dec 1, 2017)

Hey... i'm almost there : 80% there. Not that bad !


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## tack (Dec 1, 2017)

My reaction to #9 was "if that's samples I'll eat my hat."

My biggest surprise: I thought #4 was real, even though when Blaney released that track I'd listened to it at least half a dozen times in a row. Now, forgotten, it still fooled me.


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## storyteller (Dec 1, 2017)

tack said:


> My reaction to #9 was "if that's samples I'll eat my hat."
> 
> My biggest surprise: I thought #4 was real, even though when Blaney released that track I'd listened to it at least half a dozen times in a row. Now, forgotten, it still fooled me.


Haha. I had 4 as real too.... I cleaned house on the back half. The front part tripped me up.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Dec 1, 2017)

Wow... one mockup is doing really well... Better than most of the live stuff. I knew it, it also fooled me when it came at autoplay on soundcloud - and than almost never happens. Good job Mr. Raynaud.


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## HeliaVox (Dec 1, 2017)

I was correct except for #3. That was some good programming right there. The slightly out of tune brass made me think it was a poorly recorded live session, lol.


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## Tjur (Dec 1, 2017)

Uh, I got them all right. But I have to admit, it feels more like a lucky shot and I wasn't sure on all of them.


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## Rob (Dec 2, 2017)

I thought 7 was samples... and wasn't entirely sure on 10... but the others were clear to me


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## mc_deli (Dec 2, 2017)

I stopped after 5 and got all the first 5 right. And I am not experienced. And listening on laptop.
I wonder if laptop listening made it it much easier to hear the unnatural sense of space in the mock ups - at least that was what I focused on - probably because I don't feel confident with the detail of timbre and technique. Fascinating.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Dec 2, 2017)

HeliaVox said:


> I was correct except for #3. That was some good programming right there. The slightly out of tune brass made me think it was a poorly recorded live session, lol.


I actually think the imperfection adds to the realism. It's propably also good for some layering work if ones samples spund too clean.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Dec 2, 2017)

_Our preliminary winner for MIDI realism seems to be this track: (It fooled the most people so far)_


Spoiler: Audio


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## DervishCapkiner (Dec 2, 2017)

4 wrong.

What I learned from this is that there are some incredibly talented composer/programmer/engineer/producers out there.


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## zolhof (Dec 2, 2017)

DarkestShadow said:


> _Our preliminary winner for MIDI realism seems to be this track: _
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Audio




I’d go with #4. Andy is a ridiculously talented programmer, and his orchestration chops just add to the realism. Fooled me again! haha


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## Lionel Schmitt (Dec 2, 2017)

zolhof said:


> I’d go with #4. Andy is a ridiculously talented programmer, and his orchestration chops just add to the realism. Fooled me again! haha


I meant in terms of rating. Number 3 fooled the most people so far. But Andy's is very close (I'd say the next).


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## Marcin M (Dec 2, 2017)

I've got 9/13 not bad for an amateur I think. Somehow I immediately thought that #4 is fake and got it right hmm


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## TGV (Dec 2, 2017)

#4 fooled me, and I thought #10 wasn't live. Andy is good!

Nice post.


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Dec 2, 2017)

Some were a bit tricky to judge I have to say, so I was with 2 tracks wrong which was Number 2 and 4. Mostly you can or I can hear it that the tuning is often too perfect most notably in the brass section and the timings are too much on spot. And also the phrasing. Live phrases in contexts are different and you can hear that ecspecially in transitions. Also Room acoustics. All of the midi renderings are great though and it shows that it is sometimes even for the trained ear not easy to make it out what might be a live recording or not. Thomas examples are bit vague imo to feature here because he supplements his tracks not only with midi but also with live things..so it is a kind of mixed thing. Anyways. I had my fun going through the tracks.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Dec 2, 2017)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> Some were a bit tricky to judge I have to say, so I was with 2 tracks wrong which was Number 2 and 4. Mostly you can or I can hear it that the tuning is often too perfect most notably in the brass section and the timings are too much on spot. And also the phrasing. Live phrases in contexts are different and you can hear that ecspecially in transitions. Also Room acoustics. All of the midi renderings are great though and it shows that it is sometimes even for the trained ear not easy to make it out what might be a live recording or not. Thomas examples are bit vague imo to feature here because he supplements his tracks not only with midi but also with live things..so it is a kind of mixed thing. Anyways. I had my fun going through the tracks.


Glad you enjoyed. 
Yes, Thomas often layers live players with his samples - but I also know that at least till 2006 he only used samples (including his custom samples) since there was no budget to record the tracks live. And both of those tracks are from this period or before.


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## krops (Dec 4, 2017)

I thought they all were very impressive, indeed, but I thought I heard little bits in every track that made me go "ah, you almost had me, there!". I only had one track (#9) correctly pegged as live, but I also only had four tracks marked as live altogether. A couple of them were, to my ears, so good that I "awarded" them live more so than actually believing they were live. At one point I briefly suspected it was a trick contest, and that all of them were MIDI.

Great fun (and inspiring)!


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## PaulBrimstone (Dec 4, 2017)

Wow, only one wrong. I've impressed myself — well done, old ears!


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## Lionel Schmitt (Dec 5, 2017)

*These MIDI arrangements fooled the most:*
1. Andy Blaney - Sergei's New Hat (19 votes)

2. Jean-Gabriel Raynaud - Rogue Demo (17 votes)

3. Maarten Spruijt - MTV Gameawards Score (16 votes)
(Can't find a link)
4. Thomas Bergersen - Inhuman Growth (15 votes)


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## Jetzer (Dec 5, 2017)

Got two wrong, thought 10 was midi. Thought 1 was live, in hindsight after listening to all 10 it's more clearly a mockup. 

Nice!


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## Rudankort (Dec 10, 2017)

Great idea and well executed. Got 4 wrong, but I'm a noob so that's not surprising. My conclusion is that, if music around us is not 90% samples already, we will get there very soon. For most people it is just good enough, especially when you learn composing and write your music already with the samples in mind, instead of trying to perform pieces written for real instruments.


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## OleJoergensen (Dec 11, 2017)

That was a great idea. First I thought the idea was to find only 1 live track. Its amazing how good mock up some composers are capeable to do!

Thank you for sharing .


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