Composer Bridge Features
How Composer Bridge was born
A few months ago I decided to overhaul my orchestral template. As many of you can imagine this meant going down the rabbit hole… After putting together a sample template on VEP and Digital Performer I decided to learn how to use, and program touch interfaces with Lemur. After countless hours of work and research I now have a system that I could only dream of before. Since this system conveniently makes touch operations available right in front of the user, I decided to call it Composer Bridge, after a ship bridge (or command deck).
I believe showing some of the features of Composer Bridge could be beneficial to the many composers who are designing their own templates and refining their workflow. That’s why I will update this page with new videos and info regularly.
How can I put my hands on it?
Composer Bridge is currently in working-prototype stage, however given the amazing response to early proof-of-concept videos we decided to make it available to those who would like to support its development.
You can get Composer Bridge today with one of our 2 tailor-made Patreon tiers.
| Composer Bridge | Composer Bridge Support+ |
|---|---|
| $40/month | $60/month |
| Download assets and updates | Download assets and updates |
| Support via Monthly webinars | Support via Monthly webinars and 1-to-1 sessions |
| Unlock VIP plus content | Unlock VIP plus content |
| Get started! (only 100 available) | Get started! (only 20 available) |
Before starting your Patreon subscription please refer to this page for detailed information and read the full Terms & Conditions below.
Composer Bridge is a working-prototype. We won't continue its development for the time being. Should any update become available in the future they will likely not be included with the purchase of the current build.
Since ease of customisation wasn't the main focus during the design phase, adapting it to your own setup may require a high degree of proficiency with all the following applications: Digital Performer, Vienna Ensemble Pro, Kontakt, MIR, Keyboard Maestro, Lemur Editor on your computer and Lemur on a touch device.
You will need to install the latest version of all the above applications in order to run Composer Bridge on your setup as shown in our videos. We have no affiliation with the software companies developing said applications and it will be your responsibility to purchase a valid license for each.
It is possible to adapt the touch interface component to a setup that does not include all of the software (thus limiting Composer Bridge functionalities) but we won't be able to offer dedicated support for such a scenario other than during the 1-to-1 sessions included in our Support tier.
We advice to carefully consider whether or not to purchase the current build of Composer Bridge to those who don't feel having proficiency with the listed applications.
Aside from the above-mentioned applications, you will need your own collection of virtual instruments as none is provided with Composer Bridge.
This build of Composer Bridge has been developed and tested on Apple hardware, therefore support specific for Windows machines will not be provided at this stage.
No refund will be issued once the assets have been accessed.
IMPORTANT: the purchase of this build of Composer Bridge does not include support!
What is Composer Bridge?
Composer Bridge is an advanced feature-packed inter-application workflow-system. It is deeply integrated with MOTU Digital Performer and features some amazing functionalities that make it unique. Record-enable your track of choice by tapping on an instrument in the instrument selector tab. Control your instruments through ad hoc control windows. See your midi controls move in sync with DP thanks to bi-directional MIDI communication. This is truly just the tip of the iceberg. Watch the videos below to get a better idea:
A while ago I also created a longer video that shows a bit more features in action. If you have 10 minutes you might like it!
Here is an index in case you’d only like to learn about a specific area of Composer Bridge:
00:00 – Intro
02:07 – 01. One channel per instrumenta quick look at VEP
02:35 – 02. Vienna Ensemble Pro
03:03 – 03. Bounce-friendly
03:58 – 04. Instrument selection
04:27 – 05. Instruments control
05:28 – 06. Bidirectional MIDI
06:10 – 07. Counter and time display
06:48 – 08. Basic DAW controls
07:07 – 09. Quick tools and macros
07:57 – 10. Project setup options
08:28 – 11. Editing tools & quantise options
08:48 – 12. Navigation tools & markers
09:05 – 13. Beyond MIDI control
09:22 – 14. Upcoming features
09:41 – Conclusion
In-depth videos
This series of videos explores in depth some of the features you saw above. In the process you’ll learn precious tips on how to use some of the software applications that are part of the Composer Bridge ecosystem.
Secret Keyboard Maestro macro techniques
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could create shortcuts trigger-able via MIDI to commands that are not customisable on your DAW (or any other software)? What if I told you that there is a way? Check out the video below to believe…
Advanced DAW routing and bouncing setup
Have you ever dreamt of having all articulations for a given instrument in a single MIDI track but being able to export separate audio tracks of only the long notes, the short notes, the dry signal, the wet signal? Watch the video below and your dream will become reality! I show it on Digital Performer and Vienna Ensemble Pro but it is easy to adapt the technique to any DAW.
Composer Bridge in action
Pay attention to how composer bridge follows midi automation depending on which track is selected. Towards the end of the video you can see how vibrato CCs are corrected on the fly and how this is handled by DP.
That’s it for now, should I keep seeing much interest around it you will hear more about Composer Bridge in the future. Now it’s time to sail the ship towards new exciting compositions. Ahoy everyone!