Avid Technology > Case Studies > Transforming Traditional Music with IoT: A Case Study on Grammy Winner Gil Goldstein

Transforming Traditional Music with IoT: A Case Study on Grammy Winner Gil Goldstein

Technology Category

Sensors - Acoustic Sensors
Sensors - Camera / Video Systems

Applicable Industries

Equipment & Machinery

Use Cases

Time Sensitive Networking

About The Customer

Gil Goldstein is a Grammy-winning pianist, accordionist, arranger, and composer who has worked with musical greats like Sting, Michael Brecker, Chris Botti, and Pat Metheny, among many others. He co-produced and arranged the award-winning Chamber Music Society recording for Esperanza Spalding, which catapulted her in 2011 to win a Grammy for Best New Artist—the first time a jazz musician has won the award. Goldstein takes on a handful of large arranging projects every year, working with a wide range of musical styles—pop, big band and orchestral among them.

The Challenge

The challenge was to reframe a traditional work, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, and expose a completely unique vision of the song for Bobby Mcferrin’s spirtyouall CD, which earned Goldstein a Grammy® Award. This required a solution that could provide the flexibility and creative capabilities to arrange songs from various recording artists in wide-ranging styles. Goldstein, a noted pianist, accordionist, arranger, and composer, had to overcome the challenges of arranging for a wide range of musical styles—pop, big band and orchestral among them.

The Solution

Goldstein embraced Avid Everywhere and relied on the flexibility, and creative capabilities of Avid Sibelius to arrange songs. Sibelius music-notation and scoring software gave Goldstein the flexibility and creative capabilities he needed to create Grammy Award-winning compositions. Goldstein adapted Sibelius to suit his own style of working, integrating it with other tools. He developed a style of inputting notes with the use of a Wacom pen and tablet technology that is completely coordinated with the Sibelius screen. He also used PhotoScore, a powerful Sibelius feature, to scan in a composition and transpose it to another key, a job that would have taken weeks any other way.

Operational Impact

The use of Sibelius has allowed Goldstein to seamlessly transition from idea to final realization. It has become an integral part of his workflow, enabling him to quickly and efficiently arrange music in a wide range of styles. The software's intuitive nature and the common sense that inhabits its commands and layers have made it an organic and brilliantly organized tool that Goldstein can rely on for ease of movement. Its design makes creativity a distinct possibility, always just a keystroke away. Furthermore, the ability to integrate Sibelius with other tools, such as a Wacom pen and tablet technology, has allowed Goldstein to develop a unique style of working that suits his needs.

Quantitative Benefit

Goldstein was able to create Grammy Award-winning compositions using Sibelius.
He was able to transpose a composition to another key in a matter of hours using PhotoScore, a task that would have taken weeks otherwise.
Goldstein was able to arrange pieces/selections in a very short timeframe for a ‘who’s who’ of artists for Sting and Trudie Styler’s Rock for the Rainforest concert.