INTERVIEW WITH GARY GARRITAN
Gary Garritan is an entrepreneur with a passion for music. He has built a legendary series of sound libraries that bear his name: Garritan Libraries. Most recently, Gary developed Aria, a series of instrument sounds bundled with Akai Professional’s new EWI USB. With Aria as the sound source of this new instrument, we spent some quality time with this visionary sound master.
Akai Professional: What inspired your interest in music and what was your first instrument?
Gary Garritan: I've been playing instruments since I was a tot. I have always had a passion for music. Accordion was probably my first instrument. I started with lessons at just five years old. Not long after, I picked up guitar and took classical piano lessons. I played saxophone in elementary and middle school band programs. Then, as a teenager I found my instrument, which is the harp. Before I became a pro harpist I was an attorney but I always loved music and wanted to pursue that instead.
AP: What got you started making sound libraries?
GG: As a professional harpist I invented a MIDI harp in the early 1990s. There was an article in Electronic Musician about it and I got a lot of interest from that. I had lots of ways to make my harp sound like a tuba and other instruments, but I didn’t have an actual harp sound so I sampled one. I heard about Gigasampler [sample software] and developed Gigaharp for it. This was one of the first sample libraries for that platform.
AP: How many sound libraries do you currently have in your arsenal?
GG: My current library is a great mix. I have a complete orchestra called Personal Orchestra, the Jazz and Big Band Collection, Concert and Marching Bands and more. There are some libraries, such as the Gigaharp and Stradivari Violin that that were made a while ago and discontinued, that are going to be revived. In fact, one of my new libraries will combine Orchestral Strings and the Stradivari (as well as solo viola, cello and bass). We’re also coming out with a World Instrument library soon that will be ideally suited for the EWI USB.
AP: When did you first decide to try the EWI?
GG: Akai Professional approached us with the opportunity to be a part of this new instrument’s development. Our Director of Programming, Tom Hopkins has been a pro jazz trumpeter for 35 years and he loves the EWI so it was a natural fit we had to explore. We were all very impressed by its capabilities.
At the NAMM show a few years ago, people saw what we were doing with our Jazz and Big Band instruments and liked what they heard. A number of our customers were using the EWI4000s and making really good music with it combined with our samples. Our sampling approach and the EWI USB were a marriage made in heaven. This is still a first step as we’re working on even more enhancements and we’re excited about this collaboration.
Akai Professional: What inspired your interest in music and what was your first instrument?
Gary Garritan: I've been playing instruments since I was a tot. I have always had a passion for music. Accordion was probably my first instrument. I started with lessons at just five years old. Not long after, I picked up guitar and took classical piano lessons. I played saxophone in elementary and middle school band programs. Then, as a teenager I found my instrument, which is the harp. Before I became a pro harpist I was an attorney but I always loved music and wanted to pursue that instead. AP: What got you started making sound libraries?
GG: As a professional harpist I invented a MIDI harp in the early 1990s. There was an article in Electronic Musician about it and I got a lot of interest from that. I had lots of ways to make my harp sound like a tuba and other instruments, but I didn’t have an actual harp sound so I sampled one. I heard about Gigasampler [sample software] and developed Gigaharp for it. This was one of the first sample libraries for that platform.
AP: How many sound libraries do you currently have in your arsenal? GG: My current library is a great mix. I have a complete orchestra called Personal Orchestra, the Jazz and Big Band Collection, Concert and Marching Bands and more. There are some libraries, such as the Gigaharp and Stradivari Violin that that were made a while ago and discontinued, that are going to be revived. In fact, one of my new libraries will combine Orchestral Strings and the Stradivari (as well as solo viola, cello and bass). We’re also coming out with a World Instrument library soon that will be ideally suited for the EWI USB.
AP: When did you first decide to try the EWI?
GG: Akai Professional approached us with the opportunity to be a part of this new instrument’s development. Our Director of Programming, Tom Hopkins has been a pro jazz trumpeter for 35 years and he loves the EWI so it was a natural fit we had to explore. We were all very impressed by its capabilities.
At the NAMM show a few years ago, people saw what we were doing with our Jazz and Big Band instruments and liked what they heard. A number of our customers were using the EWI4000s and making really good music with it combined with our samples. Our sampling approach and the EWI USB were a marriage made in heaven. This is still a first step as we’re working on even more enhancements and we’re excited about this collaboration.
This EWI USB collaboration could not have happened without Glen Darcey, Product Manager at AKAI Professional. Glen did much of the conceptual planning and programming of the instruments. I cannot overstate Glen’s role and ingenuity in making this happen.
AP: Aside from Akai Professional, what other kind of collaborations have you worked on in the musical instrument industry?
GG: Next on horizon is the aforementioned Orchestral String collection, but specifically for EWI users we’re going to be bringing our Jazz and Big Band library to the game. That will be something like 16 different saxophones. Every saxophone from sub-contrabass to sopranino sax. 50 wind instruments in all. There are also going to be world instruments with a large collection of Asian and Indian flutes, Arabian oboes, Native American whistles and flutes. A lot of new instruments will be available for download directly from Garritan.com.
AP: What are your thoughts on the importance of music education?
GG: Our strong commitment to education is evident with our online free orchestration course, with 26 lessons and a free Jazz-arranging course by legendary jazz master Chuck Israels. Knowledge and music education are more important than many people realize. I believe that the magic of music is with the magician, not just the wand.
AP:: What is your philosophy toward music libraries, and how did that fit in with the Aria library included with the EWI USB?
GG: Our philosophy is to make things accessible and affordable to musicians. We share that same goal with AKAI. People love the EWI4000s and it’s clear that the EWI USB is going to bring that excitement to a lot more people.
AP: Aside from Akai Professional, what other kind of collaborations have you worked on in the musical instrument industry?
GG: Next on horizon is the aforementioned Orchestral String collection, but specifically for EWI users we’re going to be bringing our Jazz and Big Band library to the game. That will be something like 16 different saxophones. Every saxophone from sub-contrabass to sopranino sax. 50 wind instruments in all. There are also going to be world instruments with a large collection of Asian and Indian flutes, Arabian oboes, Native American whistles and flutes. A lot of new instruments will be available for download directly from Garritan.com.
AP: What are your thoughts on the importance of music education?
GG: Our strong commitment to education is evident with our online free orchestration course, with 26 lessons and a free Jazz-arranging course by legendary jazz master Chuck Israels. Knowledge and music education are more important than many people realize. I believe that the magic of music is with the magician, not just the wand.
AP:: What is your philosophy toward music libraries, and how did that fit in with the Aria library included with the EWI USB?
GG: Our philosophy is to make things accessible and affordable to musicians. We share that same goal with AKAI. People love the EWI4000s and it’s clear that the EWI USB is going to bring that excitement to a lot more people.
