Orchestration, Tips and Tricks for composers. Options

[jesshmusic]

Hello All!

I thought it would be good to have a topic devoted to the art of orchestration. Great things can be accomplished when composers put their brains together.

Especially in orchestration... certainly the most difficult aspect (and most rewarding) of composition.

Feel free to get it rolling. Here are a few tricks I have learned in my days:

1. Less is more. Don't be afraid to have smaller parts of the ensemble playing. I'm sure everyone know's this.. An orchestra playing with every instrument at full force the entire piece is boring.

2. Know instrument's limitations. The bassoons, for instance, will not be heard very well in loud sections of the orchestration with a lot of instruments playing, but they can still make for good filler. During the big choral part in Beethoven's Ninth, they are playing the fast ostinato pattern with the strings.

3. Listen to as much music as possible... especially modern. Analyze scores and see what the masters did. Research.

These are vague things. I hope many different composers will post specific tips and tricks they have picked up over the years. Instrumentalists can also use this topic to tell us composers what not to do. We sometimes can make life hard on you guys. (Especially Horn in F players!)


Jess Hendricks
Composer & Arranger

[Ewchymlaen]

Voices of the Apocalypse is an outstanding package. I haven't used it, it's quite expensive, requires a Gigasampler - which I don't have - and I haven't had enough opportunity to use it, but I have heard the demos. It samples every syllable at all octaves across the register allowing you to create very realistic sounds and words.

As far as using an orchestra within Logic, it's very difficult to sound authentic. A lot of attention must be paid to velocity, note value and envelope. Don't rely on reverb too much, it can swamp the overall mix and degrade the natural sound of the instrument, but it is vital in adding texture and size to your piece. Learn how to use Logic's hyperdraw, that will help.