I studied composition at a top music conservatoire in London. It might surprise some people to hear this, but we aren't *really* taught orchestration, harmony and theory in too much detail. It's covered in your undergrad of course, but in general you are expected to figure a lot of it out yourself by doing independent score study. You learn full orchestral arranging by simply doing it and having someone more experienced in it tell you what might be worth changing. It's honestly nothing more than that. To be frank, the "traditional" composers (the ones who tend to write on pencil and paper and don't dabble too much in electronic music) were always MASSIVELY jealous of other composers who were able to put together a quality sounding electro-orchestral mockup and those who were good at using samples more generally. Why? Because they know the tech buffs are more likely to get work once they graduate...!
Wow! That is a surprise. I went to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and there we had a few classes in not only "Orchestration" but also a class on "Instrumentation" which is where we studied the instruments and their unique properties not combinations like in Orchestration. The Kent Kennan Orchestration book is my book on the subject.
@@ScottGlasgowMusic Yes we had those classes too, but you don't learn much more than you can learn yourself by opening an orchestration book like the Adler and score reading on a regular basis. What you learn in those classes are fairly basic when compared to real life orchestration
@@DIDCHOI Sure! My biggest lesson was going to weekly orchestral rehearsals with the scores of the piece they would be performing at the next concert--- listening, studying, asking why something was working. Then of course our quarterly orchestral readings of our own music. Studying scores is a life long process but being in an orchestra or at least the rehearsals weekly for years can be the best lesson for your ears IMHO as a composers.
You often "apologize" for not being formally trained. But formal training has ZERO to do with talent, and creative people learn and create in different ways. There is no wrong way to learn. And personally I think it's admirable that someone can do as much as you've done without any formal training. You serve as proof that it isn't absolutely necessary for success, which gives hope to a lot of people who simply aren't wired for reading music. So please celebrate that rather than apologize for it. You are not an imposter. The fact that you can do what you've done without formal training actually makes you THE REAL THING.
There is definitely a huge difference between a composer musically trained that maybe has even played an instrument for years and someone that picked up orchestration on a software. You can hear in the compositions that the spitfire team composers are only scratching the surface of the harmonic and melodic potential of orchestral/instrumental scoring. It takes years of dedication to train your ear to hear all these chords changes and melodies, and i believe their talent takes place more in the sound design, sonic atmosphere and overall sound of the music instead of the actual compositional elements
Finally, someone said it. You just need to listen to Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto to understand. There are nuances in the sense of timing, timbre, and phrasing that require you to be an experienced player to notice. Not to mention counterpoint, musical form, structure, and arrangement. There’s no way samples, MIDI automations and Synchronous Waves Acoustic Modeling will replace the sensibility of a great player, composer, and conductor. This doesn’t mean “a producer can’t write good orchestral music/soundtrack”; it means that they can’t write memorable absolute music, especially in concert form. Just my heartfelt opinion, as a BA in electronic music.
I just realised, a bow is literally "plucking" (pulling and releasing) the string thousands of times per second. Impulse energy continuously put into the string so it can perpetually resonate.
You're absolutely right. The bow does continually pizzicato the string. When I teach students to play short, sharp, hard, staccato notes, I tell them to think about pizz-ing (plucking) the string with the bow. Hey @Christian Henson Music, looks like you could do with some violin lessons
Love your analogy Principle Audio! I was told and shown ("taught" in a wonderful physics course on Acoustics and instruments) that this pull and release action of the bow and string is what gives a string instrument's "oscillator" a sawtooth-like shape to the initial waveform (rise from left to right, then drop fast to the bottom, repeat). The fast drop to the bottom of the sawtooth is the point when the string tension exceeds the force of the bow stretching the string, and the string snaps back toward it's rest position. And the bow stretching the string is the slower rise from bottom to top. Fantastic presentation Christian -- thank you VERY much!!!
Aside from the great points highlighted in this video, just gotta say the effort you're putting into each of these videos is outstanding. Production quality is through the roof! Just a real joy to watch.
As someone who's worked with Alice before (and lucky enough to be from the same town!) I can attest to her phenomenal skill. She's becoming more and more people's go to cello star in Scotland!
I am a 50 something year old violin/ fiddle player. I learned 30 years ago from a Japanese cellist the tone really changes depending on how close you play to the bridge. So close to the bridge is loud and harsh. Further away from the bridge is soft and mellow. Volume comes from speed of the bow not pushing down. I love spitfire libraries. It sounds like I am sitting in a orchestra again.
It's videos like this that made it possible for me to even get to where I am in my career without any sort of formal education. I'm forever grateful for people, like yourself and the musicians in this video, for being willing to share.
The enlightenment, gratification, and sheer enjoyment I get from your products and passionate "masterclasses" continue to deepen my appreciation for music, production, and the creative community! Thank you!
Thank you so much Christian for getting Alice and Seonaid to demonstrate the violin and cello. Can you do more videos where you are having other orchestra instruments being demonstrated by the musicians: difficulties with the instrument, how to write correctly for the instrument, ranges, etc.? - Justice Constantine
Amazing to see the terms from my Spitfire libraries brought to life and now I finally understand what they mean - thank you. All the strings (both real and sampled) seem somehow connected to something deep, wonderful and timeless... something that moves us in ways that is hard to explain and very few other sounds manage to do.
Another excellent video Christian. Thank you. I've been working with Alice on a score recently and for us non string players the thrill you get from being in the same room as world class performers is my favourite part of the process. Always a privilege and an education.
Maybe it was just me, but that moment at 24:20... "... was to describe the sound that I wanted, and with the amazing open-mindedness of musicians these days, they were able to create that..." and Christian's voice catches just slightly.... chills. Flautando is one of my very favorite Spitfire sounds, and learning the backstory behind it was enlightening, educational, and inspiring. Thank you for making these videos. -- Justin, a composer who hasn't had any formal music education either
I've only been privy to your content for about 15 months. The education I've had in composition is not without you as one of my professors, and there are few. The best educators bring wisdom into knowledge, and you my friend have that in spades. I haven't seen you put out much of anything in the last few months and I hope to see more. I wish you all the best and I pray that God is good to you and your Family. I appreciate ya Brother. All The Best to you. Oh, and seriously....Thank you So much for all you have done with and for Spitfire At this point, I Am exclusive to the product created there. Simply the Best. Like a Good Father, I hope without arrogance you feel a sense of love and pride. Thank you
This was so great Christian, thank you for making and sharing this! These kinds of insights (from your channel) have been so helpful over the years -- they're a large part of why I have a 'career' at all. Thank you for your wisdom and for sharing the work of these remarkable players. Cheers my friend!
Great post Christian. Great to have Alice and Sionaid giving examples of bowing, dynamics and vibrato,etc. Expression is everything when it comes to making music that is moving.Its the biggest challenge in the digital realm.👍
It is a fantastic overview. Love the flautandos. ;D Almost makes you want to cry - this is how emotional it gets. Thanks for Intimate Strings Originals. As soon as I heard this, I knew I need it for my new emotional compositions with an epic twist.
As often happens in my pursuit of sound, Alice and Seonaid showed me what a shallow understanding I had of what these articulations are and sound like! Many thanks to you all for helping me "feel" what these sounds are. In other words, quite enlightening CH!
So useful to hear the examples of the different techniques as they are explained. I have the samples and I have read a bit about the various techniques, but being shown how the sounds are made is extremely beneficial. Thanks!
I'd love to see more videos like this. The amount of information brought across about the playing styles and bowing techniques used in the orchestra in such an easy to understand way is very impressive and helpful to know. I was fortunate enough to study music at a tertiary level, but this certainly filled in one or two of the gaps in my knowledge.
Excellent video Christian. Alice and Seonaid did a perfect job of illustrating the different techniques. The end result is a rather special string sound and the lower register sounds sublime.
OMG Chiristian bless keep bringin these types of videoss. Please more more. This is something that is nevered taught and is sooooooo valuable. One down Consordino and plenty more to go. GOD bless -Tony
I learned about string techniques (sul tasto, sul pont, mutes, etc. . .) over the years out of necessity from my interactions with string players. I knew I wanted harmonics after hearing them in a score and so I asked a violinist how to notate it; I wanted a muted sound so I checked checked with another; Is this figure ok to play at this speed is there a better way? . . . In my experience, string players are not only eager to explain things, but they're appreciative that you would even bother to ask, which builds respect. Conversely, reputations for composers that don't have a clue or worse, don't care to learn, about how to 'handle' strings parts, spread like wildfire. To have these techniques explained like this, by such great players and in such an unpretentious manner is gold. Thanks CH! Maybe this could be a series with other instruments as well? I'm thinking of unrealistic brass writing at the moment. . .
These videos are warming. Educational, relaxing, interesting, helpful, and fun. I don't feel like I'm wasting time on TH-cam watching these! Thanks, Christian!
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thank you Christian! i didnt knew that those strings sounds were made in that way! wow..please do more videos like this! :) loved it!!
One of the most inspiring and informative videos I've ever come across. And by far the best commercial I've ever seen as well, I'm picking up the intimate strings library immediately.
Man, your work on Alien: Isolation is so inspiring. I hope you do more video game compositions in the future. A lot of my favorite composers nowadays are in the VGM space, rather than the cinema world. Austin Wintory, Gustavo Santaolalla, Bear McCreary, Darren Korb, etc. just doing some amazing scores and revolutionary work. That Alien Isolation game and score are just masterfully done too. Who cares about music school, most of the best things in life (and in music) can't be taught. Anyway, cheers.
While I was familiar with the playing techniques involved, I still immensely enjoyed this video. There's something about a single isolated instrument doing simple side-by-side comparisons that hugely adds to my brain's ability to neatly store and categorize the information for later recall. As far as sounds I keep being drawn to, well for me that's actually woodwinds. So I suppose it's more of an orchestrating habit. They often form the heart of my music, while the strings and brass form the bed it lays on. And even when I want to write more epicly, woodwinds still end up at the heart of it. Though if I have to stick to strings for examples of sounds I'm drawn to, it'd probably be portamento. It's old-school, maybe, but I love it!
Really appreciate seeing the techniques of the orchestral instruments up close and explained. Production quality on these videos, editing and all, is top-notch as usual!
This vid, as a lesson, an instruction, has taught me more than 5 tears at music college. Thanks for your tremendous honesty about music college or lack of it. You are at the forefront of sound design. I loathe 'formal' training and seek to blend formal with experimental. Surely you, Mr Spitfire deserve a government arts grant for this most educational music video I have ever seen. Now get on and concentrate on part 2........I can't wait
Wow, what a fabulous video! This was so much fun to watch, and immensely helpful. Thank you so much for your time and expertise, as well as the others who helped in the video.
Brilliant production Christian. Watching the string players show the differences in the techniques has really helped me understand more about what goes into producing an authentic sounding string piece. Once again you’ve hit the ball out of the park on this one. 👏
I didn't know much about Spitfire before, but after watching some of Christian Henson's videos, I have become a huge fan... It really adds so much value to the product when I get to understand the process behind the creation of it...
Flautando from Albion 2 has been one of my staple patches for years but never asked it of my live sessions (I marked in sul tasto in score / parts). Another great patch you made was in Albion 5 "Flautando Con Sord". Recently I tried a Kontkat multi of both patches-- very excellent sound. Thanks for the innovative sounds & explanation Christian! Great video as always.
Thank you VERY much Christian! This really is a masterclass. The amount of times I've looked up the definitions of terms like Con Sordino, Sol Pont and Sol Tasto... I finally feel that I really, easily understand them. From just a 26 minute video, that also contains a LOT of other content, all of which makes it so easy to digest. I really have to hand it to you! Now I'm wishing you'll do the same for the rest of the orchestra....
Thanks Alan, honestly, there is no greater arena where I feel a thudding dose of imposter syndrome than trying to teach something I haven't been taught. Its comments like these that make me keep strapping along!
Christian Henson Music Googling this topic before dinner was a mistake, but according to reddit and mumsnet, this is actually a thing?! I feel like I’ve been living under a rock! A nice dry rock 🤣
What a wonderful video. So much valuable information explained in a way that's accessible to everyone. If only all TH-cam contributors took a similar approach! You've just gained a new subscriber.
To a guy from a working class family in the NW of England (like me), Christian is definitely Posh - despite his protestations to the contrary. :) This is a wonderful introduction to various string sounds - posh or not!
I noted that during the 'Vibrato' demonstration that evem though the physical cause of the 'vibrato' was pitch based i.e. the micro variation of vibrating length, that the Volume of the note also varied in step. Now, this may be obvious to some, but it set me to wondering How this came about on a physical level… Lightbulb moment; the instrument is a Resonant Being/Thing so at any one instant it 'rings' with the note's pitch. During 'vibrato' the pitch being fed into the resonant system is being 'modulated' and the 'New' sound is fed into the Resonant Beast which is still sounding the previous pitch. 'Mixed; in if you will. This mixing brings about phase cancellations, subtraction and addition of the micro-differing vibrations, hence volume variation in step with the pitch variation. Synchronised pitch and amplitude modulation. Voila !!! I'm glad I got That one out of the 'Things to understand pile' in my brain. P.S. I'm an old sound engineer, you might think that I would have figured this out earlier.
Small and intimate sounds are beautiful and much needed in this already chaotic world in which we life in... Thanks Spitfire for providing us with such wonderful string libraries... I never regretted one second purchasing Chamber Strings a few years ago and this new Intimate strings sounds really nice... Many Blessings, Max T.
“Imposter syndrome.” That’s a very real thing, and I totally understand. It’s why these videos are of such endless interest to me. Over the years, I have spent so much time and money trying to make every noise that comes out of my DAW, as best I know, sound like it’s actually a “real” instrument. On one hand, it represents a kinda neurotic reverence and respect for acoustic instrumentation. On the other, it represents the fact that I cannot play any of these instruments - - and that I am totally indebted to those who do!
This video is an excellent compliment to the books you have suggested in the past. I am currently studying those. Thank you so much, please continue this exceptional instruction if time permits.
Fantastic video Christian, one of you best in my opinion. It really helped me to understand more of the sounds of stringed instruments and how they are created
I posted a comment, not too long ago, begging Christian to sell some of the Spitfire library as separate patches. I had everything I felt I needed, and empty pockets at this point, but just wanted to buy the flautando samples and not another entire library. NOW I can get the flautando and a dozen other articulations for $29 dollars! I love Spitfire and whoever composed that piece of music for the Intimate Strings library demo, I think it was Homay Schitz, is tuned in to the soul of the universe!
Fantastic video Christian. I used flautando samples on my Kurtzweil k2000 sampler back in 1996...the main reason being, it was the only workable string sample that didn’t sound like shit if you needed a good string pad and you were playing homophonic textures. Everything else sounded harsh, thin or obviously sampled. I think it’s the same reason everyone is going for damped piano. It sits perfectly under dialogue and, practically speaking, it doesn’t require lots of notes or composing time to sound emotional or profound...in fact the simpler the music the better.
Still remember opening Loegria for the first time (bought it almost on day one). The flautando strings were a favourite which never lost their charm. Thanks SA
The flautando in Spitfire Chamber Strings is absolutely gorgeous. I love it even better with the close mic at ~75%, tree at 100%, and ambient mic at a bit over half. The flautando in Symphonic Strings is also quite nice, but as with almost all the articulations, I prefer Chamber Strings by a pretty wide margin.
Good to remember how Spitfire's sounds are crafted - by human hands; nice to put a face to that. Just got "Intimate Strings". Even if you're considering a more elaborate string library later on (I am!), Intimate Strings won't seem obsolete/redundant. Since they're ensemble patches, it'll always be useful for sketching things out. Incredibly inspiring and lovely, too! The Flautando fucking kills me! Bravo!
Thank you very much for this. It is my life's struggle to understand why I have such a hard time computing music theory but still be able to compose and arrange all kinds of music styles and genres thanks to my encounter in 2011 with a DAW (Logic pro) and youtube. I am looking for human connections with other species like me but am now at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Canada stuck and desperate to find answers....And by the way, I am 65 years old.
I studied composition at a top music conservatoire in Salzburg, like the guy who studied at a top conservatoire in London who wrote a comment here before me. It might surprise some people to hear this, but we aren't really taught orchestration, harmony and theory in too much detail. It's covered in your undergrad of course, but in general you are expected to figure a lot of it out yourself by doing independent score study. You learn full orchestral arranging by simply doing it and having someone more experienced in it tell you what might be worth changing. It's honestly nothing more than that. T
Good for you! As a lad, (I am 77 now)...I wanted to major in music in undergraduate school here in the U.S....so I started taking a course in music theory as a Freshman and early on...we had an assignment to "compose" something...so I did what occurred to me based on the assignment....BUT!...being a "jazzer" - trombone player who played a LOT of Be-Bop...I thought "this might be fun try." I presented my composition to the class and the Professor basically said, "We don't know this yet." I quickly dropped the class and majored in English literature...and I still compose in spite of that "helpful" suggestion....so for you youngsters...write what you hear...period.....I did.......and do.... :) (I was a session musician before my acting career took off.....)
I studied composition at a top music conservatoire in London. It might surprise some people to hear this, but we aren't *really* taught orchestration, harmony and theory in too much detail. It's covered in your undergrad of course, but in general you are expected to figure a lot of it out yourself by doing independent score study. You learn full orchestral arranging by simply doing it and having someone more experienced in it tell you what might be worth changing. It's honestly nothing more than that. To be frank, the "traditional" composers (the ones who tend to write on pencil and paper and don't dabble too much in electronic music) were always MASSIVELY jealous of other composers who were able to put together a quality sounding electro-orchestral mockup and those who were good at using samples more generally. Why? Because they know the tech buffs are more likely to get work once they graduate...!
True. I learned orchestration through score study before school. Orchestration in school taught me nothing
i would like to ask which conservatoire you went to
Wow! That is a surprise. I went to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and there we had a few classes in not only "Orchestration" but also a class on "Instrumentation" which is where we studied the instruments and their unique properties not combinations like in Orchestration. The Kent Kennan Orchestration book is my book on the subject.
@@ScottGlasgowMusic Yes we had those classes too, but you don't learn much more than you can learn yourself by opening an orchestration book like the Adler and score reading on a regular basis. What you learn in those classes are fairly basic when compared to real life orchestration
@@DIDCHOI Sure! My biggest lesson was going to weekly orchestral rehearsals with the scores of the piece they would be performing at the next concert--- listening, studying, asking why something was working. Then of course our quarterly orchestral readings of our own music. Studying scores is a life long process but being in an orchestra or at least the rehearsals weekly for years can be the best lesson for your ears IMHO as a composers.
This isn’t a TH-cam video. This is a MasterClass. Fantastic! Thank you so much for an amazing lecture.
You often "apologize" for not being formally trained. But formal training has ZERO to do with talent, and creative people learn and create in different ways. There is no wrong way to learn. And personally I think it's admirable that someone can do as much as you've done without any formal training. You serve as proof that it isn't absolutely necessary for success, which gives hope to a lot of people who simply aren't wired for reading music. So please celebrate that rather than apologize for it. You are not an imposter. The fact that you can do what you've done without formal training actually makes you THE REAL THING.
I think that's the point :) Christian wears it like a batch and that makes all of us think that any of us can do this. Brilliant marketing too!
There is definitely a huge difference between a composer musically trained that maybe has even played an instrument for years and someone that picked up orchestration on a software. You can hear in the compositions that the spitfire team composers are only scratching the surface of the harmonic and melodic potential of orchestral/instrumental scoring. It takes years of dedication to train your ear to hear all these chords changes and melodies, and i believe their talent takes place more in the sound design, sonic atmosphere and overall sound of the music instead of the actual compositional elements
Finally, someone said it. You just need to listen to Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto to understand. There are nuances in the sense of timing, timbre, and phrasing that require you to be an experienced player to notice. Not to mention counterpoint, musical form, structure, and arrangement. There’s no way samples, MIDI automations and Synchronous Waves Acoustic Modeling will replace the sensibility of a great player, composer, and conductor. This doesn’t mean “a producer can’t write good orchestral music/soundtrack”; it means that they can’t write memorable absolute music, especially in concert form.
Just my heartfelt opinion, as a BA in electronic music.
Not only is this a superbly informative video, but I also think I’m I love with Alice…
I just realised, a bow is literally "plucking" (pulling and releasing) the string thousands of times per second. Impulse energy continuously put into the string so it can perpetually resonate.
Ooooh I like that!
huh, I never thought about it that way. Its an oscillator! :D
You're absolutely right. The bow does continually pizzicato the string. When I teach students to play short, sharp, hard, staccato notes, I tell them to think about pizz-ing (plucking) the string with the bow. Hey @Christian Henson Music, looks like you could do with some violin lessons
Everything is. Always has been.
Love your analogy Principle Audio! I was told and shown ("taught" in a wonderful physics course on Acoustics and instruments) that this pull and release action of the bow and string is what gives a string instrument's "oscillator" a sawtooth-like shape to the initial waveform (rise from left to right, then drop fast to the bottom, repeat). The fast drop to the bottom of the sawtooth is the point when the string tension exceeds the force of the bow stretching the string, and the string snaps back toward it's rest position. And the bow stretching the string is the slower rise from bottom to top.
Fantastic presentation Christian -- thank you VERY much!!!
Aside from the great points highlighted in this video, just gotta say the effort you're putting into each of these videos is outstanding. Production quality is through the roof! Just a real joy to watch.
Thanks mate!!!
Pure gold this beautiful, humble and generous video. Thanks a lot Christian 🙏 ..again.
As someone who's worked with Alice before (and lucky enough to be from the same town!) I can attest to her phenomenal skill. She's becoming more and more people's go to cello star in Scotland!
I am a 50 something year old violin/ fiddle player. I learned 30 years ago from a Japanese cellist the tone really changes depending on how close you play to the bridge. So close to the bridge is loud and harsh. Further away from the bridge is soft and mellow. Volume comes from speed of the bow not pushing down. I love spitfire libraries. It sounds like I am sitting in a orchestra again.
It's videos like this that made it possible for me to even get to where I am in my career without any sort of formal education. I'm forever grateful for people, like yourself and the musicians in this video, for being willing to share.
The enlightenment, gratification, and sheer enjoyment I get from your products and passionate "masterclasses" continue to deepen my appreciation for music, production, and the creative community! Thank you!
+1
I'm poor and can't afford them 🤣
@@JayTheLane
So when do you decide to change that (if you really want to)? 😁
Thanks Christian, it is so great to actually see how musicians achieve these sounds and the Intimate strings do sound fantastic.
Indeed!
Thank you so much Christian for getting Alice and Seonaid to demonstrate the violin and cello. Can you do more videos where you are having other orchestra instruments being demonstrated by the musicians: difficulties with the instrument, how to write correctly for the instrument, ranges, etc.? - Justice Constantine
Fantastic video, thanks Christian 👏
Amazing to see the terms from my Spitfire libraries brought to life and now I finally understand what they mean - thank you. All the strings (both real and sampled) seem somehow connected to something deep, wonderful and timeless... something that moves us in ways that is hard to explain and very few other sounds manage to do.
Christian this is a fantastic video. Feels like a documentary. Thank you.
Another excellent video Christian. Thank you. I've been working with Alice on a score recently and for us non string players the thrill you get from being in the same room as world class performers is my favourite part of the process. Always a privilege and an education.
I love the cello sound so much. So warm and spacious.
This is such a fantastic video. Thank you for the opportunity to connect with string players!
I'm beyond happy that BBCso Core has this sound, it's amazing. I immediately went to it when I was given the opportunity to write my first short film.
This was a great video to help me understand where these sounds come from. Thanks so much for making this!! Flautando is such a beautiful... emotion.
Great video! Learned a lot about the string section. And what a great library. Thanks, Christian.
Maybe it was just me, but that moment at 24:20... "... was to describe the sound that I wanted, and with the amazing open-mindedness of musicians these days, they were able to create that..." and Christian's voice catches just slightly.... chills.
Flautando is one of my very favorite Spitfire sounds, and learning the backstory behind it was enlightening, educational, and inspiring. Thank you for making these videos.
-- Justin, a composer who hasn't had any formal music education either
Your videos are great - love the intro and humour. Posh bath :-)
Thank you Chris!
I've only been privy to your content for about 15 months. The education I've had in composition is not without you as one of my professors, and there are few. The best educators bring wisdom into knowledge, and you my friend have that in spades.
I haven't seen you put out much of anything in the last few months and I hope to see more.
I wish you all the best and I pray that God is good to you and your Family.
I appreciate ya Brother.
All The Best to you.
Oh, and seriously....Thank you So much for all you have done with and for Spitfire
At this point, I Am exclusive to the product created there.
Simply the Best.
Like a Good Father, I hope without arrogance you feel a sense of love and pride.
Thank you
This was so great Christian, thank you for making and sharing this! These kinds of insights (from your channel) have been so helpful over the years -- they're a large part of why I have a 'career' at all. Thank you for your wisdom and for sharing the work of these remarkable players. Cheers my friend!
Great post Christian. Great to have Alice and Sionaid giving examples of bowing, dynamics and vibrato,etc.
Expression is everything when it comes to making music that is moving.Its the biggest challenge in the digital realm.👍
It is a fantastic overview. Love the flautandos. ;D Almost makes you want to cry - this is how emotional it gets. Thanks for Intimate Strings Originals. As soon as I heard this, I knew I need it for my new emotional compositions with an epic twist.
As often happens in my pursuit of sound, Alice and Seonaid showed me what a shallow understanding I had of what these articulations are and sound like! Many thanks to you all for helping me "feel" what these sounds are. In other words, quite enlightening CH!
So useful to hear the examples of the different techniques as they are explained. I have the samples and I have read a bit about the various techniques, but being shown how the sounds are made is extremely beneficial. Thanks!
Great video! The description of the sound playing at different locations along the strings reminds me of pickup locations on an electric guitar.
3:58 you are very skilled ah ah lool, love when you react to the camera, imagining us laughing, always a fun moment in your video !!
I'd love to see more videos like this. The amount of information brought across about the playing styles and bowing techniques used in the orchestra in such an easy to understand way is very impressive and helpful to know. I was fortunate enough to study music at a tertiary level, but this certainly filled in one or two of the gaps in my knowledge.
Thanks for taking the time to teach, your awesome. :-)
What an amazingly well put-together video
Excellent video Christian. Alice and Seonaid did a perfect job of illustrating the different techniques. The end result is a rather special string sound and the lower register sounds sublime.
OMG Chiristian bless keep bringin these types of videoss. Please more more. This is something that is nevered taught and is sooooooo valuable. One down Consordino and plenty more to go. GOD bless -Tony
I learned about string techniques (sul tasto, sul pont, mutes, etc. . .) over the years out of necessity from my interactions with string players. I knew I wanted harmonics after hearing them in a score and so I asked a violinist how to notate it; I wanted a muted sound so I checked checked with another; Is this figure ok to play at this speed is there a better way? . . . In my experience, string players are not only eager to explain things, but they're appreciative that you would even bother to ask, which builds respect. Conversely, reputations for composers that don't have a clue or worse, don't care to learn, about how to 'handle' strings parts, spread like wildfire.
To have these techniques explained like this, by such great players and in such an unpretentious manner is gold. Thanks CH! Maybe this could be a series with other instruments as well? I'm thinking of unrealistic brass writing at the moment. . .
These videos are warming. Educational, relaxing, interesting, helpful, and fun. I don't feel like I'm wasting time on TH-cam watching these! Thanks, Christian!
thank you Christian! i didnt knew that those strings sounds were made in that way! wow..please do more videos like this! :) loved it!!
I finally truly understand the different articulations, thanks for this amazingly visual education on the topic.
One of the most inspiring and informative videos I've ever come across. And by far the best commercial I've ever seen as well, I'm picking up the intimate strings library immediately.
Man, your work on Alien: Isolation is so inspiring. I hope you do more video game compositions in the future. A lot of my favorite composers nowadays are in the VGM space, rather than the cinema world. Austin Wintory, Gustavo Santaolalla, Bear McCreary, Darren Korb, etc. just doing some amazing scores and revolutionary work. That Alien Isolation game and score are just masterfully done too. Who cares about music school, most of the best things in life (and in music) can't be taught. Anyway, cheers.
Because of this channel, i have become a big fan of spitfire audio♥️💯
Flautando is my favourite string sound in my Spitfire BBC SO - love it! It makes everything sound great!
While I was familiar with the playing techniques involved, I still immensely enjoyed this video. There's something about a single isolated instrument doing simple side-by-side comparisons that hugely adds to my brain's ability to neatly store and categorize the information for later recall.
As far as sounds I keep being drawn to, well for me that's actually woodwinds. So I suppose it's more of an orchestrating habit. They often form the heart of my music, while the strings and brass form the bed it lays on. And even when I want to write more epicly, woodwinds still end up at the heart of it. Though if I have to stick to strings for examples of sounds I'm drawn to, it'd probably be portamento. It's old-school, maybe, but I love it!
Really appreciate seeing the techniques of the orchestral instruments up close and explained. Production quality on these videos, editing and all, is top-notch as usual!
This vid, as a lesson, an instruction, has taught me more than 5 tears at music college. Thanks for your tremendous honesty about music college or lack of it. You are at the forefront of sound design. I loathe 'formal' training and seek to blend formal with experimental. Surely you, Mr Spitfire deserve a government arts grant for this most educational music video I have ever seen. Now get on and concentrate on part 2........I can't wait
A really enjoyable video explanation of the use of some string techniques. Such a clear way to learn, superb. Thanks so much.
Great video with beautiful demonstrations of string bowing techniques and textures.
Brilliant Video thanks Christian!
Wow, what a fabulous video! This was so much fun to watch, and immensely helpful. Thank you so much for your time and expertise, as well as the others who helped in the video.
Brilliant production Christian. Watching the string players show the differences in the techniques has really helped me understand more about what goes into producing an authentic sounding string piece. Once again you’ve hit the ball out of the park on this one. 👏
Thanks Iain... I should do one for "short articulations".
I didn't know much about Spitfire before, but after watching some of Christian Henson's videos, I have become a huge fan... It really adds so much value to the product when I get to understand the process behind the creation of it...
As a cellist, this was really interesting! The cellist seems to be an amazing teacher!
The world needs more flautando!
Very very well put together Christian!
Flautando from Albion 2 has been one of my staple patches for years but never asked it of my live sessions (I marked in sul tasto in score / parts). Another great patch you made was in Albion 5 "Flautando Con Sord". Recently I tried a Kontkat multi of both patches-- very excellent sound. Thanks for the innovative sounds & explanation Christian! Great video as always.
Thanks Christian - that is wonderfully interesting!
Thank you VERY much Christian! This really is a masterclass. The amount of times I've looked up the definitions of terms like Con Sordino, Sol Pont and Sol Tasto... I finally feel that I really, easily understand them. From just a 26 minute video, that also contains a LOT of other content, all of which makes it so easy to digest. I really have to hand it to you! Now I'm wishing you'll do the same for the rest of the orchestra....
Great video Christian. You put a lot of effort in them, including the humour. Thanks from Buenos Aires.
This is great and should help me get more from my string libraries. Appreciated Christian!!!
Thanks Alan, honestly, there is no greater arena where I feel a thudding dose of imposter syndrome than trying to teach something I haven't been taught. Its comments like these that make me keep strapping along!
Awesome! especially the demonstration of string techniques, thanks!
Yet again, you share so much knowledge and insight with us. Thanks Christian!
The wonderful thing about music is that you never stop learning. Today I learned that some people wee in the bath 🤯
Today I learned that some people don’t?
Christian Henson Music Googling this topic before dinner was a mistake, but according to reddit and mumsnet, this is actually a thing?! I feel like I’ve been living under a rock! A nice dry rock 🤣
What a wonderful video. So much valuable information explained in a way that's accessible to everyone. If only all TH-cam contributors took a similar approach!
You've just gained a new subscriber.
To a guy from a working class family in the NW of England (like me), Christian is definitely Posh - despite his protestations to the contrary. :) This is a wonderful introduction to various string sounds - posh or not!
I noted that during the 'Vibrato' demonstration that evem though the physical cause of the 'vibrato' was pitch based i.e. the micro variation of vibrating length, that the Volume of the note also varied in step.
Now, this may be obvious to some, but it set me to wondering How this came about on a physical level…
Lightbulb moment; the instrument is a Resonant Being/Thing so at any one instant it 'rings' with the note's pitch.
During 'vibrato' the pitch being fed into the resonant system is being 'modulated' and the 'New' sound is fed into the Resonant Beast which is still sounding the previous pitch.
'Mixed; in if you will.
This mixing brings about phase cancellations, subtraction and addition of the micro-differing vibrations, hence volume variation in step with the pitch variation.
Synchronised pitch and amplitude modulation.
Voila !!!
I'm glad I got That one out of the 'Things to understand pile' in my brain.
P.S.
I'm an old sound engineer, you might think that I would have figured this out earlier.
This is the best video on string sounds EVER
Small and intimate sounds are beautiful and much needed in this already chaotic world in which we life in... Thanks Spitfire for providing us with such wonderful string libraries... I never regretted one second purchasing Chamber Strings a few years ago and this new Intimate strings sounds really nice... Many Blessings, Max T.
“Imposter syndrome.” That’s a very real thing, and I totally understand. It’s why these videos are of such endless interest to me. Over the years, I have spent so much time and money trying to make every noise that comes out of my DAW, as best I know, sound like it’s actually a “real” instrument. On one hand, it represents a kinda neurotic reverence and respect for acoustic instrumentation. On the other, it represents the fact that I cannot play any of these instruments - - and that I am totally indebted to those who do!
“Getting out of the bath to have a wee!” Lolz. Give this chap a TH-cam channel!
This video is an excellent compliment to the books you have suggested in the past. I am currently studying those. Thank you so much, please continue this exceptional instruction if time permits.
Fantastic video Christian, one of you best in my opinion. It really helped me to understand more of the sounds of stringed instruments and how they are created
I posted a comment, not too long ago, begging Christian to sell some of the Spitfire library as separate patches. I had everything I felt I needed, and empty pockets at this point, but just wanted to buy the flautando samples and not another entire library. NOW I can get the flautando and a dozen other articulations for $29 dollars! I love Spitfire and whoever composed that piece of music for the Intimate Strings library demo, I think it was Homay Schitz, is tuned in to the soul of the universe!
Fantastic video Christian. I used flautando samples on my Kurtzweil k2000 sampler back in 1996...the main reason being, it was the only workable string sample that didn’t sound like shit if you needed a good string pad and you were playing homophonic textures. Everything else sounded harsh, thin or obviously sampled. I think it’s the same reason everyone is going for damped piano. It sits perfectly under dialogue and, practically speaking, it doesn’t require lots of notes or composing time to sound emotional or profound...in fact the simpler the music the better.
I'm a Kurzweil boy to.... slow strings was a good patch?
Christian Henson Music I used the built in sampler. I think I remember slow strings though...but that piano sound was so distinctive.
Yeah, I was waiting for a new video from Christian. Sublime as always 👌🏾
Great content as always :) ! I'm so grateful for the incredibly interesting, enlightening and enjoyful content! Thank you, thank you thank you!!!
Fantastic video! As a violinist, I really enjoyed seeing some less common playing techniques get some love.
Great video! Thank you for sharing.
Still remember opening Loegria for the first time (bought it almost on day one). The flautando strings were a favourite which never lost their charm. Thanks SA
The flautando in Spitfire Chamber Strings is absolutely gorgeous. I love it even better with the close mic at ~75%, tree at 100%, and ambient mic at a bit over half. The flautando in Symphonic Strings is also quite nice, but as with almost all the articulations, I prefer Chamber Strings by a pretty wide margin.
I think this is probably my favourite video of yours thus far. Thanks Christian. Brass next? :)
This video is like a story... I love it!
Ok ...i'm sold, thanks christian always a pleasure to learn from & be inspired by your videos :)
Great quality content! Wish this was available when I first learned these things. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic content as always, I'm learning so much about the approach and concepts of orchestration and composition
Thank you! This is brilliant and has cleared up so much for me.
Excellent presentation. So inspiring to pick up my violin again!
Thank you for the great explanations and examples
Good to remember how Spitfire's sounds are crafted - by human hands; nice to put a face to that. Just got "Intimate Strings". Even if you're considering a more elaborate string library later on (I am!), Intimate Strings won't seem obsolete/redundant. Since they're ensemble patches, it'll always be useful for sketching things out. Incredibly inspiring and lovely, too! The Flautando fucking kills me! Bravo!
Thank you very much for this. It is my life's struggle to understand why I have such a hard time computing music theory but still be able to compose and arrange all kinds of music styles and genres thanks to my encounter in 2011 with a DAW (Logic pro) and youtube. I am looking for human connections with other species like me but am now at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Canada stuck and desperate to find answers....And by the way, I am 65 years old.
I studied composition at a top music conservatoire in Salzburg, like the guy who studied at a top conservatoire in London who wrote a comment here before me. It might surprise some people to hear this, but we aren't really taught orchestration, harmony and theory in too much detail. It's covered in your undergrad of course, but in general you are expected to figure a lot of it out yourself by doing independent score study. You learn full orchestral arranging by simply doing it and having someone more experienced in it tell you what might be worth changing. It's honestly nothing more than that. T
Great video. Where do I sign? ;)
Just picked up Intimate Strings, and its truly inspiring. Many thanks Mr. Henson. Completely blown away with the quality.
Incredible. Thank you.
Good for you! As a lad, (I am 77 now)...I wanted to major in music in undergraduate school here in the U.S....so I started taking a course in music theory as a Freshman and early on...we had an assignment to "compose" something...so I did what occurred to me based on the assignment....BUT!...being a "jazzer" - trombone player who played a LOT of Be-Bop...I thought "this might be fun try." I presented my composition to the class and the Professor basically said, "We don't know this yet." I quickly dropped the class and majored in English literature...and I still compose in spite of that "helpful" suggestion....so for you youngsters...write what you hear...period.....I did.......and do.... :) (I was a session musician before my acting career took off.....)
I've always loved the way Spitfire string libraries work when it comes to vibrato control. Not easy to do in a lot of other competing products.
That's beautiful.