How to Write EPIC Cinematic Strings
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- How to write cinematic orchestral string parts starting with just 4-note chords.
🎻 Without This Your Orchestration Sounds Thin • Get This Right or Your...
📚 For a great book on orchestration check out The Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler amzn.to/3ab0EsO
Writing for violin, viola, cello, and contrabass can seem like a daunting task. In this video we'll go step by step through the scoring process and uncover how orchestration can be approached methodically.
Using a technique from a 1928 book by Arthur E. Heacox called Project Lessons In Orchestration, we'll learn how to go from a standard soprano, alto, tenor, bass arrangement and turn it into the epic Hollywood string sound we know and love!
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#orchestration #strings #cinematicstrings
0:00 Intro
0:33 Starting out
2:46 The filler
2:51 6 voices
3:39 7 voices
4:10 8 voices
4:49 9 voices option A
5:19 9 voices option B
🎻 Without This Your Orchestration Sounds Thin th-cam.com/video/m9A5nwkHECA/w-d-xo.html
I have been absolutely loving these videos. I’ve been playing folk and jazz music for most of my life, but never felt qualified to write in a more “classical” style. You do such a great job of demystifying orchestral music so I finally have the confidence to start writing down my ideas. Thank you thank you!
Thank you, glad it was helpful!
if you would write proper Jazz, im sorry but you could write basically anything..
I really, really (seriously) enjoy the fact that you took the time to make short and sectioned videos that are focused on specific techniques. I have seen countless "Cinematic Strings" videos that drag on for an hour and is basically a livestream recording. Your videos are dense and concise on the other hand. THANK YOU RYAN!
Oh my god, that's a GREAT lesson. Thank you!
Thanks!
Not once in years of music school was a concept illustrated so well like this, well done!
This man just giving away the big secrets like candy
Haha it's all in the books I just read them
So today I was busy with a string section for a song I am working on and it just sounded all too ... flat and empty. So I listened to Across the Stars to find some idea or inspiration to guide me. Then your video just popped up explaining how to orchestrate better, fuller string sections using Across the Stars as an example. What a coincidence!
i also think that its great to have the cellos play the melody is that most orchestras have the cellos on the opposite of the violins. giving it this effect of being wrapped up in the melody and really solidifies it as the melody
Terrific lesson, thank you. For me the step that had the most impact was adding in the grumpy double basses
Thanks, yea as someone who played double bass in high school I have a fondness for those bears as well
@@RyanLeach Well you have my admiration. I have tried to play DB and I discovered that my fingers were not strong enough. It's an awesome instrument. The best I can manage is noodling around on a baritone sax :)
Double bass player here! I absolutely love playing John Williams’s music - it’s so well orchestrated and powerful!
@@simongross3122 Ohhh the buttery tone you can get with a bari sax though!!!
@@Lufade I have to say bari sax is the most fun to play of any instrument I've tried. And yes it can be surprisingly lyrical as well as grumpy grouchy :)
As a violinist and violist who's played in orchestras for years and is now studying voicing and harmony so as to get into arranging, this was useful. subscribing.
The mention of parallel octaves set me back 13 years when I’d receive my harmony homework with red parallel lines all over it. Our teacher really didn’t want us playing it back on the piano to check our work, but looking back on it, I think I would have figured out how to practically apply what I learned in class if I hadn’t followed that guidance.
Confused by this. Parallel octaves are all over the place in classical music through history, parallel fifths are not.
this is abbbsoluuuute epic
Absolutely love these videos. I'm a flutist and clarinetist.
Maybe the best 6 min i've spent on a video for my knowledge. Man that's good !
Love this! So happy that i have found this channel. Great work!
This is such a great lesson! Please do more of these.
I really like your lessons! Very clear and concise!
This was a good way to describe without getting into the harmonic series!
Your videos are really helpful and the simple direct to the point explanations are worth analyzing and learning. Thanks for sharing that precious knowledge.
Really liked this one, Ryan!
Thanks so much for these linked lessons, this is the only one i knew most of already, but needed a review, together they fill out a big picture of things just sitting right
Soooo great!! Thank you so much for the videos!!!
Thank You Very Much Sir!
🙂🙏
Amazing I got more understanding. It’s funny by hear I was already doing most this because it sounded better to me just never knew the principle was actually something that can be done.
Super-quick and the colored string lines really helped illustrate the point. Earned a sub.
What a great video, very helpful and handy. Thanks Ryan
This opens up my eyes to how an iterative approach is used for writing music. Thank you very much!
Hello Ryan,
I have never seen such a comprehensible explanation.
Thank you for this detailed video.
Every video I play from your channel, I immediately hit the like button because I know I'm about to receive some incredibly helpful information. Thanks a ton, Ryan.
Great Lesson !!!
Thank you very much, I just made a composition for a short film and the strings ended up sounding great. I Love your videos
Really interesting and informative video! I knew exactly what theme this was as soon as that first chord hit.
This channel is an absolute goldmine!
Thank you for sharing this video. It will help in my compositions for my album. This gave me a new idea.🎶🎸🎵🎶💕
thank you!
Thank you so much 🙏🏻💜
Super helpful! Please do more videos like this!
Literally the best channel on this platform.
I've always struggled with writing orchestral works classified as "classical" but they never sound classical nor did they achieve the effect I want. This lesson on strings truly brought the entire level of the work up an octave. Thanks Ryan!
Short and sweet nevertheless massive info. Vielen Dank 🙏
Very useful!!
This content is really really useful! Thank you for your efforts and for sharing your knowledge!
Great content man!!!
Thank you so much
Thanks for crating ^ ^
Beautiful video!
Very nice video. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing!
Extraordinary. Thank you so much, gentleman. ♥️
Awesome video! Cheers from Argentina!
Thanks Ryan nicely taught
This is really useful. Thank you!
Sublime stuff
Great channel!!
very helpful indeed
Amazing as always Ryan 👏
Thank you!
Fantastic.
Ryan, just....thank you. Your videos have had a noticeable impact on my work in a very short period of time. I just put together a 9 voice section in strings (using the beastly method B), and I'm a little blown away by how powerful it's sounding. Exactly what I needed this part to be! I've just become a Patron and I'll be looking to your content here and there quite frequently from now on. Thanks!!
That's so great to hear, thank you
OMG! Ryan, your channel is a real revelation for me! 😍
Very good info
Great!
Love your tutorials Ryan
Thanks I appreciate it!
This is what I was looking for to complete my midi-orchestration self learning....😢😢😢🥇💯
This is increadible
Very helpful! Thanks.
No worries!
amazing.
I only play the piano, but it's interesting to see how much that enables me to read an orchestral score, or understand how a piano score would balloon into an orchestral one.
Great video
Wow!
You are my angel bro❤ Th very very very much .God bless you
Great video Ryan, thank you for sharing! :)
No worries!
Спасибо! Очень полезно)
И Очень доступно доносите материал!))
Wow. So beautiful
Thanks!
Great video! Thanks for doing this stuff! My orch teacher used to call the filler the "hidden harmony".
Nice, that's a great term!
Hi Ryan. Great video!
What would be great is if you’d showed each individual voice at the end, so we would have an idea what each voice sounded like
This helps....Massively
This is amazingly helpful! Are these different breakdowns also applied to the brass and woodwind sections of an orchestra?
Great lesson.
The filler line is very interesting as a concept!
Thanks! I agree, and outside of this obscure book I’m not sure I’ve seen it talked about
Awesome. Do you have any thoughts, guidelines or interesting examples around extending this approach to incorporate brass, woodwind and/or percussion?
Epic lesson Ryan.
Thanks Darren!
thats wild how much it sounded more and more like the movie with each expansion
Absolutely incredible explanation! Exactly what I needed!
Question, what would the brass and winds do during a passage like this? Do you have any videos or resources on that?
Would you please make a video how to have a rich combination of the woodwinds and strings?
Hey Ryan! I only just discovered your channel two weeks ago, but the videos have been so enlightening that I've found myself drinking through most of them! Thanks for the lessons and the comprehensive way you provide us young urn with the info✌️😅.
The example in the first 13 seconds of this particular video had me hooked immediately, and actually pushed me to try my hand at trying to expand one of my favourite pieces into an orchestral version of itself.
It's slow going (I don't have much in the way of formal music training, and taught myself most of what little I know) but it's actually going 😄 Wish you could give your opinion on my attempt so far (fingers crossed on a response).
But seriously, thanks for your content⭐
wow
VERY NICE... CAN WE HAVE MORE EXPLATION ON DOIN FILLER NOTES plzz tq soo much
Do you have a lesson on writing in Choral Style? I'm struggling with coming up with the core parts.
That’s a like from me my dude. Great vid! Now if only someone could teach me how to write a bomb melody and chord progression like that.
I have developed an interest for composition over the last two years, so I really appreciate videos like yours.
What software do you use, here for example? 0:10
Вот это алгоритмы ютуба выдали ! Райан, спасибо за годную информацию, лайк, подписка))
sweeeeet
So helpful. Thanks. What SAW are you using in this video?
for a DAW I use Logic
Very nice orchestration, if you have enough players per section to go into division though...
So in 9 voices option B, the tenor line goes up to Violas 2? It would be awesome to see a full graphic of the lines for 9 voices option B in the video, just as feedback.
By the way, I love this video and you do a great job of representing the orchestration techniques of these books. Ever think of doing a video where you just cover orchestration texts? (Kind of like you did with the orchestral scores?) I'd probably binge a few of them. :)
Hey, Ryan! Are you planning on doing a video about mixing symphonic music? I’m having a hell of a time working with orchestral plug-ins in Logic Pro X. Is there a video that you’ve already done that you can recommend?
By the way, your videos have revitalized my creativity. I’ve been learning so much about orchestration from you. Thanks for the great work!
Probably not in the near future, but I would suggest you check out the recent livestream we did with Joel Dollie as well as his YT channel and course on Master the Score
I may have to use this in a melody that I have for a villainous character I've been developing.
I think for a love theme the last one works best because the cello and the violins are singing in unison...as are the lovers..you can hear the male and female voice on the same page as it where...(I'm sure there are ways for writing for different combination other than male and female love matches off course...just the one I'm personally more interested in
Hi, Ryan. Can you explain, please, why at stage of creating four voice harmony we care so much about voice leading, correct tone doubling, spacing between alto and tenor (I mean close and wide chord position)? But at the stage of orchestration it looks like that all is not still so important, and any chord tone is doubled several times in any octave. Are there still some rules, which of voices and when can be doubled? Maybe some special cases for 6 and 6/4 chords? What if chord is 7, can we double seventh of this chord in octave as well in some other instrument?
Your channel is great man..very informative and articulate..Thanks for the knowledge
I have a question though..for the very last scenario of the 9 voices where would the Tenor voice (in its original register) go ? Now that we placed the soprano down an octave for cello 2..would we just omit the Tenor ?
Thanks again for your amazing work !
For that last 9 voice version from top to bottom it's this, so the original tenor line ends up on the violas.
Soprano 8va
Alto 8va
Tenor 8va
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Soprano 8vb
Bass
Bass 8vb
@@RyanLeach
Thank you so much !
While extended divisi is cool, lots of 'epic' string orchestration in a cinematic context is just two 'lines' in octaves, the melody and the bass. For example: vln 1, vln 2, vla on melody in two or even three octaves & vlc, and cb on the bass in octaves.
For variation, the violas and cellos could fulfill rhythm or counterline duties. Either way, the brass and woodwinds fill out the rest of the chords & rhythms.