Bravo - String section Attempt

I did this using Vienna Instruments string. I only started with 30.4 seconds of work as I did it for a studio logo for someone submitting show to network. Just turned into this for fun. Hope it’s okay but may need a lot of work :frowning:

shades of Jan Hugo Vorisek, Peer Gynt, Handel’s arrival of the queen of Sheba and other Baroque stuff…outstanding!!
really enjoyed listening to this…if you could sell talent you’d be a rich man, I’m sure this will interest Jonathan (musically and technically )…so much talent from all sorts of genres on this forum…Kevin

Get those TIMPS louder !!! :mrgreen:

Haha love that. Its funny I had to cut percussion out for clip I did because of fade notes on Video. It is so hard (almost impossible) to work with Cubase doing real video production. I am thinking of looking at another solution for this does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks Kevin all I can say is I wish lol on all accounts you mentioned. Don’t care so much about the $$ but it would be nice not to struggle :slight_smile:
On another note the way Handel approaches strings is great, I really have no training besides my ears for this but the note interpretation for cellos/strings during that time is what I really like.

Try and keep as many of the chords as you can DIATONIC (to the Key you are in). If you need to make a ‘passing chord’ or one which has a ‘chomatic alteration’ in the melody :-

Use 1st or 2nd Inversion chords (eg. In the Key of C Major - B/D#, E/G#, A/E, F#/C#).

And/or Diminished chords (of which you know all about these already) :wink: .

HAYDN is the man to listen to. Check out his string writing in his Symphonies. That would be an excellent strating point dude.

You did this with no training I would say ‘Bravo’. I can hear this piece as the music in a movie, I don’t mind the harmonies that you used, to my ear it makes it more interesting. For a first attempt, not bad. The instrument, I think it is bassoon (not sure) that comes in at 2:58 sounds a bit loud in comparison to the rest of the instruments and I would like to hear more volume swells and contrasts in volume. Michael.

I wish I could do this. For a second there, some parts reminded me of “Fargo’s” sound track. Most cool.

U sir are in a league that very VERY few players are in as both a writer and musician, I’d play for you any day of week :slight_smile:

oh and thanks!
Kenny

You did this with no training I would say ‘Bravo’. I can hear this piece as the music in a movie, I don’t mind the harmonies that you used, to my ear it makes it more interesting. For a first attempt, not bad. The instrument, I think it is bassoon (not sure) that comes in at 2:58 sounds a bit loud in comparison to the rest of the instruments and I would like to hear more volume swells and contrasts in volume. Michae

Thanks, I have done many string/horn arrangements for pop/jazz. I did a fugue about 2 minutes long when I was trying to play Bach (trying is the key word). But I never tried anything like this. I may try and finish it and make a whole piece one day.
I was wondering if the Bassoon was 2 loud when I mixed thanks for pointing out. The major string parts at begin and end were mixed powerful because they were pitched as a production company logo (30sec and 1min length) for a network show, I hope they use but I also did a CSI type piece to give them more choice.

You did a lot better than I would do! Keep at it.

Just did a slight edit to Bassoon and clarinet and turned down mix to hopefully create more dynamic range as was suggested…Probably won’t mess much with it more unless I write another movement (it just takes so much time to do and I always say why am doing this lol) Hope it’s a little better

Can’t quite put my finger on it but I prefer the first version… :confused: …Kevin

I’m not familiar with the library so I don’t know what patches/articulations it features. But at like 0:36 the strings don’t quite sound right. At 0:56 the strings again sound like they’re using a sustain patch when they should be using a combination of staccato/marcato patches I think, same for the solo viola or cello at 2:45ish playing shorter notes. The horn note at 0:12ish should really drop a bit more in expression toward the end of the note.

Does the library allow control over vibrato at all? At 3:50 I think the strings should be playing molto vibrato at that point. The theme itself has an elegant sound but I thought it could have done with a moving cello part a little higher, the horn made it sound a bit too heavily balanced to the left during those sections.

Using solo instruments is tough because it’s very hard to get them to sound realistic without using pre-recorded phrases. There are some nice virtuoso runs and style of writing in there. Your jazz stuff is exceptional, it’d be interesting to hear more classical stuff as you refine the writing and MIDI engineering. It’s taken me a while to start to get better results, I was more adventurous with ideas and orchestration when I didn’t know what a DAW was and just wrote with pen/paper and notation programs. Well done so far Kenny.