Get up before anyone else in your house can bother you about anything, and go compose. Forget about "preparations," "getting in the mood," "waiting for the lightning of inspiration to strike," and all that other romantic nonsense that probably originated from people who didn't have to be artistic professionally. Just get up and go compose first thing in the morning, every morning. If you are student or in the early part of your career, compose sketches and short works, and move on quickly.
"You have to know all the strengths and quirks of each instrument and section, both individually and in comparison to one another... to capitalise on them or subvert them, or to ultimately get past them in creating your own personal style." Very well said. Informative, scientific, objective and also a good reminder of the rule in music that there are no rules but for the ones others have discovered in the past and the ones you wish to create for yourself too. Very professionally done.
Compose works that are 5-10 minutes long for chamber musicians, preferably people you know who are interested in performing or even just trying out your music. The larger the ensemble, the shorter the piece - up to an orchestral piece which I suggest at first to only be around 3-4 minutes tops. Remember that the more individual works you compose at first, the more performance opportunities you can be involved with, even if they're only a little salon piece or local wind band march.
I was taken aback by the photo at 4:25 - that's the San Diego Symphony in Copley Symphony Hall with Peter Sprague and Fred Benedetti soloing on guitars - I've actually studied European classical theory and jazz theory with both of them.
Read the credits - "Venus" from Holst's "The Planets." As to similarities, it's the other way around - this piece was composed 100 years ago - therefore, it is Hisaishi who resembles Holst.
There have been many experiments with player seating and audience placement. The problem as always is with unity of tone and solidarity of articulation. The farther you separate musicians, the less these essentials can be controlled.
I love your discussion of dynamics, and wanted to offer you a term of art that I've coined for a particular circumstance that I've often encountered, conducting pit orchestras. The fact that there's a cap to the volume we *should* produce in a particular venue (lest we drown out the singers) can lead to anemic tones. Wanting, at times, the orchestra to produce the energy behind a loud dynamic while still letting the singer through, I started telling them to play "mezzo-fortissimo". It's nice shorthand.
I think there is 1 exception to that rule of "Don't use mezzo forte or mezzo piano to introduce an instrument in solo". That would be the piano concerto and more specifically piano solo parts of it. The Piano is an instrument that has an equally interesting character at mezzo piano and at piano so really any dynamic can be used to introduce a piano solo.
@@maxalaintwo3578 I mean I understand what you mean by lit but the actual sound has 1 characteristic and it's just being incredibly loud. This channel is about the delicate beauty of orchestration and balancing often very quiet instruments. Usually the goals for orchestration are for your ideal "picture to be painted" using the orchestra, so to speak. Drum corps would be like using crayons as opposed to professional paint and paint brushes...
@@jur2823 Orchestration is an important principle for any ensemble. And quiet moments happen in marching shows all the time. Jazz big bands are also more “crayon” than orchestras too, but that doesn’t make them any less sophisticated, nor would it matter if they weren’t
@@maxalaintwo3578 jazz big bands have far greater capacity for nuance than a drum corps... a corps consists of 4 brass instruments, I really hope we don't actually think that's even close to comparable. Even in the 1920's they were composing much more beautiful, restrained, and interesting in terms of texture, music far better than any DCI group has ever performed. Quiet moments do happen in marching shows, they're just that, quiet. You should've maybe watch this video a little more intently, as piano often has a lot more to do with restraint, something marching ensembles don't really get across. I understand the principle of orchestrating is import but there's also reasons for why standard orchestras are filling concert halls and you have to pay yourself to participate in matching ensembles
My choir director always says: "A crescendo or a decrescendo without emotion is worthless. That's like just turning up or down the volume knob on a speaker." To him (and to me as well because of his tutelage), forte and piano are not about volume; they are like colors, different shades of intensity; they are emotions. The same can be said of pitches, tempi, ritardandos, etc.
I've been having this idea, perhaps crazy, a long time now of having the audience sit in the middle of the stage, surrounded by performers to really emphasize the variability of the direction of sound in conjunction with the color and texture of it. Right now I am picturing it more as chamber, rather than orchestral music, in a smaller setting. Has anything like this been done by anyone and to what effect if I may ask for you knowledge, Mr. Goss?
Thank you for this video, but that sound effect at 7:23 scared the hell out of me... out of nowhere, panned hard left and WAY louder than it should have been...
thank you.One more thing, here is bit of my personal information. I am recently graduated music tech student, i was not so familiar to writing music. I learned after joining the music school.
To put it more simply - your ability to bring meaning to your score relies on balance. I'm not saying that all function originates in balance. But balance allows you to distill the essence of which part means what. That in itself is a function.
Thanks - but throw away the word "volume" and use the word "dynamic intensity" instead. Remember that the whole point is about how much force is applied by the player, not ultimately how loud things are on a meter.
Hi sir , I really liked your presentation. I was wondering if you have any suggestion for making composition as a daily habit. Incase If you have please do suggest me.
Hi! Thanks for this great video, OrchestrationOnline. Can someone please let me know what is playing at the 5 minute mark please? Many thanks in advance if you can help :)
Of course, I wasn't saying Holst resembles Hisaishi, I was simply commenting on my love for that style of arrangement! :) As for the credits, it wasn't very clear to me, so thanks for answering my question.
i also play drums, little bit flute and sitar. I am also interested in strings and orchestra composing. I always think of composing many thing but neither one get done at time. Basically what i mean is that you said short works, do you have any suggestion that which instruments should i be composing and how should i approach them in terms of measures or bars and move on quickly?
Sorry if this is a silly question and it's obvious, but what is that fantastic piece of music at the 4:55 mark, please? I think I recognise it too, I think. I love high violins with sweeping low notes underneath like in that piece. It's similar to Joe Hisaishi's work on the Princess Mononoke score.
I'm so glad that you pointed that out in such a friendly, supportive way, that really shows me how much people support this channel and sometimes benefit from its content. :D
I'm sorry, I think you are overthinking R-K quote. He didn't think much about putting it down on the paper and you are just justifying his in-the-moment idea.
It's lovely, isn't it, to find videos on the internet with which one can leave comment after comment in disagreement. However, there is no "overthinking" involved here. I made an observation that has predictive power. What Rimsky-Korsakov means is clear, and works if you apply it to orchestration. Otherwise, there is a risk that a score will become a hell of mezzo-piano and mezzo-forte, without any colour, emphasis, clarity, or contrast.
Get up before anyone else in your house can bother you about anything, and go compose. Forget about "preparations," "getting in the mood," "waiting for the lightning of inspiration to strike," and all that other romantic nonsense that probably originated from people who didn't have to be artistic professionally. Just get up and go compose first thing in the morning, every morning. If you are student or in the early part of your career, compose sketches and short works, and move on quickly.
5:30 am EVERY DAMN day and loving it. Thanks for the great content, sir:)
@@AlexSonicsMusic Cheers, Alex! 🙂
"You have to know all the strengths and quirks of each instrument and section, both individually and in comparison to one another... to capitalise on them or subvert them, or to ultimately get past them in creating your own personal style."
Very well said. Informative, scientific, objective and also a good reminder of the rule in music that there are no rules but for the ones others have discovered in the past and the ones you wish to create for yourself too. Very professionally done.
I think it's less about knowing but discovering....we are so lucky now with spitfire audio etc...
Your teaching style and the amount of information packed into these videos is incredible. Thank you for making these available.
Compose works that are 5-10 minutes long for chamber musicians, preferably people you know who are interested in performing or even just trying out your music. The larger the ensemble, the shorter the piece - up to an orchestral piece which I suggest at first to only be around 3-4 minutes tops.
Remember that the more individual works you compose at first, the more performance opportunities you can be involved with, even if they're only a little salon piece or local wind band march.
I was taken aback by the photo at 4:25 - that's the San Diego Symphony in Copley Symphony Hall with Peter Sprague and Fred Benedetti soloing on guitars - I've actually studied European classical theory and jazz theory with both of them.
I also recognized that hall. As a San Diego native I enjoyed going to see the Symphony there.
Very impressive production - and very helpful... Particularly love your dispelling the 'dynamic thermometer'. Thank you.
Read the credits - "Venus" from Holst's "The Planets." As to similarities, it's the other way around - this piece was composed 100 years ago - therefore, it is Hisaishi who resembles Holst.
Ah the planets! I can't express how much i love that piece.
There have been many experiments with player seating and audience placement. The problem as always is with unity of tone and solidarity of articulation. The farther you separate musicians, the less these essentials can be controlled.
I love your discussion of dynamics, and wanted to offer you a term of art that I've coined for a particular circumstance that I've often encountered, conducting pit orchestras. The fact that there's a cap to the volume we *should* produce in a particular venue (lest we drown out the singers) can lead to anemic tones. Wanting, at times, the orchestra to produce the energy behind a loud dynamic while still letting the singer through, I started telling them to play "mezzo-fortissimo". It's nice shorthand.
I think there is 1 exception to that rule of "Don't use mezzo forte or mezzo piano to introduce an instrument in solo". That would be the piano concerto and more specifically piano solo parts of it. The Piano is an instrument that has an equally interesting character at mezzo piano and at piano so really any dynamic can be used to introduce a piano solo.
1:08 as someone who's come from alot of marching arts influence, this is the first time I've heard "walls of sound" mean a bad thing haha
It took this long to realize marching band isn't the ideal sound? 😂
@@jur2823 I dunno man, drum corps is pretty lit. Besides, “ideal sound” all depends on the goals
@@maxalaintwo3578 I mean I understand what you mean by lit but the actual sound has 1 characteristic and it's just being incredibly loud. This channel is about the delicate beauty of orchestration and balancing often very quiet instruments. Usually the goals for orchestration are for your ideal "picture to be painted" using the orchestra, so to speak. Drum corps would be like using crayons as opposed to professional paint and paint brushes...
@@jur2823 Orchestration is an important principle for any ensemble. And quiet moments happen in marching shows all the time. Jazz big bands are also more “crayon” than orchestras too, but that doesn’t make them any less sophisticated, nor would it matter if they weren’t
@@maxalaintwo3578 jazz big bands have far greater capacity for nuance than a drum corps... a corps consists of 4 brass instruments, I really hope we don't actually think that's even close to comparable. Even in the 1920's they were composing much more beautiful, restrained, and interesting in terms of texture, music far better than any DCI group has ever performed. Quiet moments do happen in marching shows, they're just that, quiet. You should've maybe watch this video a little more intently, as piano often has a lot more to do with restraint, something marching ensembles don't really get across. I understand the principle of orchestrating is import but there's also reasons for why standard orchestras are filling concert halls and you have to pay yourself to participate in matching ensembles
You have some wonderful instruction videos. Thanks for sharing a great resource.
My choir director always says: "A crescendo or a decrescendo without emotion is worthless. That's like just turning up or down the volume knob on a speaker." To him (and to me as well because of his tutelage), forte and piano are not about volume; they are like colors, different shades of intensity; they are emotions. The same can be said of pitches, tempi, ritardandos, etc.
Please keep up your stellar and inspirational labors.
I agree, the Venn diagram is a much better, and functional, way to understand volume dynamic. Wish my teacher had explained it this way 15 years ago.
Very nice video!!!
Excellent presentation. Very insightful and helpful!
For a fuller, more resonant effect, yes.
Could you briefly expand on what you meant by "rivalries" in the orchestra. Thanks.
You should be able to think of a dozen off the top of your head just by remembering that cor anglais is a thing.
I've been having this idea, perhaps crazy, a long time now of having the audience sit in the middle of the stage, surrounded by performers to really emphasize the variability of the direction of sound in conjunction with the color and texture of it. Right now I am picturing it more as chamber, rather than orchestral music, in a smaller setting. Has anything like this been done by anyone and to what effect if I may ask for you knowledge, Mr. Goss?
Great, as always! Thanks for the video!
This is truly a great lesson for me. Many Thanks.
Thank you for this video, but that sound effect at 7:23 scared the hell out of me... out of nowhere, panned hard left and WAY louder than it should have been...
Great video!
May i ask where the music at the beginning of the video come from?
And also what is the music that play at 4:55 ?
Thank you very much!
thank you.One more thing, here is bit of my personal information. I am recently graduated music tech student, i was not so familiar to writing music. I learned after joining the music school.
Great lecture. Thanks.
Great explanation, thanks!
To put it more simply - your ability to bring meaning to your score relies on balance. I'm not saying that all function originates in balance. But balance allows you to distill the essence of which part means what. That in itself is a function.
which picture is that at 3:16?
I love your vídeos!!
4:55 what is the piece???
You have to watch the credits, my friend.
Do you mean placing the audience at the conductor's position, or something like placing performers around the room like surround sound speakers?
Thanks - but throw away the word "volume" and use the word "dynamic intensity" instead. Remember that the whole point is about how much force is applied by the player, not ultimately how loud things are on a meter.
Hi sir , I really liked your presentation. I was wondering if you have any suggestion for making composition as a daily habit. Incase If you have please do suggest me.
Hi! Thanks for this great video, OrchestrationOnline. Can someone please let me know what is playing at the 5 minute mark please? Many thanks in advance if you can help :)
Of course, I wasn't saying Holst resembles Hisaishi, I was simply commenting on my love for that style of arrangement! :)
As for the credits, it wasn't very clear to me, so thanks for answering my question.
great stuff
i also play drums, little bit flute and sitar. I am also interested in strings and orchestra composing. I always think of composing many thing but neither one get done at time. Basically what i mean is that you said short works, do you have any suggestion that which instruments should i be composing and how should i approach them in terms of measures or bars and move on quickly?
Sorry if this is a silly question and it's obvious, but what is that fantastic piece of music at the 4:55 mark, please? I think I recognise it too, I think.
I love high violins with sweeping low notes underneath like in that piece. It's similar to Joe Hisaishi's work on the Princess Mononoke score.
Dynamics thermometer, R.I.P. Vive le Venn diagram!
Cheers, JF! (my favorite editor)
is it safe to say that if you want to achieve a bigger sound, then open up the chords?
what is the music that you play in the examples?whats the name of the piece?
Thanx a lot
you are using tenor horns, not wagner tubas in 10:40 sir...
I'm so glad that you pointed that out in such a friendly, supportive way, that really shows me how much people support this channel and sometimes benefit from its content. :D
only a sith deals in absolutes
Goooood....
I'm sorry, I think you are overthinking R-K quote. He didn't think much about putting it down on the paper and you are just justifying his in-the-moment idea.
It's lovely, isn't it, to find videos on the internet with which one can leave comment after comment in disagreement. However, there is no "overthinking" involved here. I made an observation that has predictive power. What Rimsky-Korsakov means is clear, and works if you apply it to orchestration. Otherwise, there is a risk that a score will become a hell of mezzo-piano and mezzo-forte, without any colour, emphasis, clarity, or contrast.