![]() ![]() While it's pleasant to daydream about writing for a full‑scale symphonic line‑up, I've found that you can get a very pleasant, acceptably rich and lush sound with 22 players: 14 violins, four violas and four cellos. The size of the ensemble is usually commensurate with the magnitude of the budget, and because the players' session fees tend to be the most expensive component of string recording, there's always pressure to keep the numbers down - "Do we really need 26 players? Can't we manage with 12?” When creating a string arrangement for real players, it's important to be clear in your mind what kind of ensemble you're writing for - after all, 'strings' can mean anything from a string quartet to a full‑sized string orchestra of 60 or more players. I thought it would be instructive to explain how I set about creating this particular arrangement, both from a musical and technical standpoint, in the hope that it might help demystify the somewhat daunting business of writing for strings. Following that, Porcupine Tree's singer/guitarist Steven Wilson invited me to arrange strings for a song called 'Truenorth' he'd co‑written with colleague Tim Bowness for their longstanding art‑rock project No‑man. In case you're wondering, the band in question was Porcupine Tree and the album was Fear of a Blank Planet, released in 2007. When he mentioned that his group needed a string arranger for their new album, I volunteered my services, and (thanks to the powers of nepotism) was duly hired. But, of course, in the music biz, who you know is far more important than what you know, and I must admit that most of my recent arranging jobs stemmed from my friendship with a member of a successful band. I've always enjoyed arranging for orchestral instruments: I started out writing parts for small sections and soloists to overdub on my former bands' albums, then progressed to the larger ensembles required for film and larger‑scale pop/rock productions. My qualifications for the job are not the conventional type I didn't progress academically beyond music 'O' level, go to music college or learn my craft working with orchestras, but I do have a store of self‑taught musical knowledge acquired over a lifetime of composing, and certain practical skills developed via playing keyboards professionally since I left school (a happy event which took place not long after the demise of black and white television). Over the past few years, I've been lucky enough to get occasional work as a string arranger. ![]() In this first article in a new series, we explain how to get started. No matter how good the latest, greatest orchestral sample libraries may now be, you still need to develop your arranging skills if you're to create convincing string parts in any genre.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |