Last Monday, we recorded three songs for an independent singer / songwriter based near to Milton Keynes. The client had written a number of songs, many of which required strings – either as a full orchestra or a string quartet. Sometimes, when non string playing musicians approach us with string parts that they’ve arranged themselves, results can be variable. One common problem is string parts that have been played into a keyboard and scored by a midi device (such as protools), without the understanding of notation. If the parts are inputted inaccurately, then all kinds of rhythmic anomolies can be present in the scores, as well as instruments frequently being allocated the wrong clefs. Sometimes the programme is not aware of the intended key and copes by placing accidentals all over the music, making it more difficult to read. Sometimes, the wrong enharmonic notes are assigned (such as a Db instead of a C#) and this takes time to comprehend, even for experienced session musicians.
Setting aside notation issues, we have often received parts without any use of harmony, such as individual lines of instruments all playing in octaves. This does not make best use of having a live string orchestra in the studio as a far greater effect can be achieved by scoring sympathetically for strings.
When session musicians are presented in the studio with inappropriately scored music, or scores which are full of mistakes, not only is costly studio time wasted, but it can sometimes feel that the full potential of what live strings can offer is not being made best use of. If bands and musicians invest in the services of a professional string arranger, the qualities of of hiring an orchestra to play on the track can be far more effective.
This week, we were delighted to be given string parts that were well written for the instruments and were harmonically full. They also had a conversational feel with one instrumental line answering another and the overall effect was complimentary to the rest of the track and a real pleasure to play.
Thanks very much to Leigh for uploading this video of the various musicians who contributed to ‘My Favourite Time of Year’ – by the Florin Street Band. It has little snippets of the strings in action and gives a good idea of the studio processes involved in co-ordinating various session musicians, recording live strings in the studio and making a pop record.
Earlier this week, we received a phone call from a music production company who specialise in writing music for television advertisements and films. Having recorded the piece with synthesised strings, they were looking to hire string players and replace the majority of them with live musicians so we were booked to go in today to record at Air Edel studios in London.
Various drafts of the advert were recorded so that the client and advertisement director could liaise and choose the most suitable version. All in all there were 8 different versions, varying in length between 30 and 40 seconds.
Having received the call on the Monday, I had to book the other players, exchange contracts, do a little bit of notation of string parts (so that when we walked into the studio we could make best use of every minute), so that we were all ready to go this morning. In fixing session musicians, a lot of work can be exactly like this – of a ‘last minute’ nature, so the ability to deal swiftly with enquiries, work on the score and in booking players is vitally important. As we have a pool of strong players, we can always confidently book musicians that we know and trust, assured that they are not only reliable, but that their playing is of a high quality which will shine in a recording.
We look forward to hearing and seeing the final advert when it’s aired on television within the next few weeks.
The literal definition of the Italian word ‘Rubato’ is ‘robbed time’, which doesn’t seem to be a particularly attractive way of describing something that adds such emotional meaning to a piece of music. In essence, it is where music is slowed down or speeded up to create an expressive effect. When done with artistry and musical sensitivity, rubato can subtly ebb and flow but without distorting the rhythmic pulse. What is taken away is always added back, rubato would never slow a pulse down and then not regain it later on, it is in a sense elastic.
In the studio, the only way of effectively playing rubato in an ensemble is through playing ‘live’, where all the session musicians are actively listening to each other and making minute adjustments as they play. It would not be possible to achieve a natural ‘pulling up’ or quickening with a click track. A click track is frequently used in recording situations, especially where string parts are to be added over existing instruments or vocals – it takes the form of a metronome beat heard only in the headphones of the session musicians who are working on the track. A click can be speeded up or slowed to suit the beat of the music players are working on and can even accelerate or slow down, but this rarely sounds very natural.
When music is of a metronomic nature (such as rock or pop music), then a click track can be highly effective and when used well, will not be betrayed in the end result. Recordings can sound perfectly natural where a click track has been used and often can have a tightness and accuracy that could only be achieved with a lot of rehearsing. Of course, if multiple overdubs are used then a click track is an essential tool and will cut down the studio time needed.
In more sophisticated music which is ever changing, the use of a click track can be more of a hindrance than a help and in that situation, musicians opt to use their ensemble skills and the end result will hopefully be far more natural.
The ability to play a pianissimo on a stringed instrument might sound straightforward but it is an area that many amateur and student players can struggle with. I remember when I was at the Royal College of Music doing an orchestral technique masterclass with highly experienced Rodney Friend and he said that to create a real pianissimo as part of a big string section requires the ability to play infinitely more softly than you would ever be required to play in a chamber ensemble or as a soloist. It is a sound that is barely audible with only a few hairs of the bow in contact with the string, like the smallest whisper – but when 16 players are doing this simultaneously, the effect can be breathtaking.
In a studio, one must not be put off by the fact that the microphone picks up so much surface noise as the sensitivity of modern microphones can quite literally pick up the sound of the rosin against the string (as well as players breathing). Whether a full string section sound is gained by the accurate use of overdubbing or whether there are many players involved, the end result should be a blending of many players’ pianissimo creating a velvety sheen. Inexperienced session musicians can often make the mistake of individually playing a pianissimo that would be perfect if they were playing on their own, but with many people playing this way the result can be too loud and full for the desired effect.
On Sunday the 6th December, we were booked as a string quartet comprising two violins, a viola and cello to record at the ‘Engine Room’ (part of the group of Miloko Studios in London). We were required to record string parts for seven tracks for an independent band – as these weren’t string arrangements that we had been asked to write, we simply had to turn up and play the music given to us on the day. The bands style favoured irregular time signatures which kept us on our toes with large sections being done in a single take to capture a live feeling of spontaneity. The end product certainly enhanced the sound with the tracks gaining richness and depth as a result of including live strings. In a couple of tracks, the producer discussed the possibility of using the tracks laid down by the four session musicians to add a top layer to existing sampled strings – this technique is becoming increasingly popular where there are many different sounds in the mix and can certainly help the strings to sound more convincing than only using samples.
Some of the work that String section does involves providing strings for composers or bands financing their own projects on a limited budget. People believe in a track enough to invest in live strings (rather than samples), but simply cannot afford to hire a full sized string orchestra without going overseas and potentially compromising on quality. Occasionally, in order to keep things within budget, or because only a few of us can fit into a smaller studio, we have overlayered the same players in order to create the impression of more musicians.
Although this might sound straightforward and the obvious answer to keeping costs down, it is actually a skillful process that only very good players are able to pull off convincingly. It is vital that the first string parts laid down are rhythmically perfect with 100% accurate tuning, as any slight discrepancies of timing or tuning can become exaggerated with a subsequent overdub. It’s often the case that this first layer takes the longest time to record and get right. If a handful of players are to successfully layer their sound a second or even third time, it can potentially end up sounding weird and slightly artificial – rather like a choir made up of the same few voices, without the variety of sounds produced by a large group. One way to overcome this is for the session musicians to add a little variety to each take, without disturbing the rhythm or intonation. This can be done by varying the speed of vibrato, changing the weight of sound and even playing a passage on different strings (so that some notes on the lower region of the violins ‘E’ string for instance could be played higher up on the ‘A’ string). A good engineer will help enormously and can subtly change the position of the microphones between takes to avoid ‘phasing’. ‘Phasing’ is where the identical frequencies are replicated or fractionally overlap, causing the sound to become sort of ‘fizzy’. When overdubbing, if particular care isn’t taken to avoid this, what started out as a high quality group of session string players can end up sounding more artificial than samples – which completely defeats the object of hiring live session musicians in the first place.
When overdubbing is done badly, it’s easy to tell straight away what’s gone on, especially in exposed passages. However if over-layering string parts is done with care and attention, the sound can be quite flawless- but success really depends on having excellent players, a sensitive producer and some very precise ears for detail.
On Sunday, we recorded a wonderful suite of pieces by the talented composer Philip Henderson. Assembled in MBJ studios were myself on violin, one violist, a cellist and double bassist to record (with the use of accurate overdubbing), works written for the combination of 10 solo strings. One of the challenges of the day was to try and judge how much music we could record whilst maintaining the very highest level of playing which would do the pieces justice. On one hand, we needed to best utilise having four session musicians together to cover the maximum amount of music (potentially 5 tracks, amounting to over 30 minutes of music), but it was vital to maintain an excellent quality of playing.
It was an enormous help to have the composer present as he could give us a very clear idea of how he wanted certain passages to sound and bring out the qualities he was looking for. With quite a lot of subtle shifts in tempo and phrasing and some quite tricky passages, we had all anticipated that the whole suite might even take a further day to complete – however it soon became clear that with the super efficient recording work by engineer Ben Jones, our motivation to get as much recorded as possible and crucially the input from Philip, all five tracks were able to be recorded.
We began by recording violin 5 with viola 2, cello 2 and double bass – and found that it took around 3 hours of recording before the double bass parts were complete. A further three hours and violin 4, viola 1 and cello 1 parts were complete. Then 3 more hours were needed to record the violins 3,2 and 1 parts for the first 3 movements of the work. The process consisted of building up from the bottom so that we could keep a tight rein on tuning as well as making the foundation for each track rhythmically perfect.
Any rhythmic untidiness will only become exaggerated with each overdub so there is a real skill in recording this way. We are all looking forward to hearing the end result as Philip Henderson has created some music of real scope which had quite a moving effect on all the musicians involved.
This week I was asked to produce a string arrangement for a dance track where they had to be very prominent. The brief was to make them sound aggressive and fast right from the introduction. The existing track was structured around four chords: F minor, B flat major, D flat major and B flat minor so there was ample opportunity to add rhythmically vibrant chords which repeated in staccato quavers. The accents gave the strings a dynamic style which will be compatible with the rest of the track. The challenge was to build up subtly throughout the track without peaking too soon but to give cohesion to the verses and chorus by retaining similar material. A string ‘hook’ appeared from the outset which then re-emerged later in the song, along with a counter melody in octaves in the violins which gave the piece added interest. The whole song died away at the end, the client seems pleased with the score and it’s now ready to be recorded by live session musicians.
Recently we were asked to record a prominent violin solo on a large scale work – the client had approached us wishing to hire a session violinist who would play with a particularly strong sound. It was an elaborate solo over a multi-layered backdrop at the beginning of the piece and lasting approximately 2 minutes. As the composer had already written it for a midi file, all that was needed was a quick transcription to written notation, so that it was all set for the studio.
Because the violin part was to be the main focus, at the forefront of the mix, the sound had to be really strong with plenty of shading and a high level of accuracy. As such, we did 4 or 5 full length takes and chose the best one. In this way, we were able to capture a ‘live’ feel with all the spontaneity of an improvised solo. It’s important to try to vary the sound and style of playing according to the style of music - as this was a rock track the violin needed to sound bold and prominent with a little bit of ‘edge’. The playing on the track was certainly a completely different sound than I would produce for a folk piece of pop ballad – and experienced session musicians have the ability to vary their playing to really suit the mood and style of the track they are recording for.
