Last week we were asked to record a string quartet onto a pop song for a producer in Hong Kong. As a deadline was involved and a couple of our regular studios were either fully booked or unavailable, we contacted a local recording facility called Black Frog Studios in Thame.
Situated in an industrial unit, the studio had plenty of space to accomodate many musicians. As the parts were already very well written for stringed instruments and the producer had sent over a detailed click track alongside the mp3 of the song, recording was a very smooth and easy procedure (despite a few challenging passages in the first violin part).
Steve the engineer sent the completed track over the following morning via a file upload site and the client was very happy with the end result. It was only 5 days from the client’s initial enquiry to him receiving the finished recording, so it was vital to get studio availability as soon as possible and we’re really pleased to add Black Frog to our list of efficient and reasonably priced studios that we’d recommend.
Much of the recording work we do involves the use of a ‘Click Track’. A click track is an audible metronome which is fed into a set of headphones and enables a musician to play with complete rhythmical accuracy.Generally a click track will be played in addition to the other instruments which are already recorded, so the session musicians can hear both the click and other parts of the music, since a combination of both gives the best of both worlds.
A lot of singers, songwriters and producers tend to record and build a track around a specific metronome marking so that all of the instruments tally and play perfectly in sync together. A click track also enables instruments to be recorded separately, so drums could be recorded on a different day, in a different studio or even a different country to the guitars, vocals, strings and other instruments on a track. It is also a valuable tool for engineers and producers to be able to communicate with musicians and quickly identify any mistakes or areas which need to be re-recorded. By knowing how many beats are in a bar and setting the click to that time signature, an engineer can liaise with musicians freely using bar numbers, even if they don’t read musical notation.
Sometimes tracks are not recorded to a click and this can give the music a real sense of freedom. If musicians are overlayering other instruments which are already recorded in a track, this requires a strong attention to detail and a good knowledge of the piece to ensure split second accuracy. If a session musician receives a track which has rhythmical inaccuracy inherent in what has already been recorded, it may be necessary to record without a click track or the end result might have strings which are absolutely perfectly in time but don’t sync up with the vocals and guitar (which aren’t). This is also true with music which changes tempo regularly or has pauses and changes of time signature.
Often a click track can be used to save time in a studio. A string orchestra or quartet may record a piece which requires no further overlayering and due to lack of studio time may decide to use a click to ensure rhythmical accuracy. The alternative of allowing more rhythmical freedom without the click could result in the music speeding up or slowing down fractionally or not being ‘tight’ enough. There is a danger here that the click may kill any sense of the ebb and flow of a piece of music and straightjacket musical freedom. So on the one hand it can create greater accuracy but this can sometimes be at the expense of feel and expression.
Many of the songwriters and music producers we deal with don’t read music and therefore rely on allowing programs such as Logic to print out a score of the music for them - these are then sent to us by email along with the song or track and we are asked to record the written string parts .
People often put a lot of faith in a midi score and don’t realise that the slightest discrepancy in rhythm or pitch (when played in on a keyboard) results in an inaccurate print out of the music represented. Sometimes this can take the form of many tiny note values tied onto the next in it’s attempt to rationalise the rhythm of the music. This can mean that the music is often scored with highly complex rhythms that no musician could easily read or play. Another common problem is the incorrect use of enharmonic notes. Enharmonic notes are those that differ from each other in name but not in pitch (e.g a Bb and an A#). This means that a session musician can be playing in a ‘flat key’ and half the notes are printed out as sharps which throws the musician and can mean that they are temporarily unable to understand the notes at speed. Recording has to stop whilst the players work out what the part should be - often spending quite some time re-notating the score.
On a more subtle level, a midi score is rather like a rough sketch of a painting without any of the details. There are no dynamic markings, articulations, slurs or marks of expression so providing this to a group of studio musicians is asking them to use a lot of guesswork in how they’ll play the music. All of this wastes valuable recording time and when there are several musicians involved, this can amount to money down the drain as the clock ticks by and they try and make sense of the score.
Although deciding against the professional services of an orchestrator or string arranger might seem like saving money, providing session musicians with a computer generated score means there will almost certainly be parts which are unclear, lack detail or in the worst case scenario can mean the final recording doesn’t sound as it was intended to. String parts in particular are best written by someone who understands how a stringed instrument is played (see previous blog entries on the drawback of composing string parts on a keyboard).
When we are sent a score generated by midi, there are almost always problems with clefs (such as the viola being written in the treble clef) and notes out of the range of a real instrument - despite the program saying it should be playable.
Arranging and orchestrating is something which requires training and subtlety - and a computer as yet can’t match the accuracy and detail of a trained arranger.
Very often we are asked by clients to book a recording studio ourselves (or to recommend one) and although the cost of hiring a recording studio can vary enormously, we always try to keep within a sensible budget to maintain cost effective recordings. It is sometimes hard to accurately estimate how long it can take to record strings in a studio as things may run very smoothly with the recording being finished surprisingly quickly, or hiccups can arise which slow things down. With session musicians and studio engineers usually paid on an hourly rate, it’s important to make every minute in the studio productive. From the players point of view, any professional will make sure they turn up a little early, with their instrument ready to play and any tricky parts to the music already prepared. A studio can organise things beforehand too - with chairs set out, microphones in place and everything set up ready to record straight away.
But what are some of the factors which (in our experience) can improve the efficiency of studio work?
Firstly, it’s absolutely essential that any string parts which are to be recorded are composed or arranged and agreed with the client beforehand, ideally when other instruments and vocals are already in place so that strings can be written to enhance the rest of the track. Turning up at the studio and being asked to improvise or collaborate is likely to waste time whilst players agree on how and what to play, and it’s always a risk that the client might not like the results, having envisaged it sounding entirely different. A properly prepared score can save literally hours of time in the studio.
Likewise, if strings are to be added to a track with other instruments and vocals already recorded, it’s important that no ‘last minute changes’ are made to this after the string arrangement has been done - because the score the string arranger has prepared may well differ meaning the string parts don’t line up with the rest of the track. This can cause confusion and delay as the players try and work out how the score needs to be amended before recording can resume.
A string arranger can make the score very detailed with bowings, articulations, dynamics and other subtleties written in so that players can simply go in and play the music right at first reading. Sadly this is not always the case and can be a major bugbear of session musicians. Even in the case of top film and television soundtrack recordings if an orchestrator or arranger has not been very detailed in their scoring, much time can be wasted in the studio.
So when seeking a quotation or estimate for session musicians, so much can depend on the quality of preparation done beforehand and this is the responsibility of the client as well as the orchestrator / arranger. Poorly written parts can take literally double the time to record and although many bands or songwriters think that money can be saved by doing it themselves, it can often be a false economy.
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 making a pop record.
One of the most important things to get right when arranging strings for a pop / rock / folk track is having the insight into how much or little to add and whether the ‘weight’ of the strings is appropriate to the qualities inherent in the track.
Strings should enhance, enrich and embellish a song, without dominating or being so fancy that the ear is drawn to them and away from the vocal line / other instrumentation. Sometimes writing less does add more and occasionally a sparse string timbre can be ideal to bring out the textures of a more subtle song - a bit like applying a hint of natural looking makeup rather than thick black eyeliner!
Occasionally a client will envisage a huge symphonic string sound that could be full in it’s own right but in the final mix could be moved back so that it sounds more distant while retaining the orchestral feel. A good example of this would be a powerful rock song or anything that already has lots of other instruments in it and can literally take the weight of a big string section. A string arranger has to think rather like an architect - if strings are applied too heavily onto a delicate song, then the overall structure of the piece can buckle.
In a lighter track, where the strings are going to be quite forward in the mix, they should weave between the vocal lines, rather than doing something elaborate at the same time as the vocal melody. Any intricate writing could occur between verses to add variety and life to the track and if chords are written, the spacings need to allow the melody line to breath. As an example, using lower chords or solo cello / viola parts can compliment a higher or female voice whereas a lighter, higher chord in the violins can frame lower melodic lines or give more of a shimmering effect over a track.
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 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 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.
One of the challenges involved in playing a stringed instrument is the ability to cope with different climates and the corresponding changes that these can bring about in the instrument. As violins, violas, cellos and double basses are all made from what were once living, breathing pieces of wood, they are all subject to slight expansions and contractions. From a player’s point of view, this can make an instrument seem ‘tight’ or the strings feel harsh as well as creating a few whistles or making them go quickly out of tune.
In such conditions, performers across the world are still able to give of their best and as this article is written in temperate England, it has to be said that we have very little to complain about! We don’t have to contend with excessive humidity that players may experience in say Florida or Bangkok, nor the dryness of a high altitude I experienced when playing in Aspen, Colorado. Perhaps we all need to develop the versatility to play well, even when our strings are out of tune - in fact it is good to occasionally practice on an instrument slightly detuned as we’ll certainly have to cope with that when it happens in the middle of a concert.
We also need to be able to respond to different climates (hot, cold, dry or damp) and rapidly adjust our playing if a string somehow feels different, or our left hand fingers seem ’sticky’ on the strings, making gliding between positions less easy. In such circumstances, the player has to try even harder to connect with the music in every moment, hopefully transcending moisture and heat.
When it comes to recording in the studio, especially in the summer when hard work and a closed room can cause players to perspire more, humidity can become a real issue. A couple of years ago I remember recording 3 days of demanding music in a very enclosed room without the benefit of air conditioning. As the hours wore on, strings became increasingly difficult to play on and the bow seemed to slip across the string a little. In this circumstance, we just had to try harder and put even more of ourselves into the music, with regular breaks to go outside with our instruments and take in some much needed fresh air!
The viola (like the cor anglais) is one of those often neglected instruments that has such a unique tone in it’s own right that it’s a surprise that it is not written for more often. It’s sound is warm, mellow, thick and less penetrating than the violin. A viola is also capable (in the right hands!) of being immensely passionate and powerful and not just an instrument to ‘fill out’ the quartet sound or provide chords whilst a violin or cello gets all the glory.
Sometimes when we are approached by clients to arrange strings, they ask for ‘violins and cellos’ and seem to be oblivious to the many possibilities which are opened up by using a viola effectively. Just like a violin, a viola can be played virtuosically with rapid scales and arpeggios, or with double stops such as octaves, thirds and sixths. Up on the A string (this is the highest string with the D, G and bottom C string below it) the viola can soar with a beautiful, high register that despite only being a fifth below the violin nevertheless takes on a completely different quality.
As a string arranger, if I were looking to create a thick sound that shared most of the range of a violin but could sing out in a slightly lower register I would write primarily for the viola (or viola section) with the other strings in more of an accompanying role. The secret to good writing, whether it be a string quartet or string orchestra is the constant interplay between the various instruments - if one instrument has the melody throughout, it soon becomes slightly monotonous but if there is a constant exchange and ‘conversation’ between all of the parts, this adds a much greater texture and sense of interest to a piece. Rather than being static, when all the instruments are exchanging melodies within the ensemble, the music becomes much more fluid and alive.
So, let’s banish the days where the violin is the ‘king’ of the string section and bring forward the viola for a gentler but no less distinguished sound!
This is a technique reserved for the most skillful players and when executed rapidly and cleanly, up and down bow staccato can have a mesmerising effect. It is different from normal staccato in that the bow in effect scoops several times in an up or down direction with a gap in between each note. Slowed down, the bow presses into the string (like the martele) and then releases as the bow travels before stopping - and then the whole process starts again. The movements and distances involved are minute and many players find that stiffening the bow arm is a way of playing this effectively.
Up and down bow staccato is notated as a series of notes with dots above the note heads all slurred together, often as many as 24 notes in one bow. This is exactly the same notation as for an up or down spiccato passage and it is up to the players judgement as to which technique to use. As an example, in Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen there are many such passages but as they are notated so rapidly, they cannot be played as staccato at such a high speed and therefore must be spiccato whereas in Wieniawski’s second violin concerto (first movement), there are passages of semi quavers that are written at a speed where an up bow spiccato wouldn’t be impressive, but an up bow staccato would wow the audience!
In a string arrangement, it would probably only be written at a very slow speed - perhaps accented to create an attacking or percussive feel with the strings. Only in a string concerto that was designed to show off the talents of a virtuosic performer would the rapid up or down bow spiccato be written.
It may well be that putting a passage of rapid up (or down) bow staccato in front of a group of studio musicians could cause a few raised eyebrows and would generally be written for a solo instrument (where the player was warned in advance!)
