Posts Tagged ‘string arranger’
Monday, August 30th, 2010
Earlier this year, I completed a string arrangement for a client who commented that he liked the way that every ‘verse’ of the strings had changes and variations in it. He said that many string arrangements he’d heard had made use of ‘cut and paste’ with the same string parts returning in an identical way later in the track. This struck me as quite odd as it hadn’t occurred to me to ‘cut and paste’ anything in a composition or arrangement - when you have a 3 or 4 minute pop song, the whole thing grows naturally and will benefit greatly from variety in all of the writing, a theme can develop with variation and add real interest to the track, even if it’s low down in the mix. Changes between sections can be subtle but ideally need to keep some continuity (rather than introducing a brand new melody every time).
In classical music, a composer would usually take the opportunity when a melody returns later in a piece, to transform it with different use of instrumentation but retaining the clear melody or theme which had occurred earlier on. The idea of a later section being ‘cut and pasted’ has an anti-climactic feel for the listener - if this technique is used too often, the music becomes predictable and unmemorable.
With modern music writing software, there can be a tendency to simply highlight a given area and with the click of a mouse, repeat it later on in an unchanged form. Although that might seem like an easy option, it may not be using the full potential of the strings which could have enhanced the track far more with a little creativity.
Tags: adding strings to a pop track, creative string parts, cutting and pasting music, music notation, Orchestrating for strings, string arranger, String Arranging, Vaughan Jones string arranger, writing for strings
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Thursday, August 26th, 2010
Many violinists, violists and cellists have experienced the joys of playing a concerto with an orchestral reduction which has been written for the piano. Often, this is a more fulfilling experience for the string player than for the pianist. Part of the reason is because the reduction of a complete orchestral score to a piano part inevitably leads to ‘un pianistic writing’, but another reason is that tremolos (or tremolandos) are exceedingly hard to play on a keyboard instrument. They are sometimes written for virtuosic effect but the rapid depression of a single key is not practical, therefore the notation changes the tremolo to a rapid oscillation between two pitches an octave apart.
In reverse, there are many phrases that sit comfortably under a pianists hands that might be incredibly awkward when transferred to a stringed instrument which is tuned in fifths. An example of this could be rapid, slurred semiquavers that occasionally jump from an upper string to say, two strings down. This may fall within an octave hand span, yet the effect of rapidly jumping two strings could be clumsy and disrupt the flow of the music, even though it’s technically playable.
As many of the great composers knew, writing for stringed instruments well often involves ‘open strings‘ and writing within the key signatures which naturally suit the instruments. Any key is possible but as an example, the key of D major would project better than that of Db major. The reason for this is that there are more resonating notes in D major than in Db. To give a brief explanation, when played perfectly in tune, any G, D, A or E on the violin can be made to ‘ring’ and resonate more than other notes. As an example, the note A in the first position on the E string is an octave above the open A string and when played in tune can be made to ‘ring’ with the other string in sympathy. The same is true of the note A on the D string (the same pitch as the open A string) which is a very strong note on the violin with it’s ability to resonate with the open string and therefore a really meaty and rich sound can be produced on this note. On the piano, most notes in the middle register of the instrument have more or less an equal tendency to resonate (although I am sure there are many subtleties and differences between them). The ruling principle is not necessarily which key signatures sound strongest but which are easiest to play in terms of hand position. The point is, what sounds easy and right on a keyboard is completely different to what sounds natural and best on a stringed instrument.
When writing for strings (e.g a string quartet), the importance of using counterpoint (where each instrument has it’s own independent melody line that enhances and complements the others) is very possible on a piano, but for those writing chords it’s essential that each instrument in the string section has a line of melody which could be played in it’s own right and still sound musical. When writing chords, which notes are assigned to which instrument (whether violin, viola, cello or double bass) can make a huge difference to the overall sound and flow of the track.
Tags: composing for strings, counterpoint for strings, hire a string section, session string players, string arranger, String Arranging, strings arranged, synth strings, transcribing synth strings to real instruments, writing for sampled strings, writing for strings, writing for synthesised strings, writing string parts, writing strings for keyboard
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Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Throughout history, many composers have been primarily keyboard players yet have still written magnificent works for stringed instruments. They were able to do this by leaving the keyboard behind and gaining such a profound understanding of how a stringed instrument works that it was as if they were highly accomplished string players themselves. Many were associated with or had close friends who were famous performers and often concertos were written with help and collaboration from a specific player. One famous example would be the Brahms violin concerto which had much input from the Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Joachim. The point behind this is that the great composers took a lot of time and often went to great lengths to gain knowledge of the workings of an instrument they did not play themselves.
The big problem with scoring music for say, a string orchestra on a piano or other keyboard is that the writer will be necessarily limited by their hand span. Therefore, chords will be written that feel comfortable within the span of the keyboard players’ hands, but do not necessarily relate to the end product when played on stringed instruments. This is particularly true when strings are incorporated into a larger track where they are only one element within the whole. Here, the spacings of the strings need to be measured against the existing harmonies and textures within the track - it may well be that in a certain passage, low cellos and violas are accompanied by very high violins leaving a massive gap in the middle. This would be perfect in a song which had a thick middle register, but if the pitch of the track suddenly changed, the strings would need to adapt and move with it so as not to leave a gaping hole in one of the registers. Potentially if this was written on a keyboard, the composer or arranger may be limited by the way their hands naturally fall so intervals of e.g a major 10th which could be exactly what the music needed might not be written as it was awkward for the hand span of the keyboard player.
Another problem with arranging strings on a keyboard is that notes are necessarily depressed in a vertical direction as the keys are pushed downwards in a percussive way because the piano is a percussion instrument with ‘attack and decay’ in each note. This is not what is replicated on say a violin where the sweep of the bow and swing of the fingers can often take place in a more horizontal fashion, so a midi file played on a keyboard which is notated exactly for strings may end up with gaps between each chord that are not in keeping with the natural life and movement that strings would normally have. On a stringed instrument, a note can come out of the silence and fade in softly, growing and swelling before fading away - you cannot replicate this on a keyboard because on a piano, the note is always at it’s loudest at the beginning when it has just been played. Whichever instrument the composer writes on, they need a good knowledge of articulations and markings that are specific to stringed instruments, otherwise the music will lack detail and not come ‘alive’ when played. This can end up being a waste of resources as top session musicians are called upon to perform undetailed music that doesn’t lift the track as intended.
Perhaps one reason that synthesised strings (even the very expensive libraries) can sound so artificial is not necessarily the poor quality of the sampled sound but the fact that they have been composed and inputted by someone who is not thinking like a string player.
In the next blog I’ll be writing more on this subject as many people don’t realise that so much more can be achieved with strings when the composer gets away from the keyboard or midi and starts to think like a string player.
Tags: arranging strings from a midi file, notating strings from a midi file, sampled string libraries, string arrangements, string arranger, thinking like a string player, violinistic strings, writing for sampled strings, writing for strings on a keyboard
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Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
This weekend, we were asked to record the strings on two songs for a talented singer songwriter who is producing her own album of melodic ballads. As over the previous two weeks I had been arranging the strings on both tracks in collaboration with the artist, I was really looking forward to recording them and hearing how they would sound on live strings. Although the Sibelius software that I use for arranging can give me a pretty good idea of how the parts will sound, it can’t really add any of the feeling and sensitivity that we do when we’re playing on acoustic instruments.
The arranging had been done to a brief and a couple of Sibelius versions had gone back and forward via email until our client was happy. One of the tracks required intricate writing with a view to having an 8 piece string ensemble (like a string quartet but thickened to two players per part). The other song already had synthesised strings in the mid range which needed to be replaced with the real thing and expanded to really open the song out. In this second song, it was important for the string parts to really enhance the track without getting in the way of the melody or other instrumentation, so as I was writing for a 48 piece string orchestra, the arranging had to have a very light touch with the ability to have richness and power where necessary.
We started the recording session at 4pm and didn’t finish until after midnight! Although the session had taken longer than anticipated, the results sounded stunning and we’re very much looking forward to hearing the final mix.
Tags: adding strings to a track, getting the most out of live strings, how to write string arrangements, orchestration, singer songwriter, string arranger, string parts for a singer, writing for string orchestra, writing string parts for a pop song
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Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Although some clients who require string parts arranging for their tracks just give the string arranger ‘free rein’ to compose the parts in their own way and send the file over for approval or amendments, there are many people who already have some idea of how they’d like the strings to sound and have started to put together some strings for their track using Logic or other software. When this happens, I am usually sent the finished track with some ‘guide strings’ in and asked to notate these ready for studio recording (a relatively simple job), or to make them sound more natural by adding some movement or spacing the chords to allow the strings to sound fuller and more rich. When synth strings have been played in on a keyboard, it’s always a challenge to give them the characteristic feel of a real string orchestra because fingers going down on a keyboard cannot move in the same way as fingers naturally move up and down a stringed instrument. There are also clients who simply send the basic chord progression that they’d like and ask me to create something more elaborate with the strings, rather like producing an elegant frame for a painting - simply embellishing the existing ideas with the finishing touches. An example of this could be a track where the strings have all been programmed in the mid range on sampled synths and listening to the balance of the track overall, the range of the strings could be expanded. Extending the range can give the whole track a feeling of a ‘lift’ and lend it a sense of climax that it couldn’t have achieved with synthesised strings in the middle register. It’s also a matter of taking into account where the range of existing instruments and vocal lines are, then putting the strings in the ‘gaps’, weaving harmonies around what is already there.
Tags: getting the most out of live strings, notating for strings, notating from a midi, notating string parts, Orchestrating for strings, professionally arranged strings, programming synth strings, string arrangements, string arranger, transcribing synth strings to real instruments, Vaughan Jones string arranger
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Saturday, July 10th, 2010
All the members of the family of stringed instruments (excluding the double bass) are tuned in fifths. This means that (including the note itself), there are five notes in between each of the strings and when musicians tune up these instruments, they tend to play two strings simultaneously as the perfect fifth is a very pure interval.
When composers or string arrangers write fifths, there are a few things that need to be borne in mind to make it feel more natural to the players. One example of well written fifths is in Vaughan Williams’s ethereal ‘Lark Ascending’ - there is a passage where the violin enters very quietly in a ripple of fifths. The composer had a good insight into the playability of this passage as it falls very naturally under the hand and doesn’t go beyond third position on the E string. It’s all a matter of remembering that on stringed instruments, there are only four fingers available (with three intervals between these fingers) and therefore if a run of fifths is written, a gap of more than four notes between any of the consecutive fifths when written rapidly may cause a problem for all but the best of players.
The trickiest fingers to play fifths on are the fourth fingers because these are generally smaller than the other three fingers and therefore can find it more challenging to bridge the distance between two strings (this is particularly the case on the violin between the G and D string as it is on the viola between the G and D and C and G strings). On the cello, such fifths might be played avoiding the fourth finger although I do know some cellists with such sturdy hands that they’d probably be capable of anything!
Another thing that can cause problems (again for all but the most virtuosic players) are sustained fifths, written higher than third position on the E and A strings of the violin. Here the strings gradually become more elevated from the fingerboard as they make their way towards the bridge. With a soft hand and a sweeping motion, fifths can still be played in tune at this register but when sustained may not consistently produce the finest sound, so if fifths are needed up this high, a pianissimo marking would be far more successful than asking your players to attempt this fortissimo!
The quality of a fifth is what we call modal. The modes were a system of scales which were superseded centuries ago by our major and minor scales and crudely relate to the white notes on the piano (although centuries ago the distances between these notes were subtly different due to unequal temperament). Fifths can give an ‘other worldly’ quality and were used by composers like Debussy and Ravel to give a nebulous and dream like feel to a piece. A clever use of fifths can also evoke a slightly archaic feel as they were such a mainstay of 13th and 14th century harmony.
Tags: Arranging for strings, composing for strings, fifths on a stringed instrument, playing fifths on a violin, string arranger, use of fifths in composition, writing for violin
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Monday, July 5th, 2010
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.
Tags: adding strings to a track, cellos, folk strings, hire a string section, powerful string sound, session musicians, singer songwriter strings, string arranger, string orchestra for rock music, strings for folk music, subtle string sound, the weight of strings, violas, violins, writing for violins, writing string parts for a pop song
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Friday, May 21st, 2010
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!
Tags: Arranging for strings, hire a string section, hiring a string section, live strings for a track, Orchestrating for strings, session musicians, session viola, string arrangements, string arranger, string section, studio musicians, studio violin, viola, viola player, violin, violinist, violist
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Monday, May 17th, 2010
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!)
Tags: down bow staccato, flying staccato, martele bowing, ricochet bowing, session musicians, session string players, string arranger, String Arranging, studio musicians, up bow staccato, Writing for stringed instruments
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Monday, March 15th, 2010
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 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 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.
Tags: Arranging for strings, Click Track, composing for strings, Live strings, Orchestrating for strings, Robbed time, Rubato, session musicians, session string players, string arranger, String Arranging, String orchestra, studio musicians, studio strings, Writing for stringed instruments
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