Counterpoint is the art of writing individual parts that have complete melodic independence from one another yet work in harmony and compliment each other perfectly. It is a skill that comes from an advanced understanding of harmony and an innate grasp of what will sound correct. If done with imagination and flair, counterpoint can completely transform any piece of music into something rich and complex.
Fortunately, there is no computer (as yet!) that can automatically write counterpoint - it is an art that comes from a human beings inspiration.
There have been many sessions that we have been asked to provide strings on where the string parts have been sustained in nature and harmonically slightly empty (often travelling in octaves or unison with little texture in the middle). This can be appropriate where the other instruments are busy in the track but often it’s inappropriate and doesn’t fully utilise the presence of live strings in the studio. In this context, counterpoint in the form of a skillful counter melody or an interesting, moving part can provide a special feeling adding climax and interest to the string parts. When a composer is completely reliant on a keyboard and therefore bases much of the writing on blocks of chords, then the strings never really come alive. It is the presence of the individual strands which make up a beautiful, flowing whole - rather like a tapestry with different threads and colours woven through it.
If a string arranger is considering writing a counter melody (whether above the tune or in the middle register to add detail underneath), they can start by playing around with the three notes of the triad in the existing chords (in the instance of a 7th chord, this may be 4 notes). Before long, a melody will start to unfold based on these notes and eventually the shape of the melody will emerge, often through passing notes which allow it to effortlessly travel from one chord to another in a smooth succession.
Here’s an example of a string arrangement I wrote for string quartet - based on the traditional Christmas tune ‘I Saw Three Ships’. Although many carol books suggested which chords to put with it, I was happier experimenting until it felt right.
Violins: Vaughan Jones and Louise Bevan, Viola: Adrian Smith, Cello: Tony Woollard
As an example of a counter melody, at around 16 seconds in, the second violin begins a counter melody to the same rhythm as the first violin. At 29 seconds in, the viola and cello have the same motif, an octave lower whilst the upper strings have a pizzicato figure to add rhythm and life. All the lines sound pleasing when played individually. The rhythm and tune is moved around between different instruments to add interest whilst the pizzicato bridge section builds up in thickness as well as volume to add climax. At 1 minute, a new counter melody is introduced like another layer being added in the second violin, whilst violin 1 and cello are in octaves. At 1 minute 20, the tune from the second violin breaks into the first violin part to dominate the piece with the main theme becoming secondary but still discernible. At around 1 minute 40 seconds, a totally new melody emerges that now replaces the main melody all together, yet is it is still in the same style and fits the chords harmoniously. At 1 minute 56, a canon in four parts is begun where part of the theme is treated fugally, passing from one instrument to another but always overlapping and building up a busy counterpoint which ends with the cello repeating a two bar phrase. The distinctive rhythm is kept going from 2 minute 15 onwards in the cello part whilst the second violin gets the melody and the first violin has an intricate and showy folk type accompaniment - this builds up to a climax before the two violins have an identical one bar phrase in sequence and the whole piece ends with the rhythm played by the viola in an echo of the opening of the piece.
Generally writing or arranging for strings does not always have to be this busy or intricate (unless they are required to be a real focal point!) but when strings are required to stand up in their own right (without additional instruments in a track), they need to really come alive!
In earlier blog entries, I wrote about how different bowing techniques can affect the sound of a violin or string section and how it can also help to create different moods or feelings within a string arrangement. Previously, I covered Martele, Spiccato and Marcato bowings and today I wanted to write something about Sautille bowing.
Sautille bowing is a form of spiccato which allows the natural bounce of the bow to create it’s own momentum and seems to allow the bow to bounce of it’s own accord. When the spiccato bowing is propelled at a fast speed, the amount of bow used becomes less and the area of the bow which touches the strings becomes further up (higher towards the tip of the bow). When this happens, the bow begins to spring with very little effort from the player.
In a string arrangement, this could be used for highly virtuosic passages where either a single note is repeated or the passage work is quick and furious. To write this in, an arranger would notate this the same as most other detached bow strokes with a dot at the top of the note head, but what would suggest to the player Sautille would be the rapid speed of the notes.
Sautille can be played at any dynamic or accented or double stopped to give real energy and flair to a string part.
This week I was asked to arrange strings 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.
A tremelo can be defined as being a ‘trembling’ or ‘quivering’ effect - this usually takes one of two forms. One is where a single note is rapidly bowed repeatedly and the other is a a fast oscillation between two notes (rather like a trill) - with the gap between the two notes being wider than a trill.
A tremelo might be rhythmically even, or unmeasured (which can also be written as tremolando). The unmeasured version would be used where a composer or arranger instructs the notes to be simply played as quickly as possible - this technique is used often when adding strings to pop and rock tracks and can add a feeling of tension to a piece of music. Tremeloes can also be given an accent at the beginning (which means the first note of the tremelo is emphasised to give it a ‘kick’) - this can convey a feeling of tension even further and is particularly effective with a full string section rather than writing for single strings.
In string arranging, a tremolando can also be used very quietly - and if the whole of the string section are playing this way at the same time, it can give a rumbling feeling of something imminently about to happen - so instead of having a chord held, it can lend a sense of anticipation and of course add all important variety to a string arrangement.
Many of the jobs that we’ve worked on have been for clients who have sent us string parts they’ve written themselves from a midi file. Scoring from midi requires no knowledge of music theory or written notation and often involves the composer playing parts into a keyboard and then printing off the results.
Whilst this is a useful tool in many situations, it rarely produces results that sound convincing for string players once we’re in the studio. Here’s an example: If the composer has little knowledge of the different musical clefs then a cello part can be printed off in a treble clef. As the range of the cello extends lower than the treble clef can accommodate, we’ve been handed parts with about 10 ledger lines at the bottom of the stave, the notes overlapping the stave below - almost impossible to read. The other problem with playing chords in via a keyboard is that it ends up quite ‘fixed’ with no ‘feel’ and the inner parts don’t have a satisfying musical line - therefore so much of the potential from using live strings is lost.
Writing for any collection of instruments is all about the individual line of each instrument. If the parts are moving in chords, each part sounds best when it is playing a melody that harmonises with the rest of the parts in the piece or track.
Very often, expensive studio time can be wasted whilst session musicians sit around re-writing scored midi parts until they are both readable and playable, so as a matter of course we now do ask clients to send through midi-created parts so that we can tidy them up before the session, and save everyone time and money. We charge a nominal fee of £40 per hour for this - the same fee as for string arranging from the original track in the first place.
Although it might seem cheaper to create parts using a midi, it can be just as quick and economical to hire a string arranger to score the parts properly for strings in the first place - and results will be more effective with creative harmonies and melodic lines written in to add richness. As an example, paying a string arranger £40 per hour to spend a couple of hours correctly notating and orchestrating will potentially save hours in the studio and the musicians will be able to go in and just play everything right first time from a properly written score, using each instrument to it’s full potential.
One of the most wide ranging techniques on a bowed stringed instrument is what is commonly referred to as staccato. In essence, staccato is where the notes are short and spiky - this can be achieved in different ways. The Martele (pronounced mart -el-lay) bow stroke is where the bow is gently pressed to the string and released rapidly to create a little ‘kick’ or accent at the beginning of each note. It can be played rapidly or slowly and there is generally a small gap between each note. Whereas this would be rarely applied for a commercial string session on a pop or rock track, it could be used in a more classical sound - perhaps for a film soundtrack or television production.
The spiccato bow stroke is what is commonly referred to as ‘off the string bowing’ because the bow leaves the string at the end of each stroke. This gives the music a distinctive sound which can be used in a variety of different context as it’s so versatile. Spiccato bowing is great for rapid scales and will create a ‘brilliant’ effect (as in bright) or could be applied in a slower and heavier passage to add drama.
Adding variety with spiccato and martele bowings can accentuate the strings by using the whole section, or just one group of instruments (for example, only violas) and both are widely used ways of adding interest or energy when orchestrating for strings.
This week we contributed to two contrasting recording projects - one for some final year students at SAE in Oxford where the studio was absolutely state of the art and the particular studio we were in used a lot of analogue recording equipment including an old analogue valve mixing desk. The recording was part of an assignment for the students and their brief was to record 4 acoustic instruments on top of guitars / drums etc, with three tracks all in all. The session involved some music which was already scored and some which we were asked to improvise in order to fulfill the assignment brief.
On Monday we were asked for something totally different - working with a talented singer songwriting partnership who needed string quartet parts adding to some tracks which were almost finished. As I’d been asked to arrange the strings for two of the tracks, we’d been working together all week via email with small adjustments to get the strings sounding as close to the composers ideas as possible - this is a process which requires patience as often several revisions are needed before the song is ‘just right’. It’s always gratifying to get into the studio and finally record the parts - and after all the careful arranging work, we laid down the strings at the Dairy Studios in Brixton. The session ran smoothly and we recorded three songs with very few ’second takes’ needed. Although the majority of the music was scored for string quartet, there were a few bars where the sound needed to be thickened up with an extra violin or viola part, so I stayed on and carefully overdubbed a few phrases at the end to give a larger string sound.
Pizzicato is simply a technique where the strings are plucked rather than bowed (arco). It is a great tool to add variety to a piece and can enhance the rhythmic vitality of a section. As the tension of violin strings is higher than that on guitars, plucked notes tend to give an immediate response with a slightly ‘tight’ sound and a rapid decay.
When used in a full string section, pizzicato can cut through other textures without sounding abrasive, but can also be used to add a touch of humour or quirkiness to a song. Often single notes can be picked out or plucked as part of a counter melody, or if a single chord needs to be struck, 2, 3 or even 4 notes can be simultaneously plucked. In this instance, a knowledge of the tuning of stringed instruments is needed as the spacing of the chord is unique to the string family (being tuned in fifths). A string arranger has to take into account that on a given chord, there is a big spread of notes and it’s important to know which finger takes each string so that the chord ends up being playable by your session musicians.
When writing for stringed instruments, it’s always important to keep in mind how the four strings are tuned unless the lines are very simple. If the parts have been written on a keyboard, they may not necessarily be playable on a violin, viola or cello so unless the composer is a professional string arranger, having a string player check them through is advisable before entering the studio.
Although usually used sparingly, adding some pizzicato effects can be a great way to bring some bounce and life to a string arrangement. Plucked strings can be soft and subtle or really dramatic.
Adding a mute to a stringed instrument has a very different effect from muting a brass instrument. Although by definition, a mute does take off a little of the volume, rather than just making the violin quieter, it can make the sound more mellow and add a subdued quality. Adding a mute is an excellent tool where the harmonies are complex and slow moving - or where the arranger would like a wash of strings to add a special ambiance.
A mute is a small piece of either plastic or wood which sits between the strings and the tailpiece of the instrument - it can be slid up on top of the bridge to restrict the vibration - thus creating a less piercing sound. The Italian musical term for adding a mute is ‘Con Sordino’ and the instruction ‘Senza Sordino’ means to take the mute off again.
When scoring for strings and using mutes, it’s important to allow a few seconds either side of adding or removing one so that the player has a chance to move the mute on or off.
Although it’s possible to just mute some of the instruments in the section, the effect is more striking if all the strings are muted simultaneously - this can really add interest, variety and a whole different sound to the strings.
Despite the title, todays blog entry is nothing to do with bicycles….
A pedal note is where the bottom note of a chord (the bass note) is held through a passage of music including some chords which it does not belong to. This is a great technique which has been used in every form of music, including baroque, classical, rock and pop.
A pedal note can add real drama and build tension in a piece. Sometimes it can be used as a dramatic opening in it’s own right, or as a bridge section.
In the strings, the double bass or cello section can provide a pedal note which adds thickness to allow it to be heard without being too dominating. Many tracks have a sustained pedal note high up in the violins - this is called an inverted pedal but has the same idea. An inverted pedal is a good choice to add mystery or a sense of unresolved longing. A sustained note high on the violins can be a great way of starting or finishing the track, either as a slow introduction or fading out gently at the end.
In a more complex use, it’s possible to use pedal chords - (which have all the notes of a chord combined) - sometimes clashing with the changing chords which surround it - and if it’s placed low in the mix can be very bold when eventually the harmonies resolve.
Although they occur infrequently, when used in the correct way, pedal notes can be an excellent way of adding complexity to a passage which otherwise could sound too simple.
