Last week, four of us travelled down to a recording studio called ‘The Chiller’ in Thursley, Surrey to record 10 pieces for an indepdendent composer. Each piece was scored for string quartet and generally lasted between 30 seconds and two minutes. As none of the pieces were technically difficult, we were able to record quite a lot of music in four hours. The composer attended the session and as we weren’t playing to a click track, he conducted us in at the beginning of each piece so that the tempo was exactly what he had in mind.
Although beforehand, the idea of overdubbing an extra layer of strings was discussed, the client decided that the sound was full enough with just a string quartet. One danger of recording two layers of a string quartet can be that by having two string players in unison on any one part, the sound can end up thin with vibrato clashing. With an overdub of four players being neither a string quartet (with the beautiful sonority of individual instruments) nor a larger section, this often doesn’t sound satisfactory. In the event, the sonority of a quartet gave the sound that the client was looking for and it suited the character of his music.
We’ve observed several times that recording one player per part (as in a quartet) can have a stronger sound with more impact because the individuality of the musician comes to the fore and the sound is more soloistic.
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.
Last weekend we spent quite a lot of time in the studio, recording some original music which I had been asked to compose for an album. We recorded three pieces, all for string orchestra and after all the mixing / mastering had taken place, I made an interesting discovery.
Having been given the brief of writing and recording a piece for string orchestra, I had composed something in nine part harmony and it had been recorded for 47 piece string orchestra - including 12 first violins, 12 second violins, ten violas, eight cellos and five double basses - roughly the same sized string section as an opera orchestra. The final mix sounded powerful, emotionally intense and quite cinematic - several people commenting that it would be ideal as a film soundtrack with quite a panoramic feel.
Nevertheless, it didn’t have quite the right sound for the album (it needed to be warm, rounded and mellow) so after scratching our heads a little, the engineer muted about half of the instruments and re-mixed it, this time with 28 parts - 8 first violins, 8 second violins, 5 violas, 4 cellos and 3 double basses. Despite being a smaller section (more like a chamber orchestra), this really benefited the music. By dropping half the section out, it became clearer, purer and less intense with all the crescendos and diminuendos becoming more subtle and less ‘in your face’ than the larger orchestra had sounded.
This came as a surprise to both me and the client who had originally been quite set on a full orchestra and it goes to show that in certain circumstances, less can definitely be more. So when arranging strings for a piece, or as in this case composing new music with a specific aim in mind, it’s worth thinking of what kind of impact the strings are going to have - rather than being more powerful and ‘better’, could a huge orchestral sound actually detract from the music, losing the subtlety and clarity that a smaller section would have brought?
Perhaps composing strings for chamber ensemble or solo strings and bringing it further forward in the mix can have more impact than a symphony orchestra sized sound in 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.
Really, I don’t like the term ‘up and down bow’ very much because the motion of a bow is very fluid and when played artfully, gives a seamless, warm, glowing sound - nothing to do with ‘up’ or ‘down’ which sounds very rigid. My violin teacher (Kato Havas) says that all a bow going ‘up and down’ does is iron the music flat, so to get to the essence of the music the player should try and achieve a naturalness of phrasing which transcends the bow.
Nevertheless, there are instances when composers or string arrangers purposefully write a certain bow direction to attain a musical effect. For example, Stravinsky wrote several down bows (travelling in a downward motion repeatedly, lifted from the string in between notes) in a row to create an aggressive, percussive effect. An example of ‘up bows’ is in Paganini’s 24th Caprice where he alternates left hand pizzicatos (a future blog entry!) with ‘up bows’ played near the tip of the bow - the effect is of a whipping, pecking sound that goes well when alternated with the pizzicato.
Symbols are added to a score to indicate when there is a particular ‘up or down’ direction to the bowing. In 18th and 19th century music, this was often left to the discretion of the individual player but increasingly in the 20th century composers began to specify up and down bow markings more, frequently seeking the advice of professional string players on how best to ‘bow’ the piece.
In a live orchestral performance, bowings are marked into the parts in advance to enable each section to play with synchronised bows travelling in the same direction together - although Leopold Stokowski’s Philadelphia Orchestra were famous in using ‘free bowing’ which the conductor felt achieved a more glossy sound, even though it didn’t look as impressively uniform.This leads onto the phrase ’staggered bowing’. This is where longer notes which would require more than one bow direction to keep sustained are bowed in such a way that members of a string section change in different places, this gives a smooth and continuous effect so that the change in bowing is inaudible.
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.
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 add simple string parts to 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 Stringsection 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 players 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 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 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.
