How to compose for Strings
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
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0:00 Introduction
0:39 the 4 instruments & their ranges
1:56 The sound of Orchestra
3:55 How to write for a string section
7:24 Apple Music Classical
8:32 the Viola & the Alto clef
9:31 the Violins
9:57 Homophony
11:00 Voice leading
12:00 String Quartet
13:00 Techniques
14:30 Conclusion
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no link to two set violin's video?
@@doctorscoot well spotted. Added now!
And for those of us who don't have anything apple...?
@@wrtyioo Just enjoy the actual content on how to compose for strings then, and ignore the advertisement if it not irrelevant for you.
Guys, it happened! He ran out of time signatures!
Lol
Came here for that comment
still waiting for pi/e signature
Don’t speak too soon 😉
I'm afraid we haven't even seen his final form...
As an amateur cellist, I'm honored to be a member of "violin family".
Bruh, celli are at least twice as cool a violin. Be proud of yourself!
It's the viola who should be honored...
As a cellist, I'm not!?
Cello is the best string instrument.
I misread the channel name and thought that it was David Bruce's channel. The comment mentioning that he had run out of time signatures made me check the channel name.
I played violin (and I was in the 1sts) in my junior high orchestra. After one of our concerts, my mother said to me "I can't believe that what I just heard was what I heard you practicing..."
😂😀
Remember, the range he noted here is a general range. The lowest note is set as it's always our lowest string, but the upper one, that depends on your instrument... and your intonation!
I play first violin in an orchestra and I sometimes wish we had another clef for notes in the nosebleed seats, 7+ leger lines and 8va (play the notes up an octave) are no joke! 😅
Our ancestors actually had clefs keyed to pitches above G4 (D5, F5) and below F3 (G2, notated as Γ).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clef
8va 👼
That's why you get paid more 😁
Be careful what you wish for. Cello player are exptected to read 3 clefs. And some old works even use a false treble clef that is meant to play an octave lower (what the guitar uses)
Been playing cello in an orchestra for 8 years now but still watching this just because I love your channel.
😊😊😊😊
Same
I played the Double Bass for about 6 years. I’m only 5 feet tall, but as a kid I just gravitated towards it. There’s nothing quite like playing this instrument with such low vibrations. Felt very therapeutic!
There were a lot of times that a bass part was “double the cellos” or the teacher would write a part specifically for the bass section because one did not previously exist. I loved every second of being a part of the violin family.
This is exactly the type of music videos I want to learn from thank you!
Nitpick: Bass is from the viol, not violin family. Fourths vs fifths in tuning is one difference. They also have structural/design differences in that violin family instruments have body shapes that meet the neck at a perpendicular angle while viols like the bass have bodies that swoop up the neck, not to mention have canted backs.
Good point!
Exactly
I was about to comment that! Also he forgot to mention C extensions lol.
@@GeckoBass or the fact that almost every professional orchestral double bassist plays a five-string bass (with a low B), at least that is my impression in Germany
That's pretty unique only to really Germany, most places only have four string basses most professionals have string extension on the low E string though@@mahlerbartok
YES!! The orchestra tutorial. This is going to be a great series. I’m looking forward to a breakdown of the percussion section.
Thanks David.
So happy to see TwoSet, Ray and Hilary in this video! You know your stuff! (But we knew that already, I'm just especially happy about it.) 😄
I mean the bass is really a part of the gamba family but for the rest great tutorial :)
Can’t wait to see how we get Radiohead and The Beatles into this one!
The intro to Creep is a textbook example of the voice leading he just explained, so I'm sure he'll slide them in soon enough :P
George Martin’s orchestrations for the Beatles
There are a variety of Beatles songs with orchestral parts. If you’re talking specifically about strings, then Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby are both great examples.
McCartney's Rockestra from the late 1970s could be shoehorned in, as that was an attempt to have an "orchestra" of rock instruments, with several guitars, basses, pianos etc all playing the same line to create a rich sound like an orchestra does
Radiohead actually came in mind as Jonny Greenwood has used his Ondes Martonet to simulate an orchestra
Ray and Hillary - I was thinking “where’s TwoSet?” - and boom…
I look forward to this series - should be fun and informative.
Good summary!
7:02 - Some would argue that the double bass, and piccolo (the usual piccolo at least), for example, aren’t _truly_ “transposing” instruments, on the grounds that true-transposing instruments change not just pitch, but _pitch class_ , such a notated C sounding Bb or F.
I personally am not sure I agree, but I do agree that that’s an important distinction, so I wish we had two different words for the two concepts.
They all have one thing in common, the sheer difficulty.
And if you have a child who is learning one of them, be prepared to hear some terrible sounds till they get better 😂 (I was that kid)
How can we strive for peace with all this talk of violins!
As a violin player myself, the video is well presented.
Just 4 things to add:
1. The music for the bass is in the bass clef but an octave lower. A similar score for a piano player you'd see "8vb" under the staff to indicate play an octave lower.
2. Today the only instrument that uses the alto clef is the viola. In the past, singing parts for a choir also used the C-clef including tenor, alto & soprano. These are now written in either treble & bass clef.
3. Although music for a string instrument is generally written as single notes, you occasionally see double notes up to 4 notes for emphasis. For instance, at the end of a section in a movement of a symphony you see a stack of 3 notes. It's generally agreed that anything more than 2 notes would be played as broken chords since the bow can only play 2 strings at a time. Sometimes you see a stack of notes at the start of a section for emphasis. You may see several stack of 3 notes at the end with a loud dynamic marking such as f or ff for extra emphasis.
4. The 1 thing composers agree when composing for string instruments is that it's difficult to get good players to play the high melody notes. People who play violin would know you need to shift the left-hand forward to play very high notes and inexperience players often play out of tune. This is the reason why some composers would let a small group (violin 1) play the melody for the entire piece. Definitely the case with Haydn symphonies. Johann Strauss waltzes the same. Violin 2 would play the repeating notes for counting like viola & cello while violin 1 would do the melody of the waltz. Some composers like Mozart would let violin 1 & 2 to alternate the melody so violin 2 players need to be as highly skilled as violin 1.
Thank you.
Violas are the “meat” of the orchestral sandwich. The alto clef isn’t weird for us native violists. 😂 if you play the Adagio as a quartet (what it was originally written for), you end up playing a lot of double stops. If you are Beethoven, big jumps are the norm, especially in is later quartets (Grosse Fugue).
This has all the features you are looking for in a CZcams video. Great job
My father was a bassist, and sold one of his double basses for AUD100, because we were enduring a very nasty recession.
It had a very thick cotton cover, and a distinctive aroma - I suppose that he'd looked after the wood. One hundred bloody dollars. It sounded so cool.
We've kept his Fender five string electric, and we'll never sell it.
While having many violinists playing the same line in unison would certainly give that melody a lush sound I believe the main reason was amplification. Orchestras had been around way before any substantial amplification was invented (i.e. microphones). The number of performers for each instrument was a direct way of achieving proper mixing and loudness level. Just imagine performing in an auditorium in a quartet at a time when the only amplification they could harness was the dome shape of the venue.
Actually the reason was the sound! The early ensembles that sort of started the predecessor of an orchestra was around 13 violins, because the person who organized it noticed the sound of multiple violins playing together, and decided to form a group, but the amplification would definitely begin to later on define it
I love the viola.
It's worth mentioning that the difference between a violin and a fiddle is similar to the difference between a double bass and an upright bass.
What's the best sound a fiddle ever made?
When it landed on top of the banjo at the bottom of the dumpster
If you're gonna play in Texas
You gotta have a fiddle in the band
This is true for the American folk tradition but the term "fiddle" is also used for numerous instruments from around the world which are all played by drawing a bow across strings.
I enjoy composing classic pieces with my VSTs (lol) and now I know why I always felt like I was missing something. That "something" is voice leading. Without it, the arrangements sound more like pop ballads than a cinematic orchestra.
Okay, so those range illustrations are NOWHERE NEAR accurate, all the instruments in the violin family can go much higher. Especially the cello! 😅
I thought the same thing! I'm a little over half way through the video right now, in the section about clefs, and he also didn't mention the cello frequently using three different clefs. You know, for all those high notes he didn't illustrate 😅
I am beyond excited for this new series!!!! Thank you
Thanks! That was so well presented and informative. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
This is pure gold. Thank you 👍
I remember asking if it was possible for you to do orchestral related videos and it has finally happened! I love how you go into a lot more detail than you usually do! These subsequent orchestral videos will undoubtedly become my favourite on the channel! Excellent!!! 😀
This is amazing. I remember when Leonard Bernstein used to make educational TV like this about the classical orchestra. It's really nice to see you branch out into this topic. I'm definitely looking forward to the entire series.
More of this please! This is so helpful and presented wonderfully! Thanks so much!
Very excited for this series!
Great video David, very informative and interesting. I'm really looking forward to watching the rest of this video-series, and as a French Horn player, I'm especially excited for the next episode covering the brass section.📯
Thank you for creating such high-quality music-videos and keep up the amazing work!😊
Thanks for doing a video on the strings. I realize this is an introductory video, but there some more details that could be added. The ranges of the instruments can go much higher than stated at 1:18, especially the cello--see the short piece "Dance of the Elves" by Popper for an example. Also, some of the more interesting music is when the first violin DOESN'T have the melody all the time, but it is shared around by the other instruments (e.g., viola and cello) at times (see Brahms Sextet in B-flat or Schubert String Quintet in C for examples).
indeed, SO many asterisks should be added at just about every section of this video.
yeah I think it’s kindve a disservice to not elaborate on other sections getting the melody as to me it’s what makes playing string instruments in an orchestra so worthwhile
I think there are really two sort of parallel families of similar instruments, the viol family and the violin family, but I suppose these four are the only ones commonly found in an orchestra. One difference between the families is the shape of the body where it meets the neck: The bass (viol family) has its body tapering up to the neck, while the other three (violin family) have the outline of the body straight across at the neck.
This new course is just what I needed. I'm trying to get into orchestral composition myself, and I'm currently tinkering with Musescore 4. This really excites me. Thank you, David!
9:58 Those dogs barking made me laugh
Haha! I didn’t notice that. Well spotted! 🐶
Thanks you David, this helped me a lot with my piano concertos!
YESSS was waiting for this. 🔥
this is a great, concise, video on the topic! will love to see you cover the other section, as i had organology last year and it will be great to remember more about instrument families
Please do more of this kind of classical music analysis! It's the kind of music theory video that I've been looking for. Thank you for the great and impressive explanation!
Excellent. As a non-muscian this answered many questions I've had for years - and a few I didn't even know I had! Thank you.
David! Everything I wanted to know about Violins and never realized I wanted to know. Wow! Keep the seriese going. i am eager to learn.
After surviving so much clickbait, CZcams is finally suggesting me the good stuff.
Great introductory video, subscribed!
Wow! Thank you so much for this video! Extremely interesting and useful -- and the way you deliver the concepts is very clear even for a non-professional liek myself. Really looking forward to more videos in this series! 🤩
My highschools orchestra had won an national orchestra competition playing adagio. We did this way back in the 90's. So cool seeing a breakdown.
Outside of classical circles, it was pretty much unknown until it featured in the movie Platoon. Now it's one of the best known classical pieces.
Such an informative video! I already can't wait for the next one!
Fascinating stuff!
David, thank you for a superb exposition of the string section in an orchestra. Looking forward to the next episodes. I wish you were my music teacher when I was a kid, but I am delighted that you are teaching me this now much later in my life. I think you will inspire many people, new to classical music, to explore it further, as well as the excellent Apple Classical app.
Very interesting. I played a bit of violin and cello at school, but had never really considered how they fit together in an orchestral arrangement
I could spend days and days watching your videos. Always such a treat!
Wonderfully simple.... many thanks!
😊😊😊
Excellent video ! I can't wait to see other video on that subject
This has helped a lot, Thanks David! I will watch your other parts for different instrumental families too!
David, hey.
Listen, thank you so much for making these videos. I hope you're making a good living that is comfortable for you and your loved ones.
I'm pretty broke working full time as a self employed music producer and mix engineer, making money and spending it again on studio maintenance, new gear, the occasional "vibe" piece like a lava lamp lol. Maintaining my car.
Just wanted to say i will directly support your channel consistently when income becomes a bit more stable. You provide top notch stuff. The chord progression videos i love, despite already knowing a lot of this stuff (not at all blowing my own smoke, just saying), it helps to be reminded and for the material to be explained as wonderfully and visually as you do here. For instance, i have many notes written on the ranges of the members of the orchestra, common practice, tendencies in decorative techniques, and stuff like that, just to detail deeply how to recreate it best i can using midi, or how to write parts for them if i'm hiring musicians. The visual at 1:56 is brilliant and im grateful for it.
Sorry for the long comment! just wanted to say you have a fan and consistent viewer here in Cairo, Egypt, and that i'm grateful for what you do. Cheers man
Well done, David. Thank you for another great video!
Thanks!
You read my mind! I was just thinking I wanted to learn more about how orchestra works - and here you are with this great video! :-) Thank you, I'm waiting impatiently for brass and woodwinds sections!
This is a great starting point for amateurs(or not classically trained musicians). Thank you!
Very well done!...you have a gift for getting to the essence of musical techniques and theory, then presenting it in a clear and accessible way. I might add that another difference a quartet has to a full ensemble, is that in a quartet, the melody is passed among all 4 players more freely, as if in a conversation
In the Barber piece you used as an example, the double bass would need to have a "C extension" in order to play the E flat at the beginning of the piece, since E is the lowest note possible on a normally tuned four string bass. I thought you would mention the "C Extension" since you accounted for it in the graph showing the ranges of the string instruments. Love your channel! Keep up the great work. I have learned many great things by watching your channel.
Exellent explanation,very very pro and easy to understand. Compliments, your channel is one the most interesting and helpful in YT. 👏👏👏👏
Thanks again David for another interesting and easy to understand music lesson. Looking forward to the next one in this series... 😀
David, thank you for such an informative and helpful video.
Thank you 😊
Fascinating David, thanks. Looking forward to the series, great idea 💡
Very interesting and instructive. Thank you David.
thanks David! looking forward for the next ones!
Great video as always David. Very informative
I loved this video! You explained everything so simply and yet so well. Looking forward to the brass video!
A nice beginning to what must be a very nice series. Thanks, David, and keep 'em coming!
As an arranger/orchestrator, I find your explanations excellent! Very well thought out and presented with clarity, as always.
Finally someone who explains things. Thank you so so much!
Thank you for sharing these ❤when my depression gets worse I turn to classical music for relief and fortunately fall in love with these great works.Sometimes I cry for the magnificent emotions contained in the music
ah yes, quite a useful guide I shall use for my composing journey. thank you for making this and I'm so excited to see the brass section video!!
This is brilliant, thank you! I started playing instruments (woodwinds) as an amateur almost 50 years ago and have been listening to classical music almost as long, but I learned so much from this video! And to use Barber’s Adagio for Strings as the example (in my opinion the most exquisitely sorrowful and beautiful piece of music of all time) is a perfect touch.
Nicely Done
Holy shit I cannot believe I lived to see the day david got a major company sponsor, so proud
Great video, would love to see more in this series (especially if you ever plan of doing arranging for a jazz ensemble)
Thanks very much for this fantastic explanation. Well done!
Great stuff, David. Really enjoyed that.
Can't wait for this series!!
Also something to note for those writing, a major difference between the cello and double bass is the low note. A cello bottoms out and C2, but the bass only goes down to E1, not C1. So the automatic octave drop doesn’t always work for the 2 parts. The only way the bass can go down to the C1 is with an extension that lengthens the E string through the peg box, or in my case, I was constantly tuning the E string down to whatever the lowest note was and then transposing everything on the string. That slightly affects the quality of those pitches though since the string works optimally when tuned to the E. So when you’re right for bass, try not to write below the E2 on the staff since that’s actually played as E1.
Thank you so much! Great video and I can't wait to see more like this.
9:05 - 9:24 I've never been good at reading sheet music (probably since I stare at a piano roll all day thanks to working exclusively in a DAW), but this has FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED how I see sheet music. I'm still gonna be slow at reading it but at least I won't have to guess what note each line is supposed to represent for the different clefs. Thank you!
Hi David, I just watched your video and I really enjoyed it! I'm a big fan of your videos and I always learn something new. I've always been interested in composing for strings, but I didn't really know where to start. Your video was really helpful in breaking down the process into simple steps. I especially appreciated the way you explained the different techniques that can be used to create a variety of sounds.
I'm definitely going to try out some of the things I learned in your video. I'm excited to see what I can create! Thanks again for making such a great video!
Very nice and informative video, there! Keep doing this series! :)
Awesome explanation, thanks a lot for these materials!
The video is great. Thanks for the effort and the clarity.
The only slightly confusing part is the choice of Samuel barber pièce. This piece asks the double bass to play Eb which needs: a non standard tuning, a fifth string or a double bass extension.
Amazing video! Thank you very much for sharing you knowledge!
Thank you so much for this.
David, another awesome video. I've got a much better understanding now on how music is arranged in this type of setting. Thanks!
Brilliant! Looking forward to the next one.
excellent video, thank you, David..
It was exactly what I was look for, thank you so much
Excellent video mate. And you used my favourite classical piece ever to illustrate. Bravo!
Thank you so much for this video, as a producer that uses strings, I desperately needed this.
Thank You Sirjee
Awesome Information
This is very interesting to me. I never wrote an orchestra piece, but I spent many years singing oratories in concert choirs, accompanied by orchestra. I often include strings in my compositions when I need flowing legato elements. I am still a beginner with this, and therefore any information that brings me forward is absolutely precious. Thank you so much!
Although I compose for years now, I am still a learner, trying to make the most out of orchestration. To be honest i'm learning orchestration right now. Your videos will be great help for me! Thank You David!
Orchestra teacher and composer here, great video. I also use your pop song videos for my guitar class, my high school students really enjoy them. I started as a viola/violin double throughout high school, now I've morphed into viola/bass/piano.