Compose Realistic Mockups Using Ensemble Patches

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[@ZachHeyde]

Want to master your MIDI mockups? Check out my Orchestral Mockup Fundamentals course!
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[@MattiaChiappa]

Great video man! I kinda like to use ensembles to thicken up the mock-up or make individual instruments sound more like a section. I often layer sustains to legatos to get a better blend with strings in a chordal accompaniment

[@ZachHeyde]

Good point man! I do the same, often just letting the lead lines take legato patches and filling in the rest with ensemble if I'm on a tight deadline

[@martingravel1157]

The definition/voices separation is definitely better with the split patches. Great vid! Thanks!

[@PeterTMusic]

I feel like the golden rule is just to know what you’re doing with orchestration

[@apocryphal_man]

I’d go so far as to say that’s always true 😜

[@nathan.rodrigues]

9:04 Adding the cello + viola lifted the track so much!

[@cheska_yo]

This is exactly what we needed, thanks Zach!!

[@GabrielComposer]

whenever i use an ensemble patch i just use it to get quick ideas down that i can later expand on in individual sections or when im in my notation software.

[@raymondspagnuolo8222]

This video was very helpful. Thanks so much for the effort that you put into providing this to us free of charge, which is so helpful to many of us!!!!! God Bless You, man!!!!!

[@richardjecooke8036]

This is my favourite video of yours yet. So useful, so fast. I'd never thought to try ensembles before but I will from now on.

[@ZachHeyde]

Thank you Richard!

[@richardmillingtonmusic]

This was so helpful! Thanks for sharing this Zach. You just got yourself a new subscriber.

[@ZachHeyde]

Thanks Richard!

[@ronlobomusic]

Great content! One thing to keep in mind with ensembles is the process of producing parts. With ensembles you will have to separate instruments and double check ranges etc. Individual tracks will save you time later.

[@Tanguy_Follio]

Thanks for this video ! I like your version with the separate instruments. And I suppose that facilitates the work of the orchestrators in the case of a score creation :-)

[@DallasCrane]

Nice, efficient voicings!

[@NoTengoIdeaGuey]

To me it seems like ensembles are best for ideation and sketching.
Its like with any art form, first you want to just get big picture ideas "onto the page" and not make too many tiny detailed decisions regarding mixing and mastering or effects at the outset.
In a sense, diving too deep into specific voicing and orchestration at the beginning is kind of like jumping to the mixing and mastering stage for "normal" music production.
Just get the big musical ideas out first then start chipping away at it and refining it technically once youve gotten the ideas working together.

[@javierestevez9680]

Great¡

[@toddfrombethesda6963]

I love ensemble strings patches. If there good quality they can do a decent to great job and most the time I will instinctively grab shorts for library’s like Albion one or metro Arks as the spiccatos and shorts from them are some of my favourites. However for ensemble longs I usually just use something like intimate strings to just thicken up a string section and breath some life (helps that Intimate string from SA are gorgeous).

[@toddfrombethesda6963]

I would however never use a brass ensemble. Extremely hard to work with and never sound great.

[@kwameryan]

Hey Zach! On a related note, have you checked out the freebie spiccato ensemble patch from the upcoming Pacific Strings by Performance Samples? I’m excited for the full library as new symphonic strings come out pretty rarely and I’ve been impressed by what I’ve heard from Performance Samples to date. Any thoughts?

[@ZachHeyde]

I have--they sound great!

[@acma-prod]

Really interesting, thank you Zach ! I just reshape my BBCSO produc👍s

[@julianmor9191]

Zach, you’ve probably explained this before, but I’m new to your channel. Does that mouthpiece allow you to program in expression or just get an idea of when players would need to breathe?

[@TheZombinator1]

Yeah, from what I understand you can control multiple things with it by blowing and also head movement.

[@migats2160]

The library I have: Nucleus lite, only includes ensemble patches.

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

And now you can assign the ensemble patch to Divisi Mate loopback track.

[@autisticcormorant6881]

are you controlling your cc1 with that breath controller? If so that's wild!

[@frodo3556]

I think he does, he has a video about it on his channel

[@mustechnology]

Could you explane how did you that midi keyboard in the low part of your screen? Is it part of Logic or another VSTi?

[@ZachHeyde]

That's MIDIKeys, a standalone software :)

[@mustechnology]

@@ZachHeyde Thanks! 🙏

[@madworker1927]

Just use divissimate 🤭

[@sparshvermamusic_]

What is that thing in your mouth?

[@shimonort]

It's a "breath controller". I don't own one so don't know too much about it, but I saw it recommended for SWAM stuff.