10 Words You MUST Know for Orchestral Music Production

[@AlexMoukala]

If you want to keep track of every tutorial I release in 2019: Hit that KZbin notification bell with the same might of Mahler's Hammers. 🔨🔔

[@leonwillett4645]

Hey man! Register is actually different from range. Range is, as you pointed out, the area between the higest and lowest note an instrument can play. So far so good! But register refers to whether a particular note "feels" high, or low, or in the middle of a particular instrument. This is important because it affects the poetic character of the note being played. For example, middle C is in the extreme low register for a flute player, which means the note has a pale, breathy and almost ghostly character. However, that excact same note "feels" high on a cello. This gives it a soaring, passionate and over-the-top character. (should be played high on the second string in this context) A begginer orchestrator may not screw up so badly that he/she writes outside of the RANGE of an instrument. But a beginner often screws up REGISTER, giving the wrong character to the stuff he/she writes. - Horns that were supposed to be heroic, but came out strained (register too high within the horns' range). - A flutes run that was not biting or crunchy enough, too fluffy (register too low, within the flute's range). - A trombone chord that was supposed to be serene and noble, but came out adventurous (register too high, within the trombone's range). Range and register are different ideas :) Understanding register is about getting the poetic character of your music the way you want it.

[@AlexMoukala]

Hey Leon, thanks for the correction! I was wondering what was the name of that specific phenomenon as I was aware of it, but didn't know the technical term. Learned two new thngs from this comment. :)

[@athishayjain.m.k9257]

alex ur really talented u r soo humble to accept things also really impressed

[@efs797]

^this. But the video is still really valuable I think for new composers. The orchestration book by Sam Adler was a good intro to me for how an instrument's timbral colours change as it ascends. Techniques of Orchestration by Kennan helped with scoring for woodwind section. It also goes into this area a fair bit.

[@underdarkness7692]

I know this is very old, but I'd add for anyone that ends up here that register also has a similar but slightly different meaning in a vocal context. Humans have different ways of using our voice boxes, these roughly correspond with vocal ranges, but not entirely! The most common registers for women (which I'm more familiar with) are "head" and "chest" voice which are named after where you physically feel the resonance when singing. Chest voice is lower and sounds a lot more "full" and "big", while "head voice" is a lot more "pure" of a sound. Typically if a female singer sounds kind of coarse or rough they're in their low/chest register. Alto range singers in particular spend a lot of time practicing register changes, because their parts often skip around the bottom of the treble staff. While every singer's register change point is slightly different (and you can train it up/down for your registers independently to a degree), generally speaking there is a note somewhere where you physically can no longer sing in one register vs another - this is called a "register switch" and songs that frequently dance around your natural register switch are very difficult to sing, but the flipside is for the part of your range that overlaps gives you as a singer a lot of creative expression in terms of which register you use to interpret notes. These aren't the only registers. For the subset of singers that can sing well above the treble staff they generally have a third register up there. In addition to that there are other registers that share ranges with the two above, the most famous being the "vocal fry" register (which is hell on your voice and can give you a sore throat but you *can* sing in it) as well as the falsetto register. The falsetto register is best known as the "mickey mouse voice", and generally sounds like a man speaking/singing too high, but cis women can enter the falsetto register as well and those who have had testosterone affect and thicken their vocal chords can also learn (with great difficulty) to sing and speak in "head voice" and move their voice forward in chest voice to go into the typical female register - this is both used by countertenors, several famous rock singers, and also is how trans women feminize their voices. So yeah, there's actually a lot of overlapping but similar concepts covered by register, but it more or less always has to do with "note color" within a specific range. (You could almost argue that register is merely the characteristic timbre of a specific instrument or technique at a specific range). Edit: I'd say that overtones and the harmonic series have something to do with it too, though it complicates the register idea. I play flute and trombone as well as sing. The first two fundamentals of any given note are an octave apart, and for flute often two notes in the first two octaves have the same fingering. Higher notes have different fingerings because it tunes them better, but there is a concept called "overblowing" which can produce further notes along the overtone series beyond just the octave that are slightly sharp/flat but also have a much different and harsher timbre - overblown notes in a given range essentially make up a different (though rarely used in practice) register on flute, much closer to a piccolo actually. Trombone (and other brass I think) more commonly has multiple overlapping ways to create the same note because they rely on the overtone series a lot more than woodwinds do, and good trombone players absolutely will choose an alternate position to voice the same note because the one that's at a higher/lower harmonic relative to another position that produces the same note can have a much different feel. I think the registers that the OP describes are essentially just collections of the most commonly used overtone ranges for an instrument's notes.

[@DavidSchiess]

11: Failure 12: Learning from mistakes

[@MiloMcCarthyMusic]

They’re different, this video is about technical terms

[@AlexMoukala]

A note about Solo Parts vs Ensembles: It is a good idea to layer a melody on violin ensemble AND solo violin to make that violin melody both big and well defined. I'll talk about that in other tutorials, but composers do this a lot!

[@marshallscott2718]

Your humility and willingness to learn is so admirable. I love this channel. Subbed

[@darthmamdouh]

People like you who take the time to share their knowledge and experience - especially for free - are what make our world a better place. Thank you Alex for your generosity. I just subscribed to your Patreon because you definitely deserve all the support your community can give you, and you make me (a long time musician) want to take the step to begin learning orchestral arrangements, which are a far cry from the hard rock and metal I play with my band of old geezers :-P All the best to you!

[@b1wg_137]

You should make courses. Still make tutorials on KZbin, but for the courses, be super detailed with the information. I will definitely buy your courses since you are very experienced and an honest guy.

[@littlemonkey321]

I have watched lots of your videos, good work! But little bit criticism....its not a problem to watch 30 min video or even a 1 hour video....the problem is that you explain same things at least 3-5 times and jump from 1 place to the another, dont underestimate your audience we can always rewind if we missed something :) and just CALM down man, make couple guidelines for you videos and follow them. Keep those videos coming and happy new year!

[@ChristopherSiu]

Thanks for this video man. I respect your decision regarding going towards shorter tutorials, it ain't easy shortening content you're passionate about :)

[@AlexMoukala]

And I already failed! This video was supposed to be 15 minutes long max. :P

[@JianoJoel]

Literally the most informative productive composing video I’ve ever seen on KZbin !!

[@Manit.K]

Mann, you just saved me with the keyswitches using multi patches. At first I too used to ignorantly edit the different patches channel for channel; it was a real pain, but no more... I have been enlightened. Thank you! You're a real hero in this community! It was nice this video was shorter than usual without even a decline in its quality. Keep being awesome as always!

[@masterstacker2833]

Another video with terrific insights.

[@DonatoMaffin]

Hey Alex! Love the videos, I have learned a ton from them since starting my music journey, so thank you for that. Also, just to answer your question about tutorial video length. I suggest that you do mostly shorter videos that stick to maybe one or two ideas and then an occasional longer video to really dive in and explore a topic. Anyways thanks for all your hard work! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with this year!

[@macaroni4246]

Hey alex, Timbre is actually pronounced as ( Tam-ber). just wanted to point that out. Nice tutorial as always

[@Evangelionism]

Your name makes me want to break my fast. Feed me! Haha

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

Alex's pronounciation of "timbre" also is correct

[@huckwalton2307]

macaroni yes it’s pronounced both ways correctly so just be careful to correct someone in the future professionally.

[@storiesreadaloud5635]

Not in England it's not.

[@VAIBHAVSINGHMUSIC]

What matters in the end is what you do with the understanding of articulation rather having dictation pronounciation test...

[@elitemusicmfm]

16:06 That scared the crap out of me lol

[@efs797]

Fantastic vid. Not too long. Keep going!

[@miguechupete]

Thank you Alex!

[@AndrewThiriot]

Thanks Alex - Your videos are really helping!

[@masteringmelodies769]

And yet again, we learn! Great video as always, Alex! PS: Loved the vibrato singing! :D

[@AZODi]

Great video man, very informative! I love that Coldplay song haha

[@davidklemencz]

this was cool - as always :) thx Alex

[@MingseChen_RevivalMusic]

Great video. Will try keyswitches next time while I compose.

[@MsZastra]

Thank you Alex, it was very useful for me!

[@FMaple]

GOLD as always.

[@AdrianBrooks1704]

Thanks, Alex :)

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

I am an "individual articulation" per MIDI track person, however, I have been considering transitioning to keyswitched categorised tracks, that is, Long KS, Short KS, Pizz/Col Legno KS, and FX KS. Also, it is common to have different reverb sends for shorts and longs, as the former do not react well to a longer reverb tail

[@Evangelionism]

This is a point I've actually just heard 4 hours ago, from Spitfire's mixing tutorial. Interesting. I think I may have even encountered this issue myself, so I'd love to look into it to know more. Cheers!

[@AlexMoukala]

That's a good point, many people definitely do that long vs shorts mixing thing, I used to before as well, but stopped after I started using keyswitches. I'm personally more comfortable this way because of the reasons mentioned in this video!

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

Many dubbing stages may require a further subdivision into Low, Mid and High, on top of short and longs, so that is the reason as to why these types of grouping exist, it makes the dubbing mixer's life much easier, when mixing the music with dialogue, foley, etc.

[@vasilgrancharov4925]

Thank you Alex!!! I wish you a very happy and successful new year god bless you :)

[@psyburnetik63]

thank you for your awesome videos!

[@bnjization]

Vraiment excellent

[@themoron786]

Great videos man I really love them keep them coming. :)

[@epiczeven6378]

Helpful insights Alex, thank you! :)

[@huckwalton2307]

I hit like before I even watch your videos now.

[@kimmolaine665]

Very nice, thank you

[@Renaxelo]

What is the meaning of one voice, another voices, last voice ? could you please describe it specifically ? thanks in advance

[@9Musicmedia]

Wow. It is so useful. So nice. bro 😍😉

[@hytalegermany1095]

You should take your Exemple sung parts, put them in a Audio library and make a Song with it

[@zed1122]

Can't wait for BRSO Articulate to come for Mac..

[@danilokb]

Liking before watching

[@josephpurdue7583]

Omg that last way to trigger the Keyswitches is genius! Thank you. Where can I get that function/tool? Can you use it in Logic? Thank you. P.S. Great vid!

[@AlexMoukala]

-> www.syntheticorchestra.com/articulate/ So far I think you can only get it on FL Studio and Reaper

[@jakobgetz]

Hi Joseph, you have this function already build in in Logic. This video might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2fRdYeIh6mHaaM Cheers!

[@Nomo_Popo]

Long videos are fine!

[@mariozeffiro9164]

No need for video quality when you have quality contents^^

[@chrispantos]

Hi Alex can I ask you something?How you approach mixing and reverb when you re using different articulation on the same track?How you separate the long from the short notes?Thank you very much!!!

[@templemu]

Timbre plus register' for example, I am studying the piccolo which has three registers and the timbre is different for each; and a good sample library should reproduce this accurately, whihc many do not.

[@richarddunn367]

I don't mind longer videos. Just more knowledge

[@nicc9798]

an idea for a video: try to make a epic orchestral music using a plugin called "Edirol Orchestral" other idea: make a cover on undertale megalovania

[@Afthalina]

Thanks agian

[@anthonykolliopoulos]

Hi there! Happy new year ! I have a question regarding ensemble and solo instruments. I thought that ensemble was a full orchestra, for example when I play a note inside the range of viola and violin I will listen both instruments. Is this correct?

[@AlexMoukala]

In a full ensemble patch (or strings ensemble), yes. However, when you open a 1st violins patch for example., unless it's a violin SOLO patch, what you're playing is a whole group (or ensemble) of many 1st violins, and not only one.

[@anthonykolliopoulos]

@@AlexMoukala Ok I understand. Usually I don't use enseble only for scketch (and piano of course) or to fullfill the sound. When I done with my sketch then I separate the Voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) to instruments. Is this a good approach? You help me in the section of voices, i did not notice till your video. Thanks!

[@AlexMoukala]

That's what I do too most of the times.

[@rafaelpimentel5594]

Hi Alex! It would be great if you did something like the soundtrack of "Total Recall 2012" by Harry Gregson-Williams. So with robotics effects and all that, I have something in mind and I wanted to know if you can do something like that. very good your channel congratulations.

[@tunebaq7019]

Hy. Thanks for the guide Alex, this is veri usefull, what is the plugin name what comes with fl and controls envelope?

[@None_NoneType]

If you had 13 violins who would have to get divided?

[@jackpot1552]

Hello Alex, i wanted to ask this to another video as well but i don't comment that easy..So i have the sforzando and sonatina orchestra and choir as plugins to make orchestra music(can't invest right now to professional ones as Berlin orchestra inspire). How can i make my sounds more full feeling as these plug ins don't have great amount of players per instrument(you #3 note). More layers of the same instrument, harmonics, something else i'm missing? Also i loved your new year's video, i don't know if it happened to be the right video at the right time but it really helped me. Thanks in advance.

[@AlexMoukala]

I believe you're way better off composing with freebies from porfessional developers. There's a few around, I'll surely make a video eventually to showcase them.

[@nicksaya]

What Solo cello is that?

[@sealplaysguitar]

Hello, because I'm only a student, so I can only afford libraries that are less than 100 euros. Is there any library that I can choose?

[@MingseChen_RevivalMusic]

You can check out Alex's tutorial about lots of sample libraries he recommended and also find out the prices of each different libraries.Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmfcf3-soJ2Dhac Also, you can check out Alex's suggest about buying sample libraries: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnqqo6mrfrhkfLM And many other suggestions from Alex's KZbin channel. Good luck!

[@SteelShirt99]

Hey Alex,Thanks for another kickass tutorial. I wanted to ask if there is anyway I could get the 1hr trailer music lesson from your site cos the "send me the link" button is not working on the trailer lesson page after the signup process. Really want to watch that video and learn from it. Hope you can do something about it quick. Thanks once again.

[@AlexMoukala]

I'll look into that.

[@SteelShirt99]

@@AlexMoukala thank you.

[@DogLikeSparky9]

So legato is just starting a note before the previous one ends?

[@AlexMoukala]

That's not exactly it, rather it's a way of tieing two notes together. Look for some real life violin / guitar / brass legato examples on KZbin.

[@DogLikeSparky9]

@@AlexMoukala thanks for all your assistance. At 7:05 you play Legato and 7:14 Non-Legato, but these seem to be the same pattern with the same articulation. How are they different?

[@SteveInTheZone]

gj

[@alexandershaneyfelt4386]

What library do you use for the cello solo?

[@AlexMoukala]

cinesamples.com/product/tina-guo-acoustic-cello-legato

[@alexandershaneyfelt4386]

@@AlexMoukala Thank you very much!!!

[@Lomes]

That’s a lot of words Too bad I ain’t reading them

[@landonp629]

No, no no... Timbre is what you say when you are cutting down a tree! :)

[@FrozenCaptain]

360p crew

[@Stefangasa]

I am 480p. So that means we cant make orchestral music because our CPU is 10 years old :) . I am getting myself a brand new computer next week, chosen parts by myself. 1500€ without the monitor and stuff. I think this my setup is bare minimum. You can maybe choose a cheaper case, my will be: Be quiet! Silent base 801 Window Black My PC will be AMD focused, so CPU is Ryzen 7 2700X GPU: XFX RX 580 8 GB MOBO: Asrock x470 Taichi RAM: 2x8 GB 3200Mhz G Skill Be quiet! Pure power 700W CM And of course fast SSD: Samsung 1 TB 970 EVO HDD: Seagate 3 TB Skyhawk And AMD's Freesync technology Monitor.