Compose Thrilling Orchestral Runs

🎁 Grab My Free Film Scoring Guide: bit.ly/zhfreebie
🎬 Get Paid to Compose: bit.ly/zh-bootcamp
👋 Become a Patreon Member: / zachheyde
FREE RESOURCES:
🎬 Film Scoring Guide: bit.ly/zhfreebie
💰 Music Pricing Guide: bit.ly/zhfreebie
💻 Zach's Gear List: bit.ly/zhfreebie
PRODUCTS & COURSES:
🎬 Composing Career Bootcamp: bit.ly/zh-bootcamp
🎻 Orchestral Mockup Course: payhip.com/b/Kpot5
🖥️ Logic Pro Orchestral Template: payhip.com/b/bRtsJ
🎶 Custom Harp VST: payhip.com/b/HE29M
🎚️ TouchOSC Template: payhip.com/b/jXpH6
📃 Sheet Music: www.stemsupsound.com/
WHO AM I?
Hey there! I'm Zach - full-time media composer, passionate online educator, and obsessive coffee roaster. Through my KZbin channel, weekly newsletter, and online courses, I'll teach you how to grow as a composer so you can make cool music and spend your life doing what you love.
CONNECT WITH ME:
📸 Instagram: / zachheyde
📩 Website: zachheyde.com

[@ZachHeyde]

Want more free music tips? Check out my 5-step film scoring guide here! bit.ly/zhfreebie

[@wildflute]

A small note from an actual instrumentalist: choose the scales based on how we actually play and learn our fundamentals and not by whether it’s symmetrical on a keyboard. ‘Octatonic scale’ is a diminished scale and we do work on those but for gawdsake, unless it’s strictly necessary harmonically, use chromatic or the basic diatonic scale the piece is in. It does not enrich my life to have to flare my tendinitis over a twee scale decided by computer and not by understanding of how instrumentalists function. We are humans not robots. Make fast things predictable because most of the time we have one rehearsal at best to nail these things. I will add that the orchestration suggestions here are spot on. Thank you for listening to my TEDTalk!

[@matthewlafountain3018]

I was thinking the same thing. Octatonics are much easier on strings (w open strings helping) but these runs of symmetrical half-whole at this tempo is hard on keyed wind instruments.

[@Musicisair715]

Hey hey... We compose, you play. Shuuuuush. The true goal is nothing more than to make your fingers cry.

[@wildflute]

@@Musicisair715 It does seem that way a lot of the time!

[@gkgyver]

So, basically you learned a hard to play instrument and complain about it.

[@wildflute]

@@gkgyver Dude. It’s not hard to play per se, but all instruments require practice to get to a professional level. That being said, there are things that are idiomatic to each instrument in an orchestra and a professional composer will learn what these things are for each instrument. In my opinion they ought to go further than that and learn what it’s like to actually play in an orchestra and read music in this kind of ensemble. This is what made the greats great. Modernly, John Williams knows how to make each instrument sound it’s best and his shit is HAAAARD but never, ever ridiculously out of idiom for the instruments.

[@FishOscine]

THIS IS A BLOODY MASTERCLASS!!! I've spent 2 hours on this video alone, pausing, trying, replaying. Thank you!

[@jimrogers7425]

The descending runs are very reminiscent of what Carl Stalling did in Warner Brothers cartoon scores. It gave me pause to smile at how this technique evokes the speed of a chase. Great video! Thanks!!

[@rmhmusic3621]

Carl Stalling? Wow. Did you know him, Jim? When I was a kid (6yrs) I took violin lessons with his wife. I think her name was Gladys?

[@jimrogers7425]

@@rmhmusic3621... no I didn't, but I heard a lot of his compositions daily and also got CD 'The Carl Stalling Project' as well as the second one... just like watching the cartoons. It shows you just HOW IMPORTANT the music track was in the early WB cartoons!!

[@sandygrungerson1177]

or the interminably annoying employment of the same by "composers" like danny elfman

[@lionmane3288]

absolutely love the orchestration in every one of these examples, great job

[@anatomicallymodernhuman5175]

Super helpful to have it broken out like this! I absolutely love that last example. It took me right back to watching the old Warner Bros cartoons as a kid. One thing that many of your viewers may not be aware of is that you can’t just write octatonic for harp willy-nilly. They’re limited to seven pitch classes per octave. You can write it for two harps, omit one of the notes, or live with a virtual harp sound.

[@AngadUday]

One of the most precise videos about runs. Thank you for this!

[@grantmoon689]

This is a brilliant insight Zach, these sound so good. Thank you.

[@LG-bi1sr]

Stuff like this are so valuable. It can bring so much energy to your piece and also function as a link between modes or keys or sections. Great work!

[@karlaskmusic]

Your content is so good, Zach! Thanks for sharing these techniques.

[@BrianMagnan]

Awesome video. As someone who is still learning the subtle nuances of orchestral scoring this was an awesome learning experience.

[@bjrnslader5907]

Dude thank you so much this is exactly what I've been needing to make fuller sounding cinematic scores

[@nRGmusicproduction]

Your stuff is GOLD Zach. Thank you soooo much for this lesson!

[@spaceflows]

Amazing tutorial! Thanks so much for creating this.

[@vicsol75]

Brilliantly! Every new lesson inspires me!

[@kell_0741]

I had the sparkle, chord, and melody but I needed some woodwind flourish and had no idea where to start, this helps so much!

[@LoneWolfAudio0524]

I've always wanted to learn to do runs like this. I've always just used patches in my VSTS, but this video was really helpful in explaining how to actually DO them. You did a great job explaining and I can't wait to go and try it myself.

[@MASimonish]

Love this, thank you for sharing!

[@zoundbiestudio4021]

Man this video is brilliant. THanks a ton Zach!

[@andressarmiento384]

Great stuff, and the overall presentation was so good as well! Straight to the point, but with enough detail to get a lot of value out of this video

[@gtholt2816]

Never been able to do runs but this has helped so much, Thankyou!!!

[@TheCueTube]

This is really great, Zach!

[@ckm3865]

One of the best orchestration videos I’ve ever watched

[@ModernGuitar]

Very nice examples. Thanks Zach !

[@TheSoundConnoisseur]

The first example with the run going downwards, I had to listen to that 100 times. It was beautifully done.

[@LukaGroulx]

Loved that video!! Very helpful thank you!

[@obszczymucha1337]

Fantastic content. Pure practical stuff, no rambling. Thank you!

[@captainbeastazoid7084]

Great video! I have a bachelor's in composition and I wish the professors at my university were this clear and succinct.

[@seanfourie7]

Thank you for your knowledge Zach

[@praveenchaddha]

truly awesome clip. Thanks!

[@cacauceluque]

Great tutorial as always! Thank you for this great tutorial! 👍

[@JustKevVideoStorage]

I've struggled to find a good runs video forever, and then this video just shows up in my sidebar. This is everything I needed. Thank you!

[@ZachHeyde]

So glad to hear it!!

[@mikescofield]

Very interesting and very helpful. Thanks!

[@MusicManDre]

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing!

[@wintrasight7525]

Thank you Zach your videos are really helpful.

[@enriquesanchez2001]

Interesting stuff, ZACH. Thank you!

[@rockyblaqmuzik]

This is a PHENOMENAL tutorial using the Octotonic Scale, thank you!!

[@KevinKuschel]

Thanks, Zach! Super helpful.

[@shadowgod-tunes]

This video was really helpful. Thank you for creating it. This will help me improve my abilities.

[@Mopsie]

This is insanely good! Thanks so much! Instant sub!

[@leonbartosch]

That's amazing, thanks!

[@ChristianBrown-sc3pk]

Very Informative Thank You

[@joegrado]

Thanks Zach for the video. I was actually working on orchestral runs with my teacher when I found your video. Great examples!

[@byronhenze]

Great tips here, thanks for the video!

[@keystoanotherworld]

Awesome thank you for sharing.

[@marcxstation]

Thanks for giving solution to the struggle I was having yesterday ❤️

[@AnandAryan17]

Good work loved the runs and the composition

[@sashaalexander1833]

Amazing video, thank you VERY much!

[@lightbug6103]

This is really helpful. Thanks!

[@emilyrln]

This is really useful! I've only ever written melodies, harmony, and basic accompaniment (chords and arpeggios lol), but I've been branching out more recently and this is exactly the sort of info that helps me incorporate more complexity into my music. Excellent video! You've earned my sub 😊

[@ZachHeyde]

Thanks Emily!

[@jennymecham]

Great tips, thank you!

[@KontramanN]

Bassoonist here- velocity wise that's no problem at all. 7:08 The bassoon is a much more versatile instrument than you would expect. Very often people are not daring enough with using the bassoon resulting in boring to play parts. Anyway- great content!

[@ZachHeyde]

Great to know, thanks for sharing!

[@ScoringStageDe]

great tutorial - thanks

[@johncostigan6160]

Very instructive. Lovely harmonic content. Cool

[@FleshgodApocalypse]

This is brilliant!

[@Roan256]

I am impressed by your ability to teach. You are really good.

[@RichardAlbertMusic]

You‘re golden Zach!

[@mylesmercer3883]

This is a great video, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@chiefwaxy]

Amazing ! Thank you !!

[@antekketna7080]

Unique, complex sound. Good skill

[@MSpotatoes]

I love your channel already and I only just found it. Great video!

[@ObsessiveCostumingDude]

Fantastic video, examples, and discussion - thank you! :)

[@jenssieckmann]

Superb video. Your channel is getting better and better. What I like especially is its applicability. Precise tips to enhance compositions /orchestrations in/for a very specific case.

[@ZachHeyde]

Thank you Jens!!

[@hedgy369]

love boat theme (ascending ) , You're The First, The Last, My Everything (descending)- both into first verse.

[@danieldavismusic]

Awesome video. Thanks!

[@ProAudioIQ]

Very cool Thank you!

[@DmitriPchelintsevComposer]

I was going to write that octatonic scale gliss is impossible to play on a harp, but then I've noticed that you've omitted the Db 😁

[@wildflute]

Yes, but he didn’t mention it. Maybe a primer on how instruments actually function would be a useful series for him to do!

[@metrabyte1282]

@@wildflute I would love that! I struggle to compose for instruments in a believable manner.

[@aleksamrkela831]

The video I needed to see. Love the presentation. :D

[@JuanAMatos-zx4ub]

Excellent video! I could watch another hour of runs haha

[@Bashanvibe]

New here!!! This makes so much sense the way you explain it!!!

[@trblmkr5139]

first time seeing ur content.... new subscriber. love it

[@bnarvaeza]

Great video!

[@jacekkarlowski]

Opened up a new avenue for me, thanks man.

[@elijahjflowers]

Thank you!

[@zhexum]

Nicely done, thanks! Curious, if I’m reading the track label right it looks like you’re using marcato articulation for the strings instead of legato. Any thoughts on that? The step input pointer was especially helpful for me. I’ve tried recording in half and time and then compressing it, but the step input is better, and I’ve literally never used it!

[@gondiulaurentiu3804]

Great lesson!

[@davewestner]

I can't believe how interesting this video was considering I do music that has absolutely nothing to do with this kinda stuff. Thanks for putting it together. That was a well spent 15min.

[@Vutterfly3]

LOVE THIS CONTENT!

[@sheddybhulji8196]

excellent video thanks

[@tsongyt7539]

I only use 2 techniques but didnt know its many as this. I learned a lot

[@marcvandammemusic]

Great video !! Thanks for sharing these techniques. It could be great to get the midi files of these exemples 😁

[@DallasCrane]

Really cool video!!

[@garysalyers7611]

Brilliant!!

[@SingaLife]

Awesome video!

[@Franck_Hoffmann]

So good!!! So clear!!! ❤I'm wondering how much prep or post-production you put into it. It feels effortless! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@ZachHeyde]

Thanks Franck! It's gotten faster over the years :)

[@Av414ncheTMC]

That's awesome! What sample libraries do you use for your orchestrations?

[@tpl6963]

a good one is the kontakt library: tokyo scoring strings. and keyscape for piano. for me, tokyo scoring strings has some latency issues which make it hard but that might just my being a noob

[@Av414ncheTMC]

@@tpl6963 Well, latency isn't really a problem, but more of a little inconvenience. Even if you can't adjust latency knob within the library, you can shift the notes in piano roll. Thank you for advice, I'll look into it

[@TheJerry2912]

This is really useful! :) I've got one question though: what articulation do you use in the mockup for runs across a scale? short notes like staccato or more legato patches? :)

[@harshitrathore5976]

Thanks Thanks thanks🤩

[@1teodebeo]

Pure Magic!💫

[@officalj2productions290]

I love It Here!!!!

[@yvanroustan4426]

Very instructive, thank you ! for the next : Compose Good Percussions (How, when and why did you use timpani, tubular bells...)

[@GiancarloCordon]

such a great video!! I've always wanted to have learn this and add it to my productions... never thought I'd be happy to say this, but... "THANKS ZACH FOR GIVING ME THE RUNS!" 😂

[@jeremiahlyleseditor437]

Great Information

[@TheSoundConnoisseur]

Do you want to know what really baffles me ?that I’ve only seen two of your videos, and I already want to subscribe to your premium. I have never even considered this with anyone else. But I’ll pay the price for what you’re teaching. Somehow Grasps my mind perfectly.

[@ZachHeyde]

That's super kind, thanks so much!! 🙂

[@ivansabata4378]

Buen video de runs me a gustado mucho. Un saludo y ahora voy a practicar a ver qué sale 😅

[@drombauts]

Hello Zach, You do this runs with the CINEMATIC STUDIO STRINGS ? So then the sustain patch low latency legato mode ? Or the marcato patch ?

[@RichardAlbertMusic]

This is so good, I wanna like it twice.

[@tosvus]

Don't do that!

[@SakaNick]

superb

[@kappabravomusic2101]

3:04 Very lovely run with the cymbal.

[@MichaelsPaintingChannel]

Do you the hall set for every instrument on each of its track or just laying at a bus for all togehter?