How to compose for Strings

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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

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Try out Apple Music Classical with a free trial: apple.co/DavidBennettPiano 🎵(Free trial available for new users only)

[@edmn]

Big sponsor!

[@doctorscoot]

no link to two set violin's video?

[@DavidBennettPiano]

@@doctorscoot well spotted. Added now!

[@wrtyioo]

And for those of us who don't have anything apple...?

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@wrtyioo Just enjoy the actual content on how to compose for strings then, and ignore the advertisement if it not irrelevant for you.

[@muc_michi]

Guys, it happened! He ran out of time signatures!

[@SuperIperMegaTriper]

Lol

[@ywenp]

Came here for that comment

[@piwo_rearm_piwo]

still waiting for pi/e signature

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Don’t speak too soon 😉

[@SpaceWolfHudson]

I'm afraid we haven't even seen his final form...

[@whatever2045]

As an amateur cellist, I'm honored to be a member of "violin family".

[@skorp5677]

Bruh, celli are at least twice as cool a violin. Be proud of yourself!

[@GizzyDillespee]

It's the viola who should be honored...

[@zzzaphod8507]

As a cellist, I'm not!?

[@eriksatieofficiel]

Cello is the best string instrument.

[@WayneKitching]

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.

[@lp-xl9ld]

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..."

[@DavidBennettPiano]

😂😀

[@turnerIott]

Been playing cello in an orchestra for 8 years now but still watching this just because I love your channel.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

😊😊😊😊

[@ehmaree]

Same

[@astara3770]

This is exactly the type of music videos I want to learn from thank you!

[@LadyJoolree]

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! 😅

[@alsatusmd1A13]

Our ancestors actually had clefs keyed to pitches above G4 (D5, F5) and below F3 (G2, notated as Γ). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clef

[@JustFiddler]

8va 👼

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

That's why you get paid more 😁

[@plaisthos]

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)

[@yueyume9619]

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.

[@2li678]

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.

[@mahlerbartok]

Good point!

[@PersonThing-hp9pn]

Exactly

[@GeckoBass]

I was about to comment that! Also he forgot to mention C extensions lol.

[@mahlerbartok]

@@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

[@wadpaw]

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

[@rebeccastadie5772]

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.) 😄

[@element-alchemist8875]

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.

[@Squirrel_314]

Can’t wait to see how we get Radiohead and The Beatles into this one!

[@andersjjensen]

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

[@chrishb7074]

George Martin’s orchestrations for the Beatles

[@turnerIott]

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.

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

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

[@iliketrains3495]

Radiohead actually came in mind as Jonny Greenwood has used his Ondes Martonet to simulate an orchestra

[@stijnvanloock3194]

I mean the bass is really a part of the gamba family but for the rest great tutorial :)

[@mr88cet]

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.

[@rdspam]

Ray and Hillary - I was thinking “where’s TwoSet?” - and boom… I look forward to this series - should be fun and informative.

[@connerstines1578]

They all have one thing in common, the sheer difficulty.

[@pacorka9943]

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)

[@ZayaMillis]

I am beyond excited for this new series!!!! Thank you

[@basslobster]

This is pure gold. Thank you 👍

[@sethtuckerstraining9261]

More of this please! This is so helpful and presented wonderfully! Thanks so much!

[@TheTobesOfHades]

Thanks! That was so well presented and informative. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[@mustuploadtoo7543]

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!!! 😀

[@camcamgamer]

Thanks you David, this helped me a lot with my piano concertos!

[@bobsykes]

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.

[@heresyhunter4100]

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!

[@oravlaful]

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

[@aheshle]

Very excited for this series!

[@corbyndaclassical]

This has helped a lot, Thanks David! I will watch your other parts for different instrumental families too!

[@jayantjrathod]

Thank You Sirjee Awesome Information

[@paulhaynes8045]

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.

[@johnmac8084]

Fascinating David, thanks. Looking forward to the series, great idea 💡

[@eduardotrillo3519]

thanks David! looking forward for the next ones!

[@liquidsolids9415]

Thanks very much for this fantastic explanation. Well done!

[@MrEspilon]

Excellent video ! I can't wait to see other video on that subject

[@michaelbachmair3753]

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!😊

[@charlotteyeh2622]

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!

[@paulwalsh7907]

Thank you so much! Great video and I can't wait to see more like this.

[@n.2197]

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! 🤩

[@mendyviola]

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).

[@PaulSpades]

This is a great starting point for amateurs(or not classically trained musicians). Thank you!

[@MV-vv7sg]

YESSS was waiting for this. 🔥

[@TheNocturna001]

Finally someone who explains things. Thank you so so much!

[@lhtd]

I learned soooo so many things ! Thank you !

[@mb10mb10]

Very interesting and instructive. Thank you David.

[@Poetslove]

Great video as always David. Very informative

[@Casutama]

Can't wait for this series!!

[@davidcantwell2489]

Thank you so much for this.

[@12ozz]

Excellent explanation

[@johnhumberstone9674]

Great stuff, David. Really enjoyed that.

[@iancurry]

Thanks again David for another interesting and easy to understand music lesson. Looking forward to the next one in this series... 😀

[@octa_neo]

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!!

[@rjd92865]

Well done, David. Thank you for another great video!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!

[@eduliborio8]

Amazing video! Thank you very much for sharing you knowledge!

[@peterkelley6344]

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.

[@maurikmalasllani2848]

Exellent explanation,very very pro and easy to understand. Compliments, your channel is one the most interesting and helpful in YT. 👏👏👏👏

[@truefilm6991]

As an arranger/orchestrator, I find your explanations excellent! Very well thought out and presented with clarity, as always.

[@giovannic8553]

It was exactly what I was look for, thank you so much

[@CoinedIt]

How can we strive for peace with all this talk of violins!

[@tomscott7271]

This is absolutely a great video! Thank you

[@The-End-Of-The-Line]

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.

[@yingyangmapper5399]

Such an informative video! I already can't wait for the next one!

[@mrdude3523]

I loved this video! You explained everything so simply and yet so well. Looking forward to the brass video!

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

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

[@jameschristiansson3137]

I love the viola.

[@composer7325]

excellent video, thank you, David..

[@ericleiter6179]

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

[@markshveima]

Brilliant! Looking forward to the next one.

[@gaurangdesai2816]

Thank you for putting up such informative video, waiting for more great work 👏🍻

[@billwinward9324]

Fascinating stuff!

[@MichaelFenley]

Thank you so very very much. You’re an awesome instructor.

[@DavidMillsom]

Great video. Thanks for your good work !

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you 😊

[@richardlehoux]

Thank you very much. Very instructional

[@sailorgeer]

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.

[@kendebusk2540]

A nice beginning to what must be a very nice series. Thanks, David, and keep 'em coming!

[@boomerdell]

I could spend days and days watching your videos. Always such a treat!

[@jeffhoffman2018]

Great video, would love to see more in this series (especially if you ever plan of doing arranging for a jazz ensemble)

[@Rosie-chen]

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

[@chrismwhite]

David, thank you for such an informative and helpful video.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you 😊

[@nickmaestro]

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.

[@djesmusic]

Nice, clear explanation of some fundamentals.

[@blckprntbyshiftedshore]

Awesome explanation, thanks a lot for these materials!

[@Jay-zq1wk]

Thank you for the explanation, and I am looking forward to watching how to compose for woodwinds! I play the oboe and love orchestras.

[@caioaquino5958]

wonderful video, cleared everything that I wanted to know, HUUUUUUGE thanks and congrats!

[@Neferitari]

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!

[@DrB81]

Excellent video mate. And you used my favourite classical piece ever to illustrate. Bravo!

[@Mythansar]

Very nice and informative video, there! Keep doing this series! :)

[@bowenflob8036]

Learnt so much, thank you!

[@andy.miroirs]

Wonderful video. Thank you very much!

[@aleiandromiller3351]

actually so informational ty❤

[@Miffopro]

Okay, so those range illustrations are NOWHERE NEAR accurate, all the instruments in the violin family can go much higher. Especially the cello! 😅

[@AndreaP_N7]

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 😅

[@thepianoplayer416]

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.

[@NoreenHoltzen]

Thank you.

[@FaustinaFalcon8]

so stoked for this series. been interested in orchestral composition forever but never knew where to start outside of paying loads of money for college courses

[@MyUsernameIsGuess]

Fascinating... I did not know any of this...

[@sergionate8326]

Amazing, it is quite hard to find info about this in such an accessible way. You are awesome!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Glad it was helpful!

[@websitesthatneedanem]

Wonderfully simple.... many thanks!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

😊😊😊

[@mackermaldrill2656]

David, another awesome video. I've got a much better understanding now on how music is arranged in this type of setting. Thanks!

[@adammason1587]

Thank you so much for this video, as a producer that uses strings, I desperately needed this.

[@knarf_]

Brilliant explanation. Thanks 👍 All the best, knarf from France 🎸🇨🇵

[@wyatony]

Very helpful, thank you 🙏🏾

[@Daniels_Rose-3.7]

thank you very very mush one of the best youtube channel of all time. Much love and respect.

[@amonra73]

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!