How To Write and Arrange For Strings The Basics

[@rachelzimet8310]

Just a quick note about cellos, since I'm a cellist ... larger intervals are easier to play higher up since less of a stretch is required.

[@odinplays6143]

It is just the same with any other string instrument, including guitar, ukulele, banjo and so on.

[@HoneyBeauBeau]

odiNPlays I mean technically true for violin, but a lot, notes become too close to play. Sometimes you’ll see notes where you just have to roll your finger forward or backward and it changes by a whole step.

[@zorancalic65]

but, he speaks abouth synths snd samplers

[@philipwilliams5808]

But if it's a big interval, don't you play the lower note on a lower string to bring the finger positions closer together?

[@LucasFigueiredoBR]

​@philipwilliams5808 I'm not a string player, but that's probably not feasible. Given the curvature of the bridge of these instruments, they can probably only play double-stops on adjacent strings.

[@macleadg]

Professional violist here. Some clarification, I think, is in order. You mention that it is easy to play a fifth on a string instrument because you just bar your finger across the strings. Spoken like a true guitar player! True, it’s “easy” to play, but difficult to play in tune, especially if you want an entire orchestra section to do it. (There is a KZbin comedy duo, two professional violinists, called “Twoset violin”; they do a skit on how hard it is to play fingered fifths correctly). So, I can almost guarantee that if you write fifths non- divisi, the conductor or section leader will have the section divide it anyway, first for intonation, second for clarity of sound. If the fifths are open strings, then you’re probably OK, though; that can make for a nice drone effect. Finally, if you’re writing for a soloist piece, or small ensemble with one player per part, non-divisi fifths can be quite viable. Also, while you can indeed play chords on stringed instruments, you can’t really sustain them if there are more than two notes in the chord. If you want a sustained chord (and sustained notes are great on strings), then divisi is the way to go. Double stops can be sustained, but are likely to sound muddy in a large ensemble, and, again, the conductor/section leader will likely call for divisi anyway. Sometimes a four-note chord will be divided into two double stops by the conductor or first chair. Otherwise, great stuff as always Rick; I hope this was helpful.

[@hopesonmakokha5217]

Thank you, this was an eye opener🙏

[@erikgudmunson1847]

As an aspiring professional violist: this is accurate to the nth degree. Fourths and sixths are generally much easier to play accurately than fifths.

[@Scotlanz]

Erik Gudmunson Hey! Cool name buddy! 😆

[@billyhill7132]

@H A R First chair of what? Junior high school orchestra? LOL

[@mareomanojdominic1498]

IF YOU CAN PLAY SLOWLY YOU CAN PLAY QUICKLY.....

[@lucacoccioli9244]

10:40 minutes into strings orchestration and chill and he gives u this look.

[@adamjnotthecongressmanschi7026]

Vibrates my strings

[@TechyTimM]

I was playing with a keys player who absolutely rocked a horn section sound. His secret was that he played horns throughout high school and college. He know the instruments. So he replicated their interactions, strengths, and limitations into his keyboard arrangements. That's how he sounded real and authentic. Thank you for spelling out the importance of understanding what you are trying to replicate!

[@dizdozpurpleproductions]

As a self-taught musician of 40+ years who knows zero about music theory, suddenly I am transported into a whole new world of ideas and possibilities without knowing any more about music theory than I did before. This to me is a mark of a great teacher. I thank you, Sir!

[@davidhartquist9588]

Rick, I am a 79 year old recently retired lawyer. Not a musician, though I love most forms of music, particularly classical and jazz. I have long been curious as to how composers write symphonies. Your excellent video is a good start for my musical education! Best regards, Skip Hartquist

[@lionoathabhishek6133]

Great

[@musicfiu]

Good day Rick, I use your videos for all of my music classes, we love your musical insight. I am the principal bass of the Miami Symphony Orchestra. We use five string basses and it goes as low as the low B. We love to play lower than the E notes every time that we have an opportunity. Our conductor, Eduardo Marturet, loves the deep sounds and tones provided by the 5-string bass instruments of the the double bass section.

[@telemekis]

Rick this is fast becoming my favourite KZbin channel. Seriously amazing useful information, thank you!

[@felixdeckers8863]

RickyRoma check out Adam Neely

[@nathanfarrugiavella9650]

I always feel like I'm in music class when I watch your videos, Rick! Writing down notes while watching your videos, rewind if I didn't understand and pausing to work out what i'm stuck in. I'm learning so much from your teachings and they really are making a difference to my composition. Videos like "Chromatic Mediant Modulations", "4 Chords to modernize your sound" and "How to write like John Williams" show really great practical and applicable composition tools that I wish was being taught in my college! More so than analyzing every bar of Prokofiev's Peter and The Wolf! haha

[@RayneExplores]

Man I can watch your videos all day, you have a sort of Dustin Hoffman quality and kindness to your voice which make watching and listening really easy and accessible. I've just started composing for film following 15 years in rock music and I'm finding it a wonderful new adventure and videos and channels such as yours are a godsend. Keep doing what you do Rick, thank you!

[@RayneExplores]

Do you have any examples of your compositions? Have you broken into any paid work yet?

[@JohnRegansReviewsTutorialsMore]

I found you through your videos where you talk about the styles of key producers. I found them entertaining and informative, but this right here is pure practical goodness. Thank you for this.

[@queengodiva7776]

Wow this was so helpful. The best teacher on KZbin thank you! ❤

[@jamesrossmusic6013]

Thank you for providing such priceless information simplified!!!

[@edgenovese]

Love your sharing of your vast knowledge of music. Thank you. As a composer by ear I'm always learning, perhaps late but always inspired by your spirit and willingness to teach. I only wish I could have studied with you when I was young. You're a blessing.

[@fredacuneo5180]

Thanks Rick. I studied this stuff at Berklee back in 1988, and watching this video revealed how much of this valuable stuff I had forgotten. It's amazing to watch your videos. Everything just falls into place again as you explain things and break them down. THANK YOU!

[@algarvemike]

Such amazing information Rick. You are an amazing teacher. None of us need music college now. We have Rick on the University of KZbin. Thank you so much. Your talent and clear common sense are so refreshing.

[@itslogeyyy]

Rick Beato is the man, life saver! I appreciate all that you do for the music community. Huge cheers to you!! Loads of love and respect.

[@jackwilmoresongs]

After studying the scores of Mahler and his often use of chords on the string instruments, this lecture shed much light on how to do that. Thankyou for your labors here.

[@anasofduarte]

Rick I want to thank you for all your videos, they have helped me a lot in my development, and I’ve seen a huge change in my progress in music :)

[@HoneyBeauBeau]

Fun fact: composers don’t give two shits about the range of the violin. They’ll have you in playing high up all the time and they don’t care that your wrist hurts. Edit: Yes. I’m very aware this is a skill issues.

[@NipapornP]

Because nowadays it's mostly played on a midi keyboard anyway. ;)

[@yurianvise1672]

@@NipapornP mehh. O feel bad now

[@Jeffery99]

That's why they get paid

[@adamjnotthecongressmanschi7026]

Bad composers maybe. (Like me lol I have no idea how to compose gud)

[@Slynell1]

Deal with it.

[@raymondhummel5211]

Enjoyed your video explaining the ranges of violins, violas, cellos, and double bases, and different applications on how to use them..

[@DodgeDartSongs]

Wow, thank you, Rick! That was intensely interesting. I’ve been arranging string parts for my own songs, really just flying by the seat of my pants, total intuition. But your video puts in bed rock there.

[@bunyaadi]

I found it useful and I'm not even musically knowledgeable. This will help me get better use out of my strings samples. Cheers.

[@jessacuna]

Rick YES!!! i stumbled upon your site ... never knew you taught strings analysis, etc. - it was something I'd been considering learning for my composing ... and I see your site - WOW! thank you so much for the thorough explanations that makes it easy to understand ...

[@Jebbiboy]

I'm actually glad I found this video because I couldn't tell if each group in the strings family are divided or not. Thank you for teaching me this!

[@FahadZaman]

I found your channel an hour back. Honestly speaking, you have the best tutorials out on strings and orchestration. Can't stop learning, lol.

[@henrik5284]

For quick info: 4:40 Range of the 4 string instruments 4:44 Orchestrating chords

[@HAJensen19987]

Such perfectly explained content in a simple easy to understand way. Thanks so so much for these super super useful videos. Please keep on publishing. This is by far the most useful KZbin channel I’ve come across

[@Ninja-pc3gd]

Any brass and woodwinds tutorials like this one. It's really helpful, thank you so much!

[@Ali_ReBORN]

Rick, thanks so much for this.. i have music in my bones but never had any education growing up. This is generous for me as i am working on my solo record :) hope to meet you one day on my travels to the US! Stay blessed!

[@harpermousecrafts6035]

You are the man I've been looking for! I havn't been able to find any music theory/composing/arranging techniques anywhere. Thanks so much.

[@AimeeNolte]

Such valuable info! Thx Rick!

[@fiddler1094]

Your channel is superb too sub here!!

[@AimeeNolte]

Thx Lorenzo!

[@paulx2117]

I really enjoy your channel as well Aimee!

[@paulneeds]

Very interesting, but those were the open notes. Isn’t the range lowest to highest, given practicality of high notes on the violin, maybe the viola?

[@JulianLeeDeVita]

As a cellist, I can confirm that the cellos range is much bigger. Without artificial harmonics im comfortable plaything the A 1 line above treble clef staff. Im sure this applies to double bass, viola (also being able to read in treble) and violin.

[@jamhardxt]

This so far has been the most productive lesson in a long time. Thanks for sharing the knowledge in such an elegant way.,..,.

[@darrensmusicstudio]

Thanks Rick for all the fantastic videos you take the time to do, it's truly appreciated!

[@5688gamble]

If you want intensity on notes that would normally be played in lower positions you can instruct them to be played on a particular string., eg instead of playing the open A, instruct them to play it on the G-string.

[@jpowguitar3077]

Love this

[@paulinewarjri705]

For a newbie like me this is all so fascinating and exciting. Thank you for this wonderful tutorial.

[@darrenhirst9900]

We've been Rick rolled in a good way 😂 Rick Beato the King of cool. Thank you Rick.

[@kappabravomusic2101]

Thanks for great explanations, firstly. Secondly I really liked the sound of the rain on bg!

[@merlinhlr3553]

I'm so thankful for this channel. As an aspiring composer I find a lot of the content pretty useful... keep uploading please :)

[@sevennofficial]

ahhhh event 20/20s ....my favorite speakers ever

[@rossturpen495]

I want to print out the chart at 4:38 and put it on my wall. So insanely helpful!

[@sitarnut]

Great as usual Rick! Wonderful intro to range of voices/notes. At university we were urged to study in depth Ravel's String Quartet. Also, George Martin said writing for strings is not really a common sense endeavor. A lot of other things go into proper voice leading and harmony application. You are leading the way, Bro.

[@TheRealFlapman]

Thanks a lot for sharing your wisdom. And many greetings from Germany!

[@edgarvanoostrum8450]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for this! Thank you for all of this!

[@jakejuntilla1752]

I've been looking for a video explaining this. Thank you Rick!!

[@yutface]

Just found your channel and I am addicted! Good work!

[@DMidNyte]

Thank you for all your amazing videos. Youre a huge help to my learning and inspiration

[@ambiguationdotnet]

just found this channel. it's fantastic! so much instruction and it's free. thanks Rick!

[@nicgray-piano7054]

Rick, this video is so valuable really. Thanks so much!!!

[@UMIAHS]

What if I was dating my cello player and I just found out she has been cheating on me with a viola player and I want to write something that will ruin them the way they ruined me? edit: hypothetically

[@gitarmats]

Maybe something with horribly unergonomic fingerings that is a quarter tone sharp from the rest of the orchestra and has a 4 hour long solo in the spotlight, then perform it in front of a very judgemental crowd?

[@jkhan337]

I was dating a cello player and she did cheat on me. with a bass player for fucks sake.....

[@labibbidabibbadum]

Write this: Q: What's the difference between a viola player and a trampoline? A: You take your shoes off before you jump on a trampoline.

[@mr.wizard3024]

I dated a cello player. She didn't cheat, but she was crazy.

[@crazymatt2685]

The Meme Wizard Seems accurate. Source: am cello player

[@OliKember]

Thanks Rick! This is really handy and very clear. Look forward to part two!

[@vzm4663]

Very useful information! I've been trying to make my MIDI strings better so this was some really nice help, thank you 😃

[@Brett.Williams365]

Thank you, Rick. Very helpful.

[@bogdanfrincu3226]

You are the best rick! i needed this so much,maybe you can do the other instruments in the orchestra! Thank you !

[@miroslaw7]

Just came across your channel. Like the way you teach. Thank you.

[@vheissumusic]

The knowledge you share is priceless, thank you!

[@CharlesAustin]

Great outline..so informative !!

[@hubertvancalenbergh9022]

Very interesting. So many colours to play with!

[@Starglance]

That really opened my eyes. Thank you very much!

[@darrenjharris9907]

Excellent orchestration series Rick!

[@joshscores3360]

Thank you, I'm writing a piece for string orchestra, you really helped me out!

[@mtmals9786]

Great series! I use Mixcraft to experiment with film scores so your breakdown actually defines each track. I'll set up your chord examples and get the fingering down on midi. You really provide a kit which when put together with a slide show of war situ for example along with some dialog should be very powerful. I take notes on notepad along side your video so your recaps of the instrument note ranges are very helpful. Great tools for an amateur film score dude like moi. (an overhead of keys played would be neat) Mike

[@ttswsmusic]

Great video!! Learn some stuff to consider when composing music for my violinist for our live shows. Thanks!!

[@saiharsha370]

ahaaa.. It tempts me to be a knowledgeable person like u..but that takes a hell of time and experience..😅😅😅😅😘😘

[@TrevorBlackMusic]

11:19 - rick casually grabs a 10th...

[@monastarseaton779]

Thank you Rick, I always wanted to learn orchestration.

[@timmah4476]

Great stuff man! Really good information.. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the World!

[@etreimage]

great work Rick, learned a lot, you are a great teacher, thanks :)

[@tskolits]

Love this video ! I learned a lot ! Great video !

[@palacerevolution2000]

Priceless information

[@remon563]

your videos are such treasures man! the only issue I have is that you have SO many videos that its hard to find a structure/guideline in them.

[@PianoStopcom]

Thanks very useful!

[@VictoireBuffet]

Thank you for all the knowledge you provide. Please keep on doing this :)

[@MiguelCatalaoMusic]

You talked about ranges, but you're only talking about the base notes of the strings. Shouldn't full range of the violin account for the last position on 4:50? Thanks.

[@jakegearhart]

Yeah it should. Basically normal range is up to a fourth above the highest string for Violins and Violas and a third above the highest string for a Cello and Bass. There's a difference because Cellists use different fingering because of the larger distance they need to cover on the strings. However you can go up to an octave higher than that and they can play just fine, but don't keep them in that range for a long time because it's a lot harder to play there with good intonation because the intervals get smaller and smaller. One thing to note is that you should try to take advantage of above normal range notes on cellos for things like solos especially because the sound quality is super good in the higher registers on a cello.

[@MISTAMUSIK]

I Agree or at least make another video on full range of all for instruments!

[@InaTramp]

Awesome! :)

[@pedroneves9351]

i would like a lot that you go more deeper on these , iam learning a lot of this stuff with you !! a disney arranging i imagine like a verygood tutorial on strings

[@numanuma20]

Do you have a video on writing for harp? I love that instrument. Anyone who play it’s is a master to me. Thank you for this video.

[@SebastianLis]

Why so many downvotes? great stuff, please do more! :)

[@enriquesanchez2001]

Rick does not illustrate with sheet music

[@tilleyroadaffairproduction6752]

Thank so much for this wonderful explanation

[@rio197]

This is helpful. Thank you for the vid.

[@keysterglenjamin8461]

Using this to finish a piece that was meant for a special someone, making it sad instead 🗿🔥

[@olaturkiewicz11]

Best tutorials ever. Thank you!

[@lattetown]

Great overview of writing for real string studio musicians!

[@frantyozorawattilete4742]

thank you! Cheers from Jakarta, Indonesia!

[@technoschmechno9807]

wonderful information thank you!

[@adam872]

This is fantastic, Rick. Thank you.

[@MISTAMUSIK]

Nasty cord at 7 mins brother! Thank you for this as I have always wanted to learn how to write for strings

[@petersimms8290]

Great lesson, many thanks Rick. I can't find part 2 as mentioned.

[@maxtofone]

Thanks Rick for this great tutorial!

[@SonuYadav-pk4rx]

thank you very much sir for sharing knowledge.🙏

[@Srdelcaos]

can't wait for Part 2, thanks Rick

[@danielecohen2266]

Thank you Rick!

[@Luke-Norris]

Thank you Rick, these videos are fantastic. Subscribed. You breakdown the arrangement in a way us guitarists understand :) If you wouldn't mind occasionally mentioning chord numbers that would be really helpful too.

[@Luke-Norris]

Chord numbers comment is relevant to some of the film score vids I was watching

[@thestreetlightstudio8929]

Man this video just saved me a lot of time. Thanks for the amazing info!

[@NagoyaHouseHead]

Hi Rick, after watching for a couple of years I have finally bought the Beato Book ! I have been an acoustic singer songwriter for many years and this info will help me take my music to the next level. I would love to get more info on arranging strings for songwriters. It seems to me that on top of the restrictions and considerations you covered here, we also have to consider leaving space for the voice and guitar, not stepping on the bass, and panning. I would love to make string arrangements like Paul Simon in the 70`s on songs like Still Crazy After All These Years and American Tune. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Andy S

[@MarkMcPeak5895]

Thank you for the great insights!!!

[@universaldot6088]

Thank you so much for the information, this is really helpful!

[@lucapucci9137]

Thank you! Very useful