How to Write and Orchestrate for Strings

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Strings are the backbone of the orchestra. As a beginner composer, do you struggle to write effectively for the string section? In this video I breakdown the basics of writing and orchestrating for strings, including a brief description of the violins, violas, cellos, basses and harp. I then take you through a piece which has been recorded with a live string section, detailing various orchestration techniques, to get to the best sound from the strings.
► Get your FREE Beginner's Guide To Composing Music in 5 Easy Steps here:composingacademy.ck.page/5eas...
00:00 - Intro
00:51 - A brief look at individual instruments-Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses and Harp
03:23 - Walk through of the Orchestra Techniques Used
10:44 - Piece in full
13:04 - Outro
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Composing Academy is the place to learn how to begin composing your own music. Here you will find easy to follow videos explaining core Music Theory concepts along with various tips and tricks to help you craft that perfect song of cinematic piece of music.

[@maryshaw4399]

What a beautiful piece! Thanks for the detailed and clear explanation. It really helps to see MIDI and music notation together :)

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you! I'm glad you found the MIDI and notation useful!

[@Dimitar_Genov]

Can only double- down on that comment! Midi + notation = great 4 explaining. Often get lost in the gigantic midi parts...

[@PhilipZilfo]

I HAVE A QUESTION: Why was this piece of music so gorgeous? I mean… just beautiful ❤️❤️

[@wisemank9904]

I love the way you teach in steps. Thank you for the great tips!

[@PapierschnitzelPapercraft]

This was an eye opener for me. Thanks for making it this clear! Of course now I am looking forward for the same for brass and woodwinds! :)

[@composingacademy8270]

Glad it was helpful! Yes brass and woodwinds videos are on the cards!

[@mohankumarg5730]

Very lucid presentation. Loved it!!!

[@JDCottonMusic]

A lucid and very illustrative example. Best.

[@madeinfelingen260]

Thank you for making these very nice and informative videos! They're very helpful and have such a pleasant vibe to them which makes them easy to watch!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks so much for watching and for your feedback!

[@MsEcstreet]

A lovely piece and great video tutorial! You make following along easy to understand with the split screen of midi and score. The interplay between instruments of the melody is exciting to hear making the possibilities of what can be done inspiring--my personal favorite is the section giving the melody to the cello. Thank you! I look forward to more great tips on how to enrich my orchestration techniques! :)

[@composingacademy8270]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!

[@aliciaruizsanchez5985]

From Spain, thank you so much. It`s dificult to find an explanation so clear about how orchestrating

[@Wingineer]

What a beautiful piece of music.

[@briansullivan3234]

You're a great teacher... I love that you come up with a simple idea in one video, build upon the same idea in the next video, and then continuing to expand, all starting with that original concept. Some channels have great content, but it isn't progressive and scaffolded like this, which is super helpful for conveying the important ideas. Cheers from Baltimore, US!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, thank you so much for the comment. I really appreciate the feedback and am so pleased you have found my videos useful. I am thinking about doing another series like this so this has helped cement that idea!

[@paulgraziano7946]

maybe you aren’t looking for the comments anymore but I thinks its really beautiful how you can write such a wonderful peace out of nowhere. the video describes the parts of the instruments very well! what I missed a little bit on a video called ‘how to write strings for orchestra’ is that you describe how you found the chords and the progression and the voicing of the chords. I know you did great videos about progressions and so on, but on this piece its again a little bit different to the things you explained on the progression video for example. i would highly appreciate to hear another video, where you show us, how you find, create and write such wonderful harmonies! keep on goining!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Paul, Many thanks for the comment and feedback. I'll make a note now about making a video describing how I composed from a harmony perspective. Thank you!

[@FilipLackovicMusic]

I'm so glad I've found your channel, your explanations are easy to follow and really concise, great work, thank you :) I will definitly binge your videos, subbed :)

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Filip, Thanks so much for watching and for your kind words!

[@ratnacomposerstudio]

such a clear explanation. glad to have gone through this. very helpful.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks again Ratna, really appreciate it!

[@TheLeonCastle]

Wow, your arrangement is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, greatly delivered. This piece is wonderful. 🤍

[@composingacademy8270]

I am so pleased you like it, thank you for watching!

[@omarirm]

Really beautiful. Thanks for all your videos!

[@composingacademy8270]

My pleasure - thanks for taking the time to watch!

[@Addict2FX]

Very cool, youve inspired me dude.. thank you

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for watching and the comment, appreciate it!

[@nickvareymusic]

Newman-esque, it sounds incredible, thank you and congratulations on your wonderful excerpt!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for watching & your positive comments!

[@mrmorchestra]

Again..just WOW!This will really help me to improve my compositions.Thank you my good Sir. Please keep it up, wishing you all the best for you and your channel. God bless. "Mabuhay po kayo!" -your fan from the Philippines 🇵🇭

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks so much for your kind words and for watching! Great to know that it will help you to improve your writing :-)

[@iandorian611]

I learned so much

[@blackforestbeamer]

great job! thank you

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!

[@suryamogali78]

Great piece of work ❤️❤️❤️

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@kuroikenjin7652]

Good stuff! I get a huge Pillars of Eternity soundtrack vibe (which is also amazing).

[@i_am_zion2449]

Your teaching is great every time! Thank you so much！！

[@composingacademy8270]

My pleasure - thanks for watching!

[@emreteselli6020]

It is very detailed and helpful. Thank you sir!

[@composingacademy8270]

So nice of you to comment, thank you for watching!

[@detlefkrystofiak3838]

Thank you very much for this video. For me as a beginner, very helpful and informative. I work a lot with Dorico. So it's a great idea to present examples in sheet form, because I watch all your videos and then also in detail can understand in Dorico. For me, a sheet music is more meaningful than all this difficult to understand in the MIDI editor. So thanks again for your effort, in all your videos, very very helpful!!!!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Detlef, thank you for your kind words. Yes I I'm a big believer in showing notation (but equally aware that not everyone can read it, hence including the midi as well!)

[@patsmusic5584]

Simply beautiful !

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much, I appreciate that!

[@rik-keymusic160]

absolutely beautiful music man !!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@Ioan_S]

I've tried remaking the begining of the song and I think it's a very good exercice for knowing the role of every instrument!

[@composingacademy8270]

Glad to hear the video is proving useful - its a great exercise to recreate music!

[@5966ramesh]

Brilliant Simon. Thank you so much.

[@composingacademy8270]

You are very welcome, thank you for watching!

[@MoodScores7538]

Excellent tutorial Simon.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much!

[@nikhilaarons]

Sounds beautiful!!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you, I appreciate the comment!

[@TheBH18]

Excellent video and very well explained. You made it very clear for beginners to understand, thank you! It would be great if you could break every instrument down, muting the other ones and explaining them, as you did in the Percussion video.

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, thanks for the comment. Definitely something to keep in mind for a future video!

[@oswuldleofricvivadirr3839]

is this complete would love to hear the whole thing altogether with a full orchestra would be one amazing piece of music to listen too

[@epicmusictutorials4674]

Great Tutorial!!!👍👍👍

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@BoogieBear]

Another superb, clear and concise tutorial, thank you 🙏

[@composingacademy8270]

Really appreciate your comments & checking out my videos, thank you!

[@BoogieBear]

You’re very welcome, please keep them going

[@SympanProductions]

Thank you that was eye opening ! I used to play so much ending up in very noisy compositions .

[@composingacademy8270]

So pleased it was helpful, thank you for watching!

[@ToastandJam52]

This is absolutely excellent. Beautiful arrangement! Your explanations are very clear. Going to give this a try. Sadly, no real musicians just free orchestra software. Thanks!!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for watching. Happy composing!

[@Butlinsgvn6]

That’s a beautiful piece of music. I would love to know more about how you actually wrote the piece and then arranged it like this - eg did you start with a piano sketch, then arrange it? Just curious about the whole process and how you chose voicings etc

[@levbrodkin5964]

I'd like to say that I love your modesty in speech and your way to simplfy the tutorials very well! If can we ask for more torails like this one about "Orchestrate for Strings", and more to show the libraries you used to reach that beautuful sounds and how they are set. Thanks a lot, and keep up the good work! Lev

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks so much for watching and for your kind words. I actually don't use any sample libraries in this particular piece, as its a real string section recording. But I'll definitely do some videos on the string sample libraries I do have and how I use them for other pieces. Thanks for the feedback!

[@maxtofone]

@@composingacademy8270 Ahhhhhhhh, I was guessing right that these are not sampled strings... there is something intrinsically beautiful in this string sound that I also find in my favorite soundtrack scores. May I ask the string sections size you used in this composition. BTW great music, kind regards and blessings, MaxT

[@composingacademy8270]

@@maxtofone Hi Max, thanks so much for your kind words! The sessions was a while ago, but I believe the section size was around 30 Strings, split into 10 First Violins, 8 Second Violins, 6 Violas, 4 Cellos, and 2 Basses. It was recorded at the Warner Brothers Stage in Los Angeles.

[@maxtofone]

@@composingacademy8270 Thanks a lot for the kind reply and the string sections size... Best regards, MaxT

[@twoscoops2]

@@composingacademy8270 That would be great,, mine always sound...not great. :D I want them soft and pretty and I try with the dynamic and expression but could use some tips. I am so used to working with synths where I can change the attack, sustain, release, etc. You might have already done a video on this, still getting through them all. Thanks so much for the videos!

[@Si2Si2Si3]

this is gold, thx for that

[@composingacademy8270]

You are welcome, thank you for watching!

[@rachmadadi6586]

Beautiful

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much!

[@neverlow777]

one of the most informative composer channel on youtube

[@composingacademy8270]

I really appreciate that, thank you!

[@andrewgreat6789]

You contents have really helped me in my music life 🙏🙏🙏,thank you very much sir 🤲🤲🙏

[@composingacademy8270]

My pleasure - I'm glad that they have helped!

[@jenssieckmann]

One of the best videos relating to string orchstration I've seen so far. Well explained and well executed. It proves the rule that relatively little means / instruments and a good amount of skills will result in good compositions. How long did it take to compose this cue?

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks so much for watch and for the kind words. It took about 2 days to write and orchestrate the cue

[@saadachab8425]

Very good composition

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@vargshagrath]

Great!!!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@MECHINEAU49]

MERCI POUR VOS EXPLICATION, VERY VERY GOOD !!

[@composingacademy8270]

You are welcome - thank you!

[@Dimitar_Genov]

Gorgeous job!! Got some LOTR vibes at 10:02 😊

[@composingacademy8270]

I am so pleased you are enjoying my videos, thank you for the comment!

[@ChristianSleepSingerSongwriter]

thank you, very informative, subscribed

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks for watching and for the sub!

[@ChristianSleepSingerSongwriter]

@@composingacademy8270 you’re very welcome and thank you for doing it x

[@sonofmoonmusic31]

This would be an interesting challenge for me to write for strings. Thanks for the video!

[@composingacademy8270]

You are welcome, thank you!

[@MatsAnderssonMusic]

Great video 🙂

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@jade8538]

A truly valuable tutorial on string orchestration...thx for sharing this! One question though -- you mention below that what we're hearing is live players performing your composition, yet the video shows a MIDI piano roll. (?) Is that just a MIDI mock-up you created for the sake of this video? ps: I LOVE your channel -- lots of great information here -- pls keep it up!

[@tatarin-1982]

Oh amazing strings... More and more strings

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for watching, I am pleased you enjoyed it!

[@cjp68]

I Love the piece and the instruction. It opened my mind a bit more. Creating "Melodies" is what I struggle with (Chord progressions I have down). I will construct my chords, then stare at my DAW and ask "Now what" ? Where do I go ? You have inspired me (a few videos back, to re-learn to read music).

[@composingacademy8270]

Many thanks for watching and for your kind words! Once you have your chords, try a couple of things. First, while playing back your chords, try to imagine, or hum any melodic notes that enter your head. I find sometimes looping the chord progression over and over helps - eventually something (sometimes not very good!) sticks out. Second, have a go at starting with just the notes of each chord for the basis of a melody. So if you have an F major chord, have a go at starting on either an F, A or C note and see if you can hear what should come next after your starting note. I hope that helps in some way!

[@cjp68]

@@composingacademy8270 Thank you very much for the advice. I really wish to overcome this one road block. Your video on "Ostinatos" truly set a goal for me. They all had real drive, fast, and impact. Since then I have been trying to write my own (without the help of a Software Midi Sequencer or a MIDI Pack). Please keep the Great work ! I enjoy the knowledge and inspiration ! Thank you for it all.

[@Djawadi90]

Hello, I am also a beginner but I believe it will help you. If you struggle with melodies dont start with chords first, chords will limit you. instead start with melody. Think a melody in your mind then try to pass it to your daw. To do that you need to draw the melody roughly on paper only important part is if the notes go higher or lower then you will find with few tries on your daw exact the melody you are searching for.(you can practice it on popular song's melodies then watch their remakes to control) After you passed the melody in your mind to your daw you need to find what scale you are in. After that I suggest you to watch the video about starting with melodies to compose a song in this channel. Start with melodies if you have a song in your mind, start with chords if you have nothing in your mind and need inspiration. That is what I do hope it helps. It has been 10 months tho you are probably expert already

[@andrewgarley1400]

Wow Beautiful

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

[@micwarren21]

Would have loved to see your controller tracks in your DAW. The articulations sound great with this composition.

[@composingacademy8270]

I was lucky enough to have this piece recorded by a real string section, so although I show the midi data, its the real strings that you're hearing!

[@danielrennie8444]

Hey Simon. Thank you for your dedication and good, educational content. I've picked up some useful tips and tricks so far!! I'd just like to ask though: why do you keep saying middle C is C3? I've noticed that some DAW's like Logic notate middle C as C3 when it's actually C4. And I know, at least for Logic, that it has at the option to change middle C to C4. I know you use Cubase, and I never have, so I can only assume that it's showing you that middle C is C3 similarly to how Logic does. Maybe something to keep in mind for future! :) Thanks again for your helpful videos! Keep it up and have a good one!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Daniel, Many thanks for watching and for your feedback. Its a very good point! I guess after having spent years working in Cubase's key editor, its become second nature to call Middle C 'C3'. I remember being taught that when I first had keyboard lessons as well, so I guess it has just stuck with me. Your right though- I'm going to have a delve into the Cubase preferences to see if it can be changed. Thanks for pointing out!

[@JustFiddler]

bagus sekali ! matur suksma

[@toddharrop9094]

Gorgeous, and nice use of simple suspension (retardations). Thanks for your video.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for watching!

[@thedisappointingchannel1433]

In the brief look at the instruments, each one of them is an octave higher than what you showed

[@auroramoroni99]

Absolutely stunning!! What plugins and program do you use? It sounds great

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, apologies for the delay, the program is Cubase Pro 11. The strings are actually live, I was lucky enough to have this piece recorded in LA with session players.

[@auroramoroni99]

@@composingacademy8270 wow!! Thank you❤️

[@GavinNellist]

Hi Simon, great tutorial and really nice composition. Do you release music under another name I could find somewhere?

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Gavin, thanks for your kind words - have a search for Simon Stevens on Premiumbeat.com, shutterstock music or Audio Jungle!

[@alandoyle6313]

Beautiful orchestration. which orchestral library or libraries did you use for this piece? thank you for these extremely well presented and clear tutorials !!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks for your kind words! I was lucky to have the piece recorded by a real string section so there's no actual libraries used in this video

[@alandoyle6313]

@@composingacademy8270 WOW!! that must have cost a lot as the recordings are so impressive. interesting..... this is the first time I can honestly say I really noticed a difference (real string ensemble recording being more impressive than even the sound of the expensive spitfire and East West string sections. well done to you on your composition, the string players on their performances, and the engineers/producers on the superb recording quality. this was also one strings composition lesson that finally opened my eyes to how to properly approach string section compositon. THANK YOU SO MUCH !! 😊🍾

[@peterm13]

nice

[@igorzontaz]

Hi, I'm a composition student, thanks for that! Just for understanding purposes, would this song be in C Lydian? Thanks!

[@CatHarington]

May I ask what library did you use?

[@fabulousk9014]

Is it possible to get the midi or sheet music from these videos somewhere? :)

[@Nilanjanbiswasful]

what model is that midi controller that you are using?

[@ochre6887]

you made the harp fit....nice

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks for watching! Yes it didn't have a big part, but hopefully it complemented the strings!

[@alexandreantunes1122]

Goodnight! Excellent Explanation on Writing for Orchestral Strings! Do you have any courses for orchestral writing? Thanks and congratulations for the content!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Alexandre - thanks for reaching out. I'm just finishing up developing a course on composing, including orchestral composing. Make sure you subscribe to the Composing Academy newsletter (there's a link to my Composing Guide underneath the video) for more info!

[@alexandreantunes1122]

@@composingacademy8270 I appreciate the feedback. Yes, I am already subscribed to the Composing Academy newsletter. When you have more details about the orchestral composition course, please let me know. Thank you in advance for your attention and congratulations for the channel!

[@williamnesbitt9633]

What kind of software are you using?

[@jjg2505]

What sample library is this?

[@Excellentness]

Yup

[@sarp-music]

It's a very nice video..Thank you very much..but I have a question..I am composing music and I want to work in this field..Where will I work in this field

[@composingacademy8270]

Many thanks for watching! There are numerous ways to try and work in the field...it can be quite competitive though. As well as composing for media such as films, tv, video games, library music can be a great way to get started in the industry. Check out sites such as pond5 and envato where you can submit compositions that can be sold.

[@suryamogali78]

Can you please name the libraries u had used in this track?

[@composingacademy8270]

There are no sample libraries in the mix that you're hearing in this piece, as I was lucky to have it recorded with a real string section. Thanks for watching!

[@sewind6613]

A bit confused here with C1 etc. In your Percussion video you say middle C is C4, yet here it is C3. ?

[@5ammy13]

I noticed that your Celli are written divisi for almost throughout the track. Is that common? How many Celli were actually divided in the recordings?

[@composingacademy8270]

If I remember rightly I think there were 6 Celli on the recording!

[@5ammy13]

@@composingacademy8270 thank you for the reply. Keep up the great work on your channel. Love the content 😁

[@franciscoaragao5398]

(1:22) Violin G2?, are you sure?

[@ComposerJames]

Don’t forget the extension to the bass, to play as low as C0.

[@Ioan_S]

What a masterpiece ! I wonder how you always find the perfect chord progression in all of your songs..

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks so much - it takes a lot of trial and error, but eventually with enough experimenting I find progressions that resonate with me!

[@LG-bi1sr]

Maybe a stupid question, but considering the orchestra has 30 violins, do you program 30 different violins in your daw when orchestrating?

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, Orchestral sample libraries typically have patches (instruments) which feature say 16 Violins all combined. So when I press a single key on the midi controller, I would hear the sound of those 16 violins playing back at once. Hopefully that makes sense?

[@LG-bi1sr]

@@composingacademy8270 Thank you, it does make sense. So if I'm trying to get a realistic sound, I should only have one violin 1 patch play at once? I can't have violin 1 legato and violin 1 staccato play at the exact same time? Using BBC Core

[@n0ahyb]

bored as hell eating some gushers and decided to watch this. dont know why but here i am

[@Thatmusicman-tg3mh]

Your video is amazing, all I do have to say is you got the range of the instruments wrong. The low notes are all an octave up. Other wise a great video. Thanks!!!

[@AdamOctorachmadi]

11:12 - almost got me to think avatar last airbender soundtrack

[@desoconnor7445]

Where are you ?????

[@paulmayer8654]

Why do you keep calling middle C C3? It's C4. I've never heard of a system that calls middle C C3.

[@teodoranesheva2631]

Because in music production C3 is middle C.

[@paulmayer8654]

@@teodoranesheva2631 in what programs? Any midi that I've seen it's still marked c4.

[@teodoranesheva2631]

For a classical piano and musical theory, the middle C is usually labelled as C4; however, in the MIDI standard definition, this middle C (261.626 Hz) is labelled C3. In practice, MIDI software can label middle C (261.626 Hz) as C3-C5, which can cause confusion, especially for beginners.

[@paulmayer8654]

@@teodoranesheva2631 calling the same note more than 1 thing seems extremely counterproductive 🤣 not to mention counterintuitive. Where's the benefit?

[@RalfBiermann777]

Yes it is beautiful. I would appreciate it for you to speak a little bit slower, because English is not my mother tongue. Good idea to chose different colors.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for your feedback. I've been aiming to improve (slowing down my speaking) as I make each video. I would be interested if you can hear a difference between this one and my recent String video?

[@RalfBiermann777]

@@composingacademy8270 yes, the recent video was better.

[@masynbeene5485]

Those are not the ranges of the instruments all of them are a octave down

[@Po1itica11yNcorrect]

I put it into Studio One 5 using BBCSO Pro and each instrument played their entire parts without having to adjust octaves to make it work.

[@caseyfulton6932]

Only the basses sound an octave lower. There is an octave symbol by the ranges to explain that.

[@danielberryowusu]

nice