'My Mare' // Using BBCSO Core only //

Those who visit my channel frequently might know by now that I’m a huge BBCSO user. Through the years I’ve learned sailing this amazing orchestral soundship. For this composition ‘My Mare’ I only used BBCSO Core, creating a orchestral piece based upon a lovely Celtic melody called the ‘My Horse’ theme, provided by my dear fellow country man Harry Koopman, who heard it somewhere on the radio, decades ago. Also the fugue theme in the middle is a spin-off from the main theme. That original 'My Horse' main theme is to be found at 1:34. I challenged both Harry and myself to create a orchestral piece around this theme. With the rule of only using BBCSO Core and one ‘non-Core’ instrument. This became my pallet:
Flute 1-2
Oboe 1-2
Clarinet 1-2
Bassoon 1-2
Trumpets a3
Horn
Horns a4
Trombone 1-2
Trombones a3
Tuba 1-2
Harp
Glockenspiel
Piatti
Timpani
Violins 1
Violins 2
Violas
Celli
Basses
Sopranos (Eric Whitacre Choir)
Tenors (Eric Whitacre Choir)
For mixing and mastering I had the opportunity to use some of my recently purchased plugins: The Avalon 737 & 747, and the Manley Massive Passive. All adding tube warmth, presence, body, detail and energy to the orchestral auxes and stereo bus. It all makes the piece more alive in my opinion.
For reverb I this time only used Liquidsonics Cinematic Rooms, adding a 2 chain send reverb:
1. Score stage
2. Rear Large Hall.
Both full mix and around -9bd setting in Cubase (different amounts on the several orchestral sections).
Consider listening on decent speakers or headphones to get the full stereo experience.
Be well,
Jeff Hijlkema

[@voltimande]

Beautiful composition and a very nice project! So glad I came across this! Beautiful demonstration of BBC Core!

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks so much. Glad it resonates with you.

[@charlesyateschalfant]

I recently purchased this library and it's superb. Truth be told though, many orchestral libraries, both old and new, can produce superb results in the right hands. Tools are a necessity but skill is even more so. This comes from practice and knowing your libraries as well as your DAW.

[@jeffhijlkema]

Totally agree it's about knowing your library or libraries of choice, spending time to make it do want you want it to. Although the final result eventually is much more then knowing your libraries ;-)

[@doctorcane]

Nice use of counterpoint my man. Really great little counter melodies here and there. And contrary to some: You wrote a nice melody that is memorable and has some nice contrapuntal movement around it making it very complete. Terrific work.

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks for your in depth answer, really nice. The use of counter melodies I like because of the interaction it establishes, the almost constant movement it creates and also creating this kind of auditive puzzle. It's a missed opportunity not to do so I think. Regards, Jeff

[@DamDominiciMusic]

This sounds so warm! Great sounds and orchestration 🤩

[@marco_time2relax]

Beautiful composition! I am also a user of this library, so it's good to hear what's possible 🎶👏

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi Marco, thanks for your kind reaction. With some tweaking BBCSO Core can do a lot ;-)

[@mathilde1286]

Jouw nieuwe creatie kwam ongevraagd voorbij.... ik waan mij weer in 'Lord of the rings' landschappen dankzij deze mooie muziek. Succes gewens in 2024. Groet

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi Mathilde, dank voor je mooie reactie. LOTR; da's een fijn compliment. Jij ook het allerbeste voor 2024!

[@MECHINEAU49]

BRAVO, magnifique.💯

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thank you!

[@upplysta3497]

Where words fail, music speaks. That is what this song is about: it tells so much without using a single word. You did a great job Jeff! Congratulations! Well done! You should use the #oneorchestra tag... maybe Spitfire picks it up...

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks so much for your kind words on my music. The power of music beyond words. Gna, I just added the tag.

[@harir3]

This is absolutely amazing! Congrats!

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks!

[@muziksculp2r]

Very well done. It Sounds very rich, warm, and wonderful. Thanks for sharing. 😎👍🏻

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi again, thanks for visiting and reacting. Glad to hear it sounds that good over your soundsystem ;-)

[@ERISKUIPER]

Bravo 👏

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thank so much Eris. Good to hear from you again. Hope all is ok over there and hope to hear some content from you again soon.

[@marcomiele]

Very beautiful Jeff !!!

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks Marco!

[@Giorgos22221]

Great sound and really well mixed. It's a pleasure to hear BBCSO in this quallity

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi Giorgos, thanks for your reaction. Glad you can appreciate the sound. Do you have troubles making BBCSO sound good? Regards, Jeff

[@Giorgos22221]

I have trouble letting it sound so rich and clean yes. But it is more caused by my orchestrations i think. As orchestration has a steep learning curve I still have much to learn. I love BBCSO it is all a composer needs. It is great to hear what this library can deliver in the right hands. It's motivating me and others. Keep it up ! :) Regards, Giorgos @@jeffhijlkema

[@ChrisMuellerMusic]

Jeff, firstly, this is such a beautifuly, peaceful and bright piece that is just a pure joy to listen to. Secondly - being a not so experienced but faithful BBCSO user myself - you and your works really are an inspiration to me. You show me what this amazing library is capable of in the right hands and that motivates me to keep going. Thank you! I know, christmas is just over but if I may have a wish anyways, it is a short rundown of this exact piece in your DAW showing the articulations, automation (if there is any) and instruments used in different sections that make this sound so real. I have a feeling, that there is tons of information and tricks to be learned. I'd be glad if you'd consider it. Have a wonderful start into the next year. I am looking forward to more of your work. Regards, Chris

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi Chris thanks so much for your lovely, encouraging reaction. It's all about inspiration. I'm glad it helps you to move on. I will consider making a walkthrough in this piece, for it is all about the automation I did, loads of automation, next to orchestration and mixing and mastering. Well, it would take me a little while to come up with that break down. So, stay tuned. If I don't you can also book a private Zoom session where I explain things. Take care, Jeff

[@ChrisMuellerMusic]

@@jeffhijlkemaThank you for considering making a video. I might also come back to your offer with the zoom session. If I do, do I contact you through your website?

[@dariagazicka4458]

Wow✨beautiful 😊✨🎄thank you 🙏🏻✨

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thank you my dear neighbour ;-)

[@paulc3037]

A lovely composition Jeff!

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks, all coming from that one lovely My Horse theme ;-)

[@ziadkhalaf198]

beautiful work

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks!

[@sonicsatsuma1256]

Incredible! And inspirational.

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks midime. Inspiration matters!

[@sonicsatsuma1256]

@@jeffhijlkema I’m just starting out really and invested in Core. Some say it’s lacking due to the one mix but this just proves what I thought; in the hands of someone who understands the CCs and spaces, in addition to exceptional compositional skills, Core is as good as anything. Have you used the official SF template btw? Would you recommend it? It takes 20 minutes to load all the samples and I’ve got a decent processor and 40GB of RAM.

[@jeffhijlkema]

Sure Mic mix 1 is good enough, at the end this mic tweaking is a matter of taste. When writing for cinema it is handy though to be able to mic tweak some instruments more to the sides, leaving room for the dialogue and efx and so. Next to that it is all about spending time tweaking your CC automation to the minimum. The sound you hear isn't right out of the box; I do some processing in the mixing, using plugins to beef up and warm up the sound. I don't use the SA template. I always create a new template from scratch, deciding what instruments to choose and what articulations, I like to do it that way, building up a feeling with the orchestra if you know what I mean. So in fact I tweak every orchestral section that I use. Adapting a SA template would cost me as much time I think. That way I don't end up using too much of my RAM that isn't necessary, although I have 32GB RAM and fast m2 cards. I like to leave some RAM space for using mixing plugins already when composing, to make the sound more beautiful and inspiring to work with@@sonicsatsuma1256

[@sonicsatsuma1256]

@@jeffhijlkema I’m so grateful for you taking this time to respond and apologise for asking loads of questions! It’s just your music really resonated. In fact, your Dune track blew me away totally. I listened to the official soundtrack afterwards, while decorating today and your interpretation was as good, imo. If you’re only using selected patches from Core and layering with other libraries etc. then mix / processing with 32GB, it inspires me to learn even more because I’ve got a lot of the tools, just not the talent lol. Really interesting to understand your process so thank you. I’m starting to think templates are a bit of a faff tbh. Useful to have a starting point e.g. piano and some balanced strings but waiting 20 minutes for a whole orchestra to load then only using 12 instruments seems to be as much a waste as trying out different combos on the fly. I’ll strike for a balance in future. So good to hear BBCSO Core is capable of this though. Do you add many reverbs? For convolution I took one of the quiet percussion hits and tinkered with it slightly. Only about 2 secs but enough to add some room to drier libraries. I’m just stuck with the tail reverb stuff though. Can never find anything that doesn’t wash the whole mix out. I’ll keep trying!!!

[@CraigRodmellMusic]

Very nice. And greetings from a fellow Core user. The pictures look familiar.....

[@Larsmannetje66]

Wauw!

[@jeffhijlkema]

Dankje Larsman!

[@Pax30001]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thank you, you're welcome!

[@symfonik-pl]

Beautiful :)

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thank you! Beautiful was what I was aiming for in the end.

[@HGECSTJOBL]

Superb. How do you mix the instruments to achieve such a sublime sound?

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks man! I wrote some down in the description of the video, hope that answers your question? You can book a private Zoom lesson to have a look around in the DAW project of My Mare, where I show automation, mixing and mastering. Feel free to contact me at; [e-mail] Kind regards, Jeff

[@andrewfeazelle]

I recently bought the Spitfire Symphony Complete package and while I haven't been able to use the harp (have to pay to upgrade Kontakt to use the harp), I've been very impressed with how it handles one of my old tunes that I'm re-programming on the weekends. It sounds 90-95% realistic. At first the library sounds really wet in the Air Studio room when you're in your DAW doing the programming. But when you bounce the tracks to disk and listen to the WAV file in your car, or on your laptop it does sound less wet and more clear, but still retaining the 3D impression of where the instruments are in the room.

[@jeffhijlkema]

Congrats with your SSO purchase, must be so inspiring, even without the harp ;-). You mean sounding 90-95% realistic straight out of the box, without any pogramming/automating, or after? For cinemantic purposes I do like the Air studios ambience better. Then again the more dry BBCSO sound lends itself better to be pulled through reverbs, to give it the characteristic ambience you want, in my opinion.

[@andrewfeazelle]

@@jeffhijlkema oh I probably had to do like 6 days of programming to get my old midi file to sound real. Finally got the harp installed too. Yeah I know lots of folks like the bbcso or even orchestral tools as you have more control of the verbs. But man, I don’t even bother EQing anything and it still sounds pretty polished.

[@victornoagbodji]

This sounds amazing! I do struggle daily with this library to the point I gave up on it and used other libraries for some of the music in my upcoming album 😊I think mixing and mastering skills help a lot which beginners like me don't have 😄

[@jeffhijlkema]

In this case the mixing and mastering did indeed do a lot regarding the soundquality. But these things are no magic, all to be learned when just diving into it. You can book a private Zoom session where I can show you some skills and workflow. Greetings, Jeff

[@victornoagbodji]

​@@jeffhijlkema What a great offer! I am definitely interested 😊I need to finish up this album release and will send you an email to get more info (probably a few weeks from now).

[@MartinJG100]

Very good. Out of interest, how long did it take you to complete this piece (roughly) from conception to the polished article. Thanks.

[@jeffhijlkema]

Thanks Martin. The idea came at 15 November and I posted My Mare at 27th of December. Didn't count the hours though and did a few other projects besides this at the time. Hmm, let's see...setting up template, composing, mixing, mastering, I'd estimate adding all up to 60 hours. Regards, Jeff

[@MartinJG100]

@@jeffhijlkema Yes. A lot of attention to detail there. Thanks.

[@classicalforkids5558]

Hi Jeff. Is there a way I can have a zoom lesson with you? Thanks a bunch

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi there. Sure, I do Zoom sessions. Let's contact over email: inventie@[e-mail] Be well, Jeff

[@shubhodiproy]

Hey, I just got this library and I'm learning it. Can you suggest a good reverb that goes well with it? Somehow every reverb I use is making the sound muddy.

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi there, seems you haven't read the description of the video ;-) For reverb I this time only used Liquidsonics Cinematic Rooms, adding a 2 chain send reverb: 1. Score stage 2. Rear Large Hall. Both full mix and around -9bd setting in Cubase (different amounts on the several orchestral sections).

[@karayuschij]

Nice piece! (but I don't like the excessive strings legato/portamento)

[@Pax30001]

please can i ask, what reverb are you using? and do you please use valhalla room?

[@jeffhijlkema]

Hi Pax, I wrote that down in the video description: For reverb I this time only used Liquidsonics Cinematic Rooms, adding a 2 chain send reverb: 1. Score stage 2. Rear Large Hall (adding an extra high pass EQ in front of it rolling-off from 75Hz) Both full mix and around -9bd setting in Cubase (different amounts on the several orchestral sections).

[@Pax30001]

Thank you. I apologise. I didn't scroll down to check more on the description. I just checked and saw the reverb and the details. Thank you!