Orchestration Discussion with 8-bit Music Theory

[@8bitMusicTheory]

Thanks so much for having me on to do this, and indulging my orchestration whims!

[@gilevansinsideout]

No thank you! It was great fun 😃

[@jamiibear]

Clicked on this thinking it was 8-Bit Big Band's arranger, but i also watch 8bitmusictheory, so i was delighted anyway

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh whoops 😅. Thanks for joining in!

[@alexlewis5365]

Same here. It would've been a treat either way.

[@AnimusInvidious]

This was really fun! Sketches of Spain is one of my favorite albums; I find the arrangements on it utterly sublime.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh thanks! Yeah it’s one of my favs too. I think you’ll like this channel then 😀

[@cheeseaddict]

WHAAAT?? Just when I rediscovered both channels, they decided to collab??

[@gilevansinsideout]

Through the magic of KZbin 😂

[@ronaldo.araujo]

Meeting of giants (the second one literally), legendary!

[@trumpetfredrik]

Haha, this is just crazy - in the best way possible! Thanks!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for your trumpet 🎺 playing

[@NeilABliss]

Trumpet doubled by trombone, bari sax on the bass line and tuba up on trombone part. One of the Gil Evans tricks is using tuba higher than expected, in the middle of the pack.

[@NeilABliss]

Also Bari and Trumpet...just needs bass and it gives me the Chet and Gerry vibe.

[@NeilABliss]

That Oboe and Alto combo starts sounding like soprano sax.

[@NeilABliss]

Finally if I could pick another ensemble, I'd go with the "Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra" sound.

[@NeilABliss]

Finally 2.0 in the Bass bone and tuba world we think of the pairing as a "Pillow with a brick in it"

[@NeilABliss]

Berlioz, for the too big. Triple winds with Contra an octave down on the bass...would be cool.

[@christiankjrbl8397]

Nice to put faces to these voices - good work guys

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks for stopping by!

[@nino-ciampa]

I love this little composition that you've been using in your videos; I assume you've wrote it yourself, Alex, but it's just so beautiful and I love it the more and more I hear it

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh thank you. It starts off like the bridge from ‘moon and sand’ and then diverts off. I needed a melody that was sustained so we could hear the timbre, and one that spanned a fair range so we could hear instruments throughout their range.

[@samwozniak1875]

Two great minds collaborating! What a treat

[@DallasCrane]

10:24 I'd reckon swapping the horn line and clarinet line (swapping octaves too) would give the space you need, and put the horn into a softer, more blending register. The close 2nds aren't great for woodwinds in general, but clarinet at the 12th is perfect

[@gilevansinsideout]

Nice, good ideas

[@albertolopez2697]

ufff what a duplet 💯💯💯💥💥💥

[@gilevansinsideout]

😃😃

[@Jordu7]

Thank you, guys, for all these interesting examples of instrumentation. Lots of choices for an arranger to apply colors and spices. One thing, which to my taste is important and might have an impact when comparing the different instrumentations: Adding the double bass at the bottom to ground all voicings. You did this for the Birth of the Cool and Big Band examples, but not the others. Do you think adding the bass to all examples might make a difference?

[@gilevansinsideout]

Hello, thanks for your comment. Yes I do think it would make a difference. The double bass extends so low that it has a marvellous grounding quality whilst adding some rhythmic drive. I think all or most of the ones where we left the bass out we had an instrument on the ‘bass line’ to help ground the harmony.

[@ThomasLock-n2r]

Wind quintet might have been better with subbing another clarinet for oboe if you use close harmony.

[@gilevansinsideout]

True

[@ThomasLock-n2r]

Was there alto flutes on the first version of super wind??? Low A???

[@gilevansinsideout]

Yup 👍

[@GuitarHutGearZoneReviews1181]

Amazing video. Are these instruments from sample libraries?

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks. No examples are real recorded instruments! 🎺 I’ve been writing and collecting the recordings for a while now. So I have lots of instruments playing this same fragment