Oct 18, 2019 | Daily Film Scoring Bits, Orchestration
Triple Dynamics The dynamic range of orchestra musicians spans more or less between pp and ff. Triple dynamics, even though used quite regularly especially by inexperienced orchestrators will mostly result in not sounding any different than the double dynamics. Only...
Oct 11, 2019 | Daily Film Scoring Bits, Orchestration
Mood Killers in Scoring Sessions An orchestra is not only an ensemble of different instruments but also a group of human beings. Psychological factors can influence the performance quite heavily, not only whether it is a rainy day or things like that but also by the...
Oct 4, 2019 | Daily Film Scoring Bits, Orchestration
Bow Tremolo Stamina While bow tremolos on the strings create a great shimmering or a very climactic effect, make sure to not write too long passages in tremolo. Especially on loud dynamics, this technique becomes quite exhausting and eventually the muscles of your...
Sep 9, 2019 | Daily Film Scoring Bits, Orchestration
The Role of the Triangle While there are many jokes about the triangle and its players, it can have a fantastic effect in an orchestration. Apart from the single hits that are very often used as comedy moments or for pointillistic highlights, especially the roll on...
Aug 30, 2019 | Daily Film Scoring Bits, Orchestration
Balance of the Harp In a real orchestral tutti, there’s hardly any chance for the harp to be heard. The only thing that might have a chance to cut through are quite strong and expansive glissandos, but any figuration etc. gets lost already in a mezzoforte tutti. Most...
Aug 23, 2019 | Daily Film Scoring Bits, Orchestration
Vibrato The amount and intensity of vibrato as a default playing style is highly depending on the instrument and also location of the orchestra. While string players naturally add vibrato to longer notes, brass players only play with slight vibrato when they have an...
