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For this exercise, I have created this short piece to showcase my percussion techniques. In this, you can hear different orchestral percussive elements and how they react with each other to fill out their specific ranges. 

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Percussionist Joby Burgess and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (Rossen Milanov, conductor) perform the world premiere of Gabriel Prokofiev's Concerto for Bass Drum. What is interesting about this piece is the way in which the bass drum is used creatively to create new textures and timbres. 

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Michael Daugherty - Raise the Roof

In this piece, we can see the Timpani being used to great effect. The various intensity of rolls and hits being displayed shows us the large dynamic range of the timpani.

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For exercise 4 I decided to study brass element by taking a section from the Back The The Future score and remaking it using only brass instruments. 

I found the most difficult aspect of this task to be stacking the instruments appropriately, this is something I found to be quite tricky at first. I decided to let the tuba cover the lowest notes in the piece while the trombone played more the mid frequencies and the trumpet the highs. 

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Here is a famous piece that has been used countless times in many different films. The brass element to this composition creates a sense of impact giving the sound a larger than life feeling. 

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Here’s an example of how brass can be used in a more contemporary approach. What I find interesting about this piece is how brass can cover a broad spectrum of frequencies and sound very full when layered like this. 

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During my research in woodwind instruments, I found this familiar piece to stand out due to the noticeable flute line. The expression and texture created in the flute jumps out to the listener and gives the song character. I feel that this is a great example of how dramatic expression can be used within woodwind instruments. 

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This week's exercise was focused around wind instruments. Specifically to create a short melodic line using one instrument, investigating the parameters needed to make it sounds ‘real’.

I decided to emulate a short section from Debussy’s Syrinx, by dropping the audio into Ableton I was able to follow the melody and listen out for changes in the way the flute is being played throughout the piece. These subtle characteristics appeared to be quite tricky to spot at first.

By triggering notes midi within the C0 - C5 range I was able to switch between these different parameters within Kontakt. I found this to be most useful when trying to create a blend between staccato and sustained notes.

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Within this exercise we were given a simple chord sequence and were required to create a piece that took into consideration instrumentation, feeling, emotion and meaning. 

I began by playing the chords Em – G – C – D on a grand piano. Similarly to the previous task I thought that by using the piano I could create a solid foundation to then build layers upon, although this method is quite basic I’m finding it a to be a good starting point as I am still new to this method of writing. 

After creating a sparse voicing on the piano I then experimenting with adding strings at a higher register to work alongside the piano, I feel that this relationship between the piano and string is what leads the melancholy emotion that the piece seems to convey. 

By adding brass and flute element playing single notes I aimed to create some expression and variation in the short composition by playing with automation.

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For this first exercise I was required to take a simple sequence from the Skyfall composition and orchestrate it using strings and possibly piano. As this was my first introduction into orchestral composition I decided to keep the composition quite sparse, my main intention my to effectively create a solid relationship between the piano and the strings. I feel that the sustained notes created by the strings play well on top of the ongoing piano line, I made the conscious decision to make sure that the string sounds played in a higher register to achieve a good sense of balance and texture within the piece. 

“Like the vocal choir, the string family offers excellent homogeneity of timbre, and can play anything from the simplest monophonic line to the richest polyphony. Virtually anything that is suitable for choir will also sound well in strings. However, strings add numerous resources to those of the vocal chorus, due to their much wider range, their much greater mobility and more varied articulations, and their capacity for playing chords.” (Belkin 2001)

I found it be quite enjoyable working with strings in this exercise when I had previously thought about orchestration before this module one of the key elements that always stood out to me was the strings. 

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Sample Library

For this project I will be using the orchestral sample libraries that can be found in Kontakt’s factory library. The library features a large sound bank of different instruments that I intend to make use of within my work. 

The library includes several features that will allow me to automate certain parameters within my compositions, by doing this I hope to create a sense of life and realistic qualities throughout my pieces. 

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Three main aspects of orchestration include texture, balance and function. 

Texture

Texture acts as the simultaneous aspects of a composition that someone is hearing at any given time. You could think of this as a stack of timbres each played by an individual instrument or a group of instruments.

Balance

Balance refers to how the individual components of texture are relating to one another, this also includes how we perceive these instruments spatially within the stereo field. 

Function

What is happening at any given time in a score and where does it lead, in other words, it is the underlined meaning of the music. 

“Defining balance is not easy. Although the classical notion of proportion points to a sense of equilibrium that artists have sensed since at least the time of the Greeks, it is very hard to state in clear and objective terms how this can be created. Indeed, it is even hard to specify why a given masterpiece seems well balanced, although sensitive listeners often have an acute sense of whether a piece seems balanced or not.” (Belkin 1995)

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What Is Orchestration?

“Orchestration is the art of composing for an orchestra, always keeping in mind each instrument's potential and limitations. It is also the art of associating different tone colours, combining the timbres of various families of orchestral instruments to satisfy a particular musical logic that the composer strives for. It's like a musical panel discussion.” (Choukah 2002)

Beauchamp states that "Orchestration is a composer's tool, in a way. It's as important as other musical tools, because this is the stage where particular facets of the work are brought to the fore. Orchestration helps differentiate the levels and priorities of musical perception. It's one among several basic elements used to enable musical discourse to take place."

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Orchestration, Arrangement and Programming

This portfolio will document my development throughout the module, showcasing my understanding, skills and abilities, arranging and programming. 

Aims :

Create realistic Midi Orchestra pieces.

Implement and research new Orchestrating/arranging techniques.

Demonstrate my own personal understanding of musical theory.