Writing for Orchestra

The speaker discusses the challenges of writing for an orchestra and shares their experience in arranging a piece for a larger ensemble.

Background as a Drummer

• As a drummer, the speaker is used to playing in groups where each instrument has a clearly defined role.

• Writing for an orchestra is intimidating because every instrument can play multiple roles and there are infinite combinations of instruments to choose from.

Arranging for Wins

• Last year, the speaker arranged music for wins by studying and replicating ideas from the soundtrack to the Lynx Awakening Switch remake.

• This year, they wanted to expand on this concept using a bigger ensemble.

Ensemble

• The ensemble consists of three quintets: wind, brass, and string.

• Each part of the string quintet was layered multiple times to simulate a full string section.

• The arrangement chosen was "Your Affection" from Persona 4.

Tips for Writing for Orchestra

Tip 1: Create a Minimum Viable Product

• A minimum viable product showcases the essential nature of your project so that you can tell if it's worth pursuing.

• Miyamoto spent most of his time designing Mario's basic movement controls before adding obstacles and enemies.

Tip 2: Use Reference Recordings

• Listening to reference recordings can help you understand how different instruments sound together and how they're typically used in orchestration.

Tip 3: Start Small

• Start with smaller ensembles before moving on to larger ones.

• Focus on one or two sections at first instead of trying to write everything at once.

Tip 4: Experiment with Different Combinations

• Try out different combinations of instruments until you find what works best for your piece.

Tip 5: Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help

• Collaborate with other musicians and seek feedback from professionals to improve your writing.

Getting Started with Arranging

The speaker discusses how they got started with arranging and the benefits of not being too self-conscious about their ideas.

Starting Small

• The speaker found it easier to put notes on the page when they approached arranging as a demo.

• They ended up with eight bars that made it into the final arrangement untouched.

• Finishing one section inspired them to finish out the chorus.

Using a Reference Track

• A reference track can help identify what you could improve in your arrangement.

• Even if you don't use your minimum viable product, it can be helpful as a trial run to figure out what you don't want to do or offer just one or two ideas that you can take into your real arrangement.

• Comparing your work to a professional mix that you like can help you identify what you could improve.

Thinking of Each Instrumental Section as One Instrument

• It's easy enough to assign the melody and bass line and chords to different instruments in an ensemble, but actually mapping these ideas out onto parts for individual instrumentalists can be daunting.

• Think of each instrumental section as one instrument.

Analyzing and Copying an Arrangement

The speaker discusses how analyzing and copying an arrangement can teach you ideas for how to arrange on your own.

Using a Reference Track for Textural Ideas

• Analyzing and copying an arrangement can give you textual or structural ideas that you can adapt to your own arrangement.

• The speaker took ideas from Kingdom Hearts Hik# The Power of a Minimum Viable Product

In this section, the speaker discusses how creating a minimum viable product can help with arranging music and how it helped him create eight bars that made it into the final arrangement.

Benefits of Creating a Minimum Viable Product

• Creating a minimum viable product helps to put notes on the page without being too self-conscious about whether the ideas are good enough.

• It provides a functional base for the arrangement that can be used to turn it into a full-length arrangement.

• Even if you don't use your minimum viable product in your final arrangement, it can be helpful as a trial run to figure out what you don't want to do or offer one or two ideas that you can take into your real arrangement.

Inspiration from Brass Cluster Chords

In this section, the speaker talks about how he was inspired to finish out the chorus after finishing a little section. He also discusses adding brass cluster chords below the melody and filling in space between melodies with big low shots.

Adding Brass Cluster Chords

• After finishing a little section, he was inspired to finish out the chorus.

• He added brass cluster chords below the melody and filled in space between melodies with big low shots.

• This became his favorite part of the whole arrangement.

Using Reference Tracks for Arranging Music

In this section, the speaker talks about using reference tracks when arranging music. He explains how comparing your work with professional mixes that you like can help identify areas for improvement.

Using Reference Tracks

• Comparing your work with professional mixes that you like can help identify areas for improvement.

• Arranging music presents similar problems as mixing where it's difficult to hear what you could or should change to make it sound better.

• Using a professional arrangement that you admire can give you an idea of what you can do to elevate your arrangement and provide textual or structural ideas that you can adapt to your own arrangement.

Textural Ideas from Kingdom Hearts Hikari

In this section, the speaker talks about how analyzing and copying an arrangement can teach ideas for arranging music. He explains how he took textural ideas from Kingdom Hearts Hikari and adapted them to his own arrangement.

Taking Textural Ideas

• Analyzing and copying an arrangement can teach ideas for arranging music.

• The speaker took textural ideas from Kingdom Hearts Hikari and adapted them to his own arrangement.

• He took ideas about what kind of instruments should be playing, what kind of accompaniment figures, and more.

• Most of the ideas he took were textural since this is the element of orchestration and arranging that he knows the least about.

Stealing Staccato Triplety Accompaniment Figure

In this section, the speaker talks about stealing a staccato triplety accompaniment figure from Kingdom Hearts Hikari. He explains how he put a little spin on it by changing the rhythm to switch between 16th note triplet straight eighth note and eighth note triplet figures for some rhythmic push and pull.

Stealing Accompaniment Figure

• The speaker stole a staccato triplety accompaniment figure from Kingdom Hearts Hikari.

• He put a little spin on it by changing the rhythm to switch between 16th note triplet straight eighth note and eighth note triplet figures for some rhythmic push and pull.

• He also padded out the figure with more brass than hikari used because he loves the way brass sections sound and tight rhythmic figures like this.

Thinking of Each Instrumental Section as One Instrument

In this section, the speaker talks about thinking of each instrumental section as one instrument. He explains how it can be daunting to map out ideas onto parts for individual instrumentalists.

Thinking of Each Instrumental Section

• It can be daunting to map out ideas onto parts for individual instrumentalists.

• The speaker recommends thinking of each instrumental section as one instrument.

• This approach is helpful in rock bands and small jazz ensembles where music is often thought of in terms of melody and chords.