The Visual Orchestration Trilogy

This Bundle includes all three Visual Orchestration^™ courses for one low price! You get:

• Visual Orchestration #1: Spectrotone Course - Master Edition
• Spectrotone Instrumental Tone-Color Chart^™ (and two training guides) in PDF format that you can print out on a home or office printer, or 18” x 24” poster size at your local print store;
• Visual Orchestration #2: Articulations & Templates;
• Visual Orchestration #3: Doing The Basic Virtual Orchestral Mix;
• 17 Custom Impulse Responses from Numerical Sound in 44.1 kHz for Early Reflections, Reverb Tails, and TILT Filters (EQ), for you to load into whatever convolution reverb comes with your sequencing program;
• Supplemental PDFs with supporting material for each course. (PDFs are updated roughly once a year to keep their contents and links up to date).

TOTAL VIDEO TEACHING TIME: Over 14 hours of instruction!

Designed For Those Who Read Music OR Who Learn By Ear

For those who want to learn orchestration by ear, Visual Orchestration is ideal, because the courses distill the core principles of orchestrating so that the ability to read music is not required. The focus is on the things you do by ear using the Spectrotone Instrumental Tone-Color Chart as your visual guide. The three courses combine instrumentation, orchestration, composition and recording information. They're designed to be accessible to non-music readers, but if you do read music you'll also learn a ton of information you can immediately apply to your compositions.

VISUAL ORCHESTRATION^™ #1: SPECTROTONE COURSE - MASTER EDITION

Contents:

1. Seven video lectures totaling approximately 3.7 hours of instruction;
2. The Spectrotone Instrumental Tone-Color Chart^™ (and two training guides) in PDF format that you can print out on a home or office printer, or 18” x 24” poster size at your local print store;
3. Supplemental course PDFs with supporting material.

About the Visual Orchestration^™ #1: Spectrotone Course

The Visual Orchestration^™ #1: Spectrotone Course is a short course in orchestration giving you valuable professional scoring information over seven Video Lectures that's rarely, or if ever taught, in orchestration courses.

Using the included Spectrotone Instrumental Tone-Color Chart^™ you’ll learn a boatload of practical writing concepts that you’ll use every time you begin creating music, whether for live ensemble or for MIDI mock-ups.

Stylistically, you can apply Visual Orchestration #1: Spectrotone Course insights to orchestral ensembles (small or large), string quartets and quintets, woodwind ensembles, brass ensembles, trombone choirs, percussion ensembles, concert bands, jazz big bands, horn sections, and MIDI mock-ups when using orchestral sample libraries.

The 7 Video Lectures in Visual Orchestration #1: Spectrotone Course

The Visual Orchestration #1: Spectrotone Course has seven video lectures totaling approximately 3.7 hours of instruction. To learn effectively, we'll be looking at some specific pieces from both the orchestral repertoire and film scores. Click on the Contents tab above to see which pieces you're recommended to have for listening analysis.

LECTURE 1: Introduction (about 18 mins)
Looks at the beginnings of instrumentation and orchestration; four aspects of music notation separate from the creative process; starting point for the instrumental composer; orchestration’s goal; Visual Orchestration course goals and how they’re achieved.

LECTURE 2: How the Spectrotone Chart Came to Be (about 40 mins)
The four men who influenced Arthur Lange in the creation of the Spectrotone Chart; the origin of Span of Orchestration; why we use C4 instead of C3; what Rimsky-Korsakov started that Arthur Lange finished with the Spectrotone Chart and then some.

LECTURE 3: First Steps in Using The Spectrotone Chart (about 32 mins)
MIDI Note Numbers; Span of Orchestration; instrument ranges; musical language; technical language; Hz frequencies; Span of Orchestration and EQ’ing; Tone Colors; Tone Colors and instrument range; application to the flute and other instruments, muted brass; and the string section as a whole.

LECTURE 4: Orchestral Registration (about 44 mins)
Tone Color transitions; ethnic instruments and the Spectrotone Chart; 3-Part span of orchestration; contrasts by register; melody placement by register; common knowledge; Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Princess Leia’s Theme; Sayuri’s Theme.

LECTURE 5: Composition With The Spectrotone System (about 27 mins)
Broad music creation paths; a framework for inner listening to compose; melody and figuration; melody in unison or harmony; scoring in 2, 3, and 4 parts; order of listening; contrapuntal rhythmic structure; Basic Instinct, Star Trek Voyager Theme; Jupiter from The Planets.

LECTURE 6: Creating Combinations (about 37 mins)
5 steps to learning combinations; combination definition; secret of coloristic orchestrations; combinations and musical language; combination and technical language; layering in Visual Orchestration; four types of combinations; four types of contrast; finding complementary combinations; remote combinations; combinations and the 8 Keys of Professional Orchestration; compositional decision making; 4 applications with strings; what is orchestration; the need to contemplate.

LECTURE 7: MIDI Mock-ups, Tone Colors and Voicings (about 30 mins)
The dreaded organ/accordion sound; unisons; octaves; the next generation orchestral sample library; tone colors and tonality; Articulation Tables; Sayuri’s Theme, Bizet’s Carmen Suite #1; French horns and ET; Liberty Fanfare; opening to Mendelssohn’s Symphony #4; tone colors and tonality; dominant tone colors for the brass; key points summary; conclusion.

Learn Orchestral Color and Balance With The Spectrotone Instrumental Tone-Color Chart^™

Originally created by 4x Academy Award nominee for Best Film Score, Arthur Lange, this expanded and revised 70th Anniversary Editon of the Spectrotone Chart forms the heart of Visual Orchestration #1 and is unique to the study of orchestration.

Using the Spectrotone Chart you'll learn how to create effective orchestral combinations by understanding which instruments will blend well together in which registers, or which instruments will provide a more contrasting tone-color when placed together. You'll also learn starting insights on orchestral balance within each section of strings, brass and winds.

End Results

By the end of the Visual Orchestration #1: Spectrotone Course, whether you read music or create by ear, you’ll have been taught a new common sense tool kit explained in MIDI-speak that can absolutely transform how you currently score, whether for live performance or MIDI Mock-ups.

VISUAL ORCHESTRATION^™ #2: ARTICULATIONS & TEMPLATES
(From Orchestration To Setting Up The Basic Orchestral Mix)

Contents:

1. You get 10 video lectures in .mov format for Mac and PC (about 6.7 hours of instruction);
2. Supplemental PDFs with supporting material for the course.

About Visual Orchestration^™ #2: Articulations & Templates

Visual Orchestration^™ 2: Articulations & Templates contains ten video lectures, totaling about 6.7 hours, distilling the core principles of a college course on basic orchestration directly applied to sample libraries and MIDI mock-up applications. Whether you read or don't read music, you'll learn a ton from Visual Orchestration #2.

Visual Orchestration #2 goes through the "mechanics" (articulations) for strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion, by defining what articulations and bowings are, performance insights, and how both apply to sample library purchasing, and evaluating your existing libraries.

The second focus is learning the concepts of setting up a virtual orchestral mix within your template, and starting insights on how to get everyone sounding like they're in the same room.

Because technology is constantly changing and new libraries and software are being released all the time, the principles taught throughout this course have, as much as possible, been designed to apply to whatever orchestral libraries and software you have.

The 10 Video Lectures in Visual Orchestration #2: Articulations & Templates

Visual Orchestration #2 has ten video lectures totaling about 6.7 hours of instruction with selected audio demonstrations included in the course. Supplemental PDFs for many of the lectures provide links to YouTube with demonstrations of different bowings and articulations, plus links to performances of musical works as additional research aids for you. (Course PDFs are updated roughly once a year to keep their contents up to date)

LECTURE 1: The Orchestra - The Real vs The Sampled (about 39 mins)
Starts at the very beginning by defining what a real orchestra is by various sizes, and how that equates to sample libraries. For application, we look at the Rule of 4s and how that applies to building your own orchestral sound.

LECTURE 2: Real Orchestral Seating, Orchestral Sample Library Seating, and Spatial Placement (about 36 mins)
The standard orchestral seating position is first evaluated by the Spectrotone Chart. Learn the five different ways of seating the strings, plus a look at the Wall of Brass. Then, application to sample libraries to learn how to evaluate tone-color placement, and to create your own tone-color spatial placements.

LECTURE 3: Where's p?: Musical Steps to Setting Dynamic Levels In the Mix (about 42 mins)
Examines the Italian language for dynamics and what the terms mean, how dynamics are implemented in orchestral sample libraries, why all dynamics are relative, what the Italian terms really mean, dynamics and specific libraries, the performable p by instrument and linear register, dynamic equivalents and how they apply in MIDI mock-ups.

LECTURE 4: The String Section (about 59 mins)
Bowings NOT articulations, how strings on the String instruments are numbered, parts of the violin, violin tuning, easiest major and minor keys for the strings to perform in, the string bow, bowings by types, three bow positions, on the string bowings, two types of legato playing, multiple legato types in sample libraries, legatos and sustains, two pieces for legato study, detache: the missing bowing, detache types, staccato and staccato types, staccatos and repetitions, testing staccatos with Jupiter from The Planets, Off the string bowings, the need for testing legato bowings at various tempos, pizzicato, tremolos, measured tremolos, trills, spatial placement, two specialty bowings, briefly: divisi.

LECTURE 5: The Woodwinds (about 30 mins)
The vent, number of core articulations for woodwinds, woodwinds and vibrato, the need to test faster rhythms, woodwind embouchures; single, double and triple tonguing per woodwind instrument, what tonguings are available from each library?, woodwind doublings, the flute and flute articulations plus tonguing speeds, the oboe, the English horn, the clarinet and tonguing tempos, the bassoon: the great woodwind blender, woodwinds and templates.

LECTURE 6: The Brass (about 30 mins)
Three core articulations for creating brass templates, brass and vibrato, embouchures and tonguing, how many brass instruments in your library (solo, in 2s, unison sections?), French horns: the great blender, types of brass family combinations French horns are found in; number of French horns, dynamics, and woodwind weighting within the mix, 15 works with 6 or more French horns, sonic weight of the trumpet and the trombone, number of woodwinds needed to equal one trumpet or trombone at f, number of strings needed to equal one trumpet at f, number of strings needed to equal two French horns at f, 3 schools of trombone writing, the tubas, brass section sizes, jazz brass section sizes.

LECTURE 7: Percussion, Harp, Celeste (about 28 mins)
9 conventional uses of percussion in a live score or MIDI mock-up, 2 categories of percussion, common snare drum stickings (articulations), timpani, timpani sizes in the orchestra, timpani range, nine orchestral uses of timpani, the concert bass drum, vibes and vibes effects, the xylophone, glockenspiel, celeste, the harp, key harp techniques, stage positioning in the live or virtual orchestra, questions to ask developers!

LECTURE 8: Setting Up The Virtual Orchestral Mix - Part 1 (about 34 mins)
The situation: recording with that which has been previously recorded, four components, differences between concert halls and recording studios, studios where film scores and sample libraries have been recorded, RT60s of key studios, the Hollywood sound vs. the concert sound, covering reverbs, two examples of dry film orchestras before processing was applied, studios and the well known film scores that were recorded there, more.

LECTURE 9: Setting Up The Virtual Orchestral Mix - Part 2 (about 46 mins)
Clearly defined music production goal, 5 mixing problems unique to orchestral sample libraries, review: the 3 strategies for getting everyone into the same room, spatial placement learning order, studio footprints, 4 key blocks of a reverb, how reverb tails can effect getting everyone into the same room, orchestral setup charts for applying early reflections and reverb tails, more.

BONUS! LECTURE 10: How Music People Learn Music and Music Technology (about 58 mins)
Every individual is born with 7 thinking processes that function in an order unique to the individual. Two of these processes include music and logic/math. By understanding these processes you learn how to build musical memory from which your intuition draws from to create music and to operate music technology programs through which you produce your music. In this unique "stop and smell the coffee" video lecture, Peter Alexander explains how to learn music and music technology without feeling like a "MIDI idiot", including where the start point is for learning music basics, counterpoint, harmony, and orchestration - based on how the great composers of the past learned their craft.

End Results

By the end of Visual Orchestration #2, whether you read music or create by ear, you’ll know the orchestral instruments, the key articulations and bowings that go into a template, dynamic equivalents applied to the virtual orchestra, suggested maximum tempos at which selected articulations can be performed live, plus setting up a basic virtual orchestral mix.

VISUAL ORCHESTRATION^™ #3: DOING THE BASIC VIRTUAL ORCHESTRAL MIX

Contents:

1. Ten video lectures totaling approximately 4.2 hours of instruction;
2. 17 Impulse Responses from Numerical Sound featuring 10 Early Reflections, 4 Reverb Tails and 3 TILT Filters (these will be emailed to you separately by Numerical Sound);
3. Supplemental course PDFs with supporting material;
4. BONUS PDFs: 1) For owners of LA Scoring Strings v1-1.5; 2) For Vienna Suite FORTI/SERTI owners; 3) For Verb Session owners (see below for details).

About Visual Orchestration^™ #3: Doing The Basic Virtual Orchestral Mix

Visual Orchestration^™ #3: Doing The Basic Virtual Orchestral Mix is the next step with this hands-on video lecture course. The course is aimed at those who create with orchestral sample libraries, and also for those with some recording training, but who’ve had little to no background in mixing virtual orchestral sample libraries.

In the virtual orchestral world, I've defined two types of virtual orchestral mixes. The first is basic, the second is advanced. The “basic mix”, our sole focus for this course, is either a single library recorded in the same room, or a mixture of libraries that are being combined in the same template but not layered. An “advanced mix” is where, for example, you might create a violin section by layering two or more different libraries playing the same line. We will not be covering the “advanced mix” in this course.

The teaching idea behind Visual Orchestration 3

The teaching approach is recognizing that you’re recording with that which has been previously recorded, and that no two orchestral libraries from different developers have been recorded in the same location. As each library has its own set of early reflections and RT60s (reverb decay time), the challenge when combining different libraries in your template is how to get everyone sounding like they’re performing in the same room and, as best as possible, sounding like a single orchestra.

Once you buy two orchestral libraries from different companies, you also have to learn how to spatially place them stage left to stage right and stage front to stage rear. In Visual Orchestration #3 we’ll look at some of the tools and techniques needed to tackle these mixing issues and you’ll learn how to work with the included Impulse Responses (IRs) from Numerical Sound to work toward getting a good professional sound. You’ll apply the concepts you’ll learn to your own compositions. The learning principle is this: we teach, you do!

Because technology is constantly changing and new libraries and software are being released all the time, the principles taught throughout this course have, as much as possible, been designed to apply to whatever orchestral libraries and software you have.

The 10 Video Lectures in Visual Orchestration #3: Doing The Basic Virtual Orchestral Mix

Visual Orchestration #3 has ten video lectures with selected audio demonstrations included in the videos plus a separate audio files folder for Lecture 10 on Reverb. Audio demos focus on the String Section. You’ll apply the teaching points given for the rest of the orchestra to your own compositions. For easy reference for you, supporting PDFs are included with links to the various orchestral libraries and software we’ll look at in the videos, plus additional resources. (Course PDFs are updated roughly once a year to keep their contents up to date)

LECTURE 1: The Tools Provided (about 15 mins)
Overview, what’s provided, explains the impulse responses included in the course (5 sets of Early Reflections, the 4 Reverb Tails and the 3 TILT Filters, a very brief mini-review of Visual Orchestration #2, what you need to provide to do the course (sequencing program w/convolution reverb).

LECTURE 2: The 7 Starting Points Before You Begin Your Mix (about 24 mins)
Creating an effective mix has multiple starting points. These include defining your situation, the goal of your template, orchestration issues in setting up your template, seating issues and why they’re spatial placement issues, your virtual instrument players, and defining what the basic mix is.

LECTURE 3: Three Spaces Where Orchestral Sample Libraries Are Recorded (about 17 mins)
Examines the three spaces where orchestral libraries are recorded and how that impacts the mix: the concert hall, the cathedral/church, and the scoring stage/recording studio and how these affect your virtual mix.

LECTURE 4: The Sound You Want, The Sound You Have, The Sound You End Up With (about 16 mins)
Considers the importance of working out your own sound followed by a review of the following major orchestral libraries: CineSamples Strings/Brass/Winds/Percussion, EastWest Hollywood Series, EastWest QLSO, Spitfire Audio, Vienna Symphonic Libraries and MIRx. Also considered are Berlin Woodwinds, Cinematic Strings, LASS, Sample Modeling, and Symphobia.

LECTURE 5: RT60s of Rooms and Libraries (about 18 mins)
RT60s of specific rooms where film scores and orchestral sample libraries have been recorded along with the finished RT60s of specific libraries to begin learning the issues of getting everyone into the same room.

LECTURE 6: First Steps in Working With RT60s and Early Reflections (about 19 mins)
In this lecture, you’ll learn how to calculate, test and pick early reflections based on the libraries in your mix, and the sound you’re trying to achieve. You’ll start working with the course ERs provided by Numerical Sound. We’ll also review the ERs/Tails for LASS and Vienna Suite’s FORTI/SERTI.

LECTURE 7: Assigning the Short and Medium Early Reflections (about 48 mins)
In this lecture we’ll look at some common tools used for the purpose of adding Early Reflections. Then you’ll learn how to set up your own scoring stage with the appropriate Early Reflections of short, medium and long - including how to assign the Short and Medium ERs provided for you by Numerical Sound.

LECTURE 8: Assigning TILT Filters and High Pass Filters (EQ) (about 19 mins)
TILT Filters work in a similar way to EQ in that they tonally shape your sound. They can also impact spatial placement from stage front to stage rear. The three Darker TILT Filters provided for you in this course by Numerical Sound will help in positioning sounds further back in your mix when combined with Early Reflections and Reverb Tails. In this lecture you'll learn how to use them. We'll also take a look at using High Pass Filters to help cut out unnecessary low frequencies and create a cleaner mix. You'll learn how to set the starting frequencies for your virtual orchestral instruments using the Spectrotone Chart (if you have it, or optionally available for separate purchase).

LECTURE 9: Spatial Placement (about 51 mins)
Building on Lecture 5, we’ll look at some tools you can work with to help get libraries recorded in different rooms to match in their seating arrangements stage left to right and stage front to rear. Includes Parallax Audio’s Virtual Sound Stage and Ircam Tools/Flux SPAT. This lecture also includes a folder of graphics demonstrating the approximate stereo width of orchestral instruments based on the standard orchestral seating arrangement. You’re recommended to have Parallax Audio’s Virtual Sound Stage (or similar spatial placement software) to get the most out of applying the concepts from this lecture. (Note: Virtual Sound Stage 1.0 and SPAT v3 are demonstrated in the video lectures, but PDFs are included for you with updated instruction matching the new interfaces for Virtual Sound Stage 2.0 and SPAT Revolution.)

LECTURE 10: The Transformative Power of Reverb (about 24 mins)
This final lecture includes an Audio Files Folder of four mixes in different size spaces with reverb tails of dry, .85s, .95s, and 1.3s. You will practice with several dozen mini-mixes based on the instructional steps in the Video Lecture. You then apply this with your own reverbs. Demonstrated reverbs include the Bricasti M7, C2 Audio’s B2 and others. We’ll briefly consider hardware vs software reverbs and what to look for when choosing a reverb unit or plug-in. We’ll also look at possible sources of grayness/darkness that can affect your mix.

End Results

By the end of Visual Orchestration #3, you’ll be on your way to creating a professional sounding mix of your music.

Numerical Sound Impulse Responses (IRs) Included With Visual Orchestration #3

Visual Orchestration #3 comes with 17 Impulse Responses in 44.1 kHz created exclusively for this course by Numerical Sound in Canada. You can load these into whatever convolution reverb comes with your sequencing program. You get:

• 5 sets of Early Reflections with one short and one medium length ER per set (10 ERs total) similar to where major sample libraries or film scores have been recorded;
• 3 TILT Filters that apply a darker EQ to the majority of virtual orchestral instruments to aid in spatial placement stage front to stage rear;
• 4 Reverb Tails covering the small studio up to a larger recording studio (0.85s - 2.5s RT60).

Important Note About Your Course IRs

Your Visual Orchestration course videos and supplemental PDF documents will be available for you to download immediately after purchase. Your Impulse Responses from Numerical Sound will be watermarked with your info and sent separately to your email address (about 6MB), normally within 1-3 business days.
By purchasing Visual Orchestration #3 you consent to Numerical Sound in Canada receiving a copy of your order information from FastSpring for the purpose of providing you with your custom Impulse Responses. The information Numerical Sound receives about your order does not include any payment details.

By using these custom Impulse Responses from Numerical Sound, everyone has the same tools to work with – separate from whatever software you’ll be using. You’ll also learn how to apply these concepts to whatever algorithmic reverb you have. Result: total practicality in teaching you how to mix!

BONUS MATERIALS

Visual Orchestration #3: Doing The Basic Virtual Orchestral Mix goes one more step with these bonus materials:

For those owning the original LA Scoring Strings, (v1.0 – 1.5) which came with custom IRs designed by Numerical Sound, you’ll be shown how to apply and use what you’ve got.

For those owning the Vienna Suite with FORTI/SERTI, which was also designed by Numerical Sound, you get spreadsheet listings for all the Early Reflections and Reverb Tails showing you how to mix and match them.

For those owning Ircam Tools Verb Session, you get a PDF of settings for the custom presets we created matching various recording studios and scoring stages (you can adapt the settings for use with other reverbs).

What You Need For This Course

Visual Orchestration #3 is designed so that you only need to provide:

• Your sequencing/digital audio program;
• A convolution reverb to use the Impulse Responses provided by Numerical Sound for this course. You can use whatever convolution reverb comes with your sequencing program (check your sequencer’s User Manual for instructions on how to import Impulse Responses). If your software does not include a convolution reverb please contact your program’s tech support for a recommendation;
• Whatever virtual orchestral sample libraries you already own.