Articles to go with the course “Orchestration for Strings”
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. A few years ago, I had one of the most powerful live music experiences of my life when I went to see Stevie Wonder on his Songs in…
Welcome to our new series, Quick Tracks! Every other week, we’ll send you another short composition, performance, or production challenge to help you up your musicianship. We’d love to hear your responses! You can email us, leave a comment, or post to social media with the hashtag #quicktracks and tag us @learntosoundfly. Good luck! Here at Soundfly,…
Last fall, we debuted the first-ever session of our course Orchestration for Strings that included personalized support for students from a Mainstage Mentor — a handpicked expert in his or her field who offered feedback on the student’s work. The course itself was a big success, garnering a 100% completion rate and a ton of validating feedback from our students,…
If you’re always looking for ways to make your MIDI strings sound more real, tweaking the velocity could be just the thing you’re missing.
A little over a week ago, the Kennedy Center uploaded a video of a concert in which singer-songwriter and composer Ben Folds creates an orchestral piece of music in under 10 minutes and performs it with the full participation of the National Symphony Orchestra. The video, which has since been shared over 100,000 times, is a…
As a composer, finding that string library that can do everything you want can often feel like a never-ending quest to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. New libraries pop up every month or so, all professing to be the best and urging you to press the “buy” button as soon as they’re…
A canon (or round) is a single melody line that provides a counterpoint to itself. Canons can, at times, feel lighthearted and happy go lucky (“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or “Frere Jacques” for example), but even the simplest sounding pieces require careful attention and are difficult to craft well, especially where more than two voices are…
By Lee Dynes The instrument goes by many names, takes several shapes, and can be played in a number of styles both traditional and modern. The oud or ud, sometimes referred to as barbat in Iran or kaban in Somalia and Sudan, is an instrument predominantly found in the Middle East, Spain, Greece, as well as…
“The song form is a great central theme in a life well lived.” – Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks occupies a very distinct corner of the 20th century. His is a world of imagination, wonder, and the sublime. His stylistic interests pair a considerable appreciation for the music of the past with an almost complete…
Your charts say a lot about you and your music. Make sure your players understand your vision with clear notation that helps everyone sound their best.
