How to write Music with Orchestral Strings

1. Your Adventure with Strings: Do you love the sound off orchestral strings from emotional solo strings playing beautiful lead melodies that are full or crystal clear expression to big, powerful motifs and themes with a full string in salt to flush and dynamic court progressions with smooth and lyrical move all the way to rhythmic performances like comping , Austin, autos, runs and or petty. In these cores, you will learn how to master the use of orchestral strings in your music compositions. Learn the foundations and guidelines, explore the sounds and playing styles, discover practical tips and secrets, get live examples and demonstrations and master beauty or strength. My name is Mike and I am a composer, just like I started making music back in 1998 and I love to educate, motivate and inspire creative people like yourself. So if you are ready to master orchestral strings for your music compositions, then take action and begin your learning adventure right now. 2. The Amazing Beauty of Strings: strings or the most expressive and versatile instrument family ever created. This means you can play strings in a huge number off performance styles. You can add expression, movement and variation in countless of ways. On the end result can be anything from big, bold and powerful to evil sounding two mysterious and magic to driving energetic intensity to tear jerking emotional beauty. The creative power you have as a composer when writing for the strings family off instruments is truly incredible. Strings are so fundamental for orchestral and cinematic music that I would consider it the most important instrument family to learn and master as a composer. So why are strings so amazing? For music composition? Here is my personal top list off the power off strings. Very balanced sound, highly expressive tone. Amazing dynamic range. Very agile and adaptable, super flexible. The goto beautiful vibe. Rato Articulation Heaven. You will learn ALS, these aspects in depth in this course from guidelines, practical tips, demonstrations and live examples. But I want to start by giving you a couple of live examples of just how amazing strings can be for your music. So here I have an entire composition that is heavily focused on orchestral strings in many different ways, from the rhythms to the beautiful vehicle, the Gautam lt's and basically creating this entire theme. I will just play a snippet first from the chorus s so you can hear the emotional vibe of this playing in 321 All right, so let's stop there and I will diving and show some of the aspects off how versatile and emotional strings really can be. So in the beginning here I actually only have some low strings. So this is played by a minimalist string in Sobel with Polyphonic League Otto. It's a flatters strings here, right? And that continues into the verse. If you want to call it that. And if you check here, I'm actually playing the harmonic progression, which has lots of the gold transitions of very smooth voice leading and again, it's the same minimally strings to go toe, which creates these lyrical chamber size sound like this, you know, very, very beautiful and lyrical there. But it's also backed up by this cello here, which ISS played biopsy emotional shell. Oh, within its perceive. You ex paid so lots of the goto over the draught. I mean so that together. So which strings? It's very often about layering. Some of it's pretty, don't you? With the harmony there. But if you add the solo violin on top ah, which is Joshua Bell violin here? Andi was to have a food. Let's remove that. So only the strings. You often need a found a mental note, which is played here by the lows. Yeah, it's better there on. And of course, there's truly expressive vibe comes from solo instruments in this case, your Shabelle solo violin. I mean, it's beautiful, different forms awful go to their difference, amounts off the broad toe and so on. But not only that, if we get into the chorus here Ah, of course, double it with flute and even go looking spiels. If he listened to the let's See the Highs here, which adds another dimension again with cinematic and orchestral music, it's often about layering zai layer that glockenspiel letter flute on top of this solo violin to create another higher, shimmering aspect to the vibe. I even layer it with a bow on. I think the horns air or the horse might play the route notes in fact. All right, so, um, then let's see, we get into the rhythmic aspect of strings. So let's see if I actually have it right here. I believe, also with piano and ah, winds short here. Let's open up and see. I have layered What's the Sim phobia? Short strings on staccato with cinematic strings to here on Full and Sobel stock a tous Imo to create that vibe there. So if we only play these two here basically read me comping eso it's not in Austin. Auto is comping with the harmonies and courts and that together with the piano on with this winds, which is playing, I think, some kind of or pidio here. Yeah, it's all together. The rhythm layered up, light sorted and romantic innocence. Um, so that adds some of the rhythmic aspect. Let's let's keep the percussion for this. Since the course is about strings, then we get into this bridge action here where I introduce Let's see, what is this So high strings? Yes, of violence, one essentials in string ensemble essentials here, which, as in other dimensions, I'd lay that on top off the stolen Boeing. But it's still the same old there they would get into the final power course if you want to call it that. Ah, where everything comes together. So we have the string ensemble. I didn't get so little shell. Oh, I even had a solo viola here. Way, way Gold Medal day first violence. Well, violence here in talent Melo Knicks that a solo darling s You can hear on Lee from all these strings. Let's add the rhythmic strings as well. So only the strings, nothing else. And you get if you fill it up from the lowest range. The highest range from the Lego trio melodies to the rhythmic style performances. I mean, if you remove the solo button here, live everything up, it'll comes to life. Right? So that is my composition on. I will finish this video by playing this entire composition while showing the media information on top over the image I created. So listen to this. Pay attention to what the strings are doing off rule and how much they influence the emotion off the music. No. - Yeah , 3. From Piano Sketch to String Arrangement: Hello, composers Mike here. And in this video I will show you how you can go from a simple piano skits. A complete string arrangement for your music composition. Let's dive in right now. One ad, the individual sounds just can see I have a piano here at the top. Then I have a strings in sambal track. Then I have all the separate string instruments and I want to have them in the order off range. So the basis at the bottom band shallows, violas, violence one and violence to now. As a guideline, you should use the same sample library and preset for all these different voices off the string instruments. However, I personally like to mix up and create my own unique overall sound for the string section says you can see here for the basis I have lush basis from a flatter strings. Then I have lost lush shallows, also for two strings. So those go together. But then, for the violas, I use minimalist violas, Lego to Onley, four violas. So in more minimal sound chamber violence, one another type of preset and for the violence to actually use a completely different libraries. Second, violence here. All right, so that takes us to the next step, which is to recall the harmonic progression on piano. As I have done here, depending on your piano skills and what kind of track you composed for, you can do a e C way for recording this. Just the courts most often on each ball or two bars like this. I don't have any posting course or go to the next level, which is to include passing courts. Your beat here, foreign most beat here, or you can go all the way to actually comping, including melody and through them and everything. All right, so then you have a starting point, which takes us to the next step, which is to actually connect. Let's work with this easiest, because that will be the most common I believe. So what you want to do is connect the voices. So they are kind of the Gatto, even though though a piano cannot really perform the goddess, you can simply do this by ah dragging these notes out or using a key command in your d w. So you can actually force leg auto like this, or if you have recorded sustained pedal, which I recommended you for cords. And when you change the course, there is a function, at least in logic, that you can select this convert, sustain pedal to note length and watch what happens. Well, uh, now I almost got it pretty much. Ah, join them together into one bar chords without the sustain pedal. So once that is done, when you have made this into full bore cords, you can even select them. If all or full bore, you can probably use some kind over function to set them to fixed note linked as well. So fix no thing one bar chord like so operate like that on all this that this was supposed to be two boars. Step four is to join the voices on the full string. So, first, of course, you need to cope with this down here and now for the strings. We have this, as you have already learned, string sound best if they actually play the long sustained note instead of just doing this Revo here. So you want to go in, and every time they connect like this just going and join this. So I have command Jane largely for this. You have to check what your DW has. Basically, every time they continue like this. Did I miss anyone? I think those were all and a bonus Superiors that will. It will usually sound even more. Ah, smooth if you select everything. And if I assuming just select everything and drag it out. Just a hint like this, because then you will create more or less a bit of a blur. So you really get those Ah, regarded transitions. I might do it even slight. The further on you can even do it like they select everything and then drag everything just the back. So it's just to the right of the great line and just starting every no store just to the left of off the grid lamb, Of course, here, you need to quarters to make sure this start at the start of the region. Now we have this, so it's starting to sound pretty good already. But the ah riel power from strings comes from when you actually go to the next step, which is to add dynamic expression. And I like to do this on the overall track first. So let's go to modulation wheel you can off course recorders. But just for this simplicity, let's draw in long. Since this is a slow corporation, let's do it in to bore length like this. Or let's do it like this. Then copy holding down the option key here and then once more, I think then we have some time to make expression going well? Oh, yeah, Let's keep the piano Right. So that is the main expression curve. Now you want to arrange these voices for the individual string ports. So what I do is ah that I simply cope it like so several times like this. And then I simply go in and shake here. I want to select all of the lower notes. So you either you just need Teoh. But in logic, you can simply hold down, shift and arrow down to select all the lower voices and then shift I to invert, delete all those. Now you have the basis here. I think I actually want to have that octave lower. That s well, you need to really make sure you can Apathy cover the best range for the instrument. Right? So those are the basis and then I can pretty much. Well, to make it easy. You can't delete this if it's only going to be oak tapes. Used the same track for the basis, select everything and move it up an octave. And now we have the chills. All right, way. Go to the next one. Here, select the lower notes. They lead them. Select the lower notes again. The delete them because that was the Chelios. And now the lowest voice. Ah, OK. So to be thes those and then make sure these are See if this works like so Soviet violas, cellos and basis so far, right? And then we get to the violence. One delete the lower. It'll over again to lead the low were again on my was to see here Theo Little beat the upper voices here. Just make sure that there's only one voice here. Okay, let's see what we have now. Ah, it's me with all of these. Okay? And then finally violence to should be the upper voice. What did we get? Everything. Invert everything else. Delete. Andi, just go in. You will pretty soon become quite fast these kinds of things. So now we have right? And then the that gets us to the final aspect, which is to add expression and variation per track. So now you have the overall dynamics, which we got from the courts here, but now go in and actually dial in the individual expression map. And now I like to actually record something that's to keep the basis like this, something like that, and then go to the next one, which are the chill owes. Let's start low, move up like this. You want to have different waves for everyone. Of course, if you have the time record this with your modulation will to get the true human field by all us. I want to keep them. The middle were go down first like this and then violins, one to use some, some heavier variation. There the dynamics. I'm not sure how this is going to sound like, but that's it. And finally, the violence, too. That's Teoh a little bit more faster variation here and see how that sounds. Write something, and we have a lot these. If I select everything like so what's this note here? Let's see. Did I miss something? No. So this are playing in harmony that you want to see that the my wings wanted to or via less environments. One, If they play in unison, you might want to move some notes down. Okay, so this is a unison. That's see if we can play that. Uh, I'm not sure if this is going to sound right, because this is when you want to also add some variation in the booth. Asi can see this is a bit of a tedious process, but that's what you want to do if you want to get really lively. Ah, dynamic and expressive strings eight ADM or voice leading Plus melodies. So, of course, these were made by one bar chords. It will sound pretty simple. So now we can go in and actually change that you can. Either we can actually record the first violence and second violence instead. So if we remove this for now, just having these local forces, then select both of these and play something I say I forgot about cord. We even started on here, if if to be flat. Okay, so something like this, right? So I play pretty hideout. An exterior. He has to make sure it is portable. Then you simply select it so rectal move up in octave And now you have these leading milady instead here, playing in on the first and second violence. Yeah, you might want to just go in and add some manual voice leading. So if you'd shake these and I I recommend that you actually choose a different cooler for each of the voices. Let's go through them like this and then Ah, that way, when you go in and check the voices, you can ah, check set the note color per region color. I'm sure that is the feature in most DW. So you now I have selected everyone here and I can check the basis here the chill owes. And now the voice leading will become much easier because I can see the first violence here . So I might want to cut that note here, do a voice leading the steak and violence stuff like that. Let's do something with this. This will you. So we get the harmony line there. Let's move this down and oak save. And as you can see, a good thing about having the court court start here is that you can always go in and check what? The core progression is even recommend that Ah, you county's up into regions like this. So this is a special bonus tip again and then go in. Check what? Corey play either, Bud, Simply watching What knows we're here if you can ah see the cord by that. But in logic, you can select them and see the corner. I'm here. So you have an f Name it if if there's more course just to name it if and then was a G but in this case is f the next one be foot. Name it Beef. Let's name the regions but the court solar See? Okay, see, So this way you can always go back and check what courts are actually playing there. So we're starting in f. You might also want to go in and check the note labels like this. You can see FFC if a okay, right. It's actually keep that only see instead. And then you seem to go through the entire progression to add some variation. Voice leading like this. Okay, so I don't put a hormone here on the cello. I know that. Let's join those instead, let's extend them yesterday and more so I know that they are in fact playing the legal to transition on. Then if you're not happy with the sound you can, you might want to go in and actually change what the instruments used here for the different instruments and even go in and set the velocity of dynamic expression curve. I think this is way too high now, especially for these guys. See eso too low. And then you simply go through voice by voice until you get a final result like this. - All right, so you have now seen my live demonstration off, how we can go from a simple piano sketch to a complete string arrangement. Of course, you want to be more thorough and going to the nitty gritty and details and basically perfect you string arrangement. But this quick little demonstration, I hope, have opened your eyes for the perspectives and variations you can add to all the individual strings in the string arrangement, including variation and sound coloration to get what you want for your composition. 4. The String Family Double Bass: double bass. This is the grandfather off the string family at over six feet long, or 180 centimeters. It is a huge instrument on the long strings makes it possible to play very deep notes. The roll off the double bays is almost always to provide the tonal centre off the harmonic progression, meaning the root note off the cords. Common tuning is Iran, a one D two and G two, but the lowest string is often tuned down to see one with an extra extension. Common range is C 12 about G full. So let's explore Double bass is live now. So I have loaded four different tracks here with four different variations of double basis . Because one of the most important aspects for the sound of strings is, of course, the section size solo base two basis, which is a small in sambal big unstoppable. This is six bases here in this case, and then a bigger lusher ensemble here. Just let me play a couple of notes here with each. You can really appreciate the huge difference in the clarity, tone and sound tonality, always with solo instruments to get the most expressive clarity and focused tone than two basis here, uh, starting to get thicker, but still has some of that clarity. Then get to this bigger and sambal, which is six spaces. Sounds very powerful now and then there, Lushan sambal here, which is more or the whole sound, the bigger the ensemble, the mawr. It is basically becoming a thick carpet type of sound. Now, I also want to show you that all these instruments starts on. See von A. Z can see up here. See one, because that is the lowest open string. You cannot play a lower note on that. However, depending on which sample library or plug in your use, it may be different. How high they go for the sampling because normally you don't play basis a pyre, even though they are capable of going higher. So in this case will see this way. Same on this one. This one goes up Teoh, and it's the same library. But this is the lush or the baby begins on four. And then the final one goes even all the way up. Teoh see short for so it might be different, but often you don't play mazes up here because then you get into the cello and even violent territory there. Now the main role of basis is to provide that tonal anchor in the low in the powers so to speak. And that's why most often the basis will just play. Let's use this big ensemble because it's my favorite. One will just play long nose like this, which is often the root note off the court. Or it might be some smooth voice leading, like if if you go from did you see, you might go to be snowed first, like like that. But it's the G to the C chord there, so you have to transition. Note you don't usually get. If you do, usually you use short note articulations and double it with Shell owes to basically make in my o. T for Reef in the low end. But in most cases, that smooth long notes and voice leading that provides the total anchor. The root note of the chord progression is what basis are mainly for now. To demonstrate this further, I have loaded up a string insolvable patch, meaning a combination of double basis Chelios, violas and violins. In one single Patrick can play old away from here up to here. So if you play a chord progression on a string in samba path, she might go from, let's say, F with an inversion here to see you might want to go with suspended. So basically, the route noticed f to see what do the basis do. Well, often they play the root note together with a cello sin octave so F or the base celo airfare. So something like this. So the main movement is up here. In fact, a good guideline is the higher pictures there, the more movement you can add, and then the lower range you do less movement. So a just providing that rich, powerful, deep total anchor. If you watch carefully, what the basis did they're? They just had those long notes for the root note off the courts in the progression. Now, of course, basis doesn't only have to do those long sustains and the go to transitions. You can do rhythmic parts on basis as well again, most often in combination in octaves, weed shallow. So let's say, a pizzicato like this very good for comedic style writing. You can do stuck out or short note articulations for creating pulses or rhythmic driving the lower end like this. Or you can do some X entered articulations in the low wind. To really extent, those main beats in the ports like this or any type off the tension. Articulations like tremulous can sound great in the low end, so explore all possibilities but realize that the main guidelines for writing with double basis is providing the total anchor writing in octaves with the cello for the most part and really do less with the moon and interval changes. Unless you do rhythmic stuff, in which case it becomes more of a motif or riff for the phrase in the low and all right. So now you have learned about double bays. Let's continue in the next video with the cello. 5. The String Family Cello: cello, also called violin cello, the second lowest registering the string family is the cello section at around four feet or 120 centimeters. It is like the double bass too big to hold both the double basis, and the chills stands on the floor, supported by a metal peg. The role of the Chelios is very often to support the double basis by playing an octave above the double basis. This creates a stronger and more focused, though, and however, the cello has an amazing range and a beautiful tone, and they can be used very effectively to play melodies or counter melodies or harmonies on top, off the basis with a very warm and lush tone. Tuning is C to G to D three and G three. So same tuning as violas, but one oak table over common ranges. C two to about a five. Now Justice I did with the basis I have loaded a couple of variations here on shallow, so solo, small and humble big and lush example. So let me just play the tone. You can hear the difference. Solo Smalling Sambo four chills In this case, big ensemble starts to get really rich and lush and then the biggest lushest ensemble. Right now, you can also see here that the lowest note on all these cases is in fact see tears on octave above the double basis. So one trick you can use if you want to drive in octaves on Lee is to in fact record the part on Let's say these bases here, let's use that begins humble here. So let's go shoot lowest F If I record this and then you simply drag it down to the cello, go into the general editor and move all notes up in Oakdale like this and then you have, or another trick you can use if you're DW supported is if you only are going to use octaves for the Chelios, unjust automatically transpose it. 12 7 notes up. Then if I play, let's say this base here, together with the Chelios. Even if I play see one, it will play see one on the basis, but transpose it up to see two on the shallows like this. So now I can play them in tandem. It's crazy, super powerful, focused, layered sound in octaves now, since chills have a very beautiful, lyrical tone and go up much higher in range. They can, in fact, do other stuff than on Lee be their support for the double basis. So, for example, you can play more mellow decl, e and actually themes on the Chelios. Something like this, for example. Ah, I played around Middle C, and it still sounds very beautiful on the basis. I believe the doesn't sound Aziz. Good up here. So, as you can see, the chill owes has a greater flexibility. They can be used to provide the tonal anchor and powerful depth in the low end with the basis they can do more rhythmic stuff Very well. For example, of Lower Austin Auto here on, let's say, ah G Teoh, or even go up to see um three. Or play something with ex entidad articulations even do runs in the Lohan or the meat rate . So, in my opinion, shallows is the most versatile off the strings in the string family, they can do the low end, powerful, deep support. They can do melodically interesting themes, lyrical melodies and motifs. They can do action sequences, as I just showed you can play in harmony, meaning to notes at the time. Like this Way sounds super wear in the low end on the basis. For example, if I play those again Ah, like this, you should never really do harmonies in the lowest range of music. So, in my opinion, shallows have the Vitus flexibility off the string instruments on. In fact, my personal opinion is that it is my favorite instrument, actually off all instruments together with the piano. All right, so now that we have explored the sound and use cases for the Chilo, let's continue with the viola in the next video. 6. The String Family Viola: viola. The viola is the older sister off the violin, meaning that it was actually historically the first off the instruments off the string family to be created. It is slightly larger and with thicker strings compared to violins. An interesting aspect. All the viola is that the tuning is actually too low compared to the physical size off the instrument. When you compare it with the tuning versus size over double basis shells or violins, this forced lower tuning creates a very unique sharp and a brief, still characteristic tone. The roll off the violators is usually to provide the middle horror money. Voice off the chord progression, and rarely does it take the roll off the leading milady. Basically, it fills out the colds as harmonic support. Perhaps these are reasons why the viola has a somewhat less glorious reputation than the rest. Off the string family, the tuning is C three, G three, D four and G four, So same tuning as Chelios. But one octave higher and common range is C three to around a six. All right, so let's start with a couple of sound demonstrations of different section sizes. So this is how a solo viol, look and sound. You're really here that almost nasal horse and biting sound that Viola has, which makes stick out more than any other string instruments in the strings family. But of course it is. Dial back a bit, the bigger the section size ist because that blurs the overall sound of it. So this is a small ensemble. Four vials in this case, Theo. Big brands, normal eight violas. See usable samples? Yes, and the biggest Russians humble here violas which can sound like this. All right, so that is the sound off the viola. Now I will give you a couple of tips that he could consider when writing for the viola in a full string arrangement. So you already learned that the double based in most usual role is to provide a tonal anchor, basically the root note over each chord in your corporation. On that, a Chilo is most often used as a supporting role for the double bass, and the violin will provide the Melva Otik voice. In most cases, the violent one and violent E will work to support each other. That leaves the viola basically like an outsider. Well, it is Amytal. If you consider the violent as 12 the viola is actually in the exact middle of all the voices, which makes it suitable for writing those thirds, for example, or the harmonic texture off the course. So if this is the melodic voice on the you have the roots and the faith, and perhaps doubling the faith with the second violin. The viola takes care of the third because the harmonic context of the cord should most often be voiced in a more minimal way. So the one and five will stand out the most, meaning that he could provide the viola to play the middle note. So if I play something like this, let me show you what I mean. If I play something like a C chord that may reduce the dynamics a bit like this base shallow and then here you can think of it as playing the viola could be the middle voice. So the E. In this case, I would probably voice it like this. So, second violin Clarence slowly on the viola right here, another aspect not only for the voicings or keep the voicing or more focus on the harmonic context of the chord progression. And that is no. Even if you play something like helps. If you play something like this with the strings. Rachman, you're now not all strings has to play that sustains and long regatta notes. You can, in fact, have some movement with rhythm. So in this case, I actually love to use violas for rhythmic passages because they have that horse biting tone. It actually acts in their favor. It really cuts through in the mix. So something like like this and, ah, I will play around Middle C. So if let's say the entire progression is that's e f g C, then the viola could add something like things like that, Um, meaning it provides the rhythmic flow and drive, while the other instruments in the string family provides the movements soft flowing movement. Now, another tip I want to give you is when you write for strings. Of course, it's super important what you have as the dynamic level and movement. So if you see, I move my mod wheel here, let's do it in this case with a full string ensemble. If I go from super low, I can go all the way Teoh fortissimo. But not all the instruments will have. The same movement, in fact, is should write individual movement for all strings sections were in your string arrangement. Andi. You should always make sure that the root and the fifth is heard mawr than the hormone e context, meaning the third or seventh, for example. So my advice is when you write for the viola section or if you use a solar Loyola keep the dynamics, though, were a bit lower compared to the violence, so that you provide some harmony context on that that kind of sound that the viola gets. But it basically pushes it back in the mix back in the room on. Another thing I like to do is, if I want to push it even further. Back is if you have these different microphones settings, I usually actually ah, leave the close off or reduced to close mikes a lot, so you get a reduced some of that hoarseness. So now you have learned about the viola. Let's continue to the final instrument in the strings family, the violin 7. The String Family Violin: violins. The violin is the highest register instrument industry family. The violence are so important in the orchestra that they are divided into two sections called First Violence and Second Violence. And together, the violins have the most players over any single instrument in the whole orchestra. Often these two violent sections play together in the same cooperative way that double basis and Chelios play together, meaning doubling each other in octaves or sometimes playing in harmony. For example, the first violins playing the leading melody and the second violins, adding some extra crispness and shimmer and focus by doubling the line an octave higher, either ah complete octave or an octave higher with their harmony. The role of the violins is most often to be the shining spotlight in the string family. Off the orchestra, they usually play the leading melodies and all parts with our in focus, mainly because our ears focus more on higher frequencies than over. And we tend to love those shimmering, crisp and silky high tones that the violins create. Tuning is G three D for a four and e five, and common ranges G three to around a seven. All right, so let's once again start with a sound demonstration. In this case, I'm using a solo violin called Joshua Bell violin. Why? Because he can control dynamics. The broader amount and variations on the Gatto on those are the most important aspects to at expression and emotion to your ports on orchestral strings. So it can sound like this beautiful porter Mendel there at the end. Then we go to small ensemble, which can sound like this 65 wins in this case than a big resemble here. 12 I wins on. Finally, I'm actually using the second violence from cinematic strings to, um just so you know, in most cases, with the great string libraries, you get first violence and second violence as actual separate sections being separate recordings s O. This is the sound of second violence in a big ensemble on. This takes me to a great point when writing for string libraries, and that is sometimes they are transposed in the actual instruments because if you check this and you already learnt, the lowest note in the cheating over violin is G three. So we have it right here. Ah, is the same here. All right. And here is well on again. It might be different depending on the developer off the sample library. How high They have actually recorded it. In this case, it goes up here de seven. Um, so in on string instruments, there is no exact final load, but it is an exact lowest note. The open lowest showing. You cannot play any lower than that. But when we get to this library, it's not actually the same note as D three here. Thesis transport. So I need to played at a G to a same note as G three. Really? Pay attention to death, especially if you lay your instruments and, you know, drag and drop copy layers around, um, that used the same tuning or transposed transposing off the instruments when you write your parts. So when riding for the violins, in almost all cases, you will provide the leading Melo device the upper voice on If I show you this on the string ensemble once again. So if I play something like this with let's say a in the base and then disregard all the media voices sound like the viola here, So just playing in the melody here. Okay, then you could think of the violin one and to you as the double bass and the Chilo, they basically support each other on the viola is the outside re instrument again? So if you play something like this, well, you can affect often played in octaves. That is a very usual case for violin, and one and two is like like this. However, in the local frequencies, it is even more common to use double ways and shallow in octaves. Because it is, you should be careful about writing. Harman is in the lower parts. So many right harmony always almost always is tapes or perhaps perfect faith like this on if it is a perfect fifth, it is over transposed even up here. So I'm not using this e here, but actually this so double bass on that shuttle here. So when you write the hormone E with the cello for the double bass, it's often more than an octave apart like something like that. But in the higher ranges, the frequencies are more spread out. So there it's actually more of a gap of frequencies between you notice here when it is done here, which means you can actually play them closer together on that is very, very beautiful to do with violence one and Tuesday if you play again, motives here and then instead of playing oak, taste playing thirds. As you can hear, those harmonies are so beautiful and light and have the separation, but really also tied together well now I was obviously using a string ensemble patch for this, but you can do that record on unstoppable and then arrange those voices to Violin one and two. Congratulations. Now you have learned about all the instruments in the orchestral strings family, double bass, cello, viola, violin one and two. 8. Dynamics: What dynamic level you play your performances on strings and how you change it over time is one of the most fundamental ways where expression and change the tone off your string ports in your composition. Let me share my top tips on using dynamics on strings. Now the first thing you need to learn about dynamics in music is that there are basically two versions of it, the first being the initial attack of each note. So if you consider a piano, for example, so let's play this. That piano is amazing because he can play dynamics anywhere from P P. P to every fifth, and it is based on valve also devalues meaning how hard you press the case. However, if I program the modulation wheels and try to make changes in dynamics over the sustained note, nothing happens because the piano is essentially a percussive tuned instrument. You can't control the dynamics over time for the sustained note. This is what makes strings so amazing because they can shape the dynamics over time, which is the other aspect of dynamics. So if we compare, for example, short note articulations on string strings like this one here on staccato. If I play something here on my keys now I can control exactly like the piano, the dynamic attack meaning household. I pressed the keys from soft to triple, if on away in between to shape the dynamics like this. Now if I switched to a sustained note like the garter, for example, I can control with, in most cases, the mode well on your mini keyboard. But basically you changed the dynamics over time like I did here. So if I take these exact performance here, copied to the long strings, not only will you, in fact, I will increase the controls in dynamics so you can really really hear the difference from super low too much higher like this and what's pull it. So it's changes. In most cases, you want to change the actual voice. Changes like this was played out in solo like that. You can have an even more extreme change If you go for some sample libraries. You can plays Dacey because if I have a at the loose dynamic, now cannot go to silence because things is the lowest pianissimo highest fortissimo. If you add niente, it means you can fight it out the lowest setting. It goes to silence, which gives you this, which is not really supernatural, because you cannot really play to silence. However, I just want to do this to demonstrate, ah, the real power off dynamics over time. So in the most extreme changes, you can really get this flowing, wavy type over shape in the dynamics, right? Just for demonstration purposes. I made the contrast extreme in the dynamics there, but those are The main difference is the short nose is based on velocity. Values belongs on the dynamics over time, in most cases, the modulation wheel. In some cases, you can actually map the dynamics to another controller, but I recommend using the mobile, which is C Z one. Now I want to show you very powerful technique when using dynamics over time to create even more movement and variation in your string arrangements. And that is, I have actually composed this with bass, cello, viola first and second violin in separate tracks like this. And if I open it up, you can see the progressions here. Let's actually show them per region, Kohler's so you can see the basis to inbred and then the cello spiral, last first violin and second violin on top. And if I open up the automation, you can see that I have all of them. The five tracks have separate movement in the dynamics over time, which is the more detail or modulation. We'll see C one on that will. Even although the general direction is pretty much the same for them all, they are independence of slight changes you could even have. If you want to create some contrast, make the for example. Second, violence go down while the 1st 1 go up and so one. But just have a listen to these examples. You can really hear how they truly come alive when you add not only the separate tracks but also separate dynamics over time. So let's have listen on this while watching it in the piano roll something like this, which to me sounds so beautiful and lyrical. And you really get those subtle changes in dynamics and the variation between the voices in dynamics to make the entire arrangement come to life. So that is dynamics over time. I have actually an example here for the rhythmic short notes where you focus on the initial attack, the dynamics based on the velocity level. So if I go in here and there now we need of course, it changes back to show by velocity. You see the variation in color here. So that is the variation in dynamics on the attack. Of course, you want to make sure that your main beats and your accents or higher velocity values meaning higher dynamics. So actually created staccato strings here for the main accents with the courts like this. See, if I only play this she's like this on, then I have some cello staccato doing this with thing. Ah, we're speak out. I think that is. And then on final part here, I don't remember what it's also super short strings here, some or page geo style like this, double noting. And whenever you do double nose like this. So this is an extra bonus tape. Ah, I like to record it on. So let's say this is the 16th. No pattern recorded as an eight north pattern, then duplicated. Drag it to the next 16th note and make sure Well, everything is selected that you dragged down the velocity. So the velocity off the first note here is always higher than the next. No so higher. Lower fire, lower and so bone. And all together, with all this variation, you can get, um, something like this, for example. Now there's also two expects here that I want to give you some practical tips about. And that is the You have the dynamic variation, meaning the human feel, that not everything is the exact same velocity level. And then you have the dynamics on the accents and main beats, which is higher, of course. But also, if I open this up, if I select everything and then open up the velocity so you can see here, um, you might also want to make sure that for example, in the end you ramp up the average velocity values. As you can see, it's slightly higher here in the end than the previous bars of music, and you can also see where the main accents land so you can see it's on the bomb. Here you have. Ah, mostly on the one, and you might want to go in and increase the ones a bit more just to really make sure those are more. Most of the down beats, perhaps, or wherever you have the main accents that, let's say, here in the 123 um, you might want to have that higher, So just go in and increase it for all the different parts and again. Or perhaps you want to have them lower. Whatever you want to do in, even you might want to draw some average increase like this so most of the dynamics go up like that should have a listen from here. Make sure that you had a dynamic variation, added dynamics on the accents and main beats off the grooves or higher velocities. And sometimes you want to have the ram. So I say I will. I will do this in an extreme way because you couldn't really hear it solo on the stock at strings. These even further down like so. So it goes from the lowest and then higher and higher, like this starts to get higher. So that is the three aspect off dynamics on the attack variation, adding the main accents as hi ever lost a day. So, for example, this is the main accent. Perhaps you want to have only the Vance's Maine accents. Make sure they are hiring velocity on the average dynamics here. Velocity levels over times. You might want to go in curves. You might want to have a tramp up and then down Ah, or finish off at the strongest dynamics, as I did right here. And in fact, this final tip over changing the average dynamics over time can apply to long notes as well . So if we take this example, you want to have cursed like this, But you might want to have the curves go beat higher and higher throughout the progression so that it actually finish. It finishes off at the highest point. So not only do you have dynamics changing like this, that's a curve, but the curve is actually increasing in average. You could draw a line like this if you follow me here and have them, uh, increase over time, something like this. You have a slower wave here and the wave gets higher and the lowest points also goes higher . So that it all ramps up on, then fades out at the cadence there. All right, so now you have learned about dynamics and how to control it and use it for your string parts and string arrangements. 9. Expression: strings are capable of so much diversity in expression. In my opinion, they have the most expressive versatility off all instrument families. Unless you count the human voice, the roar, of course, countless of ways. You can add expression by Alvar Aires articulations you complainin strings. But here or my personal top tips to add expression on strings dynamics the most powerful form of expression. So you already learned about this and that there are two ways to control dynamics. First initial attack for short notes with the velocity How hall you press two keys on the second way is to control its over time. For example, like this with the insoluble strains and use the more drill controller CC one on your meter keyboard like that. So that is dynamics. The next one is the goto on. I will actually show you this with the shell. Oh, here because you have different forms off the goto, so you can actually use different transitions between the notes. So if you have Lou knows without lego toe, for example, like this yeah, playing detached meaning they have opposed in between the notes, but in most cases for strings on long nose you want to use various forms of the garter connecting the nose with a smooth flow. Anything from a normal connected lo gatto soft go to here, eyes that somebody brought in fact. And then Kanta Billy here is very soft, beautiful, lyrical form of the goto, or perhaps a slur. The goto is this expressive, smooth flow In between the notes, it can go from a fast regatta all the way to a porter mental, which is longer slide and between the notes. Now, in order for you to hear this more clearly, I have now lorded up a solo violin in this case Joshua Bell violin. Because Seoul instruments will always have more clear forms of expression and emotion in the performance, you will hear everything more clearly basically, and in this case you can actually see what type of the goto is triggered here. So the logo to transition, which is the second most important expressive option after dynamics, in my opinion, on strings. So if you listen to this now, the slow porta mental, which I find very beautiful, but use it sparingly, learn to go to boldly go to let's see if I can get a finger go immediate. So you get lots or variations off the daughter in this instrument on. That is a good sign for a string sample library to have lots off the Gatto variations. And this takes us to number three, which is the broader, which I personally find the most emotional form of expression. If you listen to a singer holding a long note, they will always add the grotto and the stronger you add the librato, the more emotional it feels. Eso if your instrument have a way to actually control the vibrato or if it is actually burned into the samples at at least get the broader like for example, in this case with the last strings, they have the librato baked in with bigger sections and ensembles. You don't really hear the broad as much. It will just sound asses soaring. Lyrical, beautiful sound, however, with a solo instrument. When you introduce the broader like this way that a beautiful, um, pitch vibrato that adds so much emotion to the sound so you can ride it like waves, like the dynamics like this, uh, to create even mawr movement and motion into your streaming performances. Then we get Teoh accent. So let's say you have ah v strings and play some long notes, then using some kind of accent articulation like Mark Otto, there's for salt on, for example. These instruments here have more culture, though they have sports out of 40 piano, any type off accent in the beginning, off a long note to really add some or emotion to the performance. Like something like this. Of course you need Teoh actually program this or play the keys, which is live high test. Switch with the mouse here, but you get the point from the demonstration adding those accents. In this case, you mainly have Marco toe and stuck out there to do those accents with providing. If you want a shorter accent on the off, obviously programming this in on changing the dynamics to make them connect. Mawr will make the performance flow mawr. Ah, but that is the way off, adding expression with accents. Finally, we have articulations, so these accents are basically articulations. However, you have so much more potential to include at different types off articulations as ornaments. You can do Christian those dim innuendos, orcs, tremor loaves, for example, adding a trill. Um, so depending on what your string library have available, you can do so much by programming in shifts in articulations, either as ornaments or as variations in the whole sequence. For example, if you take the, uh, core progression here that is played with a simple the go to sustained articulation. Now, if you would arrange these for the different instruments here, uh, like I did here, like so you might want to change. For example, have the viola play. Let's say a tremolo with a long librato like this on that will add some extra expression in the entire performance. Even though it's barely audible, it really adds an extra dimension. You can go in and do something else for the shell. Oh, let's say you want to do, ah, shift that legal to to a soft leg Ulta or, for example, do some kind off dynamic articulations like long crescendos and orcs really go in and shape the performances to include variation also on a note for note basis through program keys, which is to change, for example, between tremolo sustained different forms of the goal to to create variations and expression with articulation changes congratulations. You have now learned some of the most fundamental ways to add expression and emotion to your string ports and string arrangements. 10. Voice Leading: the importance off voice leading is always important in music composition, but since strings have an amazing ability to smoothly flow from no to note, I would say voice leading is extra important on strings compared to other instrument families. Here are some of my top tips for voice leading on strings Respect the Rangers. So what I mean by this is when you consider all the ports here for all the instruments in the string family, you should generally keep the voices off the parts in their respective range, meaning that the basis should be the lowest voice. The line you write for it than the Chelios, then by all us than first violence and then second violins. That is the general guideline. You don't have to use that rule all of the time, but as a starting point, it's good to use it. So if you check this here, you can see that the basis which are red here is the lowest voice. The next one orange is the Chelios. Then the violas here purple just above here we have unison. So behind behind this shell, a party actually have the viola. Then you get to yellow, which is the first violins and second violence now to make is even more clear. I will show you on piano keyboard. So let's say you have the basis on the G. Then the next voice in your string arrangement should, as a starting point, be the cello. Then again, as a starting point. If I told us first one second, please. Yeah, Avoid cords below sea three. So this is C three on. Since the frequencies over the notes become more spread out, the higher you should generally have as a guideline. ALS the octaves below sea three on, perhaps to know tor money like like that. But don't put them too close to each other. So when you start to get down here, it sounds so muffled. If I play the same home and they appear, it just sounds like one big muffled sound right down here. So as a starting point takes the three everything below, think in tapes or very spread out to know torment is like this on put all the harmonies and chords appear in the higher ranges, and that takes us to the next step, which is space out of the voices. So if we check this arrangement with all the string parts here again, you can see that, especially the bass note. Here. You want to have a big gap between the bass note and the next voice, which is usually that shuttles. So when you get up above sea three you can generally have the bulls is closer together. But as you can see, I have actually chosen to keep the first violence and second volumes all the way appear. Meaning I leave big gaps here between these voices because generally four strings. It sounds, ah better when you space out the voices like this. So if we take a look at this, um, string track here, you can see the bass note. So this is just a string in sambal patched, by the way. Um, okay, it sounds good, but I could have, for example, space it out even further. So let's take the this middle voice here, for example, and you have to select all the middle voices and then dragged up in octave. That means I still have the exact same corporation, but voiced in a way that have mawr spaced out voices that gets more separation between instruments on. This is especially important on strings, since all the string instruments in the string family have a very balanced and similar characteristic tone. So if he wants separation, you need to space the voices out more. And for the lower inches, it is again way mawr important, since the frequencies will clash again. Below sea three, I would only have, um, oak tapes and unison. By the way, I could even bring this down to get to the bass octave right here like this on Let's say I want to have it like the cello, Zo or up above. Like so and now we have basis with Shelagh Voice an octave above again. This is a string ensemble patch, but this is just for demonstration purposes on it already sounds way more focused and beautiful. So let me show you this on the piano keyboard as well. So when you ride your string ports, I usually right on a string ensemble patch first, so the salt with the base. If then general guideline is put the next voice as an octave to support the base. So I have here with Tello's. If you want to put it on a harmony with meaning, not unison or tape. Then my personal guideline is to put that harmony above the octave. So if you want to use the third for sample retailer instead off down here because if you place it here, it sounds like crap because again, no close harmonies or courts in the below sea three. So that means I would put it here. That sounds okay, but not this. So let's start with that base change, meaning a huge gap here between then the next voice. Let's say we do. And if cord well, let's plate up here. Eso that is closed position since it's really hard to stretch your fingers while it's impossible, even with your right hand to space it out, I would generally just recorded like this. First Theun off the words in your sequencer put this'll all the way up to the sea or even the sea, so you get more separation because now I don't really have much separation here. Close position off this. But if I release my left hand here, I can actually play more spread out. So let's say let's use f here. Let's use see there they'll but move this up in octave. That is how you spread it out, join the voices. So this is very important for strings. Because if you play strings like this, like your piano, I off course have to release my fingers from the which makes gaps in between. So if we go here back into the sequence or these are the strings long insolvable. So when you play it in first, it might look something like this. Okay, that will sound really bad Or even worse, Like you long gap when you release it like let's due to the extreme like this. Okay, what do you do? Well, you want to make sure you read minimize this cap. You want those with go to transitions for the strings because these voices, they just shift the no to the next one that glide into the next one. So you want to go in and extend this note? My way of doing this is actually a key command You want to find in your sequencer to close this gap, force it to legal to like this. So I've already program that, um to really reduce this here. But not only that joined. The notes also mean if you take a look. But I just fixed this like So So now I've reduced to gaps, so they are joined together. But if you look at this, this is the same note. Well, strings can play the notes continuously, so they will sound way better if you just compare before If you join them when you can. Whenever you have the availability here for your parts to join them. Well, find your key command in your sequencer to join the notes into one. So these are two notes. Now, if I use in this case, command J in logic, I joined them here as well. Hear us. Well, every time you see the notes are the same. General guideline is to join them together, and now they will flow. Even mawr. Sometimes you might even wanted you because there's no gap here in between. But sometimes it sounds even better if you have a slight overlap when you join the voices. So I already joined this one. But if I assuming closer here and then you can see I can do like this and even take the next part this notes here so mean and started a bit earlier because you will always have some overlap in a real orchestra when the when they play. The arrangement on that means the notes blur together even more, so they flow into the next port here, shorter intervals for flow. So for string arrangements, you generally want to keep the transition between each note off each voice, so every instrument line is its own voice. That's what's called voice leading. If you go into here and take a look, this is the lowest voice, the base that shallows off the next voice and then violas. First violence, second violence. Each line you generally want to keep as smooth as possible for the transitions off each note. So here we have the top boys, as you can see, because very smoothly, like this next one, all the voices except for in the basic, you often need to have bigger leaps just because you need to respect the root note of the cord, and you can't really change that. But if you think considered that these voices here, I could have put this and oxygen but below there. But now it's a big leap. I could have put this this here inductive about now, that's a bigly. It sounds way better when you keep them closer together. The notes like this. That way you get a very smooth flow for your entire progression. Top voice is the focus, so this is very important because our ears actually listen more to the highest voice than any other voice. So these two top voices or the most important for focus and attention, meaning that if you write a harmonic progression, a corporation, the top voices is where you write the melody because that is the center off attention. If you write your medal day, let's say in the middle here, those highest voices will still be what your ears pick up the most, which will, of course, cloud the melody. So if you're writing melody down here, ever consider removing these top voices or putting them at a much, much lower volume on dynamic to really pull the attention to if you write the melody down in this middle voice here. So if I write something on, let's use a piano just for in stopping or let's use the strings, the long strings patch. Okay, so let's pull up the piano keyboard. If I write something like this? Ah, starting in D minor. If I move the limit the voice to play the melody here you can really hear that it is very clouded by the top voices. But if I remove those now, that becomes the melody because that is top voice. So generally this means that if you write something, let's do you two know Tallman instead of a court with a base. Indeed, use the highest voice as your melodic voice in your progression on that will be the center of attention. Top voice is the focus and then use the voice below it as support for the top force. Which is why I recommend trying Teoh play the bass in oak taste when you come up with the new themes and melodies base in the with in octaves with the left hand and then melodic voice, plus the harmony beneath it. So, no, you might end up doubling these Milic voice in octaves either above or below. But as a general guideline, I recommend a daily starting. Do you think of this as the top voice that that one you're going to if I go back to the sequence of right with your highest voice So this voice here this will be the melody Or if this is the melody And if you have a top voice let's say this place the harmony I would consider playing Ah, if you play this is that melody playing this as a very low dynamic level and low Ah, intensity so that this takes the focus. But again, General guideline top voice is the focus, which is the melody to our ears. Use transition notes. So in order to create more interesting string arrangements, you should consider every now and then to include a transition note for one off the voices . As you can see right here, for example, this goes up here and then to next one, so I could have left it like this. But instead I made a transition there. So if I ah, one small bring up this string arrangement here. Okay, so these or one bar chords here one bore next court. Next court. Next chord. Ah, and so one. Now I could I could keep it like this. It is very minimalistic and simple, But if I want to add more interest you could use for example. Let's cut up this here. So what do we have? And then just find out what scale you're in, obviously. So you want to use a scale note for the transition or even one of the cord notes. So here you have a F, F and C. Could I bring that up to F, for example, then down to see destroyed Asi heard there. So this would be the viola goes up to F and then down to see again instead of just keeping it as one note there. But since I want to keep the flow here for that, no, since it is the same, I would probably do you a transition. For example, Here, let's do that or let's do it like this. Cut the note and then see what we have. A F C is the cord, so we go from F to say, come to go to the A in between because that is still part of the court on. You really need to listen carefully to what happens. So let's mute this for now. As you heard there. It flows even better to the next one because I are actually also in the same time reduced the intervals used. Because I've used a transition note, this is now a shorter interval and shoulder in full here compared to having it this big leap up here, you could even do it for the base the same thing. So same thing here, cut it, go up to a so they work in combination. Much better on let's say you do something like this here a swell, Um, let's do this one here. So but we hav e g c is the cord notes and we go from me to G here. You might not want to go all the way up here because it's a big leap or even down to. So this is the shorter's leap. So sometimes you might even want to go with the scale load instead of a court note. Let's try that one. So I have extreme dynamic shift there. Let's move it up so we can hear it more. The transition. I didn't want to blur the lines more by extending them Just debate. They overlap again. Now you're really here on these again becomes the melodies you really listened to. Ah, uh and you can do this for the entire progression. Don't overdo the translation notes in these voices. The most transition knows becomes, of course, the top voices because that is the melody. So it's more or less the melodic line. Ah, but here in the lower Ah, and you couldn't think of it as a walking bass here in the middle, it just becomes a mawr organic flow of notes. So, for example, here you could have it go up and down and up again, or whatever you like. Ah, I would use it sparingly because in most cases you want to keep that long, smooth flow. Now I have a final bonus tip for you, which is to add contrary motion for the voice leading to add even mawr interest for your harmonic progression. So let's go in and take a look here again, assuming so we can see what I mean by contrary motion is that when you consider all the lines, think of these as individual lines based shallows, violas, first filings, second violence. What motion do they go in? So is to concede. Here Melo divorced. If highest second violin goes up while the violence bum go down here, they have the same motion. This goes down, this goes down. But this goes up so you have a lot of variation. One voice appear One voice up here, three voices down. Okay, so sometimes you just get this by accident. But you want to think of these deliberately like when you transpose this up or down an octave or do the transition note, which are you just learned? Think off when you can add country motion. For example. Here I have person purposely chosen to have this. I wanted to go up while this goes down and these goes down, one day's goes up and this goes down, it's it had so much more dimension to your string arrangement. And you really want to consider this in combination with all other tapes you learn If you want. Add a bit more interesting movement. Do it in contrary motion for the voice leading. Now, another aspect of this contrary motion trick is that you can have one or more voices not move at all like this here. This remains on the G like so I could have used a a transition note like this or something . But here I have chosen to have it remain because that creates that smooth flow and and then other voices can move around like this one goes up. This one goes down here. So consider having vulnerable voices remain on the same known knows, meaning no motion while are the voices take the attention by moving because anything that changes will bring more focus and attention to it compared to something that just remains on the same note and sound. Let me demonstrate this motion versus no motion and going back and forth between which voice is moving on the piano keyboard. So let's say we have g here in the base in days. Let's do a TUNEL told minutes O G and d here eso you can do, for example, like this. Let the melody note the highest voice move first like like they so this will remain. This will remain. This voice will remain. Then leave the D here, the highest voice, and let this middle voice start to move and that will actually take the focus of attention and become basically the Milady. So something like this on you can do this for your entire progression. To jump back and forth between which voice will have the attention. So of course it could. If you remove the highest voice, that will not have any attention. But you can also have it to remain. Perhaps when you leave here, I would reduce the dynamics by automate automating it down. I can't do it because I use both my hands hands here. But think about that country motion and also motion versus no motion for all your voices in your string arrangement. Congratulations. You have now learned all the fundamental guidelines plus many practical tips and tricks for voice leading for all your individual string parts and your entire string arrangements. 11. Sound Design: How can you design the overall tone and character off your strings? Let's explore some of the most common sound design options section size solo versus small insolvable versus food orchestra. So this section size for your string instruments in your compositions is the first and foremost aspect off designing the character and tone, which I will demonstrate here by showing you a solo string here or the first share string player in this particular library. Something like this Theo, which will give you that clear and focused, crisp tone and all the expression from a solo instrument going into a me Desai's ensemble. So in this case, five violins, which can sound like this, and finally, a big ensemble. In this case, it could be the first violence of a full orchestral example. Here we have 12 violins. I will give you the most vash on blurred sound and very warm and soft. Great for those big themes, for example, Now a very important side note here is that even though I just showed you examples off solo , small ensemble and big ensemble, all different sample libraries and begins over strings will sound different and have a different character depending on the players. The performance of the recordings on everything else that goes into creating the library so you will get a different tone for a solo violin. Ah, here and using another library or plug in and the same for any size off the strings use. So I can best demonstrate this by playing to different patches, even from the same library here, off flatters strings. This is five violence, which is a small ensemble. The next one is six violence, but it's called chamber Violence and is recorded as a different performance. So let's compare this the 1st 1 on the next one completely different character and tone eso pay attention to this as well as the section sizes when you create the total character for your string parts, acoustics and microphones, from room size to placement to the microphone makes. So if you check this here the solo violin, you can see that I have close mikes, deck a mix and hold mike so basically can think of these as the close need and four microphones set up. So most sample libraries implications for strings give you the option. Teoh choose a different sitting on level for this even muting, meaning, removing the close minds. Mike's entirely. So if I just play the close mike here, you get that very close sound. And then I introduced the Decca Mike's some room. The whole nights, of course, have the most ambient and luscious out thing, and also this depends on the acoustics off the room. They actually recorded the strings in So room size placement of the mikes here and the mix off microphones has a huge impact. And that is something you can use to your advantage to design the tonal character and vibe of your strings as well. Stereo and depth from the state's position where the instruments were recorded to adding extra reverb or even panning afterwards. So some sample libraries for strings are actually recorded in the real seating position in a scoring stage or orchestral whole, meaning that you get the automatic placement in the stereo stage and panning and depth automatically in the library. In other ones. You can actually set it differently by panning differently, and you can also add extra reverb. In fact, many libraries even have it as a default. So let's say if I take this small a sample here. They actually have extra reverb on top of these microphone mixes here. So if I have reduced that remove, it can actually add your own external reverb as an audio insert or send effect off the words or no to use an extra verb it all to just get the microphone sound thing more intimate and focused sound. And as for the panning, sometimes you can actually ah, I don't advise you to pan in most cases here because in the majority of cases, it is actually recorded. So you get the stereo staging automatically. However, but you might want to do if your library supporters is pan the different microphones differently. So you actually have here close mikes, if you can. If you want to, you can move it to the left. Here. Ah, you might want to move to their captain left and perhaps this one to the right. So this is getting very deep into sound design, but it totally makes a difference. Go to the extreme. Yes, you can hear it through all the time. I would advise you to use this panning in your DW is if you use it completely dry Ah, sample library for the strings. Then you pan it and then you send it into the stereo stage with a reverb production and mixing e que and filtering compression saturation and various production techniques. So I would generally recommend you to be very cautious about using too much production and mixing effects such as e que filtering, especially compression and saturation on strings. Since you want to have that natural and highly dynamic sound, I would say that on the shore, two strings such as Austin autos and rhythmic comping strings like this used beat mawr production techniques and mixing techniques compared to natural, long, lyrical phrases. So, um, I generally put some slight filtering any queuing. I use this Ah, a lot this plug in because it has saturation compression and ah, a tonal character, which is basically an e ki slash filter. No beer to make it brighter, former or fatter. So, for example, on the short strings, I might want to have a brighter setting t make him catch through mawr and just be very careful with this. And I also recommend when you use compression, especially, ah, try using a blend of the wet and dry signal, which is basically parallel compression. Another technique I sometimes use is on long course and harmony backing strings like this eso if I want to push them back other than actually voicing them differently. Ah, I can use slight eking Teoh, actually reduce some of the high mids and highs like this. Let's overdue just for demonstration purposes. Everyone perhaps even reduced the bass frequencies if I wanted added on a bass track. So I really only get left with this atmospheric background strings compared to because you want to sculpt the sound Teoh make room for in this case, the melody parts and hyper cash in on the base sport here. Now, again, I would recommend you to use this carefully. And in most cases for these purposes, I would first choose to serve D no articulation to sculpt the sound. Um, but basically, that is the things are used on strings for the mixing and production techniques. And my final bonus tip is the hearing. This is my favorite way to sound design my string ports which can be layering different sample libraries, various presets, different articulations and even tonal characters. So you have so much creative capabilities with sound design when you just slavering. So let's go back to the short strings here. The first passion is the full ensemble cinematic strings to stick a tasty mo. It sounds like this with, by the way, the slice saturation, compression and bright character and in peril, compression everything. Basically, uh, now let's lay that with these strings, which is sim phobia, one staccato extra short and let's move it towards the close of sounds. You get that more intimate in your face focus, sound, which can sound like this. So one of my favorite ways to layer is actual to use one sound that is more focused, and one sound that is MAWR has more of the room sound Now. We can also use different settings on these, so you might want to add, for example, this. And let's use a warm and character boost it up some compression and some separation on this to make it even more different. So again, Max drinks to on that was seen phobia bon Now, together with layering ah, completely different final sound. Let's use the same techniques for ah, long string. So let's say you have this all right. So what was it? It was the last strings full ensemble patch with these court progressions here. So let's use that on Sortino. Let's remove this CQ for now because we have this routine already, right? So what should we double that with? Well, ah, so that is a full ensemble patch. I believe it is Ah, lot of strings involved here now, but he can do is later it with a slightly smaller section. For example, let's cheese, for example, this minimal strings here, which was what? Um, it's chamber strings long. So a smaller section. Let's drag this down and listen to how that sounds on a much more intimate It's focused sound, which you get with a smaller section. Um, you might even want to use different mixes. Let's reduce remove the whole Mike's completely here to make it even more focussed. You might want to have the dynamics to be different, so you either just move up or down here or drew a completely different curve like this. That is what I recommend, actually, because then you get movement variations between the two. Then we might want to reduce this so it doesn't become too overbearing so again. And you can use different, um production taking some both. So let's do these ones again and boost the warm or fat characters to make them even more. Press send slight, very slight compression situation. And always when I use compression of separation are born to use peril mode. And I basically never go above two to bomb the ratio here for the threshold. I'm very, very slight, mild compression just to have some analog character. So that makes this sound like this on now in combination. And by the way, you don't even have to layer them with all the notes. Perhaps you want to have these other strings to cake care or them. We can use the low strings. So these are now just higher harmonies on these, perhaps take care of ah, everything or just a low were that create. The choice is yours Now it sounds like this, as you can see for creative options with sound design. When you get into layering, Ah is so huge. I mean, you could even add, for example, a solo line to this. Let's say you bring in the solo violin, Onda added. Don't talk like so And just drag this down here and use only the top line. What? Select that. Let's move. Remove everything else. So now you have the top line believing doubled, layered with the solo first share violin to get some more focus in the high end. What do against with that? Well, something like this. Only beautiful lyrical sound from the highest solo strings. Here added intimacy and detail with this small in somber strings and some depth with these lush strings all rise now. You also have learned some of the most fundamental sound design and tonal character design over strings for your music on positions. 12. Assignment Sound Instinct: congratulations. You have now learned the core fundamentals, guidelines, sounds and colors off strings in music. Now it's time for your final assignment off this model because in order to little up and evolve as a music composer, you will have to develop a good ear for music and sound by listening to you and analyzing professional productions. Your assignment is there for what I call sound instinct, meaning, listening to music with your full attention and analyzing everything that is going on. In this case, your focus will, of course, be strings. Make sure to listen to as many details as you can hear in the music. I will now give you a list of great examples off specific compositions focusing on orchestral strings, which you can use as a starting point for this exercise. The Lord of the Rings Concerning Hobbits by Howard Shore, which features a light solo violin and lush string melody. Listen to the interplay between the flute versus violin and how the lush strings come in for support and variation. Pirates of the Caribbean. He's a Pirate by Hans Zimmer. This composition focuses on very energetic and rhythmic strings like Austin Auto speak, Otto's versus Bold Stock. Otto's The DaVinci Code Chevalier de Sangria will also by Hans Zimmer, which is extremely passionate, moving and expressive strings mainly driven by backing rhythmic strings versus a soaring main string melody. Main theme from Chin Lear's List by John Williams. A beautiful and emotional soul strings driven theme, which has very strong librato and the theme includes some bigger intervals, which makes it stand out and be more memorable. Harry Potter Hedwig's Theme by John Williams. This theme features very agile and intense strings full of fast runs and phrases, which shows how much energy and flair strings are also capable. And finally, one of my favorite music compositions of all time. That focuses on strings, which is beer. Tillman's Fifth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, a very powerful motif that is probably one of the single most famous musical motives off all time. It also has many air gile string phrases, and the entire composition is full or variations and lots off contrasts. Overall, it has an amazing dynamic range as well. Now go ahead and do this sound instinct, exercise to develop your ear and composer instinct for how strings can be used in music composition 13. Master the Articulations: how you play the music has more impact than what notes you play. This is something I teach over and over, since it is so incredibly important for you to learn as a composer, meaning the playing style performance techniques, an instrument articulations from various short note articulations, Teoh variation and movement in your long notes to special Kohler and or tension articulations. These are the articulations you will see in the software instruments and sample libraries. Four strings. And since music is all about variation, movement and ornaments, you should really learn how to use all types of article agents. And you should train yourself to not be Lacey as a composer, and Onley used, for example, leg auto articulation for one track and speak Otto for another. Because there is so much variation you can add to your musical phrases to add expression on demotion, we are now going to explore all the fundamental articulations and playing techniques in the strings family. So let's continue your journey in strings right now. 14. Percussive Articulations: let's start by exploring percussive articulations. Now I call these articulations percussive, even though not all of them in truly or but the end result. Ing sound has that shore Patek, and you cannot let it sustain, since it just fades out naturally after that attack. Here are some of the most common percussive articulations coal Len Joe striking the strings with the wood off the bow for a percussive effect often used as powerful accents and stabs . Very useful in combination with true percussion, it can even be used for creating a driving groove with this articulation. All right, so here I have loaded up a cooler Lennier preset with the full ensemble strings. You might have it even separated sections like cold, Linear on Chelios or violence and so on. But I want to demonstrate how much different it can sound in various ranges. So in the low G here, it works great for those hard accents because you get the toast aspect of it, but old with very percussive heart attack. So if I played, let's say in oak staves here, imagine layering That was some string stabs, brass steps and perhaps a bass drum. And if you go higher up in the Rangers. It starts to sound really good for those under school rhythms like this, as you can hear so you can add some kind of groove here and add those accents in the base with Colonial Onda. However you want to use it. But remember that they strike the strings with the stakes here off the bow. So, um, they cannot do superfast patterns. Likely can, when they'd used a boat to rebo each note. So making superfast eyes literally impossible. Ah, so let's move on to the next articulation pizzicato plucking the strings with your fingers instead of using the BoE has very light sound, and the release of the sound is very short. Compared to, let's say, an acoustic guitar or even a horse. This is perfect for light rhythmic ports. So in this case, I have voted up the pizzicato articulation on a cello section, as you can see, avoided it right here, um, and looking play two versions over using pizza cattle, which I find them especially useful, useful four. So if the first style is something like this Ah, I call that something in the sneaky, mysterious underscore type mood. The other style would be something like this, which I would say more off the comedic style off pizzicato. And finally, you could even do some kind over Mawr rhythmic groove you. However, once again, you need to consider that these pro Cassidy type articulations cannot be played as fast as a boat. Articulation like a speak up to Ah, Austin Alter, for example. However, they can be very useful for or pay geo style rhythms as long as they are not too fast. Something like this four used him as light accents, for example, playing to know Tor Menace in a way, something like this just to accent some off the beats in your groove bar took pizzicato. This is also known as snap pizzicato. It means that you are plucking the strings so hard that they hit the food off the instrument, creating a dramatic percussive effect. It becomes sort of a noisy tuned percussion sound, which makes it great for accents. So the difference between pizzicato and bar talk pizzicato is that you really pull the string super hold, and as you can see, it's even called snap pits or snap pizzicato in this specific library which creates that very hard accent type sound, which can be something like this compared to normal pizzicato again, snap its counter or about a talk pizzicato on. If you want to keep it authentic, you need to realize that doing a snap, it scatter or about a talk pizzicato. Since it requires so much more force, you really only use it as accents on, and you need to space them apart because it cannot do something like like this own bar talk pizzicato. So now you have learned the most fundamental what I call percussive articulations on strings. 15. Short Articulations: Now let's explore some of the most common short note articulations on strings, which are great for rhythmic parts. Accents and fast phrases. Ricochet a bouncing, both stroke in which the bow is thrown on the string and allowed rebound and bounce again several times, either in the same direction or toward a different bow direction. It is great for very fast repetitions and super short notes, since it has that showed almost percussive sound. Now, while speak, Otto is the most common short note articulation for fast rhythmic phrases. Rico. She is noticed common, but it can be very useful, and it it's actually shorter and more Percocet. I will demonstrate this by first playing Speak Otto. You can play something like Now let's compare this to the ricochet. Asi can hear you get that brittle, percussive tone again. That is the difference. This is the's shortest articulation. You can play on the gold string instrument, speak Otto, playing very short notes by lightly bouncing the bow on the strings. But in a controlled fashion compared to the ricochet, it also has one note for bold stroke as opposed to the ricochet. This articulation is perfect for driving Austin autos and short node phrases. So while the recall share is very useful for those super short for Cassidy sounds on fast patterns on the same note like this, for example, the G here Theo speak Otto, since it is more control is great for those Austin autos and the rhythmic pulses. Since you can easily change the note like this on, you can also use different sections in urine sample so the cello might play something. Here you have the basis and marking the accents down in the lower range on. Of course, it can do faster phrase the 16th notes and such eso speak. Otto is the essential articulations for those driving rhythms on strings, staccato and stock. A tous Imo short notes, which are sharply detached, meaning the performance includes space in between. Each note staccato czar. Great for adding an accent in a driving ostinato or use for rhythmic comping. For example, stock a tous Imo is basically a shorter version over a staccato, perfect as a way to add variation in node length in a short note trays. So to demonstrate stock a testable, a staccato, I have loaded an insoluble strings patch wreck and switch between both these articulations staccato. Being slightly longer is great for, for example, arpeggios like this comping like this, if it is played at a slower tempo, at least on a status symbol can be used in the same way SP cattle, for example. So ah, Austin autos and policies like this And when you switched between them, that is when your performance truly come alive. So you can actually play the pals here something like this on, then suddenly switched to staccato on some notes. Something like this you can see in this case I'm you moving my mode real to change from stakeout to stakeout, Eskimo in some. So for instruments, you may need to use the key switch to change from stuck out due to stock. It is the move, and you can even go. Ah, use speak, Otto, Status symbol, staccato and ah, perhaps even Mark Otto to shape your entire rhythmic performance. So now we have learned the most fundamental short articulations on strings 16. Long Articulations: Now let's go through some of the most common long note article Asians. An important aspect of lonely note articulations on strings is the dynamic level and change in the beginning of each note and for the sustain. You can also add an expression curb over the duration off the note. Sustain the normal boat sustaining note played with no Lo Gatto, sometimes called Arco, which means play with Bo. This also means you can play more than one note at a time. So here I have loaded up a cello section with the sustained or or go you can even see. It's called Orca in this particular sample, every but it is basically the sustained articulation, which means that if I play one note at a time like this, it doesn't have the the go to this move the gold transition. It is actually touched. However, this makes it possible to play. To know Tomin is like this. Even full course. If you use, for example, a full insomnia all string patch vague Otto playing the transition between the notes so that it is smooth with blurred note attacks basically connecting the notes with a smooth flow. There are many different types and lengths off the Goto from 32 Finger League Otto all the way to Port Aumento. The fundamental articulation for lyrical voice leading and leading melodies is the Goto. So I want to demonstrate the legal articulation on a solo violin because it will make it more clear, because there are actually different speeds off the goto and how you go from one note to the next. You can see it in the interface here. Right now, it says Porta Mental, which is a very slow, graceful glide between the notes like this or finger logo toe slurs. Bodley goto like this to concede into interface and listen to the sound thing so you should use a lot these differently. Gatto's to your advantage to shape your entire performance, especially for Melo Dick ports. The broad toe, a slight pitch variation on a sustained note, adding anything from light to medium to heavy vibrato. For the most romantic and passionate sound, this is the most powerful way to add emotion to a sustained note. Now I also want to demonstrate the broader with a solo violin because solo instruments have way more clear and focused forms off expression such as the draw, too. So if I move this fatal here that is controlling that, the broad amounts. If you listen to this now, as I move this up, you will hear more and more stronger withdraw to and my best guideline for how to use the broader except for actually riding it in movement curves like you do with dynamics is whenever you have those longer notes that are held out, that is when you can write really strong and then go back like this. Just think about when singers sing their notes on those long notes that sustained for a while they really most often bring in a little V broader to add emotion instead of having that static note without any expression. Mark Otto on accented note with a sharper attack than the surrounding notes. Excellent for powerful motifs and strong accents. Now, what's important to know about these accent articulations we are going to discuss here now is that ah, many times there are used in somewhat in between short articulations and long articulation . So often say me short or semi long notes. Ah, like this, for example, the full ensemble or mark Otto sample libraries. The Makoto articulation actually ends. If I hold down the note, the's particular one, it doesn't. I prefer that so you can actually play with that accented note. Sustain it like you should be able to do in the real orchestra. For Sato, this is a very strong accent. A variation of this articulation is for Sando, which is the loudest and strongest accent you can add both off these accent articulations can be great for powerful motifs or whenever you want a very strong accent. So here I have loaded up this for Sato. It doesn't have in this for Sandra, and in fact I don't have any library right now on strings that have this for some toe articulation. But basically think of sport Sando as even stronger. The strongest accent you can add on strings. Now. The 1st 4 Salter here on the highest dynamic sounds something like this. 40 piano starts the note on a loud, fortissimo dynamic and immediately dives down to piano dynamics. Good. When you want to emphasize, for example, a court change and then we have the 40 piano here which, if you listen carefully, starts very high, dynamic and then dives down immediately like this, then the roar. Of course, many Mawr types off long notes, which changes dynamics. But in most cases, I prefer to use them by riding the dynamics myself. So you have Christian does and diminuendo meaning, ah, ramping up the dynamics and going down in dynamics. You have Barry's Orcs, which is a wave basically swells, and so one. All right. Those are some of the most fundamental long note articulations on strings and some practical tips on using them. 17. Tension Articulations: let's explore some articulations that can add tension, intensity and energy just from their sound and playing style harmonics. Playing the harmonic overtone without the fundamental being present, which results in an airy and eerie tone. These articulation is also sometimes called flag bullets, excellent for long, sustained high notes that provides a shimmering and magical character So you can perform harmonics on any of the instruments in the string family from the basis all the way up to the violins. But in most cases, you will use the higher range instruments of Iowa's or violence because you can get up higher in range to get that high, shimmering magical tone like this free Melo plea in a rapid repetition style for a trembling effect like the note is vibrating, it is the classic soft tension effect without being as obvious as, for example, a trill. So here I have loaded a cello section where I have loaded that family. Oh, the downside with so for instruments is that the speed off the tremolo is most often burned in, as opposed to really orchestra, which can actually change the speed of these tremolo repetitions. But listen to this how it sounds and how it adds tension, especially if you increase the dynamics just there. Trills rapidly alternating between two notes. Amazing for adding scare retention with 1/2 tone Phil or uplifting excitement with a whole tone Trill. Or you can, of course, explore other intervals to do trills own as well. So I will show you this on these shallows here. And, as you can see here in the interface, this particular sample library has have trails have stepped, meaning minor second and holds trail, which is whole step meaning major second. So the half step trill has that, Ah, scare retention to it on the whole step. Drill has that uplifting vibe, with some suffer instruments that can actually perform other types of trails on the third, for example, or any other type of interval. But these or buy for the most common trills, Ben's. You can perform various types of false benz and glides to add tension with strings, and if you want to increase the tension even more, you can, for example, have the string section start out of tune with each other and then bend into unison. So the strongest type tension fool is of course, the classic half tone or minor second, which can sound like this. Ah ah, which starts on one note and then falls down 1/2 toe. So next I want to show with this what I call dissonant to tune, which is where the different chills in this section starts out of tune and then go to the true pitch, which can sound like this. Ah, Aziz In here it also goes down like a full there, out off tune. Having the strings be slightly out of tune and drift back and forth. In pitch is an incredible technique for adding tension, almost like they are dancing and teasing around the true pitch but never settling and resolving on it. So this is where the strings start out of tune with each other and keep out of tune, but dances around and move around the perfect pitch. Ah, which is really high tension clusters and effects. Finally, you have infinite ways to perform various types of special tension effects and dissonant cluster sounds, using a full string section or even the entire insomnia, all from short stabs to ornaments, stings and textures and clusters and textures in particular or amazing for tension type underscores. So here I have voted a library focusing on orchestral effects and loaded the strings patch ALS. These are strings special effects from this short two stingers textures. Raices falls on long on a lot of these ads a very high degree off tension, so sometimes you can use them as special dramatic instant effects with these shorts and stings. Sometimes you want to use longer textures for underscores sometimes to accent Abie to fall into it or rice into it. And if we get into the next category here, which I call clusters, it's a very, very effective technique to add dramatic underscore type tension like this, then increased intensity off. This so this particular one I like because you can actually control the timing off. Ah, the intensity off these clusters. All right, So now you have learned some of the most fundamental articulations and techniques to add tension with strings 18. Color Articulations: You can also play strings in various ways to shape the tone cooler. What I call Kohler articulations Here are some of the most common Consort Dino play with a mute on the strings. It is also sometimes shortened Onley, Sardine Oh, this creates a darker tone with reduced harmonics which is amazing for rich, warm string chords and harmonies. So here I have lorded unsolvable lush strings pries it And here we can see the Sardinha or Concertino switch without it in the normal articulation. This is how it can sound like way Concertino or Sardinha much warmer, smoother and in my opinion, very beautiful or backing strings like cores and harmonists suit esto play the strings off the fingerboard which created softer sound with less body and harmonics. The final sound is warmer and more intimate, which, like Concertino, can be great for backing courts and harmonists. So here I have loaded another string insolvable preset with the still tusk toe articulation for that soft color and you will also hear that it is very light in dynamics and levels. So here we take a listen to this. So my favorite way of using both so test Oh, and flout. Ondo, which we will get too soon, is actually playing Mawr in the high year range of harmonies. So, for example, accord or tuners Harmony Ah, somewhere around C five and higher like this because it has that magical, shimmery and every character flout Ondo Flower Town do means food like because of the soft and airy sound, This articulation creates a very feather like sound, which is also very low in dynamics and level. This is amazing for soft underscore strings, or whenever you want to add that ambient, airy and atmospheric type of strings sound. So so testa and flower towns or very similar to each other in that they have that light, airy, shimmery character eso. Here I have loaded a string ensemble flower town dough articulation and again, I will play it in the higher range on. I will use a bass note just to add some character shoot, but basically you get the same type of magic shimmering sound like this very feathery light character. As you can hear a swell soup, Monticello play the strings as close to the bridge as possible. As a result, higher harmonics or entries. Ingley excited and an overall short tone is produced. This is basically the opposite to the soft sound off the flower Tando or so test. Oh, soup. Monticello is perfect if you want a more piercing tone. So the soup Monticello articulation basically goes against all these other three I just showed you because these are making the strings softer and warmer while the soup Monticello adds a rough horseshoe overtone, and it can sound something like this. Of course, we're great if you want to add more tension in an underscore or any time you want to bring out that more piercing rough character in the strings. Congratulations. You have now learned the most fundamental ways to shape the sound cooler with articulations on your strings. 19. Master the Performances: strings can be used in so many ways in your music compositions. Basically, you can create performances that cover all the colors of music, from driving rhythms to beautiful harmonies to emotional melodies and in countless over aviation's Let's explore these coolers off performance styles with strings right now. 20. Rhythm: even though strings or most famous for their lush, lyrically goto melodies and sweet, smooth voice leading for harmonies. They actually have an excellent range of performance styles for rhythm and comping ports, and I'm not even talking about Austin orders now. The reason for their great Rid Me capabilities is that you can cover the full range of dynamics and note lengths for the short notes. Here are some of my top tips for recording great rhythmic ports on strings, So let's start by playing this example with four different tracks with different articulations and playing styles off rhythm on strings. And then we will dive into the tips. It sounds like this. So my first tip, when writing rhythms on strings is to use lots of dynamic variation. So I will demonstrate this by going into this particular track, which is basically the main rhythmic groove off this entire mix off string tracks here sounding like this right? Let's dive into the piano roll editor on If I assume out, you can see everything here now. Take a closer look at the variation in colder here on all these notes because in D A W's the velocity level meaning? The dynamics porter note is shown by the color going from the blue here. And if I move this up the maximum velocity you will see it goes to read and then yellow before that, various teams over green and so one, if I sue mean you will see it more clearly. So this is a higher velocity than this. And all these variations on a note for note basis create a much more organic live sound for these entire rhythm port on strings. Timing, variation. Now, this aspect is equally important for your rhythmic parcel strings as all other ports. And that is that not all loads should start at this exact grid line. So if you quote us everything to 100% like this, then it will sound robotic and our national because every note starts at the exact merely second. Think about it. Even really, orchestra plate is this note might start. This player might start five millisecond before the grade, this 17 milliseconds after and so on. So it's only natural to have that slight variation, and another aspect of this is it will actually sound bigger if you have some slide variation because the starting point of each notable slightly blurred together to create a bigger, fatter, overall sound. So if I assuming now when I have made this change, for example, let's say here you can see that these no start slightly early. These as well. Um, if we go up, let's say he after these notes, you have ah, slight variation here. If you see the grid here as well, let's see on this notes, um, this one is actually slightly after the great value and so one. So all in all, you want to have that timing variation. And this goes for all your parts. In fact, so never quote ties everything 100%. If you need to quote ties, do it with a percentage ah, strength for the entire parts of select everything. And then quantities for example, 50% perhaps 75%. I would say the more rhythmic your parts are the higher percent off Qantas ation. You can use eso for leading melodies, for example, you might not want to quotas. Adel's off 0% while for pro cast of ports and rhythmic parts, you might want to go up to 60 70% or something. Remember the accents. So not only do you want to have lots of dynamic variation, meaning variation in the velocity values. So this is 64 66 66 64 59 70 and so on. You also want to make sure that your main accents in your rhythmic groove have higher dynamics. So if you take a look at this note, it's 94 is 1 98 This one is 85 compared to the surrounding known accents 66 70. So if you want Teoh, have a very hard accent, just go in and increase these even further. Let's get up to night is that they are more yellow. Make this almost read like this on. Then you want to go in and adjust off the words. Of course, it's best if you get this as close as possible in the actual recording, making sure that you hit those keys holders. You get those accents when you record it, but you can always go in afterwards and increase the air accents here. And by the way, you can do it the opposite way. By actually reducing the velocity on the surrounding knows, meaning the known accents because you want to have that contrast. That is what an accent is. It is a higher dynamic compared to the surrounding notes. Now, while the main aspect off adding accents and boosting your accents east with the velocity or dynamic levels for your notes. Another, equally important one is with layering. So if you check for example, this track here Ah, if I opened them at the same time, in fact, and then I switched so we can see them by color off the region. You can see that the absolute Maine accents here or provided by these cords stabs here, you can see they are the same as these ones here. So while this was an accident in the first track, it is not part off the main accents here. So these are actually layering up. So if I play this without it, it will become a stronger accent. When I have layered those main accidents like this on, I have gone even further by providing low accents in the base, and here we can see them. Now, let's check all of those at the same time. Now you can see that those actually me make pretty much for the low parts did here in the first track. He could see those green notes. Hair were from this main rhythm track, but you have them layer in the low end here, and I think they pretty much follow along here. So now, with those added, you get even stronger accents compared to if I only play the 1st 1 here. So it's all about adding those accents, boosting them with dynamics and with layering, articulation, variation. So here we have two aspects of this tape as well, the 1st 1 being very hearing different main articulations stuck at its most a character. I think this is stuck out on the low and pizzicato. So, for example, this high end track just provides some shimmer and light, airy character from those pity cattles. Ah, while, for example, this track with slightly longer staccato no stare provides some boost in the low end and all of them layered with different main articulations create variation, however, was even more important is adding articulation variation on the individual tracks. Now, if we go in here, if you are to lace in, just use, let's say stuck a testimony or only speak Otto for an entire long sequence that becomes very static and boring, to be honest. So what you can do is switch articulations. What I have done here is since in this particular library you switch from stuck. It is motew staccato with the mod will. Sometimes you program keys, which is here. Um, as you can see, stuck out to two more Cotto I have, actually, if I open up the automation here, program in the mode will to make this accent a staccato, which is slightly longer, this one as well, this one as well, and then in the end, here actually shows to make it more culture with a key switch. So all in all, I now have more variation. Really. Listen carefully. As I played his back and bought a list of what happens when you get to this stuck out to articulation instead of the main statistical one, it really has that long little blur Your sound of the staccato right here on those they become exit by no length, basically Ah, then I think I did for this track. If you check here, I also adduced keys, which is so this is staccato. Then it's a spitzer cattle. This is a spelling errors is speak cattle or pizzicato. So the main articulation is Speak out a, which is a very short ah, articulation. And then it goes to stuck out of here and Marco to at the end. And you can hear these as well. If I played back, you hear a bit longer there, and then it gets the very short playing this back in entire form. Now I have a special bonus deported here to make it easier to see what kind of articulations you have added with key switches since speak, Qatar is the shortest one here. I will let those notes remain. But if you choose to, let's say you recorded it like this now. Ah, and let's say you recorded everything at, um speak Otto. If you wanted to add these as a more kowtow or staccato, well, it can change the key switch, um, articulation and then extend it so that it really shows that that note is longer and that the market er note is, of course, the longest here. That makes it more clear when you go into the piano roll. What type of articulation each. No tests pay attention to range, so by range I, of course, mean where in the note ranges off music. You write your rhythmic parts. So, for example, if you're right down here, that has a completely different sound than something up here. And another aspect of this, if you go back to the sequencer, is what are your other tracks playing? Of course, you want to cover the full range in most cases for your entire composition. But if we go into these parts here, let's say you're leading melody and theme is what you want your listeners to focus on. Let's say it is written around here in the C four range. Well, you might want to have your other tracks, rhythmic tracks here, play in other rangers or even remove these just so that they don't clash and cloud the main melody. So I say your ability is playing around here, then perhaps thes thes parts here. You might want to either remove them, voice them differently or move them up an octave down an octave just to give room to to that leading melody. Ah, and this could be the same if you want the attention to be on the baseline. He perhaps do not want to have a rhythmic power playing down here. So ah, let's say you play a composition that you want to focus all in on the rhythm parts. In that case, you can pretty much fill up the entire range here. Ah, like I have done here, I have pretty much fill it up from the lowest basis to almost the highest range here, which creates a full, complete sound. It doesn't leave that much room for leading melodies, quartz and harmonies and other sounds in your composition, so those are by practical tips and insights on writing rhythms on strings. 21. Harmony: strings or the most common and my personal favorite family off instruments in the orchestra to perform the courts and Horman ism. Important reason for this is the amazing dynamic range, how smooth they can do, the voice leading and the fact that they share the same tonal character but covered different ranges of notes. Let me share my top tips on writing courts and harmonic progressions on strings focus on voices. So by this I mean that whenever you write courts and harmony for your strings or any other instrument family in your compositions, you do not think about them as big block chords. But Michelle, with this on the piano keyboard do not play and record quartz and harmonies just thinking like changing in blocks. Think off each no tear. So let's say we play a triumph. Wait a doubles base here right now. You should think of each as its independent line, also called voice, which relates to voice leading meaning. So this highest voice, where will this go? Next thing where will this voice go? And so one and also about the distribution off the voices. I mean, this same court here can be an inversion or a the standard route position like this different inversions and also in a different range. I mean, I could play it up here. I could move it down, away, Let's say down here. So if we look here in the D. W again and I will select all these tracks which represent all the different voices in the harmonic progression or cold progression weighs up to you how you transpose, thes and arrange these in different rangers, the voice leading meaning going from each note to the next note per voice. How you voice the actual court. So you might want to have, let's say this line here, this order on octave above it becomes, ah, in between this purple and yellow voice here and ah, of course, what instruments play which voice. In most cases, you want to have the basis playing the lowest voice and then the shallows, and so on. Dynamic movement is essential. So let's go in and shake first, these food strings ensemble, where I actually played the chord progression of the harmonic progression. First on, then open up the automation. Here you can see that I have dynamic movement on the modulation wheel was in most cases, controls the dynamic Veh vil on the string instrument. So if we compare these two this entire section with all the separated tracks and voices now I could go track by track year. Open up. And you see, I have the dynamic movement here. If I get to the next track, I also have it. But you really want to make sure that you have it differently for all the individual voices , because that creates an even more complex perspective and dimension and makes your entire arrangement come of. I've sound designed for the background. So by this I mean that when you're writing parts that are supposed to be harmonies and chords for your music compositions on strings, well, in most cases you want to push them back into the background because they are there to support with their harmonies. What else is going on in the music composition so that your themes melodies, motifs, riffs and sometimes in your baseline will have the main focus. Now we can accomplish these in several ways, the first being dynamic levels so you do not increased them too high but actually make them much lower in dynamic you can, of course, using it. You're dw your mixer to reduce the level on these tracks or even automate it. Ah, and also on the individual instruments here, you can use articulations that are softer on their own, so they have a softer sound or even used, for example, a connoisseur D no salt faster off any soft articulation playing style. I can show this again with these in some blistering patch. It sounds like this, however, with Sardinha or Concertino, it is much softer and warmer, which pushes it into the background. And you can also add more reverb or used mawr off the whole microphones and less off the close microphones. In this case, I have actually even removed the clothes microphone to push it further in the background. So as you can see, you have several ways of doing this. But your end result. You want to push it back like this in here. When you have this soft, more atmospheric background type of core progression and harmonic progression, you give more room and focus to a leading melody and theme, and it doesn't matter if he used a ah in samba will patch or if you actually compose with separated instrument tracks, which I always recommend. So I have used all these techniques lower dynamics, softer articulations to make it very soft and in the background like this. Now, if I add something like a motif or theme to that, you will be able to really hear it. So let's move this aside and I will just play something on top. Live without the concertino and with the close mikes. Let's see something like this, and so on and so forth. You could really hear this leading melody be in focus because of all these techniques are used to sound a sign and push the harmonic voices into the background. Expressive variation per voice. So not only do you need to go in and have variation in the dynamic movement, which is the main form of expression, you can also use variations in, for example, the God transitions and the articulation that controls the sound. So I have softly goto soft regularly brought on this one. The next voice I have soulful, got accountability lightly. Bracho. The viola I have on soft Godel can't appeal a strong librato as you can see all this variation creates a more unique performance off rule and really takes your string arrangements to a higher level of more authentic and mawr. Ah, interesting full arrangement with all this expressive variation per voice, and you can also go in and use even key switches to change the expressive variation as the track goes along for each off, these attracts also. Finally, you don't have to use long notes for all the voices in this entire harmonic progression on your strings like this, you could do some rhythmic variation by, let's say, making these violas some type off short note articulation and then programa reading patterns so that this voice in the entire court progression or harmonic progression here is provides some kind of rhythmic character that will also leave Mawr all of a room all of a sudden in this range for this particular voice where you can, for example, have more focused on your leading melody, motifs, riffs and themes. So you have now learned some of my best practical tips on writing harmonies and harmonic progressions on strings 22. Melody: strings are also amazing for leading melodies and main themes. Since you can add so much emotion and expression to them, you can also design the tone and character a vote with section sizes and layering and with melodies. Motives are themes The incredible range off articulations drinks can perform comes to its full potential. Here are some of my top tips for writing various types of melodies and themes on strings. Now let's start by listening to these complete example I have composed to demonstrate writing melodies. Four strings playing in a 3 to 1. - So my first tip is top voice for clarity, meaning If we go in and take a look here, what our ears will pick up the most is always the higher ranges especial that took voice. So you want to make sure that you're leading. Milady is written in this top voice range off music, so in most cases you're leading melody for your string. Arrangement will be on the violins, the first and or a laid with the second violin. So let's take a listen. Teoh Ah, the first violin here, look how it is written from sea for almost all the way to see six in range. Now that is quite a soft sound. So usually he also layer it with second violins, an octave above on. That is, in fact my next tip, which is octave laboring for focus. This is not only related to the leading melody, in fact, but also for the base. But let's listen to both of these together now to hear how much more clear the melody becomes. Now. This octave layering for focus technique is not only used for the leading melody, but very often for the low end to add more power and focus in the low end. So the basis and the chill owes if we take a look here are written in perfect octaves, and that is the most common way to right for the low end of strings. So both of those together can sound something like this if I remove the channels only the basis that will lose its clarity in the mix. So as a guideline, I would say, doubling in octaves in the low end, the base port and the leading milady add articulation variations, so this is important for rhythms, harmonies and melodies, especially for melodies. I would say on strings eso not only ah by the layering off the articulation. So here we have a scene The A move early goto the second violence here or softly goto with regular v. Bracho. First volumes have variety brought Teoh here in Cantarella. Let's set the second violence to, for example, lyrical the broader. And of course, what you want to do is use key switching or some type of modulation to change these articulations over time in ah, your string arrangement. But ah, you can start off by just setting various types of articulation to change the sound of the hostile difference kinds of the broader, for example on the leading melodies. Because it does make a huge difference. And you can also see that I have layered not only the violence first and second, but actually an extra patch here because I wanted the stronger be broader than they could get from these Ah, and thus chosen to layer it with a violence. Ah, this particular leg Ulta Passion, which has a very strongly librato. So all of those together now creates a very expressive, emotional but more importantly, focused leading melody that takes us to the next tip, which is to focus on great expression not only dynamic variation like this with dynamic curves, which should be different for all the parts, but also very ah, styles off the brought to expression and the broader curves. And sometimes the broader is in fact, indeed in the actual patch. They can use a stronger librato string precept just to get that great expression and find all kinds of ways dynamics. And we brought all the most important forms of expression. But for your leaning melodies, change out to different forms off the go to transitions, as you can see here, soft accountability, fast slurs. There's lots of the garter variations you can do on strings to take advantage of the full spectrum to create him or expressive performance on your leading melters, because those are what you want your listeners to focus on and feel and remember the most. Now, my bonus tip, when writing leading melodies and themes on the strings, is to not only rely on the strings themselves, but also other instruments, because what instruments you've layer with what they're dynamic curve is an articulations will have a huge effect on the overall total character and expression for the entire performance. I have chosen the got Ahold solo oboe and solo flute, but not only have I layer them as the leading melody in unison or octaves, the reason I have them colored in a different way here is because they play in harmony. So these three yellow tracks here, this is the leading melody on first dalliance, an octave above and ah, this is Ah in unison with the second violins, as you can see here but these three tracks, or playing many of the nose notes in harmony, not unison or octaves, but I an actual harmony, which you can see right here. They are not always overlapping on when they are not overlapping. They are actually playing in harmony. So basically your first violins and second violins in most cases will provide the leading melody. I personally like to layer it with another lush string, patched just to get a boost on those string melodies and then layer with other instruments in either unison octaves or, in this case, in harmony. Let's take a listen to the huge difference between having none of these extra layers and harmonies. Only the leaning melody in unison and octaves with the backing bass, cello and violin providing the harmony which can sound like this. In fact, let's remove the viola and Onley have the bass cello in octaves and the leading melody because listen to this. Ah, let's stop there. And let's remember this guideline. Those two aspects the base in octaves or unison were simply the baseline and the leading milady, all the two most important parts for your entire string section and in my opinion, your music composition. So get those down first, get them to sound as he won't and then fill it up with harmonies. So this is the core progression, um, harmony with Viola it as the next dimension. But of course, adding your hormone ealy lying to the Milady, we gives a huge impact on the final sound. I will start with these often, then a new times. You can really hear them how they affect the overall character. Ah, that is how you can fill up mawr off the emotional and ah octave ranges of music by actually providing hormone IQ context to the baseline and leading Milady. So now you have learned some practical tips, insights and live examples on writing melodies for strings 23. Ostinatos: strings can play very fast, rapid, rhythmic, both strokes and continue those phrases for a long time without the players needing a break to breathe, as with breast or woodwinds. And since they can control the note length and dynamic variation, so much to create a groove. They or a fundamental part of writing driving rhythms in your music and one of the essential rhythmic styles on strings is called Austin Autos, which basically is the equivalent off shagging rhythms on electric guitars. That housing groove that provides more rhythm than harmony and is excellent for adding energy on intensity to your music composition. Now here are my top tips for writing Austin Autos form strings. So let's start by listening to this complete example. I've composed with four different tracks off Austin autos, a main ostinato line that I used a full string in sambal patch on violence to take care of the high range and more add more energy Chel owes for the lower range ostinato and bases, basically for the main accents of playing in 321 focus on rhythm versus pitch. By this, I mean that with string Austin autos or any Austin autos, he should focus way more on the Rid Me group and the accent. So the beat basically off the ostinato compared to the harmonic progression and interval changes. Of course, you need to follow the core progression so that your harmonies and intervals makes sense. But it's more important together. Main groove, the main accents and the main drive down first. So if I show you this on the piano keyboard, want tip I have for you East to use your left hand, provide the main accents and your right hand for the main groove. So let's say you write something starting in C minor so you can play something like this, or, if you want to keep it even simpler. If you lack the keyboard skills, just use the root note and focused on Lee on the rhythm. So something like this on. Then you can transpose some of those notes to become Angels and harmony notes to follow the chord progression treat dynamic variation. So the best way to get this East actually record the Austin Auto with your media keyboard like I just showed you, because then you will get variation on all the notes in velocity levels And if you're good with being a keyboard, you can even get those main accidents down. Hoarder, meaning higher dynamics on those. So if we go in here and take a look, you can actually see how much variation we have in dynamics here on the basis based knows to get 85 here, 90 here. So higher dynamics 43 43 45 48. So that is the importance of dynamic variation. And he should have these on all rhythmic parts that consists ah, off the full ostinato at accents plus layering. So again, the main way to add accents in music iss with dynamic so higher dynamics here on these important knows, you can even go in and increase the velocity levels if you want to really bring those acting's higher. But also except for that, they're layer those Maine accents. So we check these chills here, for example, and then we check the main Austin Alter at the same time and then assume out so you can see it. You see, those may May nations are layer here. So you have made way more layering on these and most importantly, the vole rain should provide those Maine accents. And as you can see, the bill also to levels, you can go in and increase. If you see your main accent, you really, really want to dry up. Just increased velocity levels. Use fills to spice up the groove. So I will show with this on this main ostinato line right here, because I actually didn't right in the feels when I recorded it. Because it's harder to play those fast notes, which means that this note was as much actually, no there and not this either. No decider know thay cider. These ones are actually providing fills justice. Eight. No pattern. Then I simply went in, duplicated one of the notes, like so to create that extra feels. So let's get these guys back here, and you can listen to it again on I have chosen to have the all those fields on the one so in the beginning of each bar, but you can have a feel, for example, in the end as well, like having this there. Instead, you can hear how much extra interest and spies it adds to the overall groove. Of course, you can use this technique on any party right. I have chosen to layer those really have them mawr audible in the mix. And, um, let's see if I have them shells this well, I do not. But I mean, any time you want to have a feel like that, you just add an extra note. It doesn't even have to be the same. You can have these as a like a run down here. Like so on. It creates a lot more interest on the well, dynamics to the groove create variation with articulations. So you have already learned this tape in earlier videos. But it's so important that I need to emphasize it not only here, by actually changing articulations with key switches but also having different articulations between different powers. So status Imo compared to speak up to here, chills here or staccato, and these or mainly speak cata, I believe, or or they in fact, let's put this on more cotton and see how it sounds see, so they are slightly longer. I think that will work even better. I like that better. So you get that variation between the different ports. He right as layers like so and of course, go in. Uschi switches to go from, for example, stuck a testament to staccato. If you want to extent the note, longer notes compared to shorter notes, naturally become almost like accents, even with the same dynamics which you can hear more clearly if I go into this cello ostinato here and all these notes or staccato or even stuck a t smoke. But I switch these two more cultures because this one, this one, this one and this one compared to this short staccato knows on Listen to it and he will see these longer articulations. We're long short note articulations mark outta here well become acting on their own. All right, you have now learned some practical tips and go live examples on writing Austin autos with strings. 24. Arpeggios: or pidio is basically a mix off Austin autos with harmonic comping rhythms. Their character is more focused on flow, since they run up and down on the harmonies. But they can also add an energetic pals vibe, especially with a Faster or Paju. Now let me share my top tips on writing or pay videos on strings. Straight rhythm is more safe now. By this, I don't mean that you necessarily have to choose only straight beats like quarter notes and eighth notes. In fact, here I have an eight note triplet Ah, or paid you. What I'm talking about is mawr that you generally have a straight note patterns of these are away. Eight No triplets and there are no gaps. If I started, remove notes on push them around like this. Um, it generally doesn't sound as good. So this safe way is to if he used for example, eight note triplets do it all throughout the arpeggio pattern. If you use quarter notes, generally have that as a guideline for the complete pattern and so one. Then the next tape is note length based on speed. So as you heard from this, for example, this is the fastest. This is eight no triplets. Which means that you have 12 notes in Ah, a bar per measure like this compared to this one which is also quite fast. Eighth notes straight eight notes right. But this one is only quarter notes. So what I have chosen to do here is these are left at speak upto, which is a very short articulation. Staccato is of course, much longer. So I it changed the articulation, the node length by the speed since this is ah slower. So if we go in here and have a listen now if I compare that with if I go in here and change it to stock autism, which is shorter, it could work. But since this is slower, I think personally it sounds better. Slightly longer short, not articulations like staccato. Next tip is follow the chord progression. So this is of course, super important for all parts of right. So in most cases your arpeggios will simply be the cord notes. In this case, you have G b flat. And so that is G minor. Now you can also go outside of the cords as long as you still respect the overall chord progression, of course, by including minority off the scale nodes outside of the court, which I have done here. So it's actually an e flat here. So I get this mysterious field, and you can also add feel notes for spies, even though you have just learned that keeping a straight pattern, meaning the same note values in the grid is the safest form of four or videos. If you check this example here, I have actually started like this. Something like this. I have straight eight notes here. 12345678 Before the next four, which sounds like this Theun. I added some feeling notes here, here and here, which are also scale notes. You can use the same most as in the cord use for each bar. I just added some extra scale owes to get more more variation and energy into the and make the or pay. Do you feel more dynamic? In fact, right, So those are some practical tips and examples of writing or pay Geos on strings 25. Runs: string runs are incredibly efficient in adding a boost off energy, most often as fills and spices throughout your composition, sometimes veering with woodwinds. Since they are also agile enough to perform fast runs, um, they can go up, down or a pattern formed as an arc. Most often they go through the notes off a scale, which is why this technique is often called a scale run. But sometimes you can perform a short around, for example, ending on the perfect fifth. Instead. Here are my top tips for writing scale owns or runs on strings high range for simmer so you usually write your runs in the high range of music because you want to add that sense over high energy and intensity and shimmer as spies in your music so it can sound something like this. And as you can see here, it starts on D five and goes to D six or quite high, and ah, you choose direction if you want to go up. In most cases, you go up or you go first up and then down. So up, down or up, down. But you can, of course, start and go down, and then up a swell and regarding the articulation you use. Of course, you need to be able to play fast like this. So in if your instrument has some kind off slur, fastly go to blur the drums. Because when you play fast sequences like this, notes should become blurred into each other. So in this particular instrument, I have something called run mode. There's also this feature called Live Mode. If you have anything that can add that sense of blur in between the notes, of course, I also recommend that you actually have these. So they overlap slightly with each other. But in that if it's on Lee like the goal to articulation, it will probably sound very bad. So you bought. If you don't have the run mode, um, I would say go with a short stack of system off or something like that. So the next step is end on a downbeat, as can see here. It starts also on a beat and then ends on a downbeat 12346 And on the on the to you. Here, it's a fast run, and these as well. This is actually doesn't end on the downbeat but on a up it but still only beat. I would say that is the main guideline here to end on a beat. In most cases, you want to end on end on a downbeat. So you might want to have this That's a here and end on the first beat off the next measure on In this case, I'm actually ending on the 31 23 So that goes up and then down. And then we get in the next tip, which is add variation for human feel. So this is very hard to record, of course, but you need to get variation in the dynamic levels, the velocity levels, but also even more important than in the timing. So if you ride this manually ah, with your mouse to get it to the exact great value, make sure to use some kind of humanized feature to adjust the timing or even just use some small values and drag them around like this, you know, to to create that variation Vaux meet dynamics. Now let's go in and check that I'm dynamics. Let's check this one. You see, it's not too low because they have to dig in somewhere to created, but they cannot go to Super High Dynamics two because they need to be able to play lots of notes like this. So I would say somewhere in the vote to need dynamics or me, dynamics don't go too high. It sounds super strange. And don't go too low either. What role There somewhere in the low to me, Dario. So next thing is add natural accents. So of course, there's no real accents. What I mean by accents in this case is Ah, I would say it's national. When you start around to have slightly higher velocity and then it starts to go down on, then whoops. You probably hit the final load of bit higher. So something like this compared to having it e to equal like this in no accents. Go back again like this, does he? Here it's a a slight difference, but it's definitely making it more authentic and live. Finally, I want to show perhaps the most important difference between all these examples, which is Are you going to do a scale on a harmony run or or paid your um so the difference is a classic scare run. Of course, go through each note off the scale like this here while the next one I call it a hormone Iran because it doesn't end on the ah octave, it actually ends on the perfect fifth. In this case, write something like that, Um, and in the final, So for the perfect fifties, of course, the most common and note for a harmony type run the final. I call on our brown because it doesn't go through the scales but rather go through the cord notes on. And to make it faster, you need to go through the oak tables here, so starts on the F that goes up my case. So this is the first F court. This is the next F court and then chills down again like this. So those go through a with the notes of F f A C F A C C A f C A F. All right, so those are some practical tips and examples on writing various types off runs on strings 26. Accents: adding strong accents on various beads in your music. Compositions can be a very powerful technique, especially when you do it with more than one instrument. Sometimes the entire orchestra joins in decreed and mega powerful accent and strings can perform a variety off X and articulations. So let's explore some of my best tips to create those accents. Let's start by listening to these complete example I have composed to demonstrate accents on strings. The first track here is a cords or harmonic progression track with full strings than I have some dramas here below, and this is actually string stabs laid with breast. But all other tracks, including this port or actually strings, providing the drive, energy and accents. You can even see where those accents land here if you check this media regions here. So playing in 321 choose your accent, Vice Lee. So of course, I am talking about where you actually place your accents. If I check this main ostinato track on with so it you can actually hear it and see it here in piano roll, where in the greed I have placed the accents, it's clearly visible here because I have layered in the basin octaves here because those accents are actually actually providing the main beat. That is what the listener will pick up the most. Everything else is just added energy, intensity and variation and complexity in the groove. But what you get is there the the, uh then, uh, that is what will provide the main groove, those accents. And you will have to respect those accents for all other tracks you add, um, in your overall rhythmic groove, Which takes us to the next tape, which is, if I go in here again, um, use 40 similar dynamics. So you've onto for the absolute Maine accent. Most important accents. You want to really get high on the velocity dynamics here on in all other cases, you want to have those Maine accents um ato least higher in dynamics than the surrounding notes. You don't have to use the absolute highest ah, velocity levels. As long as they are higher than the surrounding notes, those will be picked up as accents like So now the next one is to use bold accent articulations. So there are, of course, many types over accent regulations. In this case, we just check this track here. Everything is stuck. Artistic most A very short. Except here I have actually automated the modulation wheel. Sometimes they used keys, which just to make sure that some of these which I want to have a stay, most strong accents because accents can have different degrees of strength. So this should be a even higher accent than this one. I wanted this one to be as well and also the final cadence here, right, the velocity level up. And then I have shows into add those as another articulation in this case from stock, a testament to stuck after which you can actually hear. It's slightly longer, right. And if you check the other tracks here. So, for example, these are bold, low Mark Otto's because Mercado is a very strong X and articulation on. If you check here, they are not layering exactly the same. So they are this accent, the main accent, but not on these notes. They are here and here and then on this so you don't have to layer on Ah, the exact same way on every rhythmic track on your strings. The next one here is shallow for Sato, which is also a strong accent. Articulation? Yes, in oak tapes. Ah, have some stabs here. Speak out. Just like a testable just playing. And then we have some lows. Be cut to accents here. So, as you can see and especially this one is actually precast of accent Colin E o So various types or what I call X and articulations Ah, and those all go together, which takes us into the final tip, which is layering form or power. So if I assume out again here and see everything on if you go into the piano roll editor, I will not use these full insolvent strings because those are just the core progression here. Now you can't, of course, clearly see where the main accents are, layering like you maniac care So super heavy layering. There, there, there, there, there. And what? We can see the rest and you can see the ah se me may next release all the most powerful accents and the next most powerful actions over here. Here, perhaps this one a bit on this one. So labouring also provides a lot off the strength for the for your accents. So I will actually reduce or remove the full strings. You can over Onley hear the rhythmic parts, including the drums. So the dramas, of course, are very important to accent. Ah, the rest of the rhythmic reports like these strings. So as you can see, strings have an amazing variation over rhythmic articulations and performance styles that you can use to provide accents to your rhythmic grooves and drives as well. And when you start to layer them with, for example, percussion, brass, woodwinds or any other type off short rhythmic sound or articulation, you can get even more powerful accents in your music compositions. All right, so now you have got some practical tips and live demonstrations off, using strings for accents in your rhythms and grooves for your music compositions. 27. Congratulations: Congratulations, my friend. You have now learned the foundation, the guidelines, the sounds, coolers, playing styles, articulations and creative ways to shape the expression, emotion and performances on orchestral strings in your music. Your final assignment is to create your own music composition, focusing mainly on a complete string arrangement. You can, of course, include other instruments if you wish. As long as the main focus is still on the strings stored composing with strings. Right now my name is Mike and I wish you great success on your journey in music.