It’s only a matter of time before you’re humbled by someone with far less resources than you creating at a very high level. Your ability to leverage all that boutique kit, it’s only as good as your understanding of how to use it. We see this come up over and over again with everything from mixing to composition and synthesis, but one place I see it clearly is with facsimiles of orchestral and ensemble arrangements.
Great sounds elevate your productions, but if you end up with orchestra in a can, your sample library is not necessarily where you should be directing your attention. Orchestral production treats the ensemble like one giant synthesizer. How and when sounds go together means understanding the articulations of those instruments and how they speak, being thoughtful about voice leading and mixing considerations that are particular to the idiom and to an epic sound stage.
Now, the second easiest way to start is by listening to music that inspires you and following along with a score. You don’t really need to be able to read music very well or even at all to count the measures and see who’s playing what. The first easiest way is to join Beat Kitchen’s upcoming orchestral kitchen, where we can work with you and hold your hand throughout the process.
Friends don’t let friends produce disappointing results from outrageously good sample libraries, and you might be surprised what you can accomplish with what you already have when you understand the assignment. As always, if someone who belongs in a Beat Kitchen class, I’d appreciate if you would share this post.
