Orchestral Kitchen

Cheesy strings ends here

Great orchestral libraries won’t save poor programming. The best sample libraries in the world sound terrible when played like a keyboard — because orchestral instruments don’t behave like keyboards. This course teaches you how the orchestra actually works, and how to translate that knowledge into realistic, expressive productions.

12 chapters of ground covered

• The orchestral template — setting up a session that mirrors how an orchestra is organized
• Reading the orchestra — understanding the score, the sections, and how they interact
• Writing for strings — voice leading, articulations, divisi, and the techniques that make string parts sound performed rather than programmed
• Programming strings — translating written parts into MIDI that sounds real. Velocity, expression, legato transitions
• Writing for woodwinds and brass — range, doubling, section writing, and the characteristics that define each instrument family
• Programming woodwinds and brass — articulation keyswitches, dynamics, and expression mapping. The MIDI side of making wind and brass patches respond like instruments
• Percussion and the full score — orchestral percussion writing, and assembling a full orchestral arrangement
• Orchestral mixing — reverb, spatial positioning, balancing sections, and making sample-based orchestral productions sound like they were recorded in a real space