Essential instruments for composing?

M

Michael Bay

Member
This is mainly for composing TV music which, to me, has a big difference in it from Film music but still. I have a lot of orchestral instruments both solo and ensembles. What are the essentials. I know some may argue that there are no essentials and that you should use whatever you think sounds right but still, I wanna know what others like to use.
 
For composing (which means "writing")? A piano. Or, much less often, maybe a guitar.

But perhaps you mean 'scoring'...then it's an almost unanswerable question, due to to almost unlimited possibilities. Which shouldn't be bad news...
 
Given your name? A Linkin Park CD.

As a serious answer? Your ear if you mean composing. A keyboard and a computer can get you a lot further than anything else, despite my not being a big fan of them.
 
I'm guessing you're not Michael Bay, the director/producer ... ;)

Anyway, like Ted said, if you mean "scoring," then there are, pretty much, unlimited possibilities. It depends on what types of films you want to score, what kind of "sound" you want to achieve, any composers' specific styles/sounds you'd like to use as a starting point, and numerous other things (not the least of which is budget).

A good collection of orchestral sounds like you mentioned is often a good starting point. However, I find myself often mixing up stuff, swapping out some instruments for others, and doing all kinds of things to help my music sound fresh, original, and unique.

That might mean adding a duduk to an otherwise strictly traditional orchestra, or adding some Beatles' sounds (like in EWQL Fab Four) to enhance an old-school comedy score. It might mean adding lots of non-orchestral and/or "ethnic" percussion to a battle, or swapping out a woodwind section for a hardcore electric guitar. I don't know. Just whatever the film needs, or at least the most creative, out-of-the-box thing I can write that's still appropriate for the scene(s) and film.
 
Sorry I really meant scoring. Some of my favorites are Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky, John Williams, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Brian Tyler, and John Ehrlich & Jason Derlatka. I have plenty more but those are my main favorites.

I'd like to score action or drama films. When I try to score dramatic scenes it seems that I don't have the right strings for it to sound okay.
 
Look up orchestra compositions. It's pretty rigid for classical arrangements. Use that as your base, modify as needed. Hans Zimmer especially goes in a totally different direction pretty often. There really isn't an easy answer, but I suspect your problem is less with what instruments as it is how to use those instruments. Pay a lot of attention the levels of different elements in a sound, how they remain separated to keep a distinct voice (or not), things like that. Sometimes a single chord from three violin tracks can be all the emotional impact a scene needs. Experiment to find what works best for you and your project.
 
If you want to produce music for other people to read, then there's only one option. Sibelius. It's the standard composing tool. Practically every composer who has a need for sheet music uses it. Individuals, ensembles and orchestras use it. The people good at it are amazingly quick. If it's for your own use, or just occasional pads for other musicians, then whatever sequencing/recording package you use has some kind of score facility. I use Steinberg Cubase, which has reasonable scoring to go with the sophisticated recording and sequencing facilities. The scoring can look ok, but never as good as Sibelius. On the other hand, Sibelius is pretty rubbish at sequencing, being very basic on this side.

Much depends on how you work. I record with Cubase running a video window, using both midi and real instruments. I tend to use a midi controller keyboard to get the basic tracks in, then I can set key sigs, and transpositions and then use Cubase to show me the dots on the screen, while I play in the real instruments. I'm quite used to reading cubase scores, but occasionally I get other musicians in to play things I can't - like trumpet/trombone. The way Cubase displays some articulation and phrasing takes a bit of work to put right. It insists on tieing notes in arather weird way. If you export the file into Sibelius it looks better - but even though I've had Sibelius from version 3, it just doesn't work for me. Cubase (and the others) treat the data the same and just let you manipulate it, display wise, in many ways. Sibelius works from the printed score as it's workflow, with few options.
 
Just my 2 ducats...

You have indicated that you already have start on the orchestral side - keep building your library there.

A KILLER piano sound is very important. So unless you have a nice grand piano sitting in your studio don't skimp when you get you piano software. Nothing kills a nice score like a clunky piano sound.

A good, rounded percussion set is also needed, especially if you are going to be composing action scores.

A versatile synth will complete the basics; lean it a little more in the direction of pads/atmospheres.

A buddy of mine is also partial to collecting old synths and modules - he's got two racks full of them plus a bunch of old keyboards including Casios and other "cheapies". A little programming effort and you can come up with something suitably "quirky" to give each score its own unique flavor. There are also lots of one-trick-pony softsynths that can be very useful.
 
To my shame, the one composition that made me the most money was a really obscure preset I found by accident when auditioning sounds for a different project. One of those ambient growing evolving things that just fit to the tee what I was working on. I held down one key for 37 seconds - that was that! I did use my musical talent to decide exactly which key to push, and how hard, of course!

Seriously though, the type of material you work on sets your tools. A decent collection of sound sources is pretty vital. I echo the decent piano requirement.

Most composers work on a particular instrument. I have a big guitar collection, but never write on them as a matter of course. When you do compose on a different instrument, you have very different ideas. The one I've been working on today is built around a sax. With a live mic in the room and a huge reverb - the sound kind of builds up and swells. A melody appeared first, and then other sounds are flowing around. Never done it this way before. It could blow itself out - not sure yet.
 
paulears said:
If you want to produce music for other people to read, then there's only one option. Sibelius. It's the standard composing tool. Practically every composer who has a need for sheet music uses it. Individuals, ensembles and orchestras use it. The people good at it are amazingly quick. If it's for your own use, or just occasional pads for other musicians, then whatever sequencing/recording package you use has some kind of score facility.
Click to expand...

Finale is another option for sheet music. Although it's more difficult to use, I think the results are better. I still use 2007 because I've seen no compelling reason to upgrade. I upgraded to 2008 and hated it.

Anyway, for what you want to do, I recommend going with the EWQL symphony orchestra and EWQL Pianos. Other options are Komplete (which comes with NI Akoustik Pianos), Ivory Pianos, The Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and a handful of others.
 
Something you should also be doing is practicing with your gear. Try to recreate all types of traditional orchestral pieces, everything from Baroque trios to Classical symphonies, Romantic vignettes to Avante-Garde pieces. Then do the same with jazz and ethnic styles (Indian Raga, Japanese drumming, African tribal, anything you can think of). Do it with film scores. There are dozens of little nuances that will make your scores sound more "real", and that's what you will learning.

Back in my performing days (I toured with various bands for almost 20 years plus endless studio work) I became a great "keytar" player - playing guitar parts that even fooled guitarists - and was so adept at playing sax parts people were looking around for the sax player or wondering if it was a recording. I spent many, many hours programming my sounds, listening to and recreating parts and then re-tweaking my sounds. Even something as simple as Bb horns - solo and sections - benefitted from tuning all Bs and Es slightly flat and F# slightly sharp to match the intonation of real instruments. Did you know that the string section of an orchestra begins to play sharp during a long performance? The string players become slightly deafened by the horns behind them and play sharper to hear themselves better. Brass instruments become slightly flatter (just a couple of cents) in the same situation as the instruments heat and expand. Reed instruments become just a tiny bit "blattier" as the reeds get soaked with spit.

You should also think about a good mic and pre-amp to capture unique sounds. I once turned the top of a large pot into a weird Rhodes-like piano. Jerry Goldsmith used mixing bowls - from his own kitchen, no less - in the score for "Planet of the Apes." Loading "normal" sounds into a sampler and playing them much higher or lower than intended can produce some really cool sounds.

So practice, experiment and have some fun.
 
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