I learned orchestration in 10 days! La Signora Boss Theme Phase II - Genshin Orchestral Cover
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I'm back from the grave, but this time with something completely different.
First, I'd like to give my thanks to @jamesliamfigueroa and @pharozen, online friends that I asked for beginner's tips from on the night of the 13th, when I began my journey. With their support, I was able to start out with a great foundation (Pharozen was even kind enough to send me his entire library of audio effects, which unfortunately I did not get to use this time around, pepehands). Also, special shoutout to @KiddKat, who procured me a new DAW for this occasion (Studio One).
However, I think the MVP and heroine of this anime arc would be @Heosmin, who literally sat through hours upon hours of frantically messaging back and forth when I struggled through tech issues. Whether it was asking noob questions about Studio One or the functions of different VSTs, she was always (and I mean ALWAYS) unbelievably patient and sweet to me (although if I was any slower on the uptake, who knows if I could have made her crack lmfao?). Without her, I would have never known wtf a mod wheel was, or purging Kontakt instruments to save RAM, or anything among the laundry list of skills I learned from her; everyone needs a Heosmin figure in their lives like I do. This little aside of mine would not have ended nearly as successfully or quickly without her help in the first week. I am forever grateful to you and send you love from America, but in a platonic af sorta way 💕
Additionally, thank you @AlexMoukalaMusic for your reaction to this theme; I looped that shit every day that I worked on this and it made me laugh and put me into a positive mindset. Watching your work also made me not give up within the first few days, because I know I can (almost) always do more to improve.
Now that I feel qualified to give advice to my piano kouhais who might look to start orchestration like me, here are my 3 best tips from me to you:
1) You can't write strings (and sometimes choir and woodwinds) like you do piano. Okay, that's very clickbait-y, but it's true: making a violin section play chords like how the right hand plays uber-thicc chords on piano sounds like it makes sense, but DON'T DO THIS in ensemble setting. It sounds so gross and clustered, especially when everyone else starts to come in. Spread everything out among the treble and bass: violins will (usually) play the melody, violas play under that in harmony (or double up), and cellos/double bass will do the same dance, but rarely getting the melody. These four groups will cover just about any chord you want, but w i d e n e d. I cannot tell you how much I struggled with this concept, writing every string part ultra thicc, and when playing it back it sounded like compressed garbage. The exception is brass: brass LOVE those powerful clusters that punch through the entire ensemble (you'll see in this vid what I mean).
2) You can never have enough soul-rattling BASS TROMBONE. Let them go brr. Set those birds free.
3) You should always try doubling, tripling, or quadrupling up on parts in moments where you wanna S L A P. It's what gives this thicc sausage feel to every line. Bass trombone section can only carry you so hard, so let the bros in the horn section get you the extra muscle. You can also hear this effect in those scale runs that populate the piece: first, I used strings (or electric guitar the second time around), then strings, piccolo and flute reinforce it by playing the same thing in different ranges.
I struggled with various things during my time recreating this. These include:
a) Drumset. Man, I have 0 experience with writing parts for drumset. I had to leave out some parts, like the buildup from 0:29 to 0:35 because I had no idea how to recreate that sound from the original (it also sounds like there are electronic samples in there as well, which is absolutely out of my depth.
b) Choir. So finnicky. I was playing with two different choir VSTs and they were both so hard to control and mix. Also, sometimes with different renders they were tossing out the strangest, most random syllables, making me rerender to get a new set kekw. 1:06 shouts were still too weak imo
c) 1:17 random cymbal roll to cover the disgusting transition in dynamics that I couldn't get right. That opera singer VST is lit af tho! The only gripe I had was that when singing D5 to E5, the E5 was stupidly flat...but not in any other circumstance (F5 to E5, or E5 by itself: totally fine). I had to do two different tracks, with one dedicated to rearticulating the E.
Anyways, that's it. Byeee
Louis
#lasignora
#battletheme
#genshinimpact
#phaseii
#crimsonwitchofflames
#orchestral
#cover