Diary of an Orchestrator: Creative Moves – Advice, Caveats, and Game Plans
Her back ached a little bit, and her bones were still chilled from sleeping in her car the night before. But she barely felt those mild discomforts as her car came through the tunnel, topped the ridge, and she saw the whole of the San Francisco Bay Area gleaming before her in the midmorning sun.…
Read more…
2014 August Orchestration Challenge
The Evaluations for the 2014 June Orchestration Challenge have been uploaded to the Orchestration Online Blog page. For a massive dose of orchestration training, insights, feedback, and score-reading, I invite you to check it out for yourself. Read over all the entries, develop your inner ear in the process, and examine my own orchestration along…
Read more…
2014 June Orchestration Challenge Evaluations and Archive
Our second Monthly Orchestration Challenge has stretched on more than twice its anticipated length, due to both my heavy schedule over the past two months, and the complexity of the challenge. Furthermore, since so many entrants had put so much energy and commitment into their entries, I felt obligated to comment on each and every…
Read more…
Diary of an Orchestrator: Five Decades in Music
Diary of an Orchestrator – Coming Back to Yourself
I’m starting the morning like I usually do: propped up against some pillows, typing away with my laptop rested on a carved chest from Singapore, my cat happily purring his fool head off on my lap. Through the lounge windows, the lights surrounding Wellington harbour gleam as they surround its inky darkness […]
2014 June Orchestration Challenge [Closed]
Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry to the 2014 May Orchestration Challenge! The Evaluations [link] have been posted in the Orchestration Online Blog. Please go have a look to see all the entries, including mine, along with some analysis and orchestration tips. 2014 June Orchestration Challenge This month’s challenge is the opening of “Reflet dans l’eau” from Book…
Read more…
2014 May Orchestration Challenge Evaluations and Archive
For my first Monthly Orchestration Challenge, the entries totaled 60 scores, including my own. Nearly all of these are included in the archive below. It was terrific receiving so many scores for the start of this challenge. The entrants represented a wide array of interests and experience, from near-beginners to professional orchestrators, but every entry…
Read more…
Horn Wars – Scoring 1/2, 3/4 vs. 1/3, 2/4
One of the most frequently asked questions in the Orchestration Online Facebook group is “How should I score horns – 1/2, 3/4; or 1/3, 2/4?” This refers to the placement on the standard two-staff layout of horns in pairs. In other words, should horns be scored like the left sample or right sample below? The…
Read more…
Forging my first macProVideo Orchestration Course: Overconfidence, Dissolution, and Redemption
I’m a confirmed optimist. It probably has something to do with my very early years. A true university brat, I actually lived out ages 0-4 on the UCLA campus. Back in the early 1960’s, there was a quiet enclave on the west side of campus called “Married Students Housing,” where my family lived while my father pursued his degree in Language Studies […]