Writing For The Real Orchestra, should I study Logic SCORE or books..... Options

[tokyoroland]

In the not-to-distant future, I may have the opportunity to score a film using a real orchestra. Now, I took a theory class at my junior college last semester, and I know the basics, but when it comes to writiing for the real thing, I am completely new.

My question is, should I rely on the comprehensive SCORE section of Logic platinum to automatically write it FOR me, just paying attention to recording... provided that I learn the whole SCORE section first, so I can detect errors...

Or should I go the traditional way, and read books on HOW to write for the orchestra, all of the different instruments.. because I dont know...if I give a printed score from Logic, will the orchestra play it different than I envisioned? Will I sound completely different, even if, in the future, I am using superb software instruments like Vienna and Spectrasonics?

All advice is welcome!



- jeffro

[jesshmusic]

Orchestration is an art fine-tuned over many years. There is no right and no wrong, but one definately needs to know all of the instruments different capabilities as well as ranges. For instance a violin or flute can play a higher note in its range pianissimo, but a trumpet will be at least mezzoforte in its upper range. Strings alone have so many different sounds and characteristics, it can get very complex very quickly. One should be very careful about accepting a job and getting in way over your head. Some of these people can be very rude and really dog you if you give them a poor product. I am sure you are a wonderful composer, but my own music composition professor started me off with music for individual instruments, string quartets, and small ensemble music before I even thought about orchestra. I also took orchestration in college. There are just so many things that one needs to know at the drop of a hat to do it well. The books suggested in an earlier post are very good. That is a good way to go. I would also suggest books by the masters: i.e. Rimsky-Korsakov and Henry Mancini have excellent books.
See if you can take individual composition lessons from a good composer. They will help you a lot.

BTW All major music publishing companies use Finale. I don't know where the whole 'Sibelius' thing came on, but to me the two don't even compare. That is an unsolicited opinion.

I don't want to discourage you. You can do anything you set your mind to. I just recommend highly studying long and hard before attempting to do it for money. Compositionally the best method is to write the music into the scoring software(Finale or Sibelius), then export to MIDI. YOu will get a better composition by this method becuase you can see the counterpoint you are working on.

Jess Hendricks
Composer & Arranger ASCAP