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alainmayrand

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Posts posted by alainmayrand

    Informal Star Wars score study videos

    in JOHN WILLIAMS

    Posted

    Great to see these still coming!

    Thanks for the audio reference. I've been trying to listen out for Williams' woodwind writing. It is supposedly the most difficult section to write for. But when the full orchestra plays I can never hear the woodwind. I'm pleased to see the flute and clarinet parts for the passage within the Imperial March, but I still can't heard them - even knowing exactly what they're playing. Is this just me?

    In this case the woodwinds are really meant as decoration that will not be a foreground element. In this passage they are quite hard to hear for sure. It's not just you. :)

    As for hearing winds in a tutti, keep listening, you'll hear them.

    Alain

    Time and again: not items covered in my orchestration class. Bravo!

    And, I chuckled when you said, "The other H-guy."

    Thank you! I was aiming for exactly that. So thank you!

    -Alain

    Informal Star Wars score study videos

    in JOHN WILLIAMS

    Posted

    Hi,

    thanks for that.

    A few thoughts:

    In film scores the de facto is divisi. So if not written it could still be implied to be divisi. Doing a double stop louré would be tough as you state, and so is intonation on a double stopped 5th.

    The number of parts sold is not necessarily what would be used in concert, but we can generally assume a couple more players for violin 1 than violin 2. Still, the strings are organized in a way to create balance, but my experience with live orchestras (I was four years as composer-in-residence with an orchestra) is that violin 1 stands out more than violin 2.

    I don't think Williams was trying to be clever either. He is way beyond that stage. At some point, especially with string voicings with divisi, it could go a number of ways and you make a decision. This particular format is a good formula to go to.

    Thanks!

    Alain

    Informal Star Wars score study videos

    in JOHN WILLIAMS

    Posted

    Alain, un Québécois exilé à Vancouver, c'est pas banal ;-)

    Absolument! Je suis allé voir ton site FB sur John Williams.

    Love the videos Alain! Keep them coming!

    The "Score Club" program/blog you started also looks really great!

    Thanks KK. Will do!

    ScoreClub has taken off really well, so thanks for taking a look. Lots more to come!

    At the beginning of "Yoda's Theme," what's the reason for spacing the violin parts so they interlock, as opposed to just having Violin I play the higher pitches and Violin II playing the lower ones? Is it just because it's easier to read this way?

    Good questions! I think I'll address that and transposition in the next video!

    But I can say that interlocking is more important when writing for winds. Interlocking violin I and II has in theory no big effect on timbre since they are all the same instrument.

    However, having stood in front of an orchestra many times, I can tell you that violin II is softer than violin I. They have fewer players, yes, but usually by only 2, so that's not the reason. I think it could have something to do with the angle of the F holes, or even a matter of attitude. Take that for what it's worth, I certainly consider that reality when orchestrating for live vs. studio. Studio you have the tree angled differently than the conductor's ears, and you have spot mics.

    But the actual answer is: it doesn't matter. :)

    Alain

    Informal Star Wars score study videos

    in JOHN WILLIAMS

    Posted

    Oh I see, which makes me wonder why there are all those differently tuned varieties of trumpet. Do they have distinctly different ranges, and does Williams choose the tunings of the horns/trumpet for a particular reason?

    Thanks for the response!

    The reason for all those transpositions has to do with the history of the trumpet and French Horn. Before the inclusion of valves, natural horns could only play in one key and required to either have extra pieces of tubing added or complete other instruments in order to play in various keys.

    John Williams here is using the standard orchestral brass. Trumpet in C is more common than Bb however, but otherwise, it's not a specific choice for this music.

    Informal Star Wars score study videos

    in JOHN WILLIAMS

    Posted

    Perfect! I've been looking for something just like this for a while, very insightful and goes into the technical detail. Keep up the good work!

    Couple of questions:

    - Are the 'horns' french horns?

    - Why aren't these horns in f (or trumpets in b flat) taught to play the note c when a c is written on the page? It doesn't make sense to me that they play a different note to what is written.

    Yes, horns are French Horns. A valid question because, after all, you speak to a trombone player he calls his trombone a "horn" and a trumpet player does the same. :)

    The score is a transposed score, so the horn is in F and the trumpet in Bb.

    As for the reason why they do so, which I think is your question, it is because these instruments have various transpositions that they have to play.

    There are trumpets in C, Bb, Eb, F, A etc... so the performer always reads the same notation and "thinks" the same fingering, but will end up with different pitches. So one player can now play a variety of different trumpets without having to learn different fingerings and/or transpositions for each.

    -A

    Great bite-sized videos that explain things in an easy-to-follow way. :up:

    Interesting about the orchestration of the theme in your first video, which is of course of the end credits. As you say, it has some oomph with the trumpets (which are by no means in their highest register) and the mid-range horns. That's surely a big reason this sounds like a more fun version of the theme than the main title, where the trumpets are up nearly an octave higher and are allowed to blast out the theme by themselves up into the stratosphere, at the top of their range.

    The orchestration of Yoda's theme is particularly nicely spaced musically, the violins and violas staying clear of anything below middle C so the cello can enter with the melody unobstructed, a bit like the opening of Princess Leia's theme, with those wavering strings that stay clear of the horn's mid-range entrance with the tune.

    Nice videos. Keep 'em coming!

    Thank you!

    Informal Star Wars score study videos

    in JOHN WILLIAMS

    Posted

    Thanks guys!

    I won't put any audio in the actual video because it will likely get flagged for copyright and then the whole audio track will get silent, including the voice, but I can put a link to a video with timestamp in the description perhaps?

    Next one coming out tomorrow morning, just finished it.

    Thanks again!

    Alain

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    Informal Star Wars score study videos

    in JOHN WILLIAMS

    Posted

    Hi guys,

    I haven't been on this forum for a long time! Looks like it is a healthy and positive as ever.

    I am trying something out here and thought I would share. I'm getting pretty excited about the upcoming Star Wars score! So I though of doing a series of very short and very informal videos looking at different elements from everyone's favourite film score!

    They'll be about 2-3 minutes long (that's the plan), looking at one small usable element at a time. Will come out twice a week and, yeah, that's it. Here's the first one!

    Like I said, simple stuff but perhaps it will be useful, certainly will be fun and I hope to see you there!

    Alain

    The Composer's Thread

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Hi KK, yes I am Canadian. I have some projects coming up, one that is very promising, but nothing concrete yet. I've been busy with concerts though, so that's good, including an orchestral commission coming up for a concert in March.

    Thank you very much for listening to my music KK, and appreciating all the details I so carefully put in!

    Konstantinos, nice to see you here as well! I had to click on the YouTube video to find out who you were...!

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