For me, I tend to do over instrumentation. The basis of the orchestra send to be the string section, and knowing how to score for that would be very helpful.

One of the biggest issue with strings in MIDI programmation is the "IN YOUR FACE" sound.

Most people tend to write whole chords to each section, as strings can barely play three note at once (and in some very specific conditions).

A solution to avoid a 20 violins section to sound like a 60 pieces section is to assign every note to a certain number of player. Should I have a 3 notes chord to play for the Violins I, I would have 8 of them playing the highest note of the chord, 6 playing the middle note, and six playing the lowest note.
It brings more air in the orchestration, and when you're back to a monodic melody, the volume and the mass of the orchestra stays the same ! :)

Several libraries includes divisi (the term for sections divided into sub-sections) sections. My pick would be either VSL Chamber Strings, or EW's Hollywood Strings Diamond (as the Gold version do not include divisi sections)

Generally, as a golden rule, try to avoid using chords if you don't have divisi, or stay with chords as long as the track goes.
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I'd also say that your chords, most of the case on the lower register (cellos+basses) should be as wide as possible. Preferencially as wide as the minor sixth or wider.
Chords in the lower register don't tends to be very effective, resulting in a more "muddy" sound. This can be great to achieve certain effects (tensions, dissonance, etc...) but is to avoid.
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Remember as well that the bow is not infinite, and bow changes are noticeable, even for pros. In ensembles, it's gonna be okay, as the number helps with desyncing the bow changes to hide them. In a string quartet, however, you cannot have long sustained notes. The rule to know approximatively : sing your part as loud as the instrument play. When you have to breathe, you have to get a bow change. This doesn't mean the bow change has to be at that moment (pick the better place in your phrasing)


I've made this a quick answer with the most common issues people have with MIDI strings, don't hesitate to ask if there's a topic I haven't covered. There's certainly a lot
~K.

I tend to experiment with the sounds every instrument has to offer, and if needed I'll do something called a 'mixed ensemble'. Most of the time its either a wind band, string orch or full orch when I write.

That is a very nice approach to have. It tends to lead to uncommon formations. Quintet and sextet with very differents instrument are the best imho, but very hard to write for :D

This is one of the big reasons why I refuse to get a Notator/Orchestrator up to this day. Every score I write in cubase, I transcribe into notes myself. This helps imensely to understand what an instrument is capeable of and what not.
It also is alot of fun experimenting, especially when it comes to translating some SFX sounds into real instruments (Putting cardboard under piano wires or rubbing a superball across a Gong can make up for pretty interesting results ;3)
That said it also depends alot on who you're working with. Some performers are not very keen on experimenting and certain practises (fff col legno or detuning the string to juuust be able to catch that lower D) are simply outright refused by some :P

Watch out, you can easily get fooled by the library. Just because your library can do a certain trill, doesn't mean the actual instrument can. Most of the times, those trills aren't performed and recorded as such, but pitched from the trill above or under. Even when some trills are performable (such as the low Bb/B trill on the oboe), it must be performed holding the instrument in a special way that makes it hard to play right away after it.

A notator/orchestrator saved some very mediatic project by editing the scores to have it performed on time and accurately. At least he/she could teach you what to avoid.



And YEAAAAAAAH. Notating for sfx is always tricky, but fun to do :D
How many times I asked  tonyasong for help when it came to special effects on instruments :D She has always been very patient and helpful, along being a great mentor. It brings me back to point #1 : when dealing with notation, don't snob orchestrators/notators. They know their shit.


Performers can refuse to experiment certain practice when they don't feel comfortable with them. Detuning the string (Scordatura is the term you are looking for ) can, on some fragile instrument, create unbalanced tensions that might resulting in a poor sounds, or micro-cracks, or a twisting bridge.
This is particulary the case with old instruments.
As for col legno, some of the bows used by the best performers are even more expensive as the violin itself. Striking metallic strings with bow aged of hundred years can be seen as some people as pure heresy
Not to mention col legno is a damaging technique for the bow stick, just as bartok pizz are damaging the finger board. While a fingerboard can be changed without lessering the value of an instrument (the nut, fingerboard and bridge are meant to be changed), the bow itself is considered a piece of art, hence the reason why some violin makers specialized in bow making and made only bow for a long period of their career.

~K.

Not if you actually know a thing or two about sound libraries - which I do - so I know how to translate things in most cases. And I am not found having that work taken away from me, learning by doing is still my moto. You may sometimes need some help, but in general I belive there is little you cannot figure out when working together with the musicians.

It is not so much the notation for the synth... I barely ever print it on the master sheet (I mostly just leave it in for reference, or have certain footnotes). The issue is rather, how do you RECREATE sfx with a real instrument. I try to always stick to wierd experiments rather then use libraries. Or at least mock up own samples. (Zebra 2 has been my tool of choice there for a while now <3)

I know, I know, I was more attempting to make a joke here, hence those extreme references (I know the technical terms, I just try to not stick on them in case OTHERS do not :P) - I know in fact not a single player that would play a col legno in fff. You are ASKING to break the bow with that X3
Generally, I see players even bringing a second bow to perform it, since the difference is basically 0 and if a cheaper bow should break it isn't as much of an issue.

This looks pretty good. I'll have to check out their other stuff, cause I do hope to perform/record with an orchestra one day :3

I'll upload them every now and then, as I think it's better to mature things before jumping to the other topic (in this case, instrument :p)
Thanks for your interest !

Honestly, I'd probably do better if I learned a lot of it at once. That's how I learn most things. It'll be a while before I'm in the position to actually hire an orchestra though, so I won't worry about it too much just yet xD

Thanks for making me aware of these guys c:

If you have extra cash to spare for christmas, consider getting their libraries. They might not be the most extensive libraries on the market -very few articulation to be honest), but the little they do, they do it.. Extremely right.

Also, a certain amount of the price on the libraries is directly given to the performers and they help composers having their first studio recording with orchestras. They are very very great.

I will consider them c: