Fantastic as always! As I get older, I find myself using smaller and smaller percussion sections. For example, Symphony 2 needs 9 players (timp+8), while Symphony 3, despite being a much larger work, only needs 5 (timp+4). The latest pieces I've done, I think, are timp+3.

@danthefugueguy

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Bret. I know what you mean with smaller sections. My Symphony 1 is timps+5 but a number of my works are timps+3 mainly because I was told that's what the limit was. Forces me to be more creative, plus fewer parts to extract!

Oh THANK YOU, I really needed something like this, percussion part writing has always been really confusing to me, this clears up a lot of questions lol

@danthefugueguy

11 ай бұрын

Glad it helped. Good luck with writing your piece!

Thank you!! I almost teared up at the suggested settings in Sibelius. Bookmarking this for [very near-]future reference.

@danthefugueguy

11 ай бұрын

Should've also added that I'm still rather old school and use v.6.2! Never needed to upgrade beyond that.

Very interesting, and excellent use of Ross Gellar

@danthefugueguy

11 ай бұрын

Hoping this video doesn't taste like feet.

Hey mate, I was wondering when you would give us a new orchestration video, and you delivered. Never disappoints. It was genuinely helpful all the tips you has given, I particularly agree with tip 10, modern compositions feature excessive amount of percussion, especially in Wind music. There at times when a battery of percussion is playing constantly that it really gets distracting. I think composers could learn how to write meaningfully for percussion by being more economical in thier approach. Seems that you have played in British Brass band before, have you? I think it would be great having a video talking about brass writing, especially for the Tenor/Alto Horn and the Baritone, I have seen too much confusing information about them, so it would be very nice. Thanks for the good info ❤✋

@danthefugueguy

11 ай бұрын

Yes, some composers do overuse percussion and wind bands are particularly susceptible to this. Having said that, a lot of percussion is fine if it's crucial to the piece. Something like Varese's Ameriques, where the percussion section plays almost continuously through the piece, is different. Varese clearly conceived the piece with this underlying percussive activity, and it works really well. Plus it helps that he writes well for percussion. Composers like Walton, Bax, Britten and John Adams write very well, even if they use a large section. The notes are there for a reason. Yep, I have played in a few brass bands!

@wilhelmorangenbaum2

11 ай бұрын

@@danthefugueguy It is not that large percussion sections can't be used, is more like, as with everything else, this ideally should be used for large pieces that really requires this. I'm personally more on the side of moderation if possible. It's nice you had played with those brass bands! I think there should be more information about its instruments and how to approach written for them, I think they are a neglected ensemble.

14:14 Richard Strauss was very guilty of this in his opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten- Frequently putting 2 very low pitches(Low Fb & Eb a semiquaver apart, preceded by a Middle Ab) at the same very loud passages, requiring a 2nd low timpano to get a good sound for all the notes, resulting total of 5 drums for the 1st timpanist(yes there is a 2nd timpanist!) squeezed at the back of an already immense orchestra!

@danthefugueguy

11 ай бұрын

He did seem to use low pitches like that a few times. There are some similar bits in Elektra, again employing two players.

@jmwoods190

7 ай бұрын

​@@danthefugueguy Having seen a few recorded concert gigs for Die Frau, I've since realize that Strauss was heavily exploiting the advent of the timpani pedal to change notes, perhaps too far(he did have this tendency at times). The prominent Ab-Fb-Eb pedal theme throughout the opera can be managed with very skilled feet, but some other passages do require a 2nd low drum or to be divided between the 1st & 2nd players, especially the explosive ending of Act 2!

@danthefugueguy

7 ай бұрын

@@jmwoods190 If he were alive today composing film music, I wonder what Strauss' timpani parts would look like!

@jmwoods190

7 ай бұрын

@@danthefugueguy Perhaps Basil Poledouris's 1982 Conan the Barbarian soundtrack(also his unofficial counterpart to Carmina Burana) might've given us a hint of what Strauss would've written for timpani. That said, Strauss had been surprisingly aversive to having very busy passages when it comes to the bass drum compared to his contemporaries, sticking largely to one-handed articulation and heavy rolls, the latter which he really had a knack for!

Number 11 - If you are commisioned to write a piece for a 4th section brass band, with AT THE MOST 3 perc players with drum kit, xylo, glock and 2 pedal timps.......DO NOT write a Championship level piece with NINE seperate perc parts including 4 pedal timps. If you do, be prepared to have the perc parts completely re written by the perc section. ("Sorry for all the percussion", said the composer to me at the end of the concert. "That's OK" I replied, "I re wrote it into something playable". Apparently his face was quite a picture as I ignored him and carried on packing up. I'd had a Long day...)

good video with good advice, but please be more conservative with the pop culture clips and memes. they are annoying, and they add nothing to the video.

@sjhyde714

8 ай бұрын

Disagree massively with this. The memes/clips are totally fine. It makes the vid more conversational. It's normal for people to quote stuff or bring in lines from pop culture for humourous emphasis. That's what's being done here. Of course the add something - they're inserted at specific moments to reinforce a point, which makes it more memorable. They're definitely not annoying - in fact I laughed out loud at the Rob Beckett clip and Dr Gordon from Saw! "Be more conservative" is an odd choice of phrase to employ I must say.