If you want to learn how to effortlessly compose rich Cinematic Music using my proven 4 Step Composing Framework, check out my free workshop below! www.composingacademy.com/freetraining
This is honestly the first tutorial I've seen that isn't just Step 1: Create atmosphere with a few instruments Step 2: ??? Step 3: Beautiful track made. Awesome stuff.
The counter-melody has to be my favourite element of this whole piece, I can't believe I never thought of using one in my own compositions until now! Great work.
Same here- I never knew there was a name for that concept. When I listen to a song I always fill in the space in the melody in my head and just thought of it as a call and response. Counter melody. Good to know
I maybe not in school anymore, but when I discovered composing in the last few semesters of college before dropping out, I’ve been trying to compose, but it has been difficult since I’m always used to just doing my own thing. This is the first video that has actual given me clearer tools and steps to make it easier. I can now compose to my hearts content and make things easier for myself
Hi Michael - yes I'm a big believer in showing notation. Midi/Piano Roll can be good, but I think showing that alongside notation can really help when teaching. Thanks for watching!
I just took a massive interest in orchestra but had a really tough time finding a video that went through every single layer. Your video is just what I was looking for. Thank you so much for the breakdown. This is so helpful to listen to every single layer sounds. You got a subscriber.
Is there a contact email ? An internet search for Composing Academy keeps directing me to different websites. I would like to enroll but no information ?
@@K_J_Coleman_Composer well, historically I find the sound and then I just let it take me where it goes with the cord progression. I actually have a hard time making darker music. I just don’t get the vibe of it. I need those high vibrations.
As a self taught musician / producer I found this super helpful and easy to follow. I've always been the type of person to just play what I play and haven't bothered too much with accessibility or trying to replicate specific genres / styles, but I'm starting to see the utility in having templates like these as starting points. Great tutorial.
U said it bro me too. Now I know I can make touching music with the needed spice for the inner man. We need such goodies in life. In my 42 yrs God is opening doors to such valuable information. Great
I have only just started creating music on my PC with Acid Music Studio, but what you have done here is, frankly, jaw-dropping. This short composition sounds amazing. I am looking forward to more of your tutorials.
Do you know the name of the software he is using here? I'd like to learn how to do what he's doing but he doesn't mention anything about the studio he's using. Thanks in advance.
My MIDI keyboard just arrived, I've always loved cinematic music, and you're the first video I've watched to dive into producing music. You've given me a solid starting point for my journey, your example sounds incredible and I couldn't be more hyped to start playing! Subscribed.
This is absolutely incredible! Exactly the tutorial I have been longing for! It’s just perfect. Thank you Simon for sharing your valuable knowledge with us. Please keep these videos coming...
@@composingacademy8270 Hi again Simon. Was just wondering, when mixing instrument channels do you EQ each instrument or do you leave them pure (in terms of EQ) as they come out of the sample libraries. I appreciate it may be difficult to answer this in a comment as it is quite a vast subject. It’s just that I don’t think I have heard you mention this subject in any of your previous videos!? Or you have and I didn’t pick up on it. Thanks again for all your time & help :)
I wrote two similar tracks by accident just by playing around and trying to pass time. I uploaded both. Good to see there is actually a right way to do this. I did it totally by ear.
That counter french horn emotionally touched me. It made me cry. Thank you for helping me understand emotional drive with self and music. You are a life changer.
I appreciate the score you provided. So often I see videos on how to write for strings with no reference to a score which is very hard to follow. Excellent job!! Thanks!
This is a BRILLIANT teaching tool! Thank you so much! This is a very easy, formulaic way to learn to compose with sample libraries. So appreciate this one!
This is the clearest and simpliest explanation of the whole magic behind orchestral music. I was searching the entire UA-cam for this blessed video and it appeared when I was about to give up.
Please make more vids, love ur channel. Concepts like counter melody are so eye opening for people like myself who have basic music composition skills. Your vids simplify things in a way not many others do, thank you.
thank you for this tutorial. I've been trying to figure out how to do these type of music since ages. Infact, cinematic music (videogame and prog metal too) is the reason why i started making music
this is how content must be made for teaching. this one the most helpful tutorials i have gone through. i have no words to say. thank you for this capsule of guided knowledge.
@@composingacademy8270 Inspired by this video I tuned my own Cubase look a little :) I think it's somehow reminds me Bitwig Studio in it's work area :) Thank you!
This is cool man. As someone just getting involved into making my own music I really appreciate you putting the time into this. I may only ever produce one full song in my entire life, dudes like you make that happen. Thanks again bro, love., Your colonial cousin,
Wow, here it is, music as simple formula. Three centuries of development in the Western classical tradition, canned and bottled into a turn-the-crank macro on some laptop from Apple computer. Is this is how Max Steiner wrote his score for Gone With the Wind, do you think? Bernard Herrmann? Erich Korngold? what would they all say? Please consider the sarcasm here as a back-handed compliment. I have never encountered such a perfect rendering of these basic formulas driving all typical, simplistic and ordinary film music of today (and other music by extension), that keeps everything in place without rocking the boat, Game Of Thrones all the way. I will be sending my students to watch this video for their own instruction.
As I'm beginning to explore composing this kind of music for my amusement, I find content like this highly valuable - thanks for sharing and keep it coming! :) cheers
Thanks a lot. Thanks to you, I overcame the fear of orchestral parts and learned to work better. I did according to your lesson and already wrote my compositions. It's great to grow professionally with you.
Thank you for sharing this!!! I'm still in my first year composing and this is so very very valuable and straight forward. This is a lesson for a lifetime
Fire 😍💕💕💕💕💕🇸🇿🙌 Watching for the first time Sir. Thanks for sharing your rich knowledge to the world for free. Just subscribed from Eswatini/Swaziland 🇸🇿💕🥰. As a musician and lover of the music world, I have learnt a skill that is rare in this part of southern Africa. Thanks a million times. God bless you sir. Keep up with your channel.
Wow!! Listening to this literally just made my hairs stand on end, about 20 years ago I used to make EDM, DnB, Chill Trance, with Music Maker 7 and i had a great passion for it but in one foul swoop my crappy pc decided to blow up!!! And I lost EVERYTHING! Teaching me that life suck’s and NOT to rely on technology to store your life’s work on! Well now twenty years later I’ve decided to stop dwelling on what i lost and get back into it by making something new and kick start my passion again
@@composingacademy8270 thanks for replying Simon 👍 I forgot to write this in my first comment but obviously my musical taste has changed drastically over the last twenty years from lots of fast paced drums and 808 to lots of layered instruments that gives you a shiver when you open your ears and listen to them all playing together thats why I’m binge watching all your videos now 😂 thanks mate 👍
Amazing song instruction. This has inspired me to take a different progression I’m hearing from the string portion. I definitely will be watching your videos so that I can grow. Again, simply amazing.
One of the best videos I have seen. I am in awe of this. Just an incredible piece to listen to. And being taught how it is put together is GOLD. Thank you.
Thanks a lot! It's my ultimate goal to be a film composer and this is a great insight. Just a question, all the strings, horns, etc. need to be bought separately or cubase already comes with some presets?
Interesting how that piece is so reminiscent of Hans Zimmer's "Time" orchestration from Inception. As a huge Zimmer fan, I wish I could compose music like that piece you just illustrated. Maybe someday I will be that good.
Great observation there.... as I was going through the video... couldnt stop thinking about the song "Time". Thanks a million Simon to simplify and show us all how easy it can be done (when you have talent of course :)
This is such a great tutorial. Nicely explaining the ideas and touching on the theory too. Even though I don't read music much, it was nice to see the sheet music at the end instead of just showing the DAW playing through it again. Really nice 10/10 👍
I just discovered you yesterday. I can't wait to start. I've loved your content so far. I've always wanted to be able to compose but have never known where to start. I don't even own a keyboard yet haha.
I've been learning to play the piano and music theory for quite some time now and recently got very interested to compose cinematic piano driven music. I could start deep diving into it with your content! Great videos and a massively underrated channel! Keep up the good work!
Thank you, the video mentioned a few crucial moments and music terminology that I was missing. For me as a total amateur, the flow usually is different. I'm taking a walk and whistling some melodies, and then suddenly I have something that feels exciting to me. So I start thinking about what mood, rhythm, and general vibes I would want to have for this melody. It gets fleshed out in my mind, I come up with some possible alternations and breaks, and it feels so nice in my mind. But I have no idea about chord progressions because, well, I can't read notes. Technically, I can but they just don't "sound" in my mind. So, I get home, enter the melody in my DAW, and, knowing the basic theory behind minor/major three-note chords and their "extended editions", I create the basic progression that "feels right" (as in - feels similar to what I'm used to enjoying in other cinematic pieces). And then I usually get stuck. I don't know how to develop the idea further. Sometimes the melodic pieces that sounded nice together in my mind lead to clashing chords that do not want to smoothly progress into each other creating strange-feeling gaps or jumps, as if I suddenly have changed the key of the song without intending to. However, sometimes my experiments lead to something beautiful that I could not imagine in my mind. I had an uncle who plays violin in an orchestra. He listened to one of my "best" pieces, and at one moment he said: "Oh, that was an unusual chord transition, but it sounds so nice. How did you come up with that?". And I had to admit I had no idea what I was doing, I was just dragging chord notes around until they caused the emotional response I wanted to have when listening to that particular fragment of the song. 😄
Some of my favourite pieces are a result of an 'accident' - I have found in the past that when composing on my keyboard midi controller, I fall into the same patterns/chord progressions etc. But if I draw notes into my midi editor , without thinking too much behind the 'theory', I'll frequently come across new harmonic combinations etc. I find it liberating when I'm not sure how I achieved a certain melodic feel or harmony! With regards to developing your melodies, try stripping it down to a set of 3-8 notes, which will hopefully be your motive. Then try and develop that motive further, through techniques such as repeating the rhythm, but changing the notes. Or transposing the motive up or down (so the relationship between the notes remains the same, but starting on a different pitch).
There will almost always be a chord (harmony) in play, and the melody needs to be related to the notes in the chord. The prominent notes in the melody will usually also be notes in the chord, or at least be leading to a chord note. Any nonchord note in the melody will create dissonance. Dissonance can be a beautiful tool but it must be managed correctly to work. If you write the melody first, then identity the most prominent notes in the melody and use them to build a chord. Learn about the art of suspensions and anticipations. A suspension is when a note from the previous chord continues playing into the new one, creating a dissonance, then resolving down a note into the current chord. An anticipation is when a note plays before the chord that it fits into. In a suspension, a note stays too late after the chord - in an anticipation a note comes in early before its chord. Mastery of these and many more concepts can take a long time but can make for beautiful music.
Simplistic in a way but it works absolutely fine 👍 Sometimes I struggle with the compromise between what I want my music to sound like and what works. Especially when trying to do something a bit more experimental. But oh well, that's something that gets easier with time.
Superb video, so much content in 12 minutes, really enjoyed watching and feeling inspired to go write something. So thank you for the video, it's fantastic.
You are one of the best teachers in orchestration, you explain in great detail which is very difficult to find, other teachers speak so fast, but you take the time to pause for the student, very informative, thank you, more on orchestration please.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I've been trying to find the balance between talking fast to keep engagement, but also not too fast to make it hard to understand........its a balancing act!
Simon - this is it! Nothing to add here. I mean there could be some percussion, but overall, its exactly the structure we all use. Really liked your video! Keep it up. Always a pleasure to learn from you. Happy New Year
Ah thank you so much! Yea I was thought long and hard about adding percussion and choir, but then wanted to keep it on the simple side. Happy New Year!
Great tips, just have to remember for myself not to feel bummed due to my lack of sample/synth libraries, and instead just take the lessons from it, and apply it to my best ability.
Thinking how to go about creating an orchestra effect for a soundtrack has gotten me stocked for some week but somehow I bumped into this and indeed, my answer is here. Thank you so very much for such details.❤❤❤
Wow, this tutorial is incredibly helpful! 🎵 I've got a question for all of you fellow viewers: While creating your cinematic pieces, do you have any specific techniques or tricks for incorporating unique and memorable soundscapes that set your compositions apart from the rest? I'd love to hear your insights and creative ideas! 😊🎶
Just what I needed and a really nice finished piece. I came to this after watching Simon’s writing a melody and writing a piano song videos which helped with all but the reverse piano which I also found he had done a vid on. Thanks lots. Like your delivery off to watch more.c
If you want to learn how to effortlessly compose rich Cinematic Music using my proven 4 Step Composing Framework, check out my free workshop below!
www.composingacademy.com/freetraining
This is honestly the first tutorial I've seen that isn't just
Step 1: Create atmosphere with a few instruments
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Beautiful track made.
Awesome stuff.
Or "Step 1: Hire John Williams"
@@PutItAway101 or "Step 2: Pay 5 Million dollars to Hans Zimmer for Sound Track"
Would you be able to help me transpose this to a midi?
what app is this
@@proboanimations Fl studio
The counter-melody has to be my favourite element of this whole piece, I can't believe I never thought of using one in my own compositions until now! Great work.
Thank you so much, really appreciate it & Happy Composing!
Same here- I never knew there was a name for that concept. When I listen to a song I always fill in the space in the melody in my head and just thought of it as a call and response. Counter melody. Good to know
I legit cried it’s so beautiful
This is the best video on entire internet about it. In 12 minutes you taught me what I have not learned in 4 years. Literally wow!
Wow, thank you so much. I am so pleased you have enjoyed it!
Same here
Agreed! This was phenomenal!
actually, 9 minutes because the last 3 mins was the final piece (who knows maybe you could learn from that too)
I maybe not in school anymore, but when I discovered composing in the last few semesters of college before dropping out, I’ve been trying to compose, but it has been difficult since I’m always used to just doing my own thing. This is the first video that has actual given me clearer tools and steps to make it easier. I can now compose to my hearts content and make things easier for myself
Composing is way hard for sure don’t ever think about giving up on your journey :)
Hi, this is an awesome comment to receive. I am so pleased this video is helping you on your composing journey! Thank you so much for sharing!
I really appreciate that you show the music notation at the end. It’s a great teaching tool for voicing and chord progressions.
Hi Michael - yes I'm a big believer in showing notation. Midi/Piano Roll can be good, but I think showing that alongside notation can really help when teaching. Thanks for watching!
How do you produce the notation? Could the current version of StaffPad do all this without the DAW.
Thanks for the wonderful teaching
I just took a massive interest in orchestra but had a really tough time finding a video that went through every single layer. Your video is just what I was looking for. Thank you so much for the breakdown. This is so helpful to listen to every single layer sounds. You got a subscriber.
Is there a contact email ? An internet search for Composing Academy keeps directing me to different websites. I would like to enroll but no information ?
When I add big strings and brass and piano those are probably my favorite beats I make. I’m going to start doing scores tho
Don't forget to give your music your own flavor. Find an inspiration and use that to pave your own path.
@@K_J_Coleman_Composer well, historically I find the sound and then I just let it take me where it goes with the cord progression. I actually have a hard time making darker music. I just don’t get the vibe of it. I need those high vibrations.
As a self taught musician / producer I found this super helpful and easy to follow. I've always been the type of person to just play what I play and haven't bothered too much with accessibility or trying to replicate specific genres / styles, but I'm starting to see the utility in having templates like these as starting points. Great tutorial.
So glad you found it helpful, thank you for watching!
U said it bro me too.
Now I know I can make touching music with the needed spice for the inner man.
We need such goodies in life. In my 42 yrs God is opening doors to such valuable information. Great
I echo this - self taught, catching up doing this on my DAW after a 20 year break 🙂 - Thank you Simon
Thanks for the mini-master class. Great start to 2022! I shall be playing this over and over to get everything out of it.
My pleasure - I hope you find it useful!
I have only just started creating music on my PC with Acid Music Studio, but what you have done here is, frankly, jaw-dropping. This short composition sounds amazing. I am looking forward to more of your tutorials.
Thank you so much for your feedback and I am pleased you have found it useful!
Do you know the name of the software he is using here? I'd like to learn how to do what he's doing but he doesn't mention anything about the studio he's using. Thanks in advance.
@@MrEdwinBarbosacubase
Wow, hope this channel keeps making content this good. I’m speechless
Thank you so much!
My MIDI keyboard just arrived, I've always loved cinematic music, and you're the first video I've watched to dive into producing music.
You've given me a solid starting point for my journey, your example sounds incredible and I couldn't be more hyped to start playing!
Subscribed.
This is absolutely incredible! Exactly the tutorial I have been longing for! It’s just perfect. Thank you Simon for sharing your valuable knowledge with us. Please keep these videos coming...
Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the support!
@@composingacademy8270 Hi again Simon. Was just wondering, when mixing instrument channels do you EQ each instrument or do you leave them pure (in terms of EQ) as they come out of the sample libraries. I appreciate it may be difficult to answer this in a comment as it is quite a vast subject. It’s just that I don’t think I have heard you mention this subject in any of your previous videos!? Or you have and I didn’t pick up on it. Thanks again for all your time & help :)
@@OutandaboutWalkingyou should EQ each instrument to make sure they fit well together in the mix but you don’t have to go crazy with it
@@thisoneguy7096 Excellent, will try that. Thank you :)
This is so good! You explain things so clearly. great channel!
Thanks so much! I'm glad it proved useful!
I wrote two similar tracks by accident just by playing around and trying to pass time. I uploaded both. Good to see there is actually a right way to do this. I did it totally by ear.
That counter french horn emotionally touched me. It made me cry. Thank you for helping me understand emotional drive with self and music. You are a life changer.
Wow thank you so much for leaving a comment. I am so pleased you enjoyed the video, it is amazing how music can make you feel isn't it?
@@composingacademy8270 indeed it does
I appreciate the score you provided. So often I see videos on how to write for strings with no reference to a score which is very hard to follow. Excellent job!! Thanks!
So pleased you liked the video, you are welcome & thank you for watching!
This is a BRILLIANT teaching tool! Thank you so much! This is a very easy, formulaic way to learn to compose with sample libraries. So appreciate this one!
This is the clearest and simpliest explanation of the whole magic behind orchestral music. I was searching the entire UA-cam for this blessed video and it appeared when I was about to give up.
I'm glad you found the video/channel! Thanks for your feedback and I'm glad you found it useful!
Great explanation of the basics :) I’ve wanted to get into cinematic music for a while
Thanks so much and thanks for watching!
This is such a great video. Not only is it simple and effective, it allows tons of room for individual creativity! Thank you so much for this!
This a wonderful, I've been listening to this for 8 hours
Wow, thank you! I am so pleased you like it.
Fantastic tutorial! I subscribed and will be watching all of your videos.
Please make more vids, love ur channel. Concepts like counter melody are so eye opening for people like myself who have basic music composition skills.
Your vids simplify things in a way not many others do, thank you.
You are welcome, I am so pleased you have found it useful! Thank you for watching.
thank you for this tutorial. I've been trying to figure out how to do these type of music since ages. Infact, cinematic music (videogame and prog metal too) is the reason why i started making music
Glad I could help! Thank you for watching!
this is how content must be made for teaching. this one the most helpful tutorials i have gone through. i have no words to say. thank you for this capsule of guided knowledge.
Wow, thank you so much for your positive feedback, I really do appreciate it!
Best tutorials on UA-cam. Thanks Simon.
Wow, thanks! So pleased you are enjoying them.
Nice Cubase look with beautiful colors! And very useful tutorial. Thank you! ❤
So pleased you enjoyed it, thank you!
@@composingacademy8270 Inspired by this video I tuned my own Cubase look a little :) I think it's somehow reminds me Bitwig Studio in it's work area :) Thank you!
you have my humble respect for making this video clear probably so much people started playing thank's to you, that is a humble cause. respect
Thank you! Yes I've been pleased with the response to the video!
This is cool man. As someone just getting involved into making my own music I really appreciate you putting the time into this. I may only ever produce one full song in my entire life, dudes like you make that happen. Thanks again bro, love., Your colonial cousin,
I am so pleased you found it useful, thank you for watching & happy composing!
@@composingacademy8270 so... what do u use as an Programm?
Hi, I am so sorry for delay, I did not see this comment pop up. My DAW is Cubase Pro 11, hope that helps!
What a wonderful piece of tutorial. Please keep making more of them!
Hi, thank you for watching! A new video coming soon!
Stunning, I'd like to learn myself.
You should! Check out some of my other videos, I believe anyone can learn to write music! Happy Composing!
This is the best video on UA-cam. Thank you so much.
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL, I made a piece using these techniques I didn't know about and its making sense why people liked it.
Thank you! So glad it has helped in your work too.
Amazing tutorial! Thanks a million
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for warching!
Wow, here it is, music as simple formula. Three centuries of development in the Western classical tradition, canned and bottled into a turn-the-crank macro on some laptop from Apple computer. Is this is how Max Steiner wrote his score for Gone With the Wind, do you think? Bernard Herrmann? Erich Korngold? what would they all say?
Please consider the sarcasm here as a back-handed compliment. I have never encountered such a perfect rendering of these basic formulas driving all typical, simplistic and ordinary film music of today (and other music by extension), that keeps everything in place without rocking the boat, Game Of Thrones all the way. I will be sending my students to watch this video for their own instruction.
As I'm beginning to explore composing this kind of music for my amusement, I find content like this highly valuable - thanks for sharing and keep it coming! :) cheers
I'm glad you found it useful! More videos to come!
Impressive! I appreciate the insight into your workflow.
Thank you, appreciate the comment!
Thanks a lot. Thanks to you, I overcame the fear of orchestral parts and learned to work better. I did according to your lesson and already wrote my compositions. It's great to grow professionally with you.
What a lovely comment, thank you so much. I am pleased that you are finding these videos so useful.
This is how you have art teached with art! Thank you!
This is fucking amazing, be very proud of yourself for this
Wow thank you, really appreciate the positive feedback and so pleased you found it useful!
Thank you for sharing this!!! I'm still in my first year composing and this is so very very valuable and straight forward. This is a lesson for a lifetime
I am so pleased you have found it useful, thank you for watching!
I got into music not so long ago, but I’ve never realized it’s THIS simple
It's wonderful when you can compose and even better when you know how to do it right.
Thank you so much.
Hi Darren, thank you so much! Glad you liked the video!
@@composingacademy8270 I did, thank you.
i like the look of your cubase.. can you share you appearance settings
Fire 😍💕💕💕💕💕🇸🇿🙌
Watching for the first time Sir. Thanks for sharing your rich knowledge to the world for free. Just subscribed from Eswatini/Swaziland 🇸🇿💕🥰.
As a musician and lover of the music world, I have learnt a skill that is rare in this part of southern Africa.
Thanks a million times. God bless you sir. Keep up with your channel.
This is great! You did a wonderful job making it easy to follow. Well done!
Thank you so much! So glad it was useful.
Heye und herzlich willkommen bei mir danke. Melde dich bitte nochmal mit der Telefonnummer
I have learned so much from this channel. This piece blows me away, thank you so much.
That is great to hear, thank you so much!
Please make more videos on how to write such music! I especially like the way violins play!
Hi, thank you for watching. I am in the process of putting together some future video ideas so will take this on board.
@@composingacademy8270 Thank you, I will be waiting
Wow!! Listening to this literally just made my hairs stand on end, about 20 years ago I used to make EDM, DnB, Chill Trance, with Music Maker 7 and i had a great passion for it but in one foul swoop my crappy pc decided to blow up!!! And I lost EVERYTHING! Teaching me that life suck’s and NOT to rely on technology to store your life’s work on! Well now twenty years later I’ve decided to stop dwelling on what i lost and get back into it by making something new and kick start my passion again
Hi Tim, many thanks for reaching out. Wow that's a hard lesson you learnt! Great to hear that you've come back to it though. Good luck!
@@composingacademy8270 thanks for replying Simon 👍 I forgot to write this in my first comment but obviously my musical taste has changed drastically over the last twenty years from lots of fast paced drums and 808 to lots of layered instruments that gives you a shiver when you open your ears and listen to them all playing together thats why I’m binge watching all your videos now 😂 thanks mate 👍
Excellent video, thanks very much.
THIS IS AMAZING!!!! As A Trance producer I am so interested in cinematic music for my breakdowns. This is so great!!!!
Thank you! Hope it helps!
Amazing song instruction. This has inspired me to take a different progression I’m hearing from the string portion. I definitely will be watching your videos so that I can grow. Again, simply amazing.
Thank you so much & Happy Composing!
One of the best videos I have seen. I am in awe of this. Just an incredible piece to listen to. And being taught how it is put together is GOLD. Thank you.
Wow thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it! And thank you for watching!
2 years later and that is still the best cinematic music tutorial in the internet
I really appreciate that, thank you!
The drone sound really captured my attention in a unique way..🙌🏽⚡️ like how do you initially think ah, I’ll need a sound like this?!! Marvelous
Very impressive tutorial. Thank you for sharing your expertise.
Utterly brilliant! Can’t wait to give it a go!
Thanks for watching!
Very simple to understand and straightforward. Thank you for the lesson!
Hi, really appreciate that, thank you!
Thanks a lot! It's my ultimate goal to be a film composer and this is a great insight. Just a question, all the strings, horns, etc. need to be bought separately or cubase already comes with some presets?
the essential in 10 min ! very good - thank you !
Thank you - that was the aim!
Interesting how that piece is so reminiscent of Hans Zimmer's "Time" orchestration from Inception. As a huge Zimmer fan, I wish I could compose music like that piece you just illustrated. Maybe someday I will be that good.
Great observation there.... as I was going through the video... couldnt stop thinking about the song "Time". Thanks a million Simon to simplify and show us all how easy it can be done (when you have talent of course :)
It's beautiful. Thanks you for making complicated things look easy.
Thank you for watching! I am so pleased you have found the video useful!
This is such a great tutorial. Nicely explaining the ideas and touching on the theory too. Even though I don't read music much, it was nice to see the sheet music at the end instead of just showing the DAW playing through it again. Really nice 10/10 👍
Thanks so much! Yes hopefully showing the sheet music is helping to reinforce the concepts for people watching
I just discovered you yesterday. I can't wait to start. I've loved your content so far. I've always wanted to be able to compose but have never known where to start. I don't even own a keyboard yet haha.
Super easy to understand. Thank you! Keep up the good work.
Thank you - glad to hear you're enjoying the content!
Brilliant sir, very good ❤
Thank you for watching!
I've been learning to play the piano and music theory for quite some time now and recently got very interested to compose cinematic piano driven music. I could start deep diving into it with your content! Great videos and a massively underrated channel! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for watching and your kind words! Hopefully the videos will be helpful to you!
Yeah massively underrated channel im lucky i found out
Sir, this is a very beautiful composition!!
Me encanta este video, fácil de entender
Gracias, I am pleased you found it useful!
Thank you, the video mentioned a few crucial moments and music terminology that I was missing.
For me as a total amateur, the flow usually is different.
I'm taking a walk and whistling some melodies, and then suddenly I have something that feels exciting to me. So I start thinking about what mood, rhythm, and general vibes I would want to have for this melody. It gets fleshed out in my mind, I come up with some possible alternations and breaks, and it feels so nice in my mind. But I have no idea about chord progressions because, well, I can't read notes. Technically, I can but they just don't "sound" in my mind.
So, I get home, enter the melody in my DAW, and, knowing the basic theory behind minor/major three-note chords and their "extended editions", I create the basic progression that "feels right" (as in - feels similar to what I'm used to enjoying in other cinematic pieces).
And then I usually get stuck. I don't know how to develop the idea further. Sometimes the melodic pieces that sounded nice together in my mind lead to clashing chords that do not want to smoothly progress into each other creating strange-feeling gaps or jumps, as if I suddenly have changed the key of the song without intending to.
However, sometimes my experiments lead to something beautiful that I could not imagine in my mind. I had an uncle who plays violin in an orchestra. He listened to one of my "best" pieces, and at one moment he said: "Oh, that was an unusual chord transition, but it sounds so nice. How did you come up with that?". And I had to admit I had no idea what I was doing, I was just dragging chord notes around until they caused the emotional response I wanted to have when listening to that particular fragment of the song. 😄
Some of my favourite pieces are a result of an 'accident' - I have found in the past that when composing on my keyboard midi controller, I fall into the same patterns/chord progressions etc. But if I draw notes into my midi editor , without thinking too much behind the 'theory', I'll frequently come across new harmonic combinations etc. I find it liberating when I'm not sure how I achieved a certain melodic feel or harmony! With regards to developing your melodies, try stripping it down to a set of 3-8 notes, which will hopefully be your motive. Then try and develop that motive further, through techniques such as repeating the rhythm, but changing the notes. Or transposing the motive up or down (so the relationship between the notes remains the same, but starting on a different pitch).
There will almost always be a chord (harmony) in play, and the melody needs to be related to the notes in the chord. The prominent notes in the melody will usually also be notes in the chord, or at least be leading to a chord note. Any nonchord note in the melody will create dissonance. Dissonance can be a beautiful tool but it must be managed correctly to work. If you write the melody first, then identity the most prominent notes in the melody and use them to build a chord. Learn about the art of suspensions and anticipations. A suspension is when a note from the previous chord continues playing into the new one, creating a dissonance, then resolving down a note into the current chord. An anticipation is when a note plays before the chord that it fits into. In a suspension, a note stays too late after the chord - in an anticipation a note comes in early before its chord. Mastery of these and many more concepts can take a long time but can make for beautiful music.
Excellent content! Thank you. You’ve been very inspiring while I’m working on my prog rock album!
Thanks so much Wayne! Good luck with the album!
@@composingacademy8270 thank you. I’ve been working on it for an embarrassingly long time! Lol.
Simplistic in a way but it works absolutely fine 👍
Sometimes I struggle with the compromise between what I want my music to sound like and what works. Especially when trying to do something a bit more experimental. But oh well, that's something that gets easier with time.
Excellent clarity, thank you.
Thank you !
Superb video, so much content in 12 minutes, really enjoyed watching and feeling inspired to go write something. So thank you for the video, it's fantastic.
Hi Danny, Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm glad they inspired you!
Just... fantastic. Excellent video.
Thank you for watching!
Just immense! Thanks a lot. Now to add some Bulgarian choir samples as a topping.
Enjoy! Thank you for watching!
love this Video man
So pleased, thank you!
You are one of the best teachers in orchestration, you explain in great detail which is very difficult to find, other teachers speak so fast, but you take the time to pause for the student, very informative, thank you, more on orchestration please.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I've been trying to find the balance between talking fast to keep engagement, but also not too fast to make it hard to understand........its a balancing act!
Simon - this is it! Nothing to add here. I mean there could be some percussion, but overall, its exactly the structure we all use. Really liked your video! Keep it up. Always a pleasure to learn from you. Happy New Year
Ah thank you so much! Yea I was thought long and hard about adding percussion and choir, but then wanted to keep it on the simple side. Happy New Year!
Great tips, just have to remember for myself not to feel bummed due to my lack of sample/synth libraries, and instead just take the lessons from it, and apply it to my best ability.
Super.Respekt für Deine Arbeit und Videos.
This is absolutely a very clear tutorial! I subscribed right away!
WOW... Sincerely, Thank You ♠
You are so welcome, thank you for watching!
The counter melo
So peaceful💜
So pleased you like it, thank you for commenting!
Thinking how to go about creating an orchestra effect for a soundtrack has gotten me stocked for some week but somehow I bumped into this and indeed, my answer is here.
Thank you so very much for such details.❤❤❤
Hi, thank you for your comment. I am so pleased that it has helped!
Nailed it! Thanks a lot ❤️
Thank you!
Demonstrated in a very simple and easily understandable way. Thank you so much. My first video on cinematic and Orchestral music.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
@@composingacademy8270 Absolutely. Thank you so much Simon. I will compose one with the help of your video. I will let you know.
Thanks. I enjoyed watching this and learning. Also thanks for showing a score at the end.
You're welcome, thank you for watching!
@@composingacademy8270 You're envited to check out my music on my chanal BTW
all videos are helpful and great. Please explain about key change modulation one key to another key .
Great idea - I'll add it to the list. Thanks for watching!
Wow, this tutorial is incredibly helpful! 🎵 I've got a question for all of you fellow viewers: While creating your cinematic pieces, do you have any specific techniques or tricks for incorporating unique and memorable soundscapes that set your compositions apart from the rest? I'd love to hear your insights and creative ideas! 😊🎶
Thanks, for me is perfect to start with a simple music scoring!!
Glad you found it useful, thank you for watching!
Brilliant !! Nicely done.
Thank you!
Extremely helpful and very easy to understand, thanks 😃👍
You are welcome, thank you for watching!
Really great effort to give us the knowledge about orchastration scoring .. God bless u
Thank you so much for watching, I am pleased you have found it useful!
what plugin and preset did you use for the piano that gives the reverse effect?
Thank you, I use to make a much more simple music , but it is very good class.
Thank you for watching, I am pleased you found it useful!
Just what I needed and a really nice finished piece. I came to this after watching Simon’s writing a melody and writing a piano song videos which helped with all but the reverse piano which I also found he had done a vid on. Thanks lots. Like your delivery off to watch more.c
Thanks for watching, I really appreciate the positive comment!
9:28 is sooo good 😊
This truly amazing! Looking forward to compose more orchestral music in the future.