MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer

Many composers believe that writing and orchestrating for a MIDI ensemble is easier than working with a real orchestra because you don’t have to deal with the stressful environment of live musicians. In fact, the opposite is true. Trying to re-create a live ensemble (or even an electronic one) with the use of a MIDI and audio sequencer and a series of synthesizers is an incredibly challenging task, mainly because in most situations you will be the composer, the arranger, the orchestrator, the producer, the performer, the audio engineer, and the mastering engineer, all at the same time! While this might sound a bit overwhelming, this is what makes this profession so exciting and, in the end, extremely rewarding. There is nothing as rewarding as when you finish your production and you are completely satisfied with the final result.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Create orchestral MIDI mockups that sound exceedingly realistic, by maximizing the potential of current orchestral sample libraries, professional MIDI editing techniques, and tools found in modern DAWs, and mixing tools like reverb and EQ
• Evaluate the qualities of, and appropriate areas of use for, current orchestral sample libraries, based on sound quality, playability, and stylistic versatility and application 
• Configure and modify existing sample libraries to enhance their performance and maximize their potential effectiveness across a wide variety of uses 
• Configure a complex orchestral sequencing template, based on professional standards for performance, workflow, and delivery requirements
• Utilize mixing concepts and techniques specific to orchestral mockups, such as blending different sample libraries, spatial placement, managing multiple microphone layers, and managing room- or noise build-up