Orchestrating Strings: Libraries And Programming Techniques Explained

Software and virtual instruments allow us the luxury of recreating complex orchestral performances inside our DAWs. But this arena has its own specific requirements, tools and techniques. In this short video from the course The Orchestral Sessions 101: Orchestral Composition, Olajide Paris explores some of the methods he uses to program strings - a key part of most orchestral music - and the libraries he uses. 

As well as revealing some of his library secrets, Olajide discusses some of the factors you will need to take into account depending on whether your finished piece is going to be performed live by real instruments at some point, or remain entirely virtual. Be sure to check out the other videos in this course for a comprehensive rundown of everything you need to know about orchestral composition.

The Orchestral Sessions 101: Orchestral Composition

Scoring music for a live orchestra requires a lot of work, and knowledge. That's why we asked experienced music composer Olajide Paris to create the Orchestral Sessions series.

In this first course, Olajide Paris breaks down one of his cinematic composition section by section. You get to hear the strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion sections together and isolation. Olajide discusses how his composition was put together, the orchestration and composition techniques he used, his favorite sample libraries, and the unique considerations to keep in mind when composing with MIDI for live musicians.

So join music composer and producer Olajide Paris in these Orchestral Sessions, and get inspired to create your own orchestral scores!