WRITE MUSIC FOR ORCHESTRA IN 6 STEPS How to plan, sketch, orchestrate and produce orchestral music

In this video I walk through the 6 distinct stages of my process for writing an orchestral track.

When you have a clear roadmap ahead of you, even a very complex and difficult task can become manageable and fun!

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🎵 Music used in this video:

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
0:22 Step 1: Make a Plan
1:10 Step 2: The Basic Idea
2:07 Step 3: The Sketch
3:18 Step 4: The Orchestration Sketch
4:14 Step 5: Full Orchestration
4:35 Step 6: Production
5:40 Final Thoughts

[spacelake]

This was great. Looking forward to your approach to film or synth-based tracks.

[RyanLeach]

The biggest benefit of the sketch that I didn't mention in the video is that it helps make sure the track ACTUALLY GETS DONE! I can't tell you how many tracks I've started with really interesting or fun sounds or orchestration, but then they get abandoned. When I restrict myself to actually get the outline completely done from beginning to end before moving on, the track itself is WAY more likely to actually become a finished project and not just another dead Logic file.

[orchestralhymns]

Usually my compositions follow this order:

1 - chord progression
2 - Melody (or melody first)
3 - dynamics
4 - mixing
5 - mastering

I use Sibelius, Noteperformer, Reaper and samples e plugins...

Thanks 👏🎵🎶

[kappabravomusic]

That was great. I also sing my melodies and record them on the phone so I don't forget the motifs.

[jimhurt]

Thanks. I am looking for just such a mental process to keep from getting lost and overwhelmed.

[anatomicallymodernhuman]

Very helpful and clear. I’ve never been quite that organized at the outset, though it seems that my greatest successes usually come from thinking the piece through before diving in. As a pre-teen I learned to analyze melodies and chord progressions by ear on the fly, and over the years, I’ve gradually boosted my audiation skills to the point that I can hear a piece pretty clearly in my head while walking around a lake or doing dishes or whatever, notating it in my head as I go. My step two is to enter that into scoring software. Step three is to correct what didn’t work as expected and flesh out the orchestration until it makes me happy. Step four is import the MIDI into the DAW template and drag each MIDI track onto the correct instrument track. Step five is to flip a MIDI track into a playlist for reference, and replay the line as musically as possible — I like the human timing anomalies and the feel of CCs in real-time. I do the least convincing imported tracks first, then all the others one by one. Step six is mix, which is easiest because I’ve made my living in pro audio for decades.

I’m going to try your 6 steps as literally as possible, though, and see if it speeds things up or produces more consistent results.

[veenu]

Great video!
I'd be really interested in your steps/approach for library/synth music. For some reason I find that kind of music much hard to compose and bring into form than more traditional orchestral tracks. Hope you'll find the time to do a video on that as well!

[Manas-cowl]

Background music being a bop sells this so well.

[terryslade]

Thank you for these very timely lectures and examples. They REALLY help!

[nickmack]

Great video Ryan - only found your channel a few weeks ago but has inspired me to compose more through notation first with the focus on harmony and orchestration, and then move it over to Logic.

[Markrspooner]

Great video Ryan. I have subscribed and I am working my way through the material you have on YouTube.

[dimensionstomorrow]

This was great. I’d love to see some videos where you do the Logic stage of tweaking your midi.

[chriszinnecker]

Hey man, just discovered your channel. Your vids are insanely helpful and to the point. Just what every composer should know. Wish i had you as a teach, when i was in college!

[chipcode]

Thanks. I am catching up so I watch a lot of your older videos

[magruhn]

Really Helpful Video, Thanks !
The Workflow of first working in Sibelius and only going to the DAW for Production is a really good idea. I might try this out 👍

[edbuller]

I know it's a massive ask. But maybe you could do a video of this. You could include you "patent applied for" fast forward trick, but show each step. Obviously step 2 would need a lot of fast forwarding, but 3, 4 and 5 would be really cool to see. Again 6 might not need to show much as that is well covered elsewhere. But The internet really lacks someone of your calibre showing step 2, 3, 4, and 5. Yes Alain Mayrands courses are awesome . He, like you, as a natural teacher and makes fabulous tutorials.

[BillyPalmerMusic]

I'd be interested to see a version of this for your approach to scoring to picture...

[lokvakor]

Greetings from Russia!) Dude, thank you so much, you've been incredibly helpful in structuring the orchestral work and taking the next step. For a long time I could not make a general plan of the orchestration, everything went over to small aspects of the woodwinds (as the clarinetist himself) and tried to make it perfect right away. I write and listen from a translator, despite minor errors, the neural network works great. Thank you so much, now I will watch every video on your channel!

[jaijeffcom]

I wrote my whole piano sketch for It Never Entered My Mind with the idea of it being a flugel feature with big band. So I got the whole thing! Now I want to orchestrate the band parts and hear it rendered. I’m writing parts in Dorico. Guess what? No muted brass sounds in the audio library! And my new DAW that I’m just learning for the first time, Logic Pro, doesn’t have muted brass sounds either. I want to hear flutes and trumpets with Harmon mutes together. I can’t play that simulation back. You made a passing reference to a brass library, I guess it’s Kontact with a K. Is that what I need, I wonder?

[kelvinleemusic]

Hi Ryan, Like your video a lot! Do you mind also share a bit about your approach on scoring orchestral track with picture? Whats most different thing?