Piano Sketch to Orchestra with SSO TUTTI

Showing you the approach I take going from a piano sketch to an orchestra version but using ensemble patches. You'd be amazed how many Hollywood composers write with ensemble patches! You can get a great really realistic results with Andy Blaney's carefully orchestrated patches in TUTTI.

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Check out my book -
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Join me on my journey to release my first studio album. Is there a way to release an album in 2024 and make it financially viable? This is the fifth part to my journey - preparation for the session. Each video I'll outline every step of the process from initial ideas all the way to manufacture and setting up your shop.

Thank you to the incredible musicians who played on my music and the talented engineers who helped me get it over the finish line:

Track listing:

1 - A Home From Home
2 - Ecstatic Skies
3 - Golden Hour
4 - Summer Heat
5 - Ballet Of The Snow
6 - Dreaming Of The Lights
7 - City Of Angels
8 - Into The Void
9 - Cloudburst
10 - Moonrise Dew
11 - Melancholy
12 - Nocturne

All tracks written, produced and mixed by Paul Thomson

Recorded at The Bull Pen and The Lane

Strings recorded by Isabel Gracefield at RAK Studio 1

Strings contracted by Hilary Skewes

Transcriptions by Ben Foskett

Mastered by Cicely Balston at AIR Mastering

Musicians

Tina Guo: Cello (5) Ash Soan: Drums (9) Mike Georgiades: Guitar (9) Anthony Weeden: Conductor (2,3,8,9,11) Jonathan Morton: Leader (2,3,8,9) Violin solo (11) Anna Blackmur, Magdalena Filipczak, Raja Halder, Magnus Johnston, Antonia Kesel, Eloisa-Fleur Thom: Violin (2,3,8,9,11) Laurie Anderson, Meghan Cassidy, Gary Pomeroy: Viola (2,3,8,9,11) Richard Harwood, Brian O'Kane, Jessie Ann Richardson: Cello (2,3,8,9,11) Leon Bosch, Lucy Shaw: Contrabass (2,3,8,9,11)

JOURNEYS sound pack - to keep you busy while I finish the process of prepping for release heres a fun sound pack of some of my favourite sounds that I created to use while making the record. (And a few extra!) Includes some great playable Logic Pro Sampler and Kontakt (full version) instruments of sounds including Balalaika, Psaltery Pads, Cello FX, DFAM basses, fx and drums samples, Nylon Guitar, Wine Glasses, Studio Drumkit, Flute Air FX, Clarinet texture pad, Electric guitar FX and pads, Ride Cymbal taps. over 600 MB of content across 62 patches. REQUIRES either LOGIC PRO in 'Sampler' format *or* FULL VERSION OF KONTAKT 5.8.1 or later. Does NOT work in free Kontakt PLAYER. Both formats included in download. Also sample content is WAV format so you can just drag audio into your sessions if you prefer.

CD DELIVERY INFORMATION - please read before ordering: we ship using ROYAL MAIL TRACKED only. Tracked shipping will provide you with a tracking number. If lost during shipping we will provide a replacement free of charge.

Sound Pack content:

Journeys - Kit BD.nki
Journeys - Kit HH.nki
Journeys - Psaltery Cluster MW.nki

[stevejones]

I really enjoyed that, lovely piece of music and very engaging and generous exposition of your thinking during the process. Thanks very much.

[chas]

Hi Paul - another great video. A lot of really useful information and pointers in here. I just want to comment on a few of the ones that resonated the most with me.
1 - Really appreciate your pointing out the various plug-ins you used, how you set them & why. I've often wondered about this so it's nice to have you point it out.
2 - Your description of your approach really resonates with me as my process is quite similar - with the exception of the results, but the process is basically the same. One part is particularly similar - Get an idea, start playing, chords will come to me, get stuck, fumble around a bit, start up again. The "chords will come to me" was said in a passing/throw-away manner, but this, I believe, is at the core of the creative process. It's not "I thought up chords", but "chords will come to me". This is so much how I experience it. I (generally) don't think them up (though obviously do at times), they come to me. I never cease to be amazed and grateful at how this happens!
3 - If it sounds good, it is good. (Love it!)
4 - The part on tempo changes was timely for me as well. I am working on a piece and had the feeling that a tempo change would be good for a couple of parts. But, I got in my own way thinking "No, I shouldn't do that" ("should" is such a horrible word - especially when it comes to composing!). After seeing this part of the video, the tempo changes went right in (and really improved those parts).
Thanks for your videos and apologies for being so wordy.

[OleJ-DK]

Thank you for sharing Paul, inspiring video!

[sanjaycolaco]

Thank you, Paul, for this video. Every time you make a video on orchestral composition, I learn something from it. Everything doesn't come in one shot. We have to take a break and then resume the work. Furthermore, the thing that you mentioned about tempo change — that was interesting. Thanks, once again.

[andyyoung]

Great piece Paul! These are such beautiful sounding samples, if something you write does not sound good, the probelm is with your orchestration

[moonlitcloudsaudio]

Hi Paul, I have SSO now, but I like some unique microphones of SSSPRO in the past: BMF, when can I add these microphones to the latest version of SSO?

[kylewaselewski]

Will this be free for existing owners of SSO? Can't imagine paying an additional $100 for samples I already paid for.

[d_lydian]

This is a wonderful library and beautiful composition, Paul. ❤ Can I ask you what kind of Mac / SSD setup you use to get the best performance out of Kontakt and your own SA player? Thank you and please keep it up, you make the sample world a better place :)

[MACEASY]

Hi Paul, i like the sound and ease of use of this library. For me the big libraries are very demanding and require a lot of knowledge and skill, and thus very time consuming to use.
On the subject of the tempo changes, did you generate them from the piano track and then have to play to that tempo map for the individual tracks, or did you do most of it freely and then do the tempo track afterwards? Did you use clicks once you had a tempo map? Thanks

[gof]

Thank you for this video. I have a question. As I am used to "AIR conducting" while programming a mock up, I love tweaking the tempo track too. But in the case of a piece where some instruments are going to be recorded (p.e.: a soloist), I don't think making these kind of "1bpm per bar" changes is a good idea in order to have a useful click track for the musician. How do you deal with this problem? 🙂

[dimitrisnikoloulis]

Fantastic piece Paul, even it was straight tension. I wonder, if in the libraries that you use, there is a Cimbasso choice as a double to Tuba, for more rasp and tention marked parts for a orchestration in a track . Cause I love that instrument and it's rssp sound as sapstitute to the low round sound of a Tuba. If there is, I would love to know. My greetings from Greece.

[jackflynn-oakley]

Could I make a video request Paul? I’m thinking of purchasing the Air Reverb to use in conjunction with Superior Drummer. Their last couple of expansions have been recorded in very dead rooms with decatree room mics. I want to apply Air to those and attempt to take those dry recordings and place them in Air. There’s no content relating to this online and obviously no demo, it’s a fair bit of coin so I’m skeptic. Cheers.

[jeremiahlyleseditor]

Nice work.
I thought you were a Cubase musician only.
Very versatile.

[VHF.brunoverdoni]

What is that red fader box? Which brand is it ? Thank you, BV

[charlesyateschalfant]

If I already have the new SSO, a whopping 320 odd gigs, is this really needed?
I can appreciate the fact that it's probably a great sketching tool.
Thanks for all your hard work with Spitfire BTW.

[mrgamerman]

As someone who works in film, TV and video game scoring I’m wondering why there are no influencer reviews. I normally rely on the opinion of Simeon and the guys at The Sampleist. It appears they are now out of the loop? Seems counter intuitive