Harmony extension (and musical recycling)

In this walkthrough, we’re going to recycle the foundation of a piano part to create a string line

01 We open the track we used for the Strike

while the idea is hot 3-step tutorial from earlier. We want to add a string part to this track which is less pad-like but our piano playing isn’t sophisticated enough to play this in real time! So we start by copying the piano part to a new ensemble string patch. This doesn’t sound very good but it’s enough to make us think the idea is worth pursuing.

02 We remove the sustain pedal data, which is making some notes hang horribly while others hold unnaturally. We then extend the existing notes to what feels like a more natural ‘end point’ for each one and, where two notes next to each other stay at the same pitch, we glue these together to create a more natural flow.

03 We think about a string ensemble in sections, with separate lines for first and second violins, violas, cellos and double basses, from top to bottom. We look at the flow of notes horizontally, considering which notes from the chords will be assigned to individual instruments. This helps us see where chords need thickening or whether some parts should start later in some bars than others.

04 Next we set up individual instruments for each section of the string orchestra, using Spitfire Audio’s Symphonic Strings. We select the Con Sordino (with mutes) articulation and set a rough musical balance. It’s now easier to hear the arrangement, with each part benefiting from more separation.

05 The strings still feel quite ‘pad like’ as there’s no sense of contour or phrasing yet. Using CC1 (Modulation), we can draw lines of data to give a greater sense of shape and phrase to each part, which helps bring the musical lines to life. We create gentle undulations from one bar to the next but always with the sense that the phrase will peak at Bar 9 before fading away to the following bar line.

06 It feels like the piano melody line in Bar 7 needs to be mirrored in the Violin 1 part as the clash feels uncomfortable, so we adjust it. We group the strings together so they can share a reverb treatment and make subtle variations to the channel volumes: we push the double basses and cellos up and drop the Violin 1 part a little. We add a subtle EQ treatment across the whole string part.