TUTORIALS
Welcome to the Tutorials. Here you will find tutorials and articles about several topics regarding music, film music, composition and generally the work of a film composer. If you want to read more articles on the topics of film composition and orchestration, please consider joining me on Patreon.
Different Release Media Need Different Film Scoring Approaches
The way a movie is released heavily influences not only its production but also the film music. There needs to be a clear understanding of what the primary release of the movie is going to be as there are still quite different ways of perceiving a movie…
How to Communicate with a Film Composer
Communication is essential between the director/producer and the film composer and bad communication often leads to misunderstandings and conflicts. As a director/producer, you should have a rather clear vision about what you want the music to…
The Composition Process
After the spotting session is done and all details concerning the music are fixed, the most common procedure is for the director/producer to get back to other post-production issues and for the composer to go home/to his/her studio and to start working.
The Scoring Session
Depending on the budget and size of the production, there will be a scoring session. This could be from having a soloist for an hour in the composer’s studio up to a full symphony orchestra for several days in a big recording studio. Depending…
Film Music Budget
Before you budget for the music, you should be aware that a music budget always consists of two to three factors. The first is the composition fee, the second the costs that are necessary to produce the score music and the third are the licensing fees…
Contract with a Film Composer
Even when you are best friends and the project seems too small to bother, you should always set up a contract with your film composer. This does not only protect the composer but also…
Orchestral Off-beats, Groove and Odd Meters
This time I will talk a little bit about rhythmical aspects to be considered when writing for (real) orchestra, as – not surprisingly – not everything that grooves in your mind or sequencer will come out as you want it when you’re dealing with an orchestra.
The Harmonic Series
This tutorial deals with the harmonic series from a musical and compositional point of view. There are tons of information on this issue available dealing with the acoustic phenomenon of this issue but I’ll try and focus on the things, the harmonic series can do for you in your music or what you can do for the harmonic series in order to not make it spoil your music.