# What does an orchestrator do? Anne-Kathrin Dern - YouTube video



## Markrs (Jul 15, 2021)

Certainly an area I am a bit clueless about so I am very grateful to @A.Dern and Andres Montero for creating this.


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## Niah2 (Jul 15, 2021)

Great video! I loved how she talks about how the orchestration and the music production is also integral part of the composition, I can totally relate to this I feel exactly the same way.


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## Aldunate (Jul 15, 2021)

Give Cassella, Adler, Korsakov, Berlioz-Strauss books a look. 
Film music is entertainment now, with awful orchestration in the majority. Ravel has many pieces for piano orchestrated that illustrate very well how you can orchestrate. 
This does not even give a tip about what orchestration is.


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## Markrs (Jul 15, 2021)

Aldunate said:


> Give Cassella, Adler, Korsakov, Berlioz-Strauss books a look.
> Film music is entertainment now, with awful orchestration in the majority. Ravel has many pieces for piano orchestrated that illustrate very well how you can orchestrate.
> This does not even give a tip about what orchestration is.


I have the 4th edition of Adler's The Study of Orchestration. I am also lucky to have a teacher in @A.Heppelmann who is very good at orchestration.



https://youtube.com/channel/UCJWO0LbqJp-zsX7PceIQkFA



However I still found the video very helpful as to the role and importance of an orchestrator in modern film music.


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## Aldunate (Jul 15, 2021)

Markrs said:


> I have the 4th edition of Adler's The Study of Orchestration. I am also lucky to have a teacher in @A.Heppelmann who is very good at orchestration.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


With all due respect, what in the video did you found helpful?


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## Markrs (Jul 15, 2021)

Aldunate said:


> With all due respect, what in the video did you found helpful?


I understood very little about the role of an orchestrator once they have been given a Midi based score and how it becomes something an orchestra can perform from. I'm sure in later videos there so be more detail.


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## ALittleNightMusic (Jul 15, 2021)

Aldunate said:


> This does not even give a tip about what orchestration is.


With all due respect...that wasn't the point of the video.


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## SlHarder (Jul 15, 2021)

I am a hobbyist, I will never need the services of an orchestrator. But after my career of managing a performing arts stage I am well aware that so much goes on "behind the scenes".

This vid is an intriguing in-depth look at the productive professional relationships that are integral to creating the music which supports our entertainment media. To be successful these processes have to be very well managed and efficient. This is an inside look at the role an "orchestrator" plays in the creation of media music.


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## Aldunate (Jul 16, 2021)

It does not give a simple orchestration technique.


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## leon chevalier (Jul 16, 2021)

Thanks for sharing !


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## SlHarder (Jul 16, 2021)

Aldunate said:


> It does not give a simple orchestration technique.


Here are a couple vid series that might be what you are seeking.


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## ennbr (Jul 16, 2021)

Aldunate said:


> It does not give a simple orchestration technique.


It is a 3 part series maybe additional information will be in the next 2 parts


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## Toecutter (Jul 16, 2021)

Aldunate said:


> Film music is entertainment now, with awful orchestration in the majority. Ravel has many pieces for piano orchestrated that illustrate very well how you can orchestrate.
> This does not even give a tip about what orchestration is.


It does give all the tips about what orchestration is from the perspective of someone working in the film industry, that's the whole point of the video. Andrés is spot on with his assessments. JAK is one of the main score prep services in town and he explains the exact process that goes into orchestrating a film score. If you feel the music is not of your taste, that's a whole different subject.


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## jbuhler (Jul 16, 2021)

This is not a video about the art of orchestration; it’s a video about the labor of the orchestrator. It takes someone with an ax to grind to willfully misconstrue the topic of the video.


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## Arbee (Jul 16, 2021)

Another honest and transparent video with such a refreshing approach. I do appreciate Anne's videos might be seen as "an affront to puritanical elitism" for some folk, but they are so helpful to those who are genuinely trying to grapple with how to bring the best of the old world and the new world together.


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## NoamL (Jul 16, 2021)

The mockup is about being approved, the score is about being playable


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## borisb2 (Jul 17, 2021)

I didn’t get the intro with its name-dropping of Steinberg, Finale and Sibelius. Is she sponsored by them? I found that a bit .. not sure, didn’t like it. No dealbreaker though. Still an informative video.


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## Markrs (Jul 17, 2021)

borisb2 said:


> I didn’t get the intro with its name-dropping of Steinberg, Finale and Sibelius. Is she sponsored by them? I found that a bit .. not sure, didn’t like it.


Initially I thought it was sponsored, but I think it was to highlight the different programs for notation.


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## A.Dern (Jul 18, 2021)

Vi-Control... once again making me wonder why I even bother. Here's an orchestrator taking precious time out of his busy day recording enough content answering audience questions that I had to split it into 3 videos. A guy who has done music prep for the likes of John Williams, John Powell, Michael Giacchino, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, and many more, giving you first hand information on his job for free, gaining nothing in return.

But yeah, let's focus on the fact that we're not giving people a free masterclass in orchestration. Because picking up one of the 3000 books out there written on the topic is clearly too much work and everyone needs to be spoonfed.

Or let's focus on that 20 second intro I whipped up in literally 1 minute because I'm on three movies right now and don't have time to focus on this. For what it's worth, if the video was sponsored, by YT guidelines I'd have to disclose that. But I figured since I showcase the logos of all three main notation products orchestrators use, it would be obvious that none of them sponsored this video because they would not allow the other logos to even be there. The funny thing here is that I actually AM a partner of AVID and have been working closely with their marketing teams for years. So for a brief moment I considered only putting Sibelius into the intro. But then I figured they didn't sponsor this video and I shouldn't be a sellout just because they give me free products. So I decided to give a balanced overview and showcase Dorico and Finale as well - because Finale is used just as much as Sibelius and Dorico is definitely on the rise. 

But I guess wanting to give an honest overview still makes me a name-dropping LA sellout somehow. Not even sure why this is considered name-dropping or what possible gain I could have from this since I'm already working with AVID (and therefore working with Finale and Dorico wouldn't be an option anyway because of conflict of interest). Next time I should really just take one company's money and dilute my educational content in their favor I guess. Comes down to the same result apparently.


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## borisb2 (Jul 18, 2021)

A.Dern said:


> Vi-Control... once again making me wonder why I even bother.


because it's the place to be 

My comment was pointing towards that I initially wasn't sure if the video is from Steinberg, starting it that way. I said already, no dealbreaker but I didnt like it. It must be allowed to articulate criticism, even on a free YT-video. I preferred your afternoon scenes from LA-beaches - THAT was/is your unique style.


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## Markrs (Jul 18, 2021)

A.Dern said:


> Vi-Control... once again making me wonder why I even bother. Here's an orchestrator taking precious time out of his busy day recording enough content answering audience questions that I had to split it into 3 videos. A guy who has done music prep for the likes of John Williams, John Powell, Michael Giacchino, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, and many more, giving you first hand information on his job for free, gaining nothing in return.
> 
> But yeah, let's focus on the fact that we're not giving people a free masterclass in orchestration. Because picking up one of the 3000 books out there written on the topic is clearly too much work and everyone needs to be spoonfed.
> 
> ...


Sorry that things came across as criticism. The vast majority on here love what you do and what you give back to the community through your YouTube channel. Myself and others often post your videos on here because we value them so much and want others to know about them. ♥️


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## Guy Bacos (Jul 19, 2021)

Interesting video.

It's a modern art form to be able to convey the composer's intentions from his mockup to a written score ready for live orchestra.


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## jneebz (Jul 19, 2021)

A.Dern said:


> Vi-Control... once again making me wonder why I even bother. Here's an orchestrator taking precious time out of his busy day recording enough content answering audience questions that I had to split it into 3 videos. A guy who has done music prep for the likes of John Williams, John Powell, Michael Giacchino, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, and many more, giving you first hand information on his job for free, gaining nothing in return.
> 
> But yeah, let's focus on the fact that we're not giving people a free masterclass in orchestration. Because picking up one of the 3000 books out there written on the topic is clearly too much work and everyone needs to be spoonfed.
> 
> ...


Triggered much?


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## A.Dern (Jul 19, 2021)

jneebz said:


> Triggered much?


Mostly tired. But so what, everyone gets to have an opinion but when I voice mine, I'm triggered? Have at it, I'll be getting back to work. I really don't have time for internet BS. Bye.


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## wahey73 (Jul 19, 2021)

A.Dern said:


> Mostly tired. But so what, everyone gets to have an opinion but when I voice mine, I'm triggered? I guess an overly emotional snowflake like me shouldn't be on this platform. Have at it, I'll be getting back to work. With 5 more movies and 2 TV shows to finish this year, I really don't have time for internet BS. Bye.


Thank you for all of your videos and the real quality content! Really helpful and inspiring for me. Happens sometimes that people just don't see the time, passion, effort and energy one puts into creating content for free to help others but just find (maybe even seek for) one tiny detail they can use to badmouth you. Just don't care and all the best for your upcoming work.


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## South Thames (Jul 20, 2021)

> It does not give a simple orchestration technique.



The video is called 'orchestrators', not 'how to orchestrate'. 

This seems to come down to what one might call the MIDI-pack mentality -- 'why has a supremely complicated subject not been distilled in 20 minutes into an idiot-proof recipe for me?' (despite the fact there was no promise of it being).


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## borisb2 (Jul 20, 2021)

Oh boy, that escalated quickly .. 



South Thames said:


> This seems to come down to what one might call the MIDI-pack mentality -- 'why has a supremely complicated subject not been distilled in 20 minutes into an idiot-proof recipe for me?'


He is a professor at a music conservatory - think he doesnt need that .. not sure, maybe he just got the titles mixed up or something .. who cares, it was 1 opinion.

I dont know, lashing out at VI-control as a whole - "not worth to bother", calling the community Internet-BS, when 3 out of 14 participants dare to form a different opinion, or heck even say something inadequate .. thats a no go for me. Geez, all these people here are her customers on YT, not some random mass. When watching YT-content we're not holding hands, singing Kumbaya ... Youtube is a business. Dan Keen recently acknowledged in his latest video (about declining subscribers) one has to "feed the beast" (beast = us) .. I have no problem with that - thats business .. at the same time one should act a bit more chilled handling inconvinent opinions/individuals ..

sorry for being the black sheep here


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## Loïc D (Jul 20, 2021)

A.Dern said:


> Mostly tired. But so what, everyone gets to have an opinion but when I voice mine, I'm triggered? I guess an overly emotional snowflake like me shouldn't be on this platform. Have at it, I'll be getting back to work. With 5 more movies and 2 TV shows to finish this year, I really don't have time for internet BS. Bye.


I’m a follower of your channel and really appreciate the content and tone of it. It’s pedagogic, funny and you take time to explain clearly - which shows the preparation and dedication put into it.
Keep up the excellent work !


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## yiph2 (Jul 20, 2021)

borisb2 said:


> I dont know, lashing out at VI-control as a whole - "not worth to bother", calling the community Internet-BS, when 3 out of 14 participants dare to form a different opinion, or heck even say something inadequate .. thats a no go for me. Geez, all these people here are her customers on YT, not some random mass. When watching YT-content we're not holding hands, singing Kumbaya ... Youtube is a business. Dan Keen recently acknowledged in his latest video (about declining subscribers) one has to "feed the beast" (beast = us) .. I have no problem with that - thats business .. at the same time one should act a bit more chilled handling inconvinent opinions/individuals ..
> 
> sorry for being the black sheep here


You do realize that there are multiple threads of this same BS about her videos...


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## borisb2 (Jul 20, 2021)

yiph2 said:


> You do realize that there are multiple threads of this same BS about her videos...


what do you mean? no ..


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## yiph2 (Jul 20, 2021)

borisb2 said:


> what do you mean? no ..







__





Composer Anne-Kathrin Dern discussing Strings Libraries


Hi, I found this Youtube video by Composer Anne-Kathrin Dern very helpful, and interesting. She is discussing Strings Sample Libraries in Part 4 of her series on Sample Libraries. Hope this is useful. Cheers, Muziksculp




vi-control.net





Read this whole thread...


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## MA-Simon (Jul 20, 2021)

Love your videos. I can understand your frustration!

I work in marketing and such, so I just wanted to add that viewers in total, do not know your backstory you wrote above, people only see what is presented in video form. For most it might be your first video they have ever seen. And while unfortunate, and you did not intend for it, the intro look was very slick and marketing-like, what with the matching corporate screen-background behind you. That is the look and setup most modern, sponsored streamers go for. So a comment like this does not surprise me. Maybe vi-control is more finetuned to this because some people scan product release videos on a daily basis so there is always an expectation.

Not that anybody should care if you did sponsored videos?
They are still really good informative sources and I do hope you do many more!


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## borisb2 (Jul 20, 2021)

yiph2 said:


> Read this whole thread...


on that one I'm with her .. I love CSS and CS2 as well - keep those 2 - dump the rest  (of course that was a joke in the video) .. ok, maybe keep BS and CineStrings as well .. and MSS


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## borisb2 (Jul 20, 2021)

3DC said:


> and then play an ignorant to the fact.


just found out he is a music professor - so just wanted to detach from the "MIDI-pack" .. didn't want to spin any fan .. besides, I was defending our community .. but you're right, enough of that drama

No YT-channel here, dangerous field as it seems


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## Niah2 (Jul 20, 2021)

Hmm I am not a native english speaker but I never got the idea that this video series was about orchestration. I mean the title is clear enough I think and clarified for me what an orchestrator does.
Looking forward to part 2 & 3.

Keep 'em coming !


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## jneebz (Jul 20, 2021)

A.Dern said:


> Mostly tired. But so what, everyone gets to have an opinion but when I voice mine, I'm triggered? I guess an overly emotional snowflake like me shouldn't be on this platform. Have at it, I'll be getting back to work. With 5 more movies and 2 TV shows to finish this year, I really don't have time for internet BS. Bye.


I don't know you, your videos, your career, and honestly I don't really care. Your 1st response in this thread was off-putting and lopsided to say the least, especially when you lead with "_Vi-Control... once again making me wonder why I even bother._" Wasn't the bulk of the feedback in this thread positive? 



A.Dern said:


> Have at it, I'll be getting back to work. With 5 more movies and 2 TV shows to finish this year, I really don't have time for internet BS.


OK. Congrats? What purpose does this serve? I can't tell if it's elitism or insecurity? Either way, not a good look. But hey what do I know, I'm just a VI-Controller making you wonder why you even bother...


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## South Thames (Jul 20, 2021)

> I don't know you, your videos, your career, and honestly I don't really care. Your 1st response in this thread was off-putting and lopsided to say the least, especially when you lead with "_Vi-Control... once again making me wonder why I even bother._" Wasn't the bulk of the feedback in this thread positive?.
> But hey what do I know, I'm just a VI-Controller making you wonder why you even bother...



Are you taking offence on behalf of the forum? That this is not exactly an epicentre of positivity at all times is not a new or controversial observation is it? And I'm sure it is frustrating for people when what are, far as I can see, uncomplicated and sincere attempts to educate and inform are (often wilfully) misread. Not getting needled by such stuff would make life easier of course, but that's not always a choice people can make.


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## SlHarder (Jul 20, 2021)

3DC said:


> or some random "new member" drops a comment which has nothing to do with the knowledge presented in the videos.
> 
> Her response was appropriate if you ask me. I would't show that much tolerance for this kind of trolling and harassment especially since it hurt us members, who use her videos to learn something new about the industry.


I totally agree with @3d.

"drops a comment which has nothing to do with the knowledge presented."

I can find lots of off-topic comments these days here on vi-control which hijack educational threads and shove them into the pit of mediocrity.

This is why we can't ever have nice things around here anymore.


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## Guy Bacos (Jul 20, 2021)

Looking forward to part 2.


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## ptram (Jul 20, 2021)

An exceptionally informative and very clearly laid out video. Thank you very much!

Paolo


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## Nimrod7 (Jul 20, 2021)

Very few people understand the effort to create a video. Especially one that can be educational to a group of people.

For those that never did it, it requires planning that can take days / weeks, often scripting, shooting videos, b-rolls, transferring the videos to a computer often from multiple cameras, capturing screencasts (often multiple takes), editing for hours / days / weeks, color grading, creating voice overs, mixing audio, exporting, uploading to the platform, creating thumbnails, SEO, marketing to social media and more...

If anyone believes that YouTube is a business, I will invite you to check the numbers of views required to have MINIMAL revenue, and the cadence needed to produce them in order to build a subscriber base. Then I will invite you to do it, and be successful, and try not to burn out.

Any other job in this world pays better in terms of effort / revenue (at least if you are below a million subs), and the uncertainty of the platform is another topic I can write a book for.

A comment can make a creator debating if the effort required is worth it.

I have huge respect for anyone going through that effort, spending valuable time creating content for all of us to watch, for free.

Well done @A.Dern and Thank you.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jul 20, 2021)

Hey guys, please stop throwing food.

We're getting reported posts about this thread. If you don't like the video, or someone's post... whatever, please just move on.


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## robgb (Jul 20, 2021)

Aldunate said:


> With all due respect, what in the video did you found helpful?


What I found helpful is that it shows that you don't have to be an expert orchestrator to compose for film. You do your best and hand it off to someone whose entire profession is to make it work better for the players. An important collaboration that I don't normally think about as I sit here in my studio with all my midi data...


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## borisb2 (Jul 20, 2021)

Nimrod7 said:


> Any other job in this world pays better in terms of effort / revenue (at least if you are below a million subs), and the uncertainty of the platform is another topic I can write a book for.


I heard the best money making YT video / series at the moment is a kid, unpacking toys .. And when the kid is done with unpacking, it starts unpacking the next toy (or something similar) .. doesnt sound like a bad job to me .. the family is making millions each year

Scripting, filming, editing and distributing content sounds like a textbook example of a business to me. What else should it be when there is advertising involved? If its an easy business or a increasingly hard one these days is not on me to judge .. Watch Dan Keen Music latest video about that .. interesting insights. But in case of JXL, Guy Michelmore etc. .. this is big planned business - what else? .. and thats perfectly fine.

One of the very few exceptions (in the YT-music education world) to me is Alan Belkins videos .. 0, zip advertising - awesome and very informative content .. Hats off. Just for that, supporting him, I bought his composition book (which is great btw)


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## zolhof (Jul 28, 2021)

Part 2 is up!


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## Aldunate (Jul 29, 2021)

I do apologize for my misunderstanding of the content. 
The videos are very well made, and they sure serve a great purpose.


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## Polkasound (Jul 29, 2021)

Oops, I think I'm in the wrong forum...


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## Markrs (Jul 29, 2021)

Polkasound said:


> Oops, I think I'm in the wrong forum...


Random but made laugh 😁


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## Aldunate (Jul 29, 2021)

Polkasound said:


> Oops, I think I'm in the wrong forum...


You are not.





Le Parisien | Accordion collection for Kontakt | Wavesfactory







www.wavesfactory.com


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