# Tutorial On Orchestration: Flowing String Ostinatos



## Aeonata (Sep 9, 2015)

Hi all!

I've written up my first tutorial and wanted to share some orchestration ideas about ostinatos in strings I frequently use in my own compositions. Hope some of you will find it useful!

You can find the tutorial on my blog:

http://aeonata.com/tutorial-flowing-string-ostinatos/

Feel free to share your thoughts and your own approaches!

Best wishes,

Lukas


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## cheul (Sep 15, 2015)

Very interesting orchestral device, thanks for sharing. The harmonization fill in with the viola sounds like it's pretty widely used nowadays, right ?


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## Aeonata (Sep 21, 2015)

cheul said:


> Very interesting orchestral device, thanks for sharing. The harmonization fill in with the viola sounds like it's pretty widely used nowadays, right ?



Yes, absolutely. This is not only restricted to ostinatos, violas are frequently used for 'middle notes' in sustained contexts as well.


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## dannymc (Sep 23, 2015)

great tutorial man. look forward to seeing one on cinematic or epic percussion


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## givemenoughrope (Sep 23, 2015)

"Ever since Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack to Batman Begins, we all love epic ostinatos in strings." I was thinking more like Days of Thunder:


or even the end of Blade Runner:

oh wait...

Ostinatos in strings work bc that is what samples have done well since the beginning....derived from a synth arp. 

Someone do a tutorial on how John Adams gets all those fancy cross rhythms please.


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## mpalenik (Sep 24, 2015)

Shouldn't that B flat be the key signature?


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## Aeonata (Sep 24, 2015)

mpalenik said:


> Shouldn't that B flat be the key signature?



It depends, if the musicians are sight-reading (like in a typical recording session), I would mark all the accidentals individually. If it's a concert score, I'd write the key globally at the beginning of the cue.


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## cheul (Sep 25, 2015)

Been listening to Days of Thunder, what a fun score (in a guilty pleasure kind of way, no offense Rctec). I'm curious who's the session guitarist at play here...

Aeonata : do you plan more tutorials ? Thanks again.


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## Kralc (Sep 25, 2015)

Nice tutorial Lukas. 



givemenoughrope said:


> I was thinking more like Days of Thunder:



I feel horrible to say I've never given this soundtrack a listen. IT'S MY GODDAMN JAM. 
Seriously feel like I need to find some sunglasses to put on, just to whip off in slow motion.


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## Rctec (Sep 25, 2015)

Kralc said:


> Nice tutorial Lukas.
> 
> 
> I feel horrible to say I've never given this soundtrack a listen. IT'S MY GODDAMN JAM.
> Seriously feel like I need to find some sunglasses to put on, just to whip off in slow motion.


We all have the sins and mistake of our youth haunting us...


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## dannymc (Sep 26, 2015)

> We all have the sins and mistake of our youth haunting us...



 its very "the whole kitchen sink" alright, everything is in there, but can definitely hear were some of your later scores such as the score for the rock (still one of my favs) evolved from.


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## Aeonata (Sep 26, 2015)

cheul said:


> Aeonata : do you plan more tutorials ? Thanks again.



Yes! I'm very busy at the moment, but it should be possible to write up another tutorial within the next month.


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## givemenoughrope (Sep 26, 2015)

Rctec said:


> We all have the sins and mistake of our youth haunting us...



Sins? Mistake!? I can't imagine a Bruckheimer/Scott/Cruise flick about racing from 1990 sounding any different. And if some boutique synth maker released a hw synth that made these sounds TODAY (there are probably half a dozen now) they'd be a hit with more than a niche audience. Not my jam but certainly not sins by any stretch. I was just pointing out that the bridge between a synth arpeggio and string ostinatos...to my ears anyway..


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## Uncle Peter (Nov 3, 2015)

'Main Title' would make a great opener for a concert.... thundering toms, screaming guitars, horns could double up/ play the descending synth line. The crowd would go _*wild*_ in anticipation of the build up. It's a great tune \m/


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