# What Are Your Largest Challenges?



## ChrisSiuMusic (Apr 30, 2018)

Hey folks! 

I’m curious to know: What are your largest difficulties or even frustrations when it comes to writing, arranging, producing, or mixing orchestral music? If so, I’d love to hear about what those problems are, and I would love to help if I can. Feel free to share more than one if you have them in mind!


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## JPQ (Apr 30, 2018)

Drum parts. and i really dislike for example eastwest tells in drum sounds these notes are for example conga but playing techniques are missing. to me this is plain silly.


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Apr 30, 2018)

JPQ said:


> Drum parts. and i really dislike for example eastwest tells in drum sounds these notes are for example conga but playing techniques are missing. to me this is plain silly.


Yes it is important to find the perc library that works for you. There are plenty of good ones out there, are you thinking more classical orchestral or cinematic orchestral? Or hybrid?


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## Loïc D (Apr 30, 2018)

My biggest challenge is to record a 345 piece string orchestra to leave a landmark in history books.

Joke aside, my main issue is timing, I’m often too much on the loose side.


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## JF (Apr 30, 2018)

development, form, modulating convincingly


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Apr 30, 2018)

Not to overwrite and over orcherstrate. When everything is done correctly mixing is not an issue that much. Often I stumble over a problem in mixing and realize my orchestration or dynamic timbres are shit at that spot. Most of the time.


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## MatFluor (Apr 30, 2018)

Getting gigs 

In all seriousness: Making a compelling track. The 15 years of powermetal composing are haunting me in the orchestral space. The standard song structure with Drums, Bass+Guitars and Keyboard doesn't translate that well. Unlearn a lot, and relearn a lot.


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Apr 30, 2018)

JF said:


> development, form, modulating convincingly


Hey JF, by convincing modulation do you mean making it sound as natural as possible?


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Apr 30, 2018)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> Not to overwrite and over orcherstrate. When everything is done correctly mixing is not an issue that much. Often I stumble over a problem in mixing and realize my orchestration or dynamic timbres are shit at that spot. Most of the time.


I can definitely relate. I’d definitely say less is more in orchestral work!


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## JF (Apr 30, 2018)

ChrisSiuMusic said:


> Hey JF, by convincing modulation do you mean making it sound as natural as possible?


Yeah, I feel as though its very obvious when I modulate. I am fairly out of practice at this point which doesn't help.


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## fretti (Apr 30, 2018)

Using Woodwinds/other instruments. My sister plays flute and I love the sound of woodwinds in general. But when I write I tend to always use the same instruments = Strings, Horns, Tuba. + a little Percussion and synths. Maybe some advice on how to get to know certain instruments to enable one to write for them.
Other then that: I often use to much playing the same, instead of dividing some parts (lack in orchestration knowledge though; currently working on that) and how to end stuff. Could go on for hours with melodies and chord progressions, but I never find „that“ ending that satisfies me...


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Apr 30, 2018)

JF said:


> Yeah, I feel as though its very obvious when I modulate. I am fairly out of practice at this point which doesn't help.


I can almost guarantee that the modulation you’re thinking of has been done before, so I wouldn’t worry about that too much! I’ve definitely felt the same at times but carried on with it, and have always enjoyed the final result. If anything, your piece will just sound more ‘classical’ or traditional. What’s wrong with that?


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Apr 30, 2018)

fretti said:


> Using Woodwinds/other instruments. My sister plays flute and I love the sound of woodwinds in general. But when I write I tend to always use the same instruments = Strings, Horns, Tuba. + a little Percussion and synths. Maybe some advice on how to get to know certain instruments to enable one to write for them.
> Other then that: I often use to much playing the same, instead of dividing some parts (lack in orchestration knowledge though; currently working on that) and how to end stuff. Could go on for hours with melodies and chord progressions, but I never find „that“ ending that satisfies me...


Great post fretti. I love the sound of woodwinds as well, the oboe might just be my favourite in terms of sound. Have you tried experimenting with giving a more variety of instruments the melody, and see what harmony becomes inspired from that? 

For example, my first official orchestral track I did had strings playing the main theme, then brass in the return of the theme, and finally oboe in the bridge. I definitely didn’t want my next track to sound repetitive or too close to the first, so I used brass for the whole main theme, then strings layered with flute for the bridge. Just playing around with the instrumentation in general I find is the best way to inspire a new melody. Additionally, because each instrument falls within a certain range, you’ll find yourself forced to write something that sounds good for that instrument. 

Regarding endings, a great start would be to end in the same key as you started, so even if you modulated in some crazy way in the middle, coming back to the original key by the end sounds very satisfying and complete. You can set it up with some typical cadential progressions, and combined with some great buildups or well-timed fadeaways into silence, you could have a winner.


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## Rodney Money (Apr 30, 2018)

My largest challenges? My stubbornness, my pride, and my perfectionism.


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Apr 30, 2018)

Rodney Money said:


> My largest challenges? My stubbornness, my pride, and my perfectionism.


The trifecta. How does that translate to your music?


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## Rodney Money (Apr 30, 2018)

ChrisSiuMusic said:


> The trifecta. How does that translate to your music?


That would take a long, personal post to answer that truthfully.


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## wst3 (Apr 30, 2018)

Rodney Money said:


> My largest challenges? My stubbornness, my pride, and my perfectionism.


Have we met???


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## JPQ (Apr 30, 2018)

ChrisSiuMusic said:


> Yes it is important to find the perc library that works for you. There are plenty of good ones out there, are you thinking more classical orchestral or cinematic orchestral? Or hybrid?



I bet my needs sound ide is good (at least if my idea is possible do and currently seems its possible which means some changes how i do music but dont related orchestral percusion) but how use sounds to sound good. not too mecahanic and percussion is correct way of my music. complex drum parts is problem hard define better.


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## YaniDee (Apr 30, 2018)

The proportion of time I spend researching, reviewing , watching videos on, buying, learning & archiving sample libraries, loops, vst synths & effects and computer / hardware tweaking versus making music is probably over 60% to 40%!
I have a music degree and have had a long career in music as a performer, teacher, recording engineer & tech, but if I'm ever to achieve any goals in composition, I obviously have to change that ratio around big time!
Yes, it's great to have an orchestra in a box, but there's a lot to be said of the "limits" of old school tape recording!


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## JT (Apr 30, 2018)

My biggest problem is trying to remain objective about my work. It's one thing to hear someone else's track and know what it needs. But it's never that clear for me when analyzing my own stuff. When working on a long project I have a pattern of: first liking what I've done, then comes absolutely hating every note, and lastly loving it again.


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## jiffybox (Apr 30, 2018)

Mixing and follow-through.


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## KEM (Apr 30, 2018)

I’d have to say progression, I can write a 4, 8, even 16 bar melody just fine, but it’s really difficult for me to keep a track moving for a long period of time without repetition. I think it’s due to my lack of theory knowledge, I don’t know much about harmony, I just do everything by ear, and I tend to run out of things after like 4 chords, but it’s something I’m definitely working on.


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## mikeh-375 (May 1, 2018)

I thought I did the hard part in actually writing my cello concerto, but trying to programme it with a sense of realism is a challenge. I WILL get there though..I WILL, I will...will I?


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## Alex Fraser (May 1, 2018)

Learning the software/plugins/libraries. The music bit I'm fine with.
My issue is bumping up against the technology: ("Why is that thing doing that...?!") and pooling all the incredible libraries and resources we have into something that enables me to focus on the music and not the tech bits.


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## Henu (May 1, 2018)

YaniDee said:


> The proportion of time I spend researching, reviewing , watching videos on, buying, learning & archiving sample libraries, loops, vst synths & effects and computer / hardware tweaking versus making music is probably over 60% to 40%!



Welcome to the club- for me it has been like 30/70 since the start of the year. It seems that the more libraries I buy, the less I have time for the actual creative work! As a bright side, though, I am getting acquinted with those libraries really well and start to understand which ones I need to create something specific. And the more I actually learn how to use them in the box, the less time I spend fixing things in the mix.

On topic, my biggest problems are two things.

1. Overtrying.

I scream _nononononono_ for anything close to Symphobia or ensemble patches and bang my head against the wall trying to orchestrate every note myself, no matter how long it takes. And did I mention I have no educational background in that? That REALLY makes it easy, haha! So I blame samples, I blame myself, I blame my kids and if I had a dog I'd probably blame him as well. But when I finally succeed to orchestrate stuff on my own, I'm really glad I took that route again to learn more.

Too bad it took me two weeks and now I don't have any time to mix properly. Nice!

2. Overcomposing.

Give me a moving picture... and I'll be damned to fill every single godforsaken empty hole, overorchestrate everything and make sure that the music never stops and has at least 4-5 instruments on top of each other all the fucking time. Sometimes, when one line is enough, _I MUST AT LEAST DOUBLE IT AND ADD SOME DISTANT PERCUSSION AND HOW ABOUT A COUNTERPO..._.well, how about no.
I just threw away two hours of work on a trailer due to the fact that everything was just cluttered hasty forced overcomposed shit without a clue what I was doing- I was just filling every single gap with music I could. Lucky for me, the next try sounds much more promising, but that being said, I wish I didn't have to do that "first round" all the time. And yet I can already assure I will be overcomposing that second try as well. Trust me!

EDIT: Reading @AlexanderSchiborr 's comment, it seems that we might be having the same issue, haha! How are you battling that yourself?


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## halfwalk (May 1, 2018)

The internet:

Spending time looking at new libraries instead of learning and using the ones I have.
Spending time looking for orchestration/composition tips and tricks, rather than just practicing myself.
Taking a 5 minute reddit/forum break that turns into an hour.
Window shopping on Sweetwater, et al, for that elusive bit of gear that's going to be the "last thing I need to buy" before I can make music.

I wrote out a bukowski poem on a drum head and put it up on my wall next to my desk, as a constant reminder to myself to just get on with it:

_once again
I hear of somebody who is going to
settle down and
do their work,
painting or writing or whatever,
as soon as they get a better light
installed,
or as soon as they move to a new
city,
or as soon as they come back from the trip they
have been planning,
or as soon as…


it’s simple; they just don’t want
to do it,
or they can’t do it,
otherwise they’d feel a burning
itch from hell
they could not ignore
and “soon”
would turn quickly into
“now.”

_
Also, I must echo the sentiment voiced previously, about overdoing it. It's so tempting to throw every wonderful sound I have at every single track. I mean, these woodwinds were expensive, so I've got to use them all constantly or else I wasted my money, right? Then, all of a sudden, that one little bit of what was supposed to be underscore is now a ham-fisted attempt at mimicking every single john williams score I ever loved all at once.


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## JonAdamich (May 1, 2018)

Trying to find an interesting orchestral texture.


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## Mike Marino (May 1, 2018)

Time poverty


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## CT (May 1, 2018)

Obsessing about the technological side of things instead of music, and when I do manage to think about music, tinkering around with mimicking other music I like rather than paying attention to what's going on in my own head.


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## gregh (May 1, 2018)

building an audience  I have a small group of people who like what I do quite a bit but I've never managed to move beyond that. I read someone whingeing about getting 2000 Spotify plays - I dream of that many  On the other hand I really enjoy composing, feel strong in my "trajectory" and love the visual and performance artists I have worked with over the years. Actually I consider myself incredibly lucky to have worked with and known the people I have known. But popular success I've not had and doubt very much that I will (2000 spotify plays - how wonderful! )


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## Vik (May 2, 2018)

My largest challenge is to finish a composition before I start a new one.


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## Leon Portelance (May 12, 2018)

5 years after a severe TBI, my biggest challenge is to compose while being so deaf. In the accident, I lost all of my hearing in my right ear and 92% in my left. I have a very good hearing aid that connects directly to my computer. Needless to say, I have a good mixer engineer and also a good mastering engineer. But it costs me money for them. I couldn’t mix anything on my own. I am almost 64 now, but I won’t give up until I stop breathing.


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