# Orchestral Tools Mockup: "Ride" by Samuel Hazo (Arr. for Symphony Orchestra)



## dhmusic (Sep 15, 2021)

Oh boy.

This track really pushed my libraries to their limits but I think I pulled it off alright. The string solo/soli in the middle of the piece was a bit of a hurdle but I just took it one note at a time and pushed through. I didn't have any saxophones so I adapted those parts across the rest of the orchestra. Added strings too - going for a somewhat retro vibe. Let's call it "Disco Bernstein"

I'd love to hear what you all think. Anyone else play this in their school days?


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Here's a recording of the original for reference in case anyone is curious:
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## A.Heppelmann (Sep 15, 2021)

Awesome work! Wow, I haven't heard the name Samuel Hazo since high school concert band! There are so many composers that must have made a fortune from wind band royalties (like Robert W. Smith, Frank Ticheli, probably nowadays its John Mackey...)

Congrats on a great mockup!


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## CT (Sep 15, 2021)

Yeah, I also haven't heard of this piece/composer since high school band... in all honesty it wasn't a big hit with us, but this is a cool treatment of it and I hear it a bit differently now.


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Sep 15, 2021)

great track


few things I noticed with the mix -
top end is very hot (eq)
the mix is very centre heavy


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## ChickenAndARoll (Sep 15, 2021)

I remember playing the xylophone part in this piece back in high school, good times


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## dhmusic (Sep 15, 2021)

SimonCharlesHanna said:


> great track
> 
> 
> few things I noticed with the mix -
> ...


I appreciate the feedback! It's kind of funny, I was going back and forth on those two qualities a few hours ago based on some reference tracks I was listening to and was like "yeah, this sounds like the 70's to me" - as imagined (the track was written in the early 2000's) I might dial it back a bit though, particularly in the cymbals.

As long as it sounds a bit like ABBA in the end I'll be happy


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## Trash Panda (Sep 15, 2021)

So does the original version sound like it belongs in a Square RPG or is that all Mr. Helsel shining through?


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## dhmusic (Sep 15, 2021)

Trash Panda said:


> So does the original version sound like it belongs in a Square RPG or is that all Mr. Helsel shining through?


Using the power of friendship and anime I vow to turn everything into a Kingdom Hearts intro theme


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## Jackdnp121 (Sep 15, 2021)

dhmusic said:


> Oh boy.
> 
> This track really pushed my libraries to their limits but I think I pulled it off alright. The string solo/soli in the middle of the piece was a bit of a hurdle but I just took it one note at a time and pushed through. I didn't have any saxophones so I adapted those parts across the rest of the orchestra. Added strings too - going for a somewhat retro vibe. Let's call it "Disco Bernstein"
> 
> ...



Oh yeahhhhh ……..this is great stuff …


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## dhmusic (Sep 15, 2021)

-


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## dhmusic (Sep 16, 2021)

Here's a recording of the original in case anyone is curious:


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## DGravel (Sep 16, 2021)

Great orchestration. Good job!


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## Stringtree (Sep 16, 2021)

Making an egg salad sandwich just turned into a glorious adventure. 

Superb freaking work!


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## AlexSonicsMusic (Sep 21, 2021)

Wonderful work! I really dig it!


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## mybadmemory (Sep 21, 2021)

Fantastic! This must have been a LOT of work!


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## dhmusic (Sep 21, 2021)

mybadmemory said:


> Fantastic! This must have been a LOT of work!


Thanks man! Yeah it really was haha... I think it took me about 40-50 hours over the course of like 3 or 4 days. It was pretty much all I did in that time. Been trying to work on stuff that's a stretch for my current skill, but not totally impossible. I think this was a good one for that.


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## Getsumen (Oct 12, 2021)

dhmusic said:


> Oh boy.
> 
> This track really pushed my libraries to their limits but I think I pulled it off alright. The string solo/soli in the middle of the piece was a bit of a hurdle but I just took it one note at a time and pushed through. I didn't have any saxophones so I adapted those parts across the rest of the orchestra. Added strings too - going for a somewhat retro vibe. Let's call it "Disco Bernstein"
> 
> ...



Wow! This is just... fantastic. Brings back some good memories


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## dhmusic (Oct 13, 2021)

Getsumen said:


> Wow! This is just... fantastic. Brings back some good memories


Thanks for listening! I'm glad to see the track is resonating with a few people here


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## QuiteAlright (Nov 13, 2021)

It sounds fantastic - I'd daresay I like your mockup better than the original recording. But there's one big issue - why did you get rid of the alto sax solo? 😟 That was one of my favorite parts.

Also, I've got a minor question. What genre is this considered? The only way I can describe it would be calling it a jazzy symphonic piece.


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## dhmusic (Nov 14, 2021)

QuiteAlright said:


> It sounds fantastic - I'd daresay I like your mockup better than the original recording. But there's one big issue - why did you get rid of the alto sax solo? 😟 That was one of my favorite parts.
> 
> Also, I've got a minor question. What genre is this considered? The only way I can describe it would be calling it a jazzy symphonic piece.


Thanks for listening! And that's really flattering I appreciate it 

Haha no sax because
1. I'm broke and don't have a good one
2. I botched the fast part of the solo my senior year in high school
3. I was in a JRPG mood
4. I wanted to feature more strings since they aren't in the original piece

I've always loved the piece though. I wanted to give it my own personal touch since it's been on my mind for many years.

I think "Jazzy Symphonic" is a good way to describe it! I'm sure someone around here has a suggestion too


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## Fx2t (Nov 15, 2021)

Hello,
Thank you for sharing this, it's excellent bravo !! I really like this piece.


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## lettucehat (Nov 20, 2021)

Great work. You say "thank God for Ark 4" like it saved the mockup, but I can't imagine it was the mixed brass or wind ensembles that you're talking about. Is the solo primarily the Ark 4 strings?

Also would love to hear it broken out into winds/brass/strings sometime!


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## dhmusic (Nov 20, 2021)

Fx2t said:


> Hello,
> Thank you for sharing this, it's excellent bravo !! I really like this piece.


Thanks so much, Fx2t! Yeah it's a really exciting piece. So many interesting syncopations and colors. Did you ever play it? 

I'll be sure to check out your the stuff on you SC


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## dhmusic (Nov 20, 2021)

lettucehat said:


> Great work. You say "thank God for Ark 4" like it saved the mockup, but I can't imagine it was the mixed brass or wind ensembles that you're talking about. Is the solo primarily the Ark 4 strings?
> 
> Also would love to hear it broken out into winds/brass/strings sometime!


Thanks for taking the time to listen 

Haha I kinda said that to get their attention but I don't think they saw it here. It really is one of my favorite libraries. Probably my fav tbh.

So yeah this features Ark 4 extensively throughout the whole piece - I made a really deep template for it. There are lots of cool speedy flourishes throughout that took hours of programming each note of each section - especially those tutti runs - but I think it was worth it. It's one of those pieces where I could kinda see the next horizon for myself after feeling like I'd plateaued for a while.

The Solo is Nocturne Violin superimposed over a blurred cloud of other strings from Ark 4 and Berlin Strings. That part took me forever because I didn't want to hide or mask the solo. I wanted to figure it out since I'd never done anything that fast/exposed before.


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## nomadikko (Nov 22, 2021)

Holy crap! I can't stop listening to this. The energy is insane. This beats every live version out there.
Any way to download this so I could listen to this with better sound quality in Roon?


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## Composer 2021 (Nov 23, 2021)

My favorite Samuel Hazo piece is "Mountain Thyme". I would love to hear a mockup of that too.


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## Mark Ozanich (Nov 23, 2021)

Immediate smile. Love the style here..


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## Sonja (Nov 24, 2021)

Band geeks rule!


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## bat (Dec 9, 2021)

Wow I'm so impressed. It's amazing you stayed so focused detailing somebody else's music, but it's also easy to see how anyone would get completely wrapped up in the intensity of the piece. It's AWESOME in every sense of the word, truly inspired, kinda leaves one gasping for air in a great way.
I don't hear anything remotely "jazzy" about it, the style sounds more like 'Symphonic Stampede' or maybe 'Orchestral Trail Blazing'


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## dhmusic (Dec 10, 2021)

bat said:


> kinda leaves one gasping for air in a great way.
> I don't hear anything remotely "jazzy" about it, the style sounds more like 'Symphonic Stampede' or maybe 'Orchestral Trail Blazing'


This makes me really happy to read. It's exactly the feeling I'm going for / the direction I wanted to take the piece so I'm glad it came across clearly. Thanks for listening!


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## José Herring (Dec 11, 2021)

Amazing work! Never heard of Hazo before. Must of been after my time. But this rendition sounds better than any concert band performance I've ever been involved in.


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