# Andante for clarinet and strings



## muk (Jul 28, 2017)

Hello everybody

Here is some new music by me. It is a short piece for clarinet and strings, heavily inspired by Bernard Crusell:

(v1: strings very bright and wide stereo field)
https://app.box.com/s/hfb4qr1hkaqjqkscv035xojzzh77jd0g 

(v2: strings darker and less extravagant stereo width. More intimate overall)
https://app.box.com/s/3ccsrv7rxr1oyqaeh8vdvbfopu7iw6gd

(v3: completely remixed the strings. More cohesive stereo image, warmer timbre in the strings)
https://app.box.com/s/zwqsoupzmyyaomhutccdbbrkkat4ahwq

Any comments, be they about the composition or the mockup, are most welcome. Thank you for listening.


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## Saxer (Jul 28, 2017)

Very nice composition!

For my taste there could be some movement in the tempo curve... slow down at the end of phrases. And the pizz is ahead in time. The clarinet sounds good. What did you use?


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## muk (Jul 29, 2017)

Thank you Saxer. I used a piano track as temp track. It seems I could have accented the phrasing a bit more. I'll check the timing of the pizzes when I'm back at the daw. I hadn't noticed that they are ahead. Maybe actually the rest is behind because of the legato lag. In any case it should be something that can be fixed. 

The clarinet is from VSL Woodwinds.


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## Paul T McGraw (Jul 29, 2017)

The clarinet is fantastic. Very clear mix. The overall effect is sunny and bright, despite the slow tempo and frequent use of minor harmony. I love it.


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## Arden Meissner (Jul 30, 2017)

Interesting piece, especially because woodwinds are not the most interesting group of instruments.


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## muk (Jul 30, 2017)

Thank you Paul. VSL Woodwinds is a great library. Their clarinet is one of my favourites. Very playable and doesn't need too much fiddling, programming, and correcting afterwards.



Arden Meissner said:


> especially because woodwinds are not the most interesting group of instruments.



Are you coming from a trailer music background? In that genre the woodwinds often don't play a big part, though I suspect that is simply because they are not as loud as other instruments. In any case I don't share the sentiment that woodwinds are boring in the least. Quite the opposite. They have been a vital part of the orchestra and of chamber music for roughly 400 years, and not without reason. But to each their own taste.


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## Guy Bacos (Jul 30, 2017)

Schubert is reborn. It's a lovely melody. Nice pace overall. 

This could be of personal taste, but something doesn't feel quite right with the strings in the main melody section, maybe the strings are too bright?


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## synergy543 (Jul 30, 2017)

Very nice piece muk. However there is something strange about your ambient space. It sounds very unnatural to my ears. The instruments are too isolated. And with instruments that you have panned to one side, I don't hear the reflections coming from the other side. Its almost like the effect listening through headphones rather than speakers. A little attention and adjustment to your ambient settings will make a big difference I think.


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## muk (Jul 31, 2017)

Wow thank you Guy.



Guy Bacos said:


> maybe the strings are too bright?



The strings are bright indeed, maybe too bright. I like the clarity and detail of Dimension Strings, but it is probably overdone here. I'll be correcting that in a revision.



synergy543 said:


> However there is something strange about your ambient space.



Thank you synergy543. I like a very wide stereo image, and indeed it is a bit extreme here. Certainly wider than what is commonly used. That is why it is always great to get feedback on your template. I'll experiment with the spatialisation and bring it down to more standard levels. Thanks for the input.


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## muk (Aug 1, 2017)

A second version is up:

https://app.box.com/s/3ccsrv7rxr1oyqaeh8vdvbfopu7iw6gd

I've worked on the strings only, mainly their stage placement and color. The stereo width is reigned in a little (but still nicely wide), and they are not as bright anymore. It gives them a more intimate character which suits the piece fine in my opinion. What do you think? Does it work better now? Anything else that should be improved?


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## Fer (Aug 1, 2017)

Hi muk very nice piece, really. The melodic stuff, and all the phrasing writting for the clarinet is great. I prefer v.2 over the original. But i think that the strings are a little bit flat in terms of vibrato. Also regarding to the mix, i hear basses and cellos very near and very to the right to my taste. I dont know about Dimension Strings, but i think you can decide the number of players is not it? which setup did you choosed? (i mean number of players).


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## muk (Aug 1, 2017)

Thank you Fer. Good to hear that you like v2 better. I too think it is an improvement.



Fer said:


> Also regarding to the mix, i hear basses and cellos very near and very to the right to my taste. I dont know about Dimension Strings, but i think you can decide the number of players is not it? which setup did you choosed? (i mean number of players).



Celli and basses are placed to the right, but they should not appear to be closer than the violins. In fact the double basses are placed behind the violas and celli. I chose a pretty standard seating layout:






Yes, with Dimension Strings you can decide on the ensemble sizes. I used 10-8-6-6-4 here. So it is a standard size for classical/early romantic-era music.


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## Fer (Aug 1, 2017)

Hi muk i asked about ensable size because i was imagining while listening that your composition could sound very cool with a more small ensemble.


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## muk (Aug 1, 2017)

Fer said:


> Hi muk i asked about ensable size because i was imagining while listening that your composition could sound very cool with a more small ensemble.



Indeed, that is a good idea Fer. I think it would work well with a chamber orchestra setting.


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## Guy Bacos (Aug 1, 2017)

Hi muk,

I prefer the new version. I agree with Fer's comments. It's very hard to suggest something without being in front of the project, but can you share the string patches you are using?


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## muk (Aug 1, 2017)

Hi Guy,

well i am pretty happy with the second version, so I don't hear much that I would like to have improved. For the violins and violas it is mostly the legato, portato, and détaché patches. For celli and basses it is pizzicato obviously, and legato and détaché.


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## Aakaash Rao (Aug 1, 2017)

The clarinet phrasing is absolutely outstanding. Bravo on getting this performance out of any VI, let alone VSL! I would agree with the previous posters that the strings could use some work. If you spent half the time on the strings as I'm sure you spent on the woodwinds, this piece would sound even better than it does . I would also encourage you to try to treat the strings as four (five) discrete sections; as it stands, I feel as though the composition treats them a bit more like a pad. I think some call-and-response with the cellos or counterpoint with the violas might go a long way.


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## kjelleman (Aug 2, 2017)

muk said:


> A second version is up:
> 
> https://app.box.com/s/3ccsrv7rxr1oyqaeh8vdvbfopu7iw6gd
> 
> I've worked on the strings only, mainly their stage placement and color. The stereo width is reigned in a little (but still nicely wide), and they are not as bright anymore. It gives them a more intimate character which suits the piece fine in my opinion. What do you think? Does it work better now? Anything else that should be improved?


Great music and a brilliant illustration what digital music is capable to.
Congrats to you


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## muk (Aug 2, 2017)

Thank you @Aakaash Rao The string parts are not very interesting on their own, that's true. Maybe they could be worked out a bit more. But then again it is a 'concert movement' for the clarinet, and for that purpose the writing for the strings works fine and is not out of line in my opinion. We'll see, I'll think about revising the parts.



Aakaash Rao said:


> let alone VSL



You are no fan of VSL I gather. Whatever your reasons against them, the woodwinds are absolutely fabulous. And for a more classical type of music VSL often works better than many competitor products.



kjelleman said:


> Great music and a brilliant illustration what digital music is capable to.
> Congrats to you



Thank you kjelleman, very kind of you.


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## muk (Aug 20, 2017)

After letting it rest for a while I have worked on the piece a bit more. Well, on the mix mostly. There is a more cohesive stereo image, and the timbre of the strings is a bit warmer. I'm an uncertain if it is really an improvement, or if it is just different. Different it is in any case. There is a bit more reverb on the pizzicati, which was a very good tipp. I keep wondering how it would sound with Spitfire Chamber Strings instead of Dimension Strings.

https://app.box.com/s/zwqsoupzmyyaomhutccdbbrkkat4ahwq


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