# Anyone taken the Symphonic Virtual Orchestration Course or anything similar?



## JTJohnson (Apr 25, 2017)

looking to enroll on a short course to hopefully learn something new. Just got an email from VI Control with the one mentioned in the title and im constantly told about the Evanant one. Also did take a course years back from Groove3 that was ok. Anyone recommend any course? I prefer to spend my money on learning than buying more samples.


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## jvillalvazojr (Apr 25, 2017)

Haven't taken the course myself but I'm also considering it. One thing that draws me to it is that you get access to the course for life. That also includes access to the weekly lectures and facebook group even after your course has finished. Going to look into it more but I'd love to hear feedback on this as well if anyone has taken the course in the past.


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## mjsalam (Apr 25, 2017)

JTJohnson said:


> looking to enroll on a short course to hopefully learn something new. Just got an email from VI Control with the one mentioned in the title and im constantly told about the Evanant one. Also did take a course years back from Groove3 that was ok. Anyone recommend any course? I prefer to spend my money on learning than buying more samples.



I'm super tempted by the SVO course but I don't think I can pull it off at the moment. I did recently enroll in the Thinkspace "Template in a weekend" course which I am finding fantastic. It's very reasonably priced and in my opinion a fantastic value. I've already picked up some good little tidbits and find I really just enjoy Guy's humour and approach to things. As far as courses go I haven't done much. I did an Evenant recently but I didn't find it a good value. May have just been the wrong course for me. Anyhow. Ya....


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## MarcusMaximus (Apr 25, 2017)

Also tempted but would love to hear from someone who has actually done it. I did the ThinkSpace Orchestral Mixing course recently and it was excellent. I also finished 4 years of 1-1 composition lessons a while ago, which was also an excellent learning experience. This course looks very comprehensive though and I like the focus on producing professional sounding recordings. Having studied a lot of the more 'traditional' way of doing things (harmony, counterpoint, real-world orchestration, score preparation etc. etc.) I am now drawn to something that is more geared toward the production side of things. I don't write music for media though, just music 'for its own sake' so I am wondering if the course is more suited to those who want to write for film, games, tv etc?


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## JTJohnson (Apr 25, 2017)

Emailed them and they friendly got back in touch





"Hi Jake- thanks for contacting! Sorry, it took a bit to answer your email  Great questions!
*1) is this lifetime access?*
Yes, you've got lifetime access to the course materials.
The course http://vi-control.net/community/x-apple-data-detectors://1 (starts on May 1st.) BUT you can go your own pace. Don't have to follow the course's schedule. The course materials do not expire and you'll have access to them for life. Even to the future course updates and improvements!
The duration is 8 weeks approx. You can do it a bit faster, or taking as much time as you want/need. The assignments will be always reviewed, no matter how late you post them. And the chat sessions get recorded.
Also, you’ll have access to the course materials for life, as well as to the Facebook group AND the weekly chats. You can join any weekly chat that you want, even if your course has finished.

*2. Is it mostly videos with examples etc?*
The course consists of weekly lessons, based on videos and PDFs. At the end of every lesson, there's an assignment. The course also includes

- a weekly live video-chat with Marc and the rest of the students
- assignments that get reviewed by Marc
- a private Facebook group where you'll post the assignments that will get reviewed and you can ask questions.
- a live orchestral mixing masterclass with 3 times Grammy mixing engineer Bobby Fernandez (PRO version)
- another live composing masterclass with Spiderman composer Christopher Young (tips on how to get you started in the industry, now that you know how to produce professional sounding mockups)

There is not a final exam. There are weekly assignments that get reviewed. At the end of the course, you'll get a certificate of completion.


*3) I see you have different tiers of join up, what is the difference?*
Yes, we've got three versions, Basic, PRO and EXPERT.

The Basic is the bare bones version of the course. I wouldn’t go for the Basic if you can afford to go with the PRO.

The PRO version is the one that 90% of our students take because it includes the Bobby Fernandez masterclass plus the 4 case studies. Then there’s the Expert version

We just have 4 students at the moment taking that one.. a 5% of our students take the EXPERT. It’s designed for those who want this VIP sort of treatment or more a 1-to-1 experience. The main difference is a private class with Marc, plus on other private class with a composer working in major projects in Hollywood, plus the exact list of Marc’s template with libraries, patches, and settings.

The weekly group chats are for the three versions the same. The EXPERT will have the private lessons as well: 1 private lesson at the end of the course with Marc and another with a working composer.


*4) And also do you offer student discount?*
Yes, we do.
If you study or teach at any music school, conservatory or university, you qualify for a 30% EDU discount (that would be, i.e., $697 for the PRO version, or 12 payments of $67)
Just contact us with the version you want to purchase and include some proof of eligibility (scanned student ID, faculty letter, ...). We will then send you a discount link for use enroll.
Please make sure that your proof of eligibility shows a recent date so we can verify that you qualify for the EDU Discount. Anything that proves that you are right now eligible for a discount will be sufficient.
Please note that the EDU discount can not be combined with any other discounts (pre-order, introductory pricing, ...).
Also, EDU discounts can not be applied in retrospect for accounting reasons.

I hope this answer your questions. Please let me know if you have any other questions about that, or if I can help with anything else -- I'm more than happy to assist however I can! "

Seem like a good bunch. Also they stressed in another email that it was 70% geared towards mixing/mastering.


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## JTJohnson (Apr 26, 2017)

mjsalam said:


> I'm super tempted by the SVO course but I don't think I can pull it off at the moment. I did recently enroll in the Thinkspace "Template in a weekend" course which I am finding fantastic. It's very reasonably priced and in my opinion a fantastic value. I've already picked up some good little tidbits and find I really just enjoy Guy's humour and approach to things. As far as courses go I haven't done much. I did an Evenant recently but I didn't find it a good value. May have just been the wrong course for me. Anyhow. Ya....


Which evenant course did you do?


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## mjsalam (Apr 26, 2017)

I think it was called "The Aspiring Trailer Music Composer" or something like that. It was one of the less costly ones so I thought I might start there. 

I want to reiterate though that I think it just wasn't the right course for me (perhaps my expectations were off). They were true to their word regarding 30 days no questions asked so I would certainly not discourage anyone from taking one of their courses.


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## stixman (Apr 26, 2017)

The Evenant cinematic music course is a lot better than the trailer course imo maybe worth a look


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## JTJohnson (Apr 26, 2017)

stixman said:


> The Evenant cinematic music course is a lot better than the trailer course imo maybe worth a look


I was more interested in that one over the trailer course myself. You would recommend then?


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## stixman (Apr 27, 2017)

It is good imo glad i took it! 


JTJohnson said:


> I was more interested in that one over the trailer course myself. You would recommend then?


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## SBK (Apr 27, 2017)

what do you want to learn exactly that can't be learned with asking here?


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## Paul T McGraw (May 12, 2017)

MarcusMaximus said:


> Also tempted but would love to hear from someone who has actually done it. I did the ThinkSpace Orchestral Mixing course recently and it was excellent. I also finished 4 years of 1-1 composition lessons a while ago, which was also an excellent learning experience. This course looks very comprehensive though and I like the focus on producing professional sounding recordings. Having studied a lot of the more 'traditional' way of doing things (harmony, counterpoint, real-world orchestration, score preparation etc. etc.) I am now drawn to something that is more geared toward the production side of things. I don't write music for media though, just music 'for its own sake' so I am wondering if the course is more suited to those who want to write for film, games, tv etc?



I also am interested in music "for its own sake" and also considering the subject course. Would you share info about your 1-1 composition lesseons?


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## MarcusMaximus (May 12, 2017)

Paul T McGraw said:


> I also am interested in music "for its own sake" and also considering the subject course. Would you share info about your 1-1 composition lesseons?



Hi Paul. Sure. I studied with Alain Mayrand. He is an excellent teacher. Although he works mostly with film he has also written a lot for performance. I'm not sure if he is teaching privately anymore but he does run ScoreClub which has some great courses on offer and I know he is developing more courses all the time.

Here is a link to his website which also has a link to ScoreClub. I suggest you contact him directly to enquire about lessons if you're interested. Let me know if you have any more questions.

http://alainmayrand.com

All the best with it,
Mark


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