Category
Debreved

Endre Granat is the most recorded violinist and concertmaster working in the studios today. He has served as concertmaster with everyone from such silver age legends as Miklos Rozsa and Henry Mancini to currently active composers like Marco Beltrami and Christophe Beck. In part one, Endre and I talk about how he got started in the studios, how things have changed over the years and the demands placed on studio musicians. Here are some links to the people he mentions in the interview. Miklos…
Read More

In part 2 of my interview with horn player Jim Thatcher, we dive in and talk about the range of techniques available to the horn and the wide variety of tonal colors it can produce and more importantly, how they are produced. In addition, Jim explains just what those horn players are doing with their hands up inside their bells. In Part 3 we talk about stopping and mutes. These videos are a great companion to my post about the horn, where you…
Read More

Jim Thatcher is the most-recorded horn player working in Hollywood today. He has been the principal horn on virtually every session I've conducted in Los Angeles. In part one of our interview, we'll talk about how Jim first became a serious horn player and what led him to the studios of Los Angeles. We'll also talk about some of his experiences as a session player over the years. Check back soon, as I'll be posting more of our conversation where we talk about how…
Read More

Saxophones and Rhythm Section Once you have a handle on how chord progressions work and how to write simple piano voicings, the next technique to master is the 'thickened line'. This is where a melody has three or four notes harmonizing under it that each move with the melody, most often in parallel motion. Believe it or not, it is much easier to write in four parts rather than three, as with three you have to think more carefully about which chord notes to leave…
Read More

Introduction This is the first part in a series of articles where I will explain how to take a simple melody and turn it into a jazz tune, complete with appropriate harmony, voicing, bass part, and notation for a session or performance. I will explain and demonstrate the basic concepts of jazz. These are the cheat notes that even a drummer should be able to understand (I should know, I am one). Part 1 deals with the melody, harmony, and piano voicing. Part 2 explains…
Read More

Over the years I have noticed that people have developed a habit of saying the same thing twice, often combining an articulation with a text description of said articulation. Some of these are standard conventions that I just think are a little silly, others are things I have seen people do without thinking. A lot of my approach has to do with thinking like a player and trusting them. A wavy line up to a note means to rip into the note, that is all…
Read More

One would think that if you want to make a small string section sound bigger, you could just record it twice and the sound will double. Unfortunately, this does not work too well. There will be a tinny or fuzzy sheen to the sound. Listen to the strings on Coldplay and Christina Aguilera songs and you will hear what I mean. Even though there are two separate takes, players have a unique talent for being able to play the same phrase pretty much the same…
Read More

There are a number of differences in how I approach conducting a choir as opposed to how I approach conducting an orchestra in the studio. You usually only get a single session to record the choir for a whole score, so here are some tips to get everything you need. You need to emoteWhile I have said I do minimal gestures and stay out of the way with the orchestra, leading a choir is very different. I have found you get the best results when you…
Read More

Technique99% of what we do is on click track. We are also sight reading. The most important thing is to have a clear downbeat. That is what the players look for when their heads are buried in their stands. I try to do a very clear pattern, a tiny bit ahead of the click (and I mean tiny, not like the concert hall). Never conduct 'along' with the click. It is possible to make them play behind or a little in front by adjusting where…
Read More

That was great, now lets make it betterThere is nothing like working with the greatest sight readers on the planet. But even if they get every note right on the first run, the magic is not going to be there yet. My theory is that it takes at least three runs before the real magic happens, when the orchestra gets the correct tuning, timing and balance. For my example let's assume this is an easy-to-medium difficulty cue. Harder cues would take more time, but this…
Read More