Good point. Vibrato is something I should probably talk more about. As you say, you can predict a few things.

Only of the first one had the hairpins and then the next has ‘sim.’. But I have found it best to repeat the hairpins, but no need for the dynamic. For some reason it just does not always work to say sim on swells. No good reason why, just something I have noticed.

Hi. If it is a series of whole notes, with no rests, then they will all sound the same apart from a little swell on the first one and then a little dim at the end. All of these things are contextual. A note i isolation will have a little shape, a serious if long notes will just have some shape on the shoulders. If you want to get specific swells, it will not hurt to add them. Just follow my guidelines from my swell enough post.

Thank you!

Hi Marek, this comes up quite often. I write pretty much the same whether it is for the studio orchestra in LA, London, Budapest or Australia. My rationale is that new music is read in the absence of a performance practice. What I have tried to do is work this out and distill it down. Of course if you are writing music of a more experimental nature, you might need to put some more info, but they way a band interprets naked notes is the same no matter what.

I still never write ‘div’ or ‘unis’ and I have never been asked if they should play them is double stops, they will divide. And while I am not working on ‘art’ music these days, I write a lot that is played in non scoring situations. I use the same techniques when I write for the NSO or LA Phil, they are not scoring orchestras (there is little tie over between studio players and LA phil, they are pretty busy already)

Thank you for this blog. It’s value is beyond price!

I am hesitant when it comes to apply all the knowledge here in writing for purely classical orchestras or smaller bands. As you work mostly with movies and video games, would you say there is a significant distinction between performance practice of media-oriented musicians and those of classical repertoire?

Kind regards,
Marek

Hi. It is not as pronounced with other sections, but there is still a natural arch. I think when woods and brass play with strings they listen and tend to phrase with them. Like I mention here, the dynamic has an effect on attack.