# How to arrange cinematic strings?



## Saled

Hi, I registered here to ask questions about strings arrangement.
By asking this I will probably help many people that arrange on the same YouTube and classes way.

Bass - Root
Cellos - Root
Violas and Violins 2 - Mid voices
Violins 1 - Melody
And forever violins 1 melody.

If there is staccato or spiccato in track, we have a pad or just very low notes, root notes on double basses or cellos, and rest Ta ti tu, Ta ti tu, add more braam, explode a nuke, and there you have useless hybrid thing.
And forever staccato or spiccato with braams and hits with pad and just root note sustained.

I choose to learn cinematic basics to be able to compose something similar to Thomas Bergersen.

*My arrangement*
I find melody and triads for it in piano.
I usually start by melody and then check what triad will cover most of the notes on melody, or to avoid 8vas or 5ths, I would go with third interval down from most or longest note of particular part of my melody to get a bass, and then check what kind of rest of two notes I can put, will it be normal triad or inverted triad.

I grab the roots of the triads and place them on cellos and basses.
I twist the upper two voices, so they don't cross much on violas and second violins.
As bass and cellos are considered both as a bass line, that would be bass play roots, alto, and tenor on violas and violins 2, and I have a melody on violins 1.
This is ok, but whatever I do next is a struggle.

*Melody on cellos or violas*
With my approach, I end up with violins as a melody on the very, very high range, because voices and ranges of other instruments push me to do so.
In video example you can see how tight I have to made voices or lines, so the melody fits in its tight arrangement, although I have few notes falling on the same key.

But yeah, depending on a melody, where it goes and how it goes, in case I would like violins to play the melody on c5, then working my *My arrangement* I have to move violins 2 on c4, fine, then I have to move violas lower, fine, then I have to move cellos lower, fine, then I cannot move bass because in c2 range it just growls, grrrrr sound.
What if I want that melody on cellos or violas, instead of violins 1?
Will I switch voices between violins 1 and cellos or violas to avoid clashes?
Would not higher frequencies of violins take control and destroy that melody on cellos or violas, or violas would higher range instruments choke cello melody?
See in video how are things going on if melody is moved down on the range of cellos or violas, and middle triad voices are moved on violins 1 and violins 2, for me it does a big mess and it sounds bad.

Someone told me like, to change lines like this, what I did in video.
Yes, how no!!!!!!
_My brother from other mother_, that gave me such answer probably never tried twisting voices, and is a theory geek, and never heard how high register, just with one line can destroy lower range melody, not to mention two, as I have in video.
Things don't go this way, as he explained, it just can't.

So who knows the answer *Melody on cellos or violas*?

*Having 4-part arrangement how to add ostinato to avoid clashes*
No matter which ranges I try to have ostinato on, if there are already 4 parts in sustained articulations of strings, added ostinato will make a track muddy.
If I lower the volume on a sustained string and raise it on ostinato, it clashes usually with violins.
If I lower the volume on the ostinato and harmony too and have higher volume on the melody, the ostinato and harmony clash.
I was through many books, and courses and they do all the same teaching approach, and nowhere have I read about this.
For example, if they talk about making ostinato, they don't show how to apply it if cellos are melody and the rest of the strings are harmony, if violins are melody, the rest of the strings are harmony, if violas are melody and rest of strings, are harmony.

Someone told me like, in 4-part writing you should remove one sustained line from 4-parts, so you have 3 parts and then you add ostinato as 4th line.
Yes, how no!!!!!!
Let's say I have ostinato D5 - A4 - D4, it's all over the octave, and takes the best range of many strings instruments in string instruments family.
So, _my brother from other mother_, that gave me such answer probably never made music and is just a theory geek that never tried what he talks about.
Things don't go this way, as he explained, it just can't.

So who knows the answer on *Having 4-part arrangement how to add ostinato to avoid clashes*?

I don't know notation, not interested to know.
I don't know to play piano chords, not interested to know.
I know to make melody, was interested to know.
I read Adler, Piston, Kotska for the things they didn't mentioned examples, which is usually 70% of such books, which teach you nothing at end, you won't be better composer with this.

I am here to ask you who compose or know to compose cinematic style with lush, strong harmonies, while having ostinato (8va - 5th - root - 5th or 5th - 5th - root - root), you know that emotional, or heroic type of ostinatos that go in cinematic music.

*Higher registers than melody hurt melody*
What do you do with violas and violins if you have melody on cellos?
What do you do with violins if you have melody on violas?

*Where do you place ostinato, and on what it depends what kind of ostinato will be used*
I am not dumb, good ostinato place is empty place in track which usually don't exist for wide ostinato if you already have 4 parts on sustained strings, so the next one is to choose ostinato over sustained notes, but it doesn't work well, just hear it in the video.

Video will be available on this URL:


----------

