What Courses Have You Purchased For Your Education?
Land of Missing Parts
Grumpy Monkey
I suspect a tutorial on mixing libraries would do well, don't you think?
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
We could definitely use more of those.
JohnG
Senior Member
Hi Chris,
The cheapest education I've bought is John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and early 20th century scores (Ravel, Stravinsky, Debussy). Some of those are only $12, some are more like $60.
Even if your ability to read music is in the "not so hot" category, you can still learn a lot by looking at very brief -- two-to-four-bar -- passages that you like. You don't have to do what I hear Liszt did, and copy out all of Beethoven's symphonic scores as a teenager. (I mean, hats off if you have the patience, but a few bars here and there with Ravel or JW will go a huge long way.)
If you can't read music at all, you can still write stuff by ear but it's a Herculean effort to juggle an orchestra without any notation or traditional knowledge. If you can't read music at all, unless you have an orchestrator at your elbow, I don't see how anyone could get to a top level just by ear. Why? There are a lot of tricks that "just work," and that, given the press of time we have when writing to schedule, provide indispensable shortcuts. I know there are exceptions, some great ones, but then again, talent comes into it as well, and we don't all get the same dollop of that.
To return to your original question, Junkie XL offers free tutorials that are quite specific -- costs nothing and there are all kinds of helpful tips in there. He seems like a super-nice fellow; he certainly is generous to take the time to make them.
Kind regards,
John
The cheapest education I've bought is John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and early 20th century scores (Ravel, Stravinsky, Debussy). Some of those are only $12, some are more like $60.
Even if your ability to read music is in the "not so hot" category, you can still learn a lot by looking at very brief -- two-to-four-bar -- passages that you like. You don't have to do what I hear Liszt did, and copy out all of Beethoven's symphonic scores as a teenager. (I mean, hats off if you have the patience, but a few bars here and there with Ravel or JW will go a huge long way.)
If you can't read music at all, you can still write stuff by ear but it's a Herculean effort to juggle an orchestra without any notation or traditional knowledge. If you can't read music at all, unless you have an orchestrator at your elbow, I don't see how anyone could get to a top level just by ear. Why? There are a lot of tricks that "just work," and that, given the press of time we have when writing to schedule, provide indispensable shortcuts. I know there are exceptions, some great ones, but then again, talent comes into it as well, and we don't all get the same dollop of that.
To return to your original question, Junkie XL offers free tutorials that are quite specific -- costs nothing and there are all kinds of helpful tips in there. He seems like a super-nice fellow; he certainly is generous to take the time to make them.
Kind regards,
John
dzilizzi
Senior Member
I am getting started and just a hobbyist with more money than time. I like Mike Verta's courses. But they are usually 5 hours long and I rarely can sit through the whole thing at one go.
I have Udemy courses. They are split up nicely, but the basics can be very boring. Also, I really want to watch some of them when I can take notes or have my music computer in front of me. The biggest problem for me with learning is I need to see how it is done and either write it down or do it myself right away or I will forget it.
I liked PureMix (?) courses because they take you through stuff and explain it well. They do have mixing courses but they are geared towards pop/rock. And they give you the stems so you can work along with them. They are just a little pricey for me for an annual membership.
I have Udemy courses. They are split up nicely, but the basics can be very boring. Also, I really want to watch some of them when I can take notes or have my music computer in front of me. The biggest problem for me with learning is I need to see how it is done and either write it down or do it myself right away or I will forget it.
I liked PureMix (?) courses because they take you through stuff and explain it well. They do have mixing courses but they are geared towards pop/rock. And they give you the stems so you can work along with them. They are just a little pricey for me for an annual membership.
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Thanks for your input John!
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Hey dzilizzi, thanks for sharing what you're purchased and what you'd like to see improved!
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Thanks. Any ones that stood out to you as being the best, and why? And which ones would you have liked to have seen improved upon?
d.healey
This is a custom title
OTL 2 was for me the best course from ScoreClub but OTL 1 is a necessary foundation. I haven't finished OTL3 yet but so far it's great.
I learn something new from every Mike Verta class but the root of all his classes is basically the same, setup patterns, transcribe, drink whisky
I'd start with the composition and orchestration classes, then go from there to the topics that interest you. The live brass session class is a must!If my final goal was to work with professional musicians and I was beginning, now, I'd do it the same way again. Become proficient on at least one instrument then go to a music college/uni or pay for private tuition. Nothing beats having highly experienced mentors watch over you, picking up on all those little mistakes and showing you how to correct them, or being in an environment where you're surrounded by musicians that you can badger to play through passages or explain why something will/wont work.
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Great point.
Ned Bouhalassa
Senior Member
Going to university was one of the best moves I ever made. I can't say enough good about going to school and meeting so many people.
PeterN
བོད་
I can say something no course has yet delivered, and that is extensive midi examples on different types of midi orchestration. By that I mean theres a midi file with the video, and you can add any of your own, say, oboe, cello and so on there, on the “oboe track”, once you have opened it, and then analyse different techniques of midi orchestration this way. With a tutorial video. The person in the tutorial video could use emberton Cello, fine, you can even use Logics own cello. And I mean someone experienced in midi orchestration, and taking on everything with different woodwind harmonies to string runs. With a fuckin midi file. Sorry. Sure, you can do it by reading notes too, but this is another way, midi orchestration, and would probably find plenty customers. I just ask, why, has nobody done this yet, bcs me thinks theres money in selling orchestration course like this.
InLight-Tone
Senior Member
I tried music theory and composition in college and got NOTHING out of it. Boring, dry very little real world application. Studied "Harmony for Computer Musicians" and learned a lot but it's general theory not really orchestral based.
I also want to put in a good word for the Scoreclub courses and they are definitely applicable to film scoring and orchestration. Good stuff!
I also want to put in a good word for the Scoreclub courses and they are definitely applicable to film scoring and orchestration. Good stuff!
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Thanks for sharing man!
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Great idea, thanks for sharing Peter!
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Same here, studying theory in uni didn't really apply to my style of composition. Thanks for sharing.
JohnG
Senior Member
Nobody does it because it wouldn't work. Even within the same family of libraries (East West, Spitfire), the midi implementation -- the responsiveness and behaviour of the midi instruments -- can differ radically.
Consequently, there is no practical way to create a "universal" midi mockup, one that would allow users to substitute, to take your example, one oboe instead of another.
In fact, I think that it's a myth, often repeated, that one's midi orchestration should be significantly different from a real orchestration. I don't agree with that premise.
Accordingly, what you are hoping for already exists: printed musical scores! Many times, I've taken four or eight bars or whatever and tried to make them sound exactly like the recording. It's not that easy but it's possible to do, and I learned a lot about orchestration that way. That and getting some experience with real players.
JohnG
Senior Member
Sounds like Thinkspace would be just the thing you're seeking. They have courses, individual videos -- quite a bit of stuff that's exactly like what you're describing.
