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Topic: BIG ORCHESTRA Session work |
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 8 May 2005 3:51 pm |
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Have you ever had the occasion to do a recording session with a big string section?
An orchestra of twenty or more persons, sitting there, ready to do their very best musically, just for YOU......with sheet music on the music stand directly in front of you and your guitar.....and all of that stress building kinda stuff........not to mention the cost per minute of doing that session for all concerned including studio time.
Give a listen to "Memories of Maria" on the jerrybyrdfanclub.com web site. It's just that kind of session....... I get nervous just thinking about it. |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 9 May 2005 6:08 am
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I had one of those in London a few years ago - it was a film score written and conducted by Elmer Bernstein.
The reading part was, luckily for me, pretty easy, but my knees were knocking at the thought of the thirty or so other guys who were probably NOT going to screw up.
I'm afraid days like that probably take a couple of weeks off one's life-span, although I felt pretty pleased with myself once the danger had passed.....
RR |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 9 May 2005 9:54 am
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I'm afraid my reading chops have never been up to snuff for tackling orchestral work, and I sure admire those who can hack it! Years ago I did a lot of session work in South Carolina for producer John McCullough (his work on the Snoopy and the Red Baron records comes to mind), a real nice guy to work with. One of the sessions was for a single that was supposed to have been scored and tracked with orchestral backing, but when I got to the studio it hadn't been done yet. I wondered how to leave room for an orchestra?!! But John just told me to pla as if I were the only lead instrument. When the record was released, he had scored the whole orchestra around the steel parts, leaving me out front. It sounded like I was "leading the band". I was really surprised with how it came out!
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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
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John McGann
From:
Boston, Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 9 May 2005 9:58 am
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Not on steel, but I will be doing it with the Boston pops at Symphony Hall in Boston June 8-10 as part of a group called The Wayfaring Strangers
http://www.thewayfaringstrangers.com
The playing doesn't have me as nervous as the fact that i am arranging all the tunes we are playing with them- full strings, winds and horns (I left out some brass and percussion because it'll be busy enough already!). The playing will be the easy part!
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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 9 May 2005 3:10 pm
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| I never had a 20 piece string orchestra to contend with, however back in the days of Esquival, a very fine local arranger put together some charts along that orchestral style for a CBC broadcast. He actually wrote out what Alvino Rey played and expected me to copy it ! Hell, it was almost an impossibility since I don't play pedals. Anyway, I had 4 weeks to "woodshed" a pile of written charts, (all notation), and managed to pull it off on my Fender Custom T-8. I didn't sound like Alvino, but came mighty close to doing what he did. I was also a complete nervous wreck after that show aired! |
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