Vienna Symphonic Library Forum
Forum Statistics

200,726 users have contributed to 43,209 threads and 259,123 posts.

In the past 24 hours, we have 3 new thread(s), 8 new post(s) and 56 new user(s).

  1. Home
  2. Sample Libraries
  3. Vienna Instruments Libraries (legacy)
  4. How to do 'strings fall' ?

  • How to do 'strings fall' ?

    E
    E

    Hi all,

    I'm making some instrumentals of Chic and in a song like "We are family" there are sometimes at the end of a strings phrase these 'strings fall', I don't know the exact English word but it's the same as 'brass fall', isn't it?

    I tried to do this effect on two A (an octave) in Cubase 6.5 with the pitch wheel and the Key Editor but the result is not realistic, may be it could be better if I could lower the pitch more than one tone (I don't know how to augment the interval in VI Pro, nor if it's possible [^o)] ).

    The instrument I'm using is 20 Strings Orchestra from Orchestral Strings. Btw they sound great for this particular and funky application [;)] 

    Any advice to do these falls would be much appreciated!

    Thanks,

    Edmond
  • C
    C
    I'm not very familiar with VSL's strings in particular, but Orchestral Strings includes glissando articulations which would probably be very useful. Try to gliss down like a fifth or so and then edit out the bottom note.
  • E
    E

    Thanks Casiquire, that is very helpful ! I think I have to learn how to use Note Expression too, because the volume of the note has to diminish while the pitch glisses down.
  • N
    N

    Edz, to reduce the volume of the note as it glisses down, you should be able to do a simple edit using cc11.  In any case, editing your pieces with cc7, cc11, combined with using the dynamics patches should help greatly with realism.

    Another idea that might work (though it likely might sound really fake - this is just an idea) would be to use the pitch wheel with a dynamics articulation.  Another possible drawback would be that the shortest dynamics patch lasts 1.5 seconds IIRC.  However, you could shorten the length of the dynamics patch quite a bit using the stretch editing function in VI Pro 2.  The editor also allows you to change the range of the pitch wheel.  The default setting is one whole step.
  • C
    C
    Noldar is correct, a pitch wheel may get some good and very easily controllable results. Let me know which works best, or if it's a mix of the two.
  • E
    E

    Finally I used a violins preset, the 20 Strings matrix having no portamento articulation.

    So, at that moment of the song, there are two A (A4 and A3) 16th notes followed by two E an fourth lower, 16th notes too, on which I wrote a portamento (with Cubase Expression map).

    If the CC11 is correctly set (on the two E) the result sounds realistic, thanks to you Casiquire and Noldar.  [:D]
  • M
    M

    can you please post the audio result ?

    Also a screen shot of the piano roll :)
  • E
    E

    I zipped 3 files in a folder with an mp3 and two pdf (piano roll and score in cubase), but I don't know what to do, if I'm allowed to upload this zip in this message. If so, how?

    In fact, the "As" are falling towards As, an octave lower, but, what is important, is to set 2 tracks otherwise the portamento effect fails.

    So A4 becomes A3 on the first track and A3 =>A2 on the second one. The first As are nearly 16th notes and a half, it depends on the desired effect, the second As are a bit shorter and the CC11 curve begins a couple of ticks after they are played.

    It sounds good enough, and it will sound better with the other instruments. Anyway I'm not very clever with the piano roll, drawing a curve for Expression CC11 with the pencil making dots is not that easy. I'd read the f... manual ! [:S]
  • S
    S
    Video with strings falls played on motif yamaha [url]
  • Beat KaufmannB
    Beat KaufmannB

    Hi all

    There was a german violin player called Hemut Zacharias. 

    I had some records from him because I learned to play the violin myself around 1975... 

    He showed people here in europe that we could use the violin in other music styles than just in the classical music....

    I played a lot of his pieces together with him and the records... That's all past now...



    (see from 2:20)

    Why do I write this? I learnd to play and use the "Strings Fall"

    And here a link for a "fall-possibilty"

    http://www.beat-kaufmann.com/vitutorials/vi-tips--tricks-1/index.php#53248297b50c2b917

    (Unfortuately it is shown with the old VI-Player but you should be able to adapt it to the new one)

    All the best

    - Tips & Tricks while using Samples of VSL.. see at: https://www.beat-kaufmann.com/vitutorials/ - Tutorial "Mixing an Orchestra": https://www.beat-kaufmann.com/mixing-an-orchestra/