Garritan Launches Free, Interactive Online Orchestration Course

Multimedia, self-pacing course is based on Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Principles of Orchestration'

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Course Syllabus
(subject to change)

• Welcome to the Garritan Interactive PRINCIPLES OF ORCHESTRATION by Rimsky-Korsakov
• Lesson 1 - GENERAL REVIEW - Strings & Woodwinds
• Lesson 2 - GENERAL REVIEW - Brass, Percussion & Other Instruments
• Lesson 3 - MELODY - Strings - Melody in Stringed Instruments
• Lesson 4 - MELODY - Strings - Grouping in Unison
• Lesson 5 - MELODY - Strings - Doubling, Thirds & Sixths
• Lesson 6 - MELODY - Wood-wind - Melody in Wood-wind
• Lesson 7 - MELODY - Wood-wind - Unison & Octaves
• Lesson 8 - MELODY - Brass - Melody, Unisons & Octaves
• Lesson 9 - MELODY - Different Groups of Instruments Combined
• Lesson 10 - MELODY - Different Groups of Instruments (Cont.)
• Lesson 11 - HARMONY - General Observations
• Lesson 12 - HARMONY - String Harmony
• Lesson 13 - HARMONY - Wood-wind Harmony
• Lesson 14 - HARMONY - Wood-wind - Several Parts & Duplication
• Lesson 15 - HARMONY - Brass Harmony
• Lesson 16 - HARMONY - Combined Groups - Wind & Brass
• Lesson 17 - HARMONY - Combined Groups - Wind & Brass (cont.)
• Lesson 18 - HARMONY - Combined Groups - Strings & Wind, Three Groups
• Lesson 19 - COMPOSITION - Orchestrating the Same Music
• Lesson 20 - COMPOSITION - Tutti
• Lesson 21 - COMPOSITION - Soli
• Lesson 22 - COMPOSITION - Range Limits, Transference, Alternating Chords
• Lesson 23 - COMPOSITION - Volume of Tone Qualities, Repetition, Sfz, Emphasis
• Lesson 24 - COMPOSITION - Cresencdo and Diminuendo
• Lesson 25 - COMPOSITION - Effects, Rhythm & Color
• Lesson 26 - VOICE & ORCHESTRA - General Overview

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's genius for orchestration is unsurpassed, and there may be no better source to learn about orchestration than from the teachings of the great Russian master himself. "Principles of Orchestration" is acknowledged by many colleges and universities to be the essential, authoritative text on orchestration.

A knowledge of orchestration is indispensable for many musical endeavors, including film scoring, composing for interactive games, arranging, notating, teaching, and much more. This online course embeds around 275 animated scores in its 26 lessons, allowing participants not only to see the scores online, but hear music as it follows the score. The courses are supplemented by online discussion forums for each lesson, providing participants an opportunity to learn from orchestration experts, and share work examples with others.

"This is our way of giving back to the musical community," states Gary Garritan. "Our commitment to the musician does not end with simply selling a product; we also want to encourage the knowledge and skills that allow musical talent to flourish. After researching various educational options, we decided there's no better way to learn orchestration than to provide the ultimate book on orchestration presented with interactive, real-time examples."

Although the course officially begins this week, it's also possible to pick up the lessons at any point, review older lessons, and participate in the forums 24/7.

The course is free and to take part, surf to www.northernsounds.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=77, where you will find the first few lessons.

ABOUT THE COURSE
Click Here to Access Course

Welcome!

I am pleased to welcome you to this Interactive Edition of "Principles of Orchestration" based upon Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's celebrated text. Rimsky-Korsakov's genius for orchestration is unsurpassed and there may be no better source to learn about orchestration than to learn from what the great Russian master himself taught.

A well-crafted orchestration is a thing of beauty. I t is important for a well-rounded musician to possess a basic knowledge of orchestration. Orchestration is essential for film scoring, composing for interactive games, backgound tracks, arranging, editing, critique, copying (notating), conducting, orchestral performance, score reading, teaching and many musical endeavors.

In this revised internet edition, we have attempted to remain faithful to the original translated text which was written nearly a century ago. In the original written text, the musical examples are referenced and provided in score form taken from Rimsky-Korsakov's own works, but what was lacking was the ability to hear the examples of his works.

Hear and See the Scores with Real-time Examples


One of the best ways to learn orchestration is by simultaneously listening and visually following the score. This conveys concepts much better than viewing what's on a printed page. Rimsky-Korsakov himself recommended: "The best plan is to study full-scores, and listen to an orchestra, score in hand."

In this Interactive Edition we have provided the designated score excerpts which allows the learner to simultaneously listen and visually follow. Starting with Lesson No. 4, there are some 275 audio enabled scores that are embedded within the relevant portions of the text. In a few cases a substitute or supplemental example was provided if it could better highlight what was being conveyed. Many of the illustrations were taken from the classic text. We also replaced the complex "Rimsky-Korsakov algebra" with easily understood graphics and added various illustrations for clarification and color. Also, we supplemented the text with dozens of our own exercises to apply the principles and concepts that were taught.

The ability to hear various orchestral realizations of the different examples from Rimsky-Korsakov's works, on-demand, is invaluable; and books alone cannot provide this kind of instruction.

Course Structure - Community Learning and Self-Study

You are in good company with learning orchestration by self-study. This is how the master Rimsky-Korsakov himself learned orchestration! He taught himself orchestration so well, in fact, that he later wrote this book and even taught Prokofiev, Glazunov and Stravinsky. May you reach such heights also!

Here's how it will work. First you read the Lesson. You watch and listen to the various animated score examples to understand the concepts. Then you do the GPO exercises which may include some MIDI files, scores and MP3s that will allow you to experiment and apply what has been taught . We will discuss the lesson on the forum. You can also share your exercises on the forum and get feedback from others. There will be online "professors" who will share their expertise and help guide the discussions.

The "Interactive Principles of Orchestration" will initially be offered on this forum only. The course is expected to consist of between twenty-five and thirty individual lessons. A new lesson will be posted every week. The lessons will be presented in a systematic step-by-step approach as Rimsky-Korsakov approached it in his original text.

We will approach the material as Rimsky-Korsakov presented it and from his perspective. A lot has changed over the past century with the orchestra. We'll do our best to go in accordance with the text, but we'll also take some interesting excursions on the lesson thread if it will enhance what is being taught. We may update or add supplemental material to elucidate a point.

If you come in late, start with Lesson 1. This course follows a logical order and it is not beneficial to race through it. It is important to read, listen, follow the scores and understand it. The lessons are offered in small segments so it will be easy to digest the material. Each reading and listening example should be completed before advancing to the next. There's an abundance of complex information and it is easy to lose focus so stay with it. Some professors and educators will assist in guiding the discussions. There should be plenty of resources and people to help.

Prerequisites

Rimsky-Korsakov's "Principles of Orchestration" remains a leading orchestration text in many colleges and universities. It is assumed the learner has some necessary basic musical skills including some knowledge of music theory and practice. This course is not for the casual learner or beginning learner and requires a serious commitment.

First it is a pre-requisite that you are able to read music. This course requires following scores and being able to read treble, bass and alto clef is important.

Rimsky-Korsakov assumed the reader had a basic knowledge of the instruments of the orchestra. Instrumentation is only briefly touched upon in the first few chapters. There are excellent courses and books available if you required additional knowledge about the instruments of the orchestra. This course will not cover the later chapters dealing with opera and voice although we may add these chapters later when the choir library is complete.

If you are unsure about your level of proficiency it will not hurt to try some lessons to see if they are right for you. Learn at your own pace and try to supplement your knowledge in areas that are lacking. If you have mastery of material being taught, please try to help others who are learning.

The course is offered free of charge and there is no obligation to buy anything. Although every example was done with Garritan Personal Orchestra, GPO is not required to benefit from this course but it will help with the exercises.

It is essential to have the latest Flash Player in your browser installed in order to see the flash enabled scores. Macromedia has recently released their latest version of the Flash Player Plugin (Version 8). You can download the latest Flash Players here .

To benefit from this course it is recommended for learners to be registered with the forum to post questions or contribute in discussions. You can register to be a member of the Northern Sounds Garritan forum here .

Some Guidelines


This will be an open virtual classroom and people should feel free to visit and learn at any time.

A few guidelines: We are here to learn so please be courteous to others. Constructive criticism is welcomed - especially if it will improve the course and provide for a better education. Encouragement helps learners much more than unbridled negativity. Try to be helpful to others and avoid demeaning less experienced learners. Please do not flame, name-call, banter or disrupt the learning experience for others. This course is offered as a free service and if one is against it for competitive, philosophical, political, religious or psychological reasons; we would rather you do not participate. Just like a bricks and mortar class, disruptive behavior may lead to being suspended or expelled.

We reserve the right to make changes if circumstances so dictate. We reserve the right to change the dates, change the structure of the course, or to withdraw any part or the entire course at any time.

Copyright & Terms of Use

Copyright © 2006, Garritan Corp. All rights reserved.

The Garritan Interactive "Principles of Orchestration" by Rimsky-Korsakov is offered as a courtesy and may be withdrawn at any time. Garritan reserves the right to charge for hardopy and other versions and media of the material. You are allowed to use this material for personal education purposes only. It excludes any commercial use (including professional or promotional uses) without written permission. No image, artwork, score, textual contents, sound files, mp3s, MIDI files or other material on this web site may be copied, reproduced, displayed, altered, posted, transmitted, sold or distributed in whole or in part, or for any purpose other than individual viewing of this web site, without the express prior written consent of Garritan Corp. None of the demos be copied, reproduced, displayed, altered, posted, transmitted, distributed, or linked in whole or in part, for any purpose other than individual learning without the express prior written consent of Garritan. No part of the materials may be copied for resale or other commercial use, or included with other software, or posted on other public bulletin boards, web sites or online venues without written permission.

Acknowledgements

This online course would not have been possible without the help of some very talented and dedicate people. First and foremost thanks to Robert Davis for the Herculean task of realizing and sequencing all the scores with GPO. A big thank you to Alan Belkin for his annotations. Thanks to Sean Hannifin for doing all of the fFash work so that the music follows the score. Thanks to Terry Dwyer, Alan Belkin and Andy Brick for reviewing and serving as the teacher/moderators for the course. Thanks to those who made the various scores in Finale and Sibelius; namely: Bob De Celle, Lukasz Stasinski, Jamie Kowalski, Tim Cohen, Edward J. Fiebke Jr., Dave Budde, Jim Williams, Steve Martin, David Mauney, Jonathan Orwig, Tom Prince, David Sosnowski. Thanks to Dan Kury for the video editing and realization and Michael Sandberg for illustrations. And thanks to Mark Simon and Dave Burnett for hosting this course on Northern Sounds .

Orchestration Competition at the End of the Course

At the end on this course, when the last lesson is posted, we plan to announce an Orchestration Competition whereby learners will be afforded the opportunity to apply what they have learned. The top winners of the competition will have their works performed by a real symphony orchestra. More details will be provided later. I hope you will all participate in the competition.

Let the Course Begin...

To offer a well-known course in orchestration, present it with interactive real-time examples, and open the learning process into an online co-operative, is something we are excited about.

Our aim with this online course is to educate musicians about the fundamentals of orchestration in a new and interactive way. This course is initially being offered free of charge and it is our way of giving back to the musical community. I believe that education is more important than just products and we are committed to providing every musician the means to improve their knowledge and skills.

Please spread the word about this extraordinary learning opportunity. Mention it to your friends or on forums, blogs, chats, publications as well as to anyone who would benefit from this course.

We hope you will use these principles of orchestration in your own music and that what you will learn here will benefit you for years to come.

About Garritan Personal Orchestra

Personal Orchestra, which was used in all the examples in this course, is one of the highest quality collections of orchestral libraries ever sampled. It includes all the major instruments of the orchestra - strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion. It allows expressive control of the instruments and is easy-to-use. Garritan Personal Orchestra has won more awards than any other orchestral library as well as accolades from celebrity musicians and music press alike.

About Garritan

Garritan is a leader and innovator of sample libraries and soundware. Garritan has received many industry awards and accolades in the music press and among professional musicians. Hundreds of schools and universities have chosen Garritan Personal Orchestra for use with their music curriculums. Garritan libraries are the first sample libraries that integrate with popular notation programs, such as Finale and Sibelius. Garritan sound libraries are known the world over for quality and are an indispensable staple in many film, television and interactive productions, as well as live performances. Garritan has also democratized sampling by making soundware accessible to many musicians the world over.

For further information please contact Gary Garritan:

Web: www.garritan.com

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