Cinematic Orchestration

Have anyone heard of Cinematic Orchestration?

http://www.thinkspaceonline.com/co/index.asp

I am doing Composition as a subject in B.Mus., but I want to learn more about orchestration specifically. What do you think about this course?

Judging my recent compositions I have grown a LOT in composition at university. But I don't think I am skilled enough in orchestration - I rather doubt my orchestration skills.

I havent' heard of it. I think you can get help closer at home:

Justin Tokke was working on an (free) online course. And Daniel (SYS) orchetsrates a lot too, and maybe I can contribute as well.

There are many here that could give constructive feedback. So, bring it on! :D

I don't know much about it, it sounds interesting. Here are some thoughts that come to mind:

I consider orchestration and composition to be the same thing, it's the same idea as having to harmonize and write melody and rhythm all together. Music is music... however orchestration deals with all the realistic viable points too. On the topic of study I could definitely get into a real-life process of orchestration. Studying some score and trying to duplicate similarly on a computer just isn't the same thing, it lacks the actual affect as they mentioned: a John Williams recording. Maybe I'm just acting biased atm. Orchestration is all about making the music come alive, it feels like actual work to achieve. But I wouldn't want to just do orchestration for someone else's music, there are way more neat melodies and raw ideas to be discovered. Even Alan Menkin did all the orchestration for his Disney songs and background.

Anyway orchestration is something I need to work on, as like I said something about putting it into a computer with my current samples doesn't work for me: it sounds more real but more limited. I'm better off just trying to imagine how it would really come out. Standard MIDI synth comes out much clearer, the basic ideas can be near completed right there without all the sample modulation. Have you ever listened to a basic synth of something in the MIDI editor? I personally can hear and see every part, so it's easier for me to add/take away stuff when writing.

Can anyone recommend a very clear and nice VST to use instead, almost like a VST of some high quality yamaha keyboard, or maybe something all-out good? Most samples I hear are a mix of them.

Pieter,

Have you learned anything more about these guys at ThinkSpace?

I hadn't heard of this course, but I googled around a bit to see if anyone had left any reviews and I didn't find much of anything, which left me doubtful of their credibility. Nor was I especially impressed by the look of their website, although the tuition isn't a complete ripoff if they have anything worthwhile to offer... It might be helpful to find out how long they've been around.

Another thing worth mentioning is that I checked out Jamie Christopherson's (one of the teachers mentioned on the site who contributed to the LOTR video game, etc.) website and his work with ThinkSpace is mentioned nowhere on his website from what I could tell.

Have you considered Berklee Music? I know the tuition is steep by comparison, but their credibility is quite established and you can always try out one of their courses and see if it's worth your while to pursue one of their programs. Incidentally, I am going to try out their arranging for small ensemble and horns course myself, come this summer :) All the best!

~rapunzel