Strings Part II : How to orchestrate the

Harmony in the String Section scorecastonline.com by Stellita Loukas May 10, 2012

Hello everyone! I hope you are all well and deep into creative frenzy! Following my

article on how to orchestrate the melody within the string section, in this article I

would like to explain various ways in which we can give the harmony to the string

section. While Mr.Korsakov and Principles of Orchestration Online have done a

brilliant job of explaining these principles, I would like to present the material in a

more concise and organized way. So, as is our customary ritual, grab a fresh cup of

your preferred beverage and lets get started!

Due to the nature of the string section and the fact that all four instrument

families blend perfectly with each other, string harmony is one of the easiest to

write. However, it is also one of the most important! As we mentioned in the last

article, strings are the backbone of the orchestra. If you create a solid basis for

the entire orchestra to sit on, then chances are your orchestration will sound

much much better. The most important goal when writing string harmonies is to

achieve an equal balance of the harmonic parts.

A. Preparing to Orchestrate Brush up your Part-Writing!

If you were looking for a chance to brush up your part-writing skills, now is the

perfect time! However big and lush your string patches may sound, bad part-

writing cannot be corrected neither in the orchestration nor in the mixing stage.

So, the first step in successfully and effectively orchestrating your harmony in

the string section is to have a nicely-crafted harmony to begin with. Make sure

that each chord flows into the next as smoothly as possible and each instrument

has a playable and interesting line.

Keep in mind that the smaller the string ensemble you have available, the more

exposed your part-writing will be. However surprising, it is true that it is much

harder to make a string quartet sound good than a full string orchestra! So next

time you are having a hard time concentrating in all those harmony rules we all

had to digest at some point, remember that!

The next step is to take your 3-, 4- or X-part harmony and assign each line to a

string family. Let me clarify here that when I refer to 3-part harmony I dont

necessarily mean triadic harmony (i.e. chords comprising of Root-3rd-5th) but

any chord comprising of 3 parts. Also, 4-part harmony refers to any chord

structure that comprises of four notes (R-3-5-7 or R-3-5-9 etc). Any 3-part

structure can be turned into a 4-part structure with doubling.

The standard and most straightforward approach to orchestrating any chord in

the string section is to assign chord tones according to the range and role of the

instrument. For example, the obvious choice for the top note(s) of the chord are

the violins and for the bottom are the basses. Another thing to always have in

mind is that while close voicings sound well in higher registers, it is best for the

lower notes to be spaced in larger intervals because close intervals between

basses and cellos will sound very muddy.

Our very own Robin Hoffmann has written an excellent article on how to voice a

chord according to the harmonic series. I suggest that you give it a read as it will

help you understand a lot about voicing chords for the string section. No matter

what kind of harmony you are using, spacing the notes correctly is a make-or-

break factor in successful string writing. Voicings are everything!

B. Orchestrating the Harmony within the String

Section

1. Harmony in 3 to 5 Parts

Harmony in 3-5 parts is rather straightforward, in the sense that the string

section allows us to write up to 5 parts without problems.

When we are faced with a harmony in 3-parts, we can either omit some string

instruments (e.g. have only Violins-Violas-Celli) or we can always double some

chord tones to create extra parts.

In 4-part harmony, when our chords are essentially triads, the common practice

is to give the bassline to the cellos and double basses either in unison or in

octaves. If the bassline is too busy, a common technique is to give the basses a

simplified version of it. For example, if the cellos play a rather busy legato

basslines, we can have the basses playing a simplified pizzicato bassline, giving

our harmony parts a bit more bounce.

2. Harmony in more than 5 Parts

This is where things get interesting! When our harmony comprises of more than

5 parts, we have two choices; we can either divide each of the string families to

derive extra parts or write so-called multiple stops.

2.1 Divisi Strings

Learning to write for divided (i.e. divisi) strings is a lifelong pursuit and requires

a lot of practice and experience. There are, however, some general guidelines

that can help us get started and this is what we are going to touch upon in this

section. While here we are going to talk about divisi a 2 (i.e. dividing each

section in 2 parts), these guidelines can be adapted and applied to any other

configuration.

Each string section can be divided into 2, 3 or even 4 parts, depending on the

size of the section. If our string ensemble is very limited in size, divisi writing

will either be infeasible or impractical.

As a general rule, the minimum number of players per harmony part should be

between 3 and 4. Any less than that will result in an imbalanced tone colour. For

example, violas should only be divided if there are 8 or more available and

violins should be divided only if there are 6 or more.

So, when SHOULD we use divisi strings?

Divided strings are usually used when we are after a thin sound. For the Big

Hollywood sound, it is much better to use double stops.

Some Ideas for distributing divisi strings :

2.2 Double and Multiple Stops

Each string instrument can be turned into a polyphonic instrument if the player

stops two or more notes at the same time. For any multiple stop to be feasible,

each note must be located on a different string.

As a general rule, all double stops including an open string are easy to play.

In order to be able to write successful multiple stops for strings, a thorough

examination of playing positions of each instrument is required. The table below

shows some of the easy and possible double stops in each instrument. The MIDI

notes refer to the bottom note of the interval.

When writing multiple stops, bear the following in mind :

Triple and quadruple stops can only be executed rapidly and slightly

arpeggiated, due to the curved nature of the instruments bridge.

When writing multiple stops, the two factors you should account for first

and foremost are : resonance of chords and ease of execution.

Multiple stops are usually assigned to violins and violas and less often to

cellos.

When asking a player to perform a multiple stop give them ample time to

prepare their positions. For example, a fast run cannot end on a multiple

stop because the players will not have time to prepare the multiple stop.

3. Special-Purpose Chords

3.1 Short Accented Chords

Short and sharp chords can be played using multiple stops for extra strength and

accent. A very good example of this is the so-called Tchaikovsky Chord,

explained at a later section of this article.

3.2 Tutti Pizzicato Chords

Tutti chords are usually employed only if we are after a special effect and only for

a short period of time. Continuous use of these chords lessens their impact and

tires the listener!

Pizzicato strings are usually used in the following manners :

One or all string families playing pizzicato, accompanying a solo

instrument;

As accents to emphasize important rhythmic moments of the melody of

the composition;

Combined with sustained harmony; the basses are often divided in two

sections, half playing the bassline pizzicato and the other half arco.

Pizzicato strings playing chords with multiple stops (for extra strength and

accent);

To play driving rhythms; for an extra driving element, these pizzicato

chords are usually combined with low brass;

As I have found out recently, pizzicato strings blend beautifully with tuned

percussion instruments such as marimbas when playing upbeat melodies.

Tutti pizzicato consists of the entire string section playing pizzicato, usually

doubled by woodwinds and brass. Tutti pizzicato chords are occasionally

reinforced by harp and piano.

3.3 Sustained and Tremolo Chords

Sustained harmony needs a lot more attention on our part because it is much

more prominent. A perfect balance of tone is the first and most important goal.

Assuming that all string families are equal in power (i.e. comprise of a balanced

number of players), the most frequent arrangement of chord tones is according

to register, with the bassline doubled in unison or octaves :

Melody (also called Soprano in part-writing) : 1st Violins

Harmony note 1 (also called Alto) : 2nd Violins

Harmony note 2 (also called Tenor) : Violas

Bassline : Cellos and Basses in unison or octaves

When we want to add notes and reinforce the middle register it is preferable to

double notes on the violins or violas. As a rule of thumb, the further apart those

doublings are from the bass, the better. Of course, in order to create those

doublings we will need to either write multiple stops or divide some string

families. The best candidates for divisi writing in this case are the violas. Violas,

being hidden in the middle of the string section in terms of register, are more

easily digested by the ear when being divided.

Another thing you should be careful of is dividing the higher strings (violins and

violas) when the lower ones play non-divisi. Such an arrangement results in a

heavy sound and you should balance it in other sections of the orchestra.

Finally, in sustained or forte double stops performed tremolo, we are allowed to

bend the part-writing rules in order to ensure ease of execution.

C. Doubling the String Harmony in other Sections

1. Strings and Woodwinds

The best candidates for doubling in strings and woodwinds are long sustained or

tremolo chords (plenty of examples in the Star Wars suite!!). When we want to

double string chords in woodwinds, we have the following choices :

Complete doubling of chords according to register (Flutes with Violins,

Oboes with Violas, Clarinets with Celli etc).

Flutes and Oboes with Violins divisi

Clarinets and Bassoons with Violas and Cellos divisi

While they sound grande and please our ears, full and exact doublings should

be used only when we are after a particular effect and not for long periods of

time.

A very common technique is to have a sustained harmony in the string section

and double with woodwinds playing more rhythmic variations of the string lines

for extra motion.

The best practice when combining strings and other sections to play the

harmony is to make each section complete in itself before considering any

doublings. Also, trying to give each section a different voice-leading (i.e.

connection of chords) will ensure that we avoid parallels as much as possible. If

parallels cannot be avoided, they should better reside in the inner parts of each

section.

2. Strings and Brass

The combination of strings and brass to play the harmony is a much harder one

to get right. The best approach for a nicely blended and balanced tone is to use

crossing of parts, enclosure or juxtaposition. Again, the best approach is to

make each section complete in itself with independent voice-leading.

Doubling strings with brass tends to produce a full and heavy sound. If we are

after a more transparent effect, we can always reduce the number of brass

instruments or omit some if desired. For example, we can only use French horns

or Trumpets and Trombones instead of all three. Also, for added transparency,

brass harmony should be written mainly in open intervals (fifths and octaves).

If exact doublings are desired, we have a number of choices :

Harmony by tremolo strings, sustained chords by brass, doublings

according to register relevance (Vln-Tpt, Vla-F.H, Vlc-Trb, CB-Tb);

Strings playing short and disconnected sforzando chords, accented by

brass;

French horns doubling divided violas or cellos.

3. Strings, Woodwinds and Brass

The combination of all three instrument sections produces a heavy, full and

round tone and should only be used for special effects rather than as common

practice. Try to make each instrument section sound good on its own and when

possible use independent voice-leading to avoid excessive use of parallels. When

doubling string harmony in both woodwinds and brass, the most important

factor we must account for is balance and distribution of tone colour.

The Tchaikovsky Chord

Berklees Mr.Ben Newhouse has written a fantastic article about the Tchaikovsky

chord on his blog. While I am going to present the essence here, I strongly advise

you to visit his blog and read in more detail!

The Tchaikovsky chord is a short, accented chord presented in Tchaikovksys 6th

Symphony. It is a tutti chord where all strings play quadruple stops, doubled in

the woodwinds and brass. In reality, the Tchaikovsky chord is only a G major

triad, cleverly voiced according to the overtone (harmonic) series and doubled in

all 3 groups of instruments, producing a massive accent effect.

Looking from the bottom to top, the root has been doubled 5 times, the third of

the triad has been doubled 3 times and the fifth only two times. The distribution

of the full chord is (from top to bottom) :

G6 : Violins I + Flutes 1-2 + Piccolo

B5 : Violins II + Oboe 1

G5 : Violins I + Clarinet 1 + Trumpet 1

D5 : Violins II + Clarinet 2 + Oboe 2

B4 : Violas + French Horns 1+3

G4 : Violins II + Trumpet 2

D4 : Violins I + Violas + French Horns 2+4

B3 : Trombone 1

G3 : Violins I + Violins II + Violas + Trombone 2

G2 : Cellos + Bassoon + Trombone 3

G1 : Basses + Tuba

If you are a formula-maniac like myself, heres the formula for the chord :

Root 8vb Root GMaj triad 8va GMaj triad 2 8va Root 3rd Root

If you observe the voicing of the chord you will see that (as indicated by the

overtone series), intervals at the bottom of the voicing are large (mainly octaves)

and as we go higher and higher intervals get smaller, thus ensuring a full wet

clear sound. Also, one chord tone (D6) has been omitted just below the top note

in order to separate the entire voicing from the top note and make the latter

sound more like a melody rather than just another chord tone.