Producing Backing Tracks

[Casiokid]

Any tips for putting together a big orchestral type, busy, movie-like backing track with my keyboard's on-board sequencer ?  A suggestion is made to lay down first a ghost track of the main theme to help keep things together whilst building the sequence.  In live performance I intend to play live this main theme. 

 

In the past I've learnt a lot from Brad's examples on Facebook, where he even records registration changes in the sequencer.    But I just want some help in getting started.

[Jokeyman123]

The following description assumes no auto-accompaniment, which will accomplish most of this without my descriptions, but then you don't have full control of the arrangement, you let the auto parts decide.

 

One approach is to lay out a basic full piano part-as a structure for bass lines, middle voices and melody/harmony parts. many of the symphonic composers fleshed out symphonies this way-playing the basic composition on the piano, then deciding which instrumentation should apply to each part.  This could be done with one track or two, depending upon how skilled your playing is, you may need to lay out a 2-part piano skeleton structure on 2 tracks.

 

Another approach is to simply record the melody on any single instrument part on one track, then build from there, my bass line might come next.

 

I usually start with one of these skeleton arrangements, and I think in instrument groups-brass, winds, percussion. I had to do alot of this for shows I produced, and with pressure of time/deadlines, this is what worked for me most of the time. if it was a very rhythmic arrangement, I'd create a rhythm track and bass line or melody first, then add pads, other instrumental accompaniments to that. Listening to alot of symphonic pieces, many composers wrote for individual groups, and either used those groups individually or combined. For example-a 2, 3 or 4 part woodwind group plays a part, then the same for a brass group, with the strings as a background or "pad" to fill in parts that might sound empty as just woodwinds or brass. and this can work for pop, jazz, classical whatever you need to do.

[methodman3000]

PG music used to (its been discontinued) produce a product called Pianist which collected about 900 classical midi pieces.  Would it easily be possible to load in a midi file and then replace the intervals with families of instruments.  (I don't know anything about an arrangement of spacing and prioritizing between the orchestra instrument positions.  Or is it arbitrary?  Anyways once something is not sold, isn't it public domain?  The actual pianist database  program is not compatible with Win10 but the midi converted files still play.  Do arrangers even think that way?  Thanks for helping me to sort out a process to orchestrate and arrange.

[Jokeyman123]

PG music, didn't they also originally create "Band-in-a-Box"? Adding to my above comment, in a software midi editor, you could cut and paste different sections of a piano piece into different tracks, assign whatever instrument or instruments to that section and see how it sounds. Many early classical pieces for piano were re-arranged like this by later composers, of course without computer software!  

[Joe Muscara]

11 hours ago, Jokeyman123 said:

PG music, didn't they also originally create "Band-in-a-Box"?

They still do. I'm waiting for the 64-bit Mac version upgrade to ship.