Waltz for The Moon (Final Fantasy VIII - Orchestral Arrangement)

[BenEmberley]

Hi everyone!

Here's a video of my newest arrangement:  Waltz for the Moon from Final Fantasy VIII.  A variant on the song "Eyes On Me", I thought this was a fantastic transformative piece to develop and turn into a Waltz!  Enjoy!

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by BenEmberley

[H36T]

I think it would be such a treat to see what you could do with some better samples. Some of it I think could definitely be improved with better sequencing but the samples definitely would take this to another level. Even a good intro like Albion One maybe? What do you use now?

[BenEmberley]

I use NotePerformer, and then put it through the equalizer and reverb functions to make it sound more realistic.  What's Albion One?

[H36T]

Ahh I suspected as such. That is, I thought you probably used some kind of notation software given your writing style. Heck I still often use the notation functions of pro tools.

 

Anywho, most of us don't use notation programs, we use more traditional DAWs (digital audio workstations), VSTs (virtual instruments), and input notes via some kind of midi device (usually a keyboard), or inputting them manually. Albion One is an orchestral library (think a bundle or collection of sounds or instruments)

Edit: noooo I lost my whole super long post . Well, I'm not sure how much you know about these things and I'm sad so I won't rewrite my whole post haha. If you wanna know more, let me know and I'll try and write my post again to help introduce you to things. For now, here is Albion One. If you are highly unfamiliar with these things, I'd recommend just sifting through and listening to sounds and don't get bogged down by the technical aspects and jargon you don't understand

 

 

[BenEmberley]

Which DAW would you reccommend??  I've been told Cubase, but would it work with something like Albion One or EastWest??

[H36T]

Hmm, I personally use Pro Tools and it's pretty common but if you are at all a Mac user Id say Logic. If not, then maybe FL Studio. Cubase is nice as well and there are other options too such as reaper. Honestly I believe outside of Logic for Mac, the rest is preference as long as you have the ability to use some of the more widely used tools. 

As far as support for Albion One is concerned, any major DAW that can use Kontakt should be just fine. Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, and FL Studio all do certainly. That being said, Albion One isn't the end all be all. There are many other options and I recommend looking around for what fits you and your budget. The only thing I do recommend is purchasing Kontakt. Many of the best vsts use it and it's worth the investment if you are gonna make the jump imo. 

 

I just want to emphasize that these things arent... necessary per se and won't automatically make your pieces sound amazing. Your gonna have to learn their ins and outs and how to make them work for you. You may find they don't sound exactly like the demos and you'll be working hard to try and rectify that. But, and the big big but, you can make your music sound much much more beautiful imo, if you at least start to take the steps. Even lots of free software (after you get your DAW and probably Kontakt) will surprise you with how great they can sound. It's just a question of how much of an investment you wanna make and where do you wanna take things. I don't regret my Finale days at all...but I can never go back now (nor can my wallet ).

P.S. - Oh and lots of people love EastWest! I used to use composer cloud but I never liked the interface and how EastWest software worked. But, many many people do and I've heard some beautiful things made using various EastWest instruments.

 

[Jorito]

Hm, not sure if I'd say FL Studio is the most logical choice for somebody that makes orchestral music (also because of its pecularities). Cubase would be a more logical choice (lots of pro film composers using that), or maybe Studio One. But as with most things in music, just try out a few DAWs and see which one resonates with you the most and gives you the nicest workflow.

As for sample libraries, the big names (Orchestral Tools, Spitfire, EastWest, Cinematic Studios mainly) will all give you better sounds than you currently have, and it will make it easier to sound good. Each still has a learning curve to get the most out of it (mostly messing with articulations and controllers). You can still make something sound good with the stuff you currently have, it'll only be a lot harder and a lot more work. And Iike being lazy

If you're unsure, try out some of the libraries. There's some free (BBCSO) or starting tier packs (Berlin Inspire, for example), or try a month of subscription to East West Composer Cloud to get a taste for it. Again, choice is plenty and subjective; you may like the sound of one library more than the other, or like how one library works better than the other. Never know until you try, and all are valid choices. The free/starter packs will mostly give you sections & instrument combinations, not separate instruments and less articulations, but it's great to get a sense for the overall sound a library has and how it works.

If I were in this position (and with the knowledge I have now) I'd probably give myself a month to try Studio One Artist and a month of East West Composer Cloud to get my bearings, and go from there.

[H36T]

I don't know a lot about FL studio and it's limitations in that regard! Thank you Jorito for coming and helping >_<. I actually use Pro Tools because it has a sheet music function (albeit...shoddy lol). Sometimes I just need to see the notes and do the durations that way and then mess with the midi afterwards. 

Also just to put it out there personally for orchestral things my workhorses are

Spitfire Symphonic Strings

Spitfire Chamber Strings

Spitfire Symphonic Woods

Cinebrass Core

8dio Majestica

I have many others because I made poor financial choices but for orchestral things, these I always find myself reaching for in one way or another. Others I like to use time to time. 

Metropolis Ark 1 and 4

Nucleus 

Albion One

Albion Tundra

Other than that, my personal style makes me lean more towards synthy stuff, choirs, vocals, and the like. I wish I could make orchestral arrangements like you BenEmberly!

Edited October 1, 2022 by HarlemHeat360

[Jorito]

Pro Tools is a valid choice too, haven’t worked with it myself (I use Logic Pro X), but from what I heard/saw it seemed less nice in the midi department and I personally don’t really like how their licensing/pricing model works. Other DAWs have sheet music functionality too (Logic has it, I think other DAWs do too).

Good point about chosing an orchestra library; I also have a bunch that I bought based on demos but didn’t like as much (mostly Spitfire stuff for me, heh). Personally I like the East West stuff still, use it regularly, and my new option would be the Cinematic Studio stuff. But it depends on each track and the sound I want, and since I try to get performers to replace my mockups as much as I can, the sample library is maybe not even that important.

(if you’re curious, version with performers here: https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04219 and here an earlier version of that song with just samples: https://www.jorito.net/files/tifa/tifa_20200103.mp3)

[H36T]

5 hours ago, Jorito said:

Pro Tools is a valid choice too, haven’t worked with it myself (I use Logic Pro X), but from what I heard/saw it seemed less nice in the midi department and I personally don’t really like how their licensing/pricing model works. Other DAWs have sheet music functionality too (Logic has it, I think other DAWs do too).

Good point about chosing an orchestra library; I also have a bunch that I bought based on demos but didn’t like as much (mostly Spitfire stuff for me, heh). Personally I like the East West stuff still, use it regularly, and my new option would be the Cinematic Studio stuff. But it depends on each track and the sound I want, and since I try to get performers to replace my mockups as much as I can, the sample library is maybe not even that important.

(if you’re curious, version with performers here: https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04219 and here an earlier version of that song with just samples: https://www.jorito.net/files/tifa/tifa_20200103.mp3)

 

Honestly I would not pick pro tools now thinking back on it. All for the same reasons you brought up. Probably would use Cubase I think. If I was a Mac user I'd use Logic haha. I think the reason Spitfire libraries appeal to me is their almost synthetic sound. They have a few that are more raw and dry sounding (it's why I use chamber as well) but I love that signature sound they have. Goes well with what I like to do too. And honestly I'm not someone who ever uses live performers so the library matters much more to me. The difference between your mock-up and live is night and day though!

 

Anyway, Ben, I hope you find some knowledge here and I definitely support whatever direction you choose to go! I say start cheap, definitely get your DAW and preferably Kontakt as well and go from there.