I don't know about you, but if I could have a real orchestra ready and waiting in my garage, I would! However, unfortunately, this is logistically (my garage isn't big enough) and economically (orchestral players need to eat too!) viable. It is for this reason that I have put together this course on the fundamentals of MIDI Orchestration, an area in which I have over 10-years of experience and use regularly in my professional capacity as a composer, arranger, orchestrator and educator.

This class is aimed at those resourceful music creators who want to produce orchestral music without necessarily having the most up to date kit and, like me, cannot afford a real-life garage orchestra. It is also designed for those who want to build their skills before investing in more advanced and expensive libraries, as the skills I teach in this course are applicable to modern libraries aswell.

Stripping back to rudimentary sample instruments in a more limited Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), like GarageBand, presents a challenge and opportunity to learn extensive technical, professional-grade skills in the art of MIDI orchestration. To get these instruments sounding more realistic it can take more effort than a modern library, this extra effort yields an opportunity to cultivate deeper skills and knowledge in MIDI orchestration, as well as the effort of putting it into practice. The course works on the theory that when you learn to produce effective mock-ups in GarageBand, with the in-built sample libraries, then you will be able to produce exceptional work once you have access to better sample libraries and Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). Or, if you're like me, who does not believe music-making has or needs to be an expensive endeavour, you can get more out of limited sample libraries! Surely this is the right way to do it, learning how to get the most out of virtual instruments before investing loads of money on libraries you cannot get the most out of!!?

The resources I use for this course are classical works. The reason for this is that they are out of copyright, meaning you can use them openly as portfolio pieces and/or share them with family and friends to show them what you have been learning!