# Orchestral

An orchestral loop at 70 to 110 BPM builds from harmony outward: strings hold
the chords (gm:49 above C4, gm:50 for a slower attack), a cello or contrabass
line doubles the bass (gm:43 or gm:44 are weak solo voices, so use gm:49 an
octave down or gm:33), brass stabs on the strong beats (gm:62), timpani on the
roots (kit 48, pitches 41 to 53), and one melodic voice (gm:74 Flute or gm:57
Trumpet). Reverb send 3,000 to 4,000 on every pitched part, none on the
percussion (its bass drum is a kick to `lint`), delay off, swing 0. Harmonic minor (`key A harmonic-minor`) gives the V7.

## Skeleton

```compose
title Orchestral skeleton
bpm 96
bars 4
key A minor
genre orchestral
fx reverb 3500 delay 0

drums 48
name Percussion
vol 8500
47:       ................ | ................ | ................ | ........x...x... @90/104   # timpani in the Orchestra kit
kick:     x.......o....... | x............... | x.......o....... | x............... @86/96
crash:    ................ | ................ | ................ | x............... @84/100
tamb:     ....o.......o... | ....o.......o... | ....o.......o... | ....o...o...o.x. @60/80

strings gm:49
vol 6500 rev 3500
A4+C5+E5@1>16 | G4+B4+D5@1>16 | F4+A4+C5@1>16 | E4+G#4+B4+D5@1>12 E4+G#4+B4@13>4

low gm:49
name "Low strings"
vol 7000 rev 3000
A2@1>16 | G2@1>16 | F2@1>16 | E2@1>12 E2@13>4

brass gm:62
vol 5500 rev 3000
. | . | F3+A3+C4@1>4 F3+A3+C4@9>4 | E3+G#3+B3@1>4 E3+G#3+B3@9>2 E3+G#3+B3@13>4

flute gm:74
vol 5500 rev 3500
vel 88
E5@1>8 C5@9>4 B4@13>4 | D5@1>8 B4@9>4 G4@13>4 | C5@1>6 A4@7>2 F4@9>8 | B4@1>12 E5@13>4
```

Templates: `progressions/andalusian-i-bVII-bVI-V7`. The skeleton stands in
for a groove; orchestral loops rarely need a drum template. The `47` row is
the low-mid tom slot, which the Orchestra kit maps to a timpani; pitches `41`
to `53` are its chromatic timpani, so write them by number.

## Before and after

Before: `lint` reports `empty-bar trk_brass 1,2` because the brass enters in
bar 3; keep it. `analyze` shows the strings in `mid` and the low strings in
the `bass` register with the role `lead`: a track counts as bass only by a
bass program or the word "bass" in its name, so no kick collisions are listed
for that line.

```sh
soundfish set-volume '<url>' trk_strings 6000 --operation op_bed
soundfish set-cutoff '<url>' trk_strings --points 0:5000:linear,63:9000 --operation op_swell
```

After: the string bed sits lower under the flute and opens over the four
bars, which reads as a crescendo without touching a single note. A second
pass that helps: `humanize '<url>' trk_percussion --velocity 8 --seed 4`.

## Stage order

1. Harmony first, as string chords above C4, one per bar.
2. The low line in octaves below C3 (strings, then the timpani on the roots).
3. Melody last among the pitched parts; it should sit above the string top
   note.
4. Brass stabs only where the melody rests; percussion accents on the phrase
   ends.
5. `lint`, keep the deliberate empty bars, and check the bytes: five tracks of
   held notes are cheap, so a sixteen-bar phrase fits.