technique

Arranging For Strings: Part 2

The second part of our string-arranging series ventures into more dramatic
musical territory, and explains how to manipulate orchestral string
articulations when creating MIDI arrangements.

Dave Stewart other common performance styles and a fair amount of rhythmic action going
discuss how to incorporate them into on; however, I felt the strings could add
a strings arrangement. something in that department, so I wrote

L
ast month, we looked at an extract the arrangement in diagram 1.
from a string arrangement I wrote
Further North These accented staccato punctuations
for a song called ‘Truenorth’ by the Before moving on to more histrionic add drama without upstaging the main
UK band No‑man (www.soundonsound. examples, I’d like to dwell on ‘Truenorth’ event (Theo Travis’ flute solo). All the
com/sos/jun12/articles/string-theory-pt1. a little longer, to demonstrate how stabs are played staccatissimo (ie. very
htm). The example I chose was a fairly strings can add subtle rhythmic and short), and though notated as eighth
simple, restrained and supportive affair harmonic enhancement to a quiet, lyrical notes for convenience, their actual
based on chord pads. This is something composition. This long‑form song features duration is more like a 16th note. By way
strings do supremely well, as evidenced a flute solo played over a rolling 16th‑note of contrast, the quarter notes in bars 8‑16
by countless pop ballads down the years, acoustic guitar part. The guitarist (Steven are played full length with no accents. The
but it’s only one facet of what they can Wilson) had also overdubbed an African difference between them and the short
bring to a track. This month, I’ll look at hand-drum part, so there was already stabs is thus very pronounced (akin to the

144 July 2012 / w w w . s o u n d o n s o u n d . c o m

 in a minor key, often with an intermittent
flattened sixth interval thrown in to
add an air of mystery and anxiety. (You
know the kind of thing — a repeated
E-minor arpeggio of E‑G‑B‑G, with the
B occasionally changing to a C.) Anxious
to give that particular cliché a wide
berth, I based my short piece round the
harmonically ambiguous scale of G, A,
Bb, C, Db, Eb, E and F#, constructed from
alternating tone and semitone intervals.
Like the whole-tone scale, this scale
has no fixed tonal centre — it actually
contains four major triads, each of which
can lay equal claim to being the ‘home
key’, on account of the identical set of
intervals that arises from their root note.
Can you work out what the four major
triads are? (The answer’s at the end
of the article.)
Diagram 1: This 16‑bar extract from No‑man’s ‘Truenorth’ string arrangement occurs halfway through To ratchet up the angst in this music,
the song, at around 6:20. The four string parts were scored for (from top down) eight first violins, six I wrote a bass line that fluctuates
second violins, four violas and four cellos, and their accented eighth notes are played staccatissimo (very unpredictably between F# and G. This
short), contrasting with the long, unaccented quarter notes in bars 8‑16. The chord names shown apply undermines the tonality further: on
to the strings parts; the guitar chords are Aadd2, Cmaj7, Fmaj7#4 and Cmaj7 over E.
hearing the first four notes of the top
line played over an F#, the ear assumes
difference between the open and closed ostinatos (repeated motifs of equal‑length a major key, but that’s subverted as
hits of a drummer’s hi‑hat), and that notes). I used it myself recently in a short soon as the bass note moves up to G, at
disparity gives the rhythm a lift and a lilt. trailer‑style piece, four bars of which are which point the same four notes take on
As you can see from the diagram, shown in diagram 2. a diminished feel. Establishing the ‘tonal
the acoustic guitar chords (played in an For this arrangement, I used string centre’ (ie. key) of a piece of music is all
arpeggiated style) maintain an open high samples from Spitfire Audio’s Albion, but a question of context and expectation,
E and B string throughout the changes,
thereby creating the opportunity for
much enjoyable jangling. Sustaining those
notes over the bass line of A, C and F
adds an interesting harmonic dimension
to what would otherwise be a rather plain
sequence. I tried to increase the exoticism
by using close voicings in the string
parts, exploiting the mild dissonance of
juxtaposed tones and semitones. Play Diagram 2: Staccatissimo strings ostinatos are commonly used as a tension‑building device in action
the first Am9 chord on a keyboard to film cues. If played by live players, this four‑bar extract would be most effectively orchestrated by
see what I mean — its C and B semitone assigning the top line to violas and the lower part to cellos.
interval has a nice bitter-sweet ring to it!
A small refinement occurs in the had I scored it for live players, I’d have and, as you can probably tell by now,
second eight bars, where the stabs on given the upper part to violas and the my personal preference is to avoid
the first beat of each bar are replaced by lower part to the cellos. Why not use the expected and try not to make the
longer notes and the staccato accents violins for the upper part? Well, although context too obvious!
become a little quieter. That’s because, the notes technically fall within the violin’s
at this point in the song, the flute solo range, I felt the violas would sound tonally
Hooray For Bollywood
finishes and the vocal re‑enters, requiring stronger playing the low As and Gs, since Like many people, I’m very fond of Indian
a more supportive and less rhythmically the latter pitch (marked in red) is the film and pop music, and have always
pointed string arrangement. lowest note on the violin, which can only enjoyed the wonderful string‑orchestra
be played on its open bottom string. And, styles associated with those genres.
Tension Builder of course, the lower part could only be The players attack the melodies with
The staccatissimo strings style is played by cellos, as its lowest pitch (the B enormous gusto, and their trademark style
commonly used for music of a less subtle flat in bar four, marked in blue) lies a tone of sliding between notes adds a fabulous,
nature, being the go‑to orchestral delivery below the playable range of the viola. sinuous feel and (to Western ears) exotic
for fast, tension‑building action film cues. Much of the cinematic music in this atmosphere to the music. This particular
This delivery is highly effective in rhythmic vein that one hears nowadays is played technique doesn’t seem to occur much in

w w w . s o u n d o n s o u n d . c o m / July 2012 145

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to notate the melody. The

copyist advised against
“overloading the parts”
with too many instructions,
but since some notes are
played without a slide and
others feature a grace note
Diagram 3: A soaring, ‘Bollywood’‑style strings arguably the high point of the whole instead, I felt I had no alternative but to
lead line from Porcupine Tree’s ‘Sleep Together’. track, called for something unusual and notate each slide individually.
The melody (which features portamento pitch
attention‑grabbing, so wrote a soaring, As always, phrasing was an important
slides between many of its notes) is played by
violins, violas and cellos in three parallel octaves. Bollywood‑style lead line to be played in consideration: string players usually
unison by the 22 string players. play all the notes of a phrase under one
the European classical tradition, and some Diagram 3 shows the first four bars continuous bow movement, followed
purists might even consider it vulgar, but of this tune, featuring the characteristic by a short gap as they lift the bow prior
for me it’s a highly appealing performance ‘Indian strings’ pitch slides (in other to starting the next phrase. These gaps
style with great applications in pop and words, ‘portamento’) between most (analogous to the breaths a singer or wind
rock. I was therefore pleased to be able notes. In order to further accentuate the player takes between lines) give shape
to employ it in my string arrangement for Bollywood flavour, I used the notes of Bb to the music. Phrases are notated by
Porcupine Tree’s ‘Sleep Together’, a song and D# (respectively, the flattened second placing curved lines over groups of notes.
from their album Fear of a Blank Planet. and sharp fourth) over the A chord, as, As you can see in diagram 3, the second
The chorus of ‘Sleep Together’ is based to my (admittedly uneducated) ears, that and third phrases start on the second
on the simple yet original chord sequence particular combination of scale intervals eighth‑note of the bar rather than the
of D, Eb (two beats each) and one bar of has a distinctly Indian ring to it! downbeat, and the last bar is made up of
A, played in a slowish, heavy rock style This lead line was scored for 14 a triumphal high note followed by two fast
with a thundering, John Bonham‑esque violins (eight firsts, six seconds), and descending phrases.
backbeat. After a few choruses, the music doubled an octave lower by four violas, In the end, such notational issues
subsides and a long, slow, agonisingly and two octaves down by four cellos. proved largely academic, because as
tense build‑up begins; the bass and drums The three‑octave unison created a big, soon as they read the words ‘Bollywood
eventually come back in, and finally, at strong sound which was very effective in Chorus’ on their parts, the players
the 6:20 mark, the guitars are unleashed this setting, though it’s not a technique instinctively knew what to do. From
and the band explodes into the final I’d recommend for general purposes. the moment their bows hit the strings,
choruses. I felt that this climactic moment, I thought long and hard about how best we were transported from cold, drizzly

Order Of Play
String arrangers are expected to be a one‑stop 4. Check the current session rates, session 11. The important bit: write the arrangement.
shop for recording strings, and the logistics fixer fees (a fixer will give you this info over
are complex: the copyist, studio, arranger, the phone), copyist’s fees and studio rates, 12. Send a demo of the arrangement to the
session fixer and players all require paying (the and decide how much you’ll charge for the band for comments. (I usually send a mix and
biggest single cost usually being the players). arrangement. a strings‑only version.)
Availabilities of all parties need to be checked
well in advance, and co‑ordinating dates can 5. Make a spreadsheet budget and send it to the 13. If necessary, send a second demo
be a nightmare: successful musicians are busy; band’s management and/or paymaster. incorporating the requested changes.
some acts work abroad a lot of the time; and
there’s usually at least one band member who’d 6. Once the budget is approved, ring a fixer and 14. Once the arrangement is approved,
like to attend the session. so you need to plan check the players’ availability. (It’s advisable to send a score, MIDI file and audio demo
well ahead. Here’s a suggested start‑to‑finish plan at least six weeks ahead.) to the copyist.
procedure for creating and recording a real
string arrangement: 7. Ask the band’s producer to send you stems 15. Check the copyist’s work well before the day
(submixes of drums, bass, guitars, vocals...) of of the session. Typos often creep in.
1. Before committing to the work, ask for the song, so you can hear exactly what’s being
a demo of the song, including vocals, and played on the track. The same stems can be used 16. Make sure the stems and copyist’s parts
imagine the kind of string arrangement you as a backing track for the strings session. arrive at the studio in good time for the session.
think it needs. Even if everything is technically perfect, it can
8. Ask the band to send you a demo of any ideas take almost an hour to put out parts, check
2. Estimate how long it will take you to write they have for the strings — I usually ask for backing track balance, sort out click track, etc.
and demo the arrangement. a MIDI file as well as a strings‑only audio file.
Although a little daunting on the face of
3. Decide how many players are required and 9. Check the availability of copyist, studio, it, most of these are merely logistical tasks
how long it will take to record them, bearing in favourite engineer (if you have one) and which can be solved by sensible forward
mind that there are restrictions: for example, members of the band or their team (including planning. The most important thing is to
you can’t book musicians for a three‑hour producer) who would like to attend the session. create a string arrangement that works well
session and expect them to record two and a half for the track. Once you’ve nailed that, you can
hours of material! 10. Book the players, studio and copyist. proceed with confidence!

146 July 2012 / w w w . s o u n d o n s o u n d . c o m

Diagram 4: The keyswitch displays of (from L‑R),
Cinematic Strings 2.0, Audiobro LA Scoring
Strings 2.0 and East West Quantum Leap
Hollywood Strings. Keyswitching allows you to
switch instantly between different articulations, and
keyswitch notes are often depicted in a distinctive
colour on the sample player’s on‑screen keyboard.

Islington to the humid, sultry climes of

Mumbai, the temperature in the control
room rising by a few degrees as a little bit
of India was grafted onto the music of an
English rock band.

Articulation Switching
Whereas successful acts can command
a budget to hire live string players for
their albums, most musicians aren’t in that
privileged position. However, with the colour and dynamics one associates with is used to switch between articulations,
creative and intelligent use of samples, a real orchestral performance. To make enabling you to make instant changes on
it’s possible to bridge the gap between this possible, most sample libraries now the fly. Keyswitches are usually located at
real and sampled strings. When working utilise a technique called ‘keyswitching’. the low end of the keyboard below the
with orchestral samples, one of the keys Diagram 4 shows the keyswitch instruments’ playing zone, but sometimes
to creating a successful MIDI arrangement displays of three leading orchestral strings (notably in the case of low‑pitched
is instant switching between performance libraries. Although the graphics vary, instruments such as double basses and
styles (aka ‘articulations’) in real time, the principle remains the same: a key contrabassoons), you’ll find them placed
emulating the sudden changes in tone outside of the instruments’ playing range at the top end.

w w w . s o u n d o n s o u n d . c o m / July 2012 147

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a Kontakt ‘multi’) holds up to 144 ‘cells’

containing single or layered articulations,
and you can switch between the cells
via keyswitches, MIDI control change
(CC) commands, pitch wheel, velocity or
even playing speed (ie. the elapsed time
interval between notes, as opposed to the
speed/velocity of a key press).
In diagram 5 you’ll see a very simple
Vienna Instruments keyswitch operation
between staccato and sustained violin
ensemble articulations (as utilised in the
‘Truenorth’ string arrangement above),
using the low note of C1 to select the
Diagram 5: A simple Vienna Instruments keyswitch between staccato and sustained violin ensemble
articulations. The low note of C1 selects the staccato articulation, while C#1 selects the sustains.
staccatos and C#1 to select the sustains.
These keyswitch notes are user‑definable:
Some manufacturers allow you to keyswitch pitches, which is essential if you you can change them to whatever pitches
create your own keyswitch setups by want to make your keyswitch articulations fit your requirements.
assigning individual patches to a keyswitch identical across different libraries.
note of your choice, while others One of the most flexible articulation
CC Rider
provide pre‑programmed ‘keyswitch switching systems was designed for Keyswitches have their drawbacks:
patches’ combining all the articulations the Vienna Symphonic Library’s Vienna being common‑or‑garden MIDI notes
for a particular instrument or section Instruments sample player by Christian (albeit silent ones), they will appear
in a single patch, with each articulation Teuscher. Software for this proprietary in your score as extraneous pitches,
pre‑assigned its own switch. In some player is provided free with every VSL requiring a major tidying‑up job before
libraries you can alter these default library. A ‘matrix’ (roughly equivalent to a score or part can be printed out. An

Which Orchestral Strings Library?

Samples are an essential part of an arranger’s Vienna Symphonic Library: Kirk Hunter Studios:
toolkit. Whether you’re writing for real players Orchestral Strings I + II; Concert Strings II
or creating a MIDI orchestration, you’ll need Appassionata Strings I + II WWwww.kirkhunterstudios.com
your sampled strings to sound convincing. This WWwww.vsl.co.at
applies equally when writing for real players — WWwww.soundonsound.com/ Audio Impressions:
even if you’re capable of imagining the whole sos/jul06/articles/vslvienna.htm 70 DVZ Strings
arrangement in your head without the aid of any WWwww.soundonsound. WWwww.audioimpressions.com
audio back‑up, you’ll still need samples to demo com/sos/may07/articles/
it so the band can hear what they’re paying for! sampleshop_0507.htm
The following libraries (listed in order You will also find
of their Sound On Sound review dates) Audiobro: LA Scoring Strings professional-quality string ensembles in
represent the cream of the crop of stand-alone WWwww.audiobro.com the following full‑orchestra sample collections
orchestral string collections recorded within WWwww.soundonsound. that we’ve reviewed:
the last 10 years and available in current com/sos/apr10/articles/
sampler formats. All contain multisampled, lascoringstrings.htm (original Project SAM: Symphobia and
multi‑dynamic, full‑sized violin, viola, cello version). Symphobia II
and double-bass sections. For product demos (LASS Version 2.0 review WWwww.projectsam.com
and details of their contents, visit the company elsewhere in this issue) WWwww.soundonsound.
web sites and/or follow the links to read com/sos/dec08/articles/
the SOS reviews. Apologies to any libraries East West Quantum Leap: sampleshop.htm
we’ve inadvertently omitted! Hollywood Strings (Now WWwww.soundonsound.com/sos/dec10/
also available in the budget articles/project‑sam‑symphobia‑2.htm
Sonivox (formerly Sonic Gold Edition.)
Implants): Symphonic WWwww.soundsonline.com East West Quantum Leap:
String Collection WWwww.soundonsound. Symphonic Orchestra Play
WWwww.sonivoxmi.com com/sos/sep10/articles/ Edition
WWwww.soundonsound. ewql‑hollywood‑strings.htm WWwww.soundsonline.com
com/sos/nov02/articles/ WWwww.soundonsound.
sonicimplants.asp Cinematic Strings: com/sos/aug09/articles/
Cinematic Strings 1 +2 symphonicorchestra.htm
Best Service: Peter Siedlaczek WWwww.cinematicstrings.com
String Essentials WWwww.soundonsound. Spitfire Audio: Albion
WWwww.bestservice.de com/sos/may10/articles/ WWwww.spitfireaudio.com
WWwww.soundonsound. cinematicstrings.htm WWwww.soundonsound.
com/sos/jul06/articles/ WWwww.soundonsound.com/sos/jun12/ com/sos/oct11/articles/
sampleshop_0706.htm articles/cinematic-strings-2.htm spitfire‑audio‑albion.htm

148 July 2012 / w w w . s o u n d o n s o u n d . c o m

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alternative switching method that avoids

this hassle is to use MIDI CC commands
rather than keyswitches for articulation
switching. Not every library supports this
method, and to do it in real time requires
a MIDI controller capable of generating
user‑definable CC data. but you can add
individual CC commands after the event
by inserting them in the MIDI ‘event list’,
‘controller display’, or whatever your
sequencer program calls its itemised
display of MIDI data entries. Diagram 6: A MIDI CC1 (modulation) event can be edited to a new number of your choice (in this
example, 23). When re‑numbering CCs in this way, take care to avoid pre‑defined numbers such as CC7
Although it’s a bit of a faff, it is possible
(volume), CC11 (expression) and CC64 (sustain pedal). The value of the CC (currently shown as 127)
to create custom CC commands without can be altered to any one of 128 numbers. Note that the numeral ‘6’ shown refers to the MIDI channel,
owning a dedicated MIDI controller: and has no relevance to the CC number or value.
simply hit ‘record’ on your sequencer and
perform a quick up‑and‑down move on the edited CC command to the desired page is set up to correctly respond
your keyboard’s mod wheel, which will location in your arrangement, placing it to these commands!
generate a string of CC1 (modulation) just before the point where you want the Diagram 7 shows the Vienna
numbers. Then open up your sequencer’s articulation switch to occur. Instruments player programmed to
event list, select one of the entries, and Every MIDI CC number has 128 receive CC commands as the articulation
edit the controller number from CC1 to possible values, so once you’d selected switch controller: ‘H‑span’ and ‘V‑span’
a new number of your choice, as shown CC23 as your controller, you could switch refer to the horizontal and vertical axes
in diagram 6. I often use CC23, but it between (say) six articulations using the of the matrix grid, while the two rows of
can be any of the ‘undefined’ numbers values CC23 10, CC23 30, CC23 50, numbers on the right represent each CC
in the MIDI Control Change table. If your CC23 70, CC23 90, and CC110 — always zone’s numerical thresholds. I specified
sequencer can’t display this, examples assuming that (a) the sample library in CC23 as the horizontal controller and
of the table can be found online. Having question supports this particular switching CC24 as the vertical, so selecting the
altered the CC number, copy and paste method, and (b) its articulation switching highlighted ‘14 Violins portamento’
articulation, as shown in the diagram,
Budget Measures requires a CC23 value of between 32
and 41 (which selects the fourth cell from
Budget versions of some all‑in‑one orchestral libraries offer a more affordable solution to those
the left), followed by a CC24 value of
whose income stream doesn’t quite measure up to their professional aspirations. Though the lack
of fancy performance styles could be a problem if you want to recreate a full orchestral score, these between 21 and 31 to access the third
slimmed‑down volumes (which offer upgrade paths to the full libraries) maintain the high sound cell down. It sounds complicated, but,
quality of the originals and can deliver very good musical results: once you latch on to the concept, it’s
actually pretty simple!
Vienna Symphonic Library: Vienna Special Edition (80GB)
This contains a full orchestra of instruments and sections presented Spoiled For Choice?
in cut‑down form, though still featuring VSL’s excellent legatos and
portamentos. The supplementary SE Plus volume introduces more of the A final word on this month’s musical
atmospheric articulations media composers require. extracts, and the samples you need
WWwww.vsl.co.at/en/211/261/314/183.vsl to play them: to accurately emulate
WWwww.soundonsound.com/sos/oct07/articles/sampleshop_1007.htm the contrasting short‑long deliveries
WWwww.soundonsound.com/sos/oct08/articles/sampleshop_1008.htm in ‘Truenorth’ (shown in diagram 1)
with samples, you’ll need two different
East West Quantum Leap: Symphonic Orchestra Play Edition
articulations: staccatissimo and sustained
(Silver) (11GB)
This library focuses on essential instruments and articulations, and vibrato. You might think you can get
contains only one mic position and 16‑bit samples, thus offering a more away with just using sustained notes and
affordable alternative to the full 24‑bit Platinum version. playing them long and short, but believe
WWwww.soundsonline.com/Symphonic‑Orchestra me, that sounds pretty bogus: the attack
WWwww.soundonsound.com/sos/aug09/articles/ of a short staccato note is completely
symphonicorchestra.htm
different from that of a sustain, so you’ll
For composers who don’t require a full‑on, Hollywood‑style sound, need good versions of both.
I can recommend: While every half‑decent string library
contains these articulations, it’s worth
Garritan: Garritan Personal Orchestra 4 (2GB) considering that the trend for very short
Although not as sumptuous or lush‑sounding as the top-end libraries, staccatissimos (as used extensively in
the complete instrumentation and flexible sections of this easy‑to‑use,
contemporary film, TV, trailer and game
modestly‑priced set are a great educational asset for would‑be orchestrators.
WWwww.garritan.com music) is comparatively recent, and that
WWwww.soundonsound.com/sos/jun10/articles/personalorchestra4.htm some older libraries’ staccatos tend to
be longer and less urgent‑sounding

150 July 2012 / w w w . s o u n d o n s o u n d . c o m

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keyswitches, dynamic modulation and

impressive‑sounding samples is arguably
not much of an achievement if the music
being played is bog‑standard and boring.
The moral, as ever, is to keep focused
on the music and try to be imaginative
and exploratory in your musical ideas,
at the same time as keeping a firm hand
on the technical chaos that can ensue
when working with MIDI and samples.
I hope some of what I’ve written will be
of help for both of those endeavours.
Next month, I’ll be joined by the gifted
composer and arranger David Hearn,
who’ll serve up some useful masterclass
tips, while I continue to give you my
personal take on the big subject of
arranging for strings.

Diagram 7: As well as responding to keyswitches, playing speed (etc.), the Vienna Instruments player ‘Truenorth’ (Bowness / Wilson) is from
can be set up to receive CC commands as the articulation controller. When fully expanded, the VI matrix the 2008 album Schoolyard Ghosts by
holds up to 144 articulation cells arranged in a 12 x 12 grid — for the purposes of legibility we’ve shown
No‑man www.no‑man.co.uk.
just 42 of them! In this example, CC23 controls the horizontal position on the grid while CC24 controls
the vertical axis. ‘Sleep Together’ (Wilson) is from the
2007 album Fear of a Blank Planet by
by comparison. Another important the day, it’s not practical to completely Porcupine Tree www.porcupinetree.com.
consideration is that the realistic rewrite a string arrangement and scribble Thanks to the composers for permission
‘performance legatos’ and portamentos, out new parts for 30 players in the to use extracts.
now almost standard in string collections, tight time-frame allotted to an average
didn’t reach their current exalted state string-recording session! (Quiz answer: the four major triads that
until the advent of the pioneering Those days have long gone. Today’s can be constructed on the scale of G, A,
Vienna Symphonic Library back in string arranger needs technological Bb, C, Db, Eb, E and F# are A major (A,
2002, so any libraries released before know‑how as well as musical chops, but C#, E), C major (C, E, G), Eb major (Eb,
that date will inevitably lack realism in it would be a mistake to prioritise the G, Bb) and Gb major (Gb, Bb, Db). Their
that particular department. former over the latter. Knowing how minor variants (A, C, E, and so on) are also
The choice of which orchestral strings to lash together a sonically convincing possible, making this a very adaptable
library to buy is a big question, and MIDI orchestration bristling with scale indeed!)
depends largely on what style(s) of music
you want to create, as well as on your
budget. Listening to the manufacturers’
product demos should give you some
useful pointers, and our in‑depth SOS
reviews aim to throw further light on the
subject! To help give you an overview,
I’ve listed the most prominent orchestral
strings libraries of the last ten years, along
with links to their SOS reviews, in the Diagram 8: Some string libraries contain rhythm tools for the automatic creation of ostinatos. The two
‘Which Orchestral Strings Library?’ box. shown here are from Spitfire Audio Albion and Audiobro LA Scoring Strings.

In Conclusion
If we go back in time to the 1970s,
string arrangers (then considered a star
turn almost on a par with the producer)
would simply write out their scores
by hand, pass them to a copyist and
proceed straight to the studio, where
the recording artists (if they bothered to
show up) would hear the arrangement
for the first time. If the artists didn’t
like what they heard, it would be too
late to do anything about it — because
although you can make micro‑changes on

152 July 2012 / w w w . s o u n d o n s o u n d . c o m

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July 2012 edition

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