16 clarinets with GPO

[Irish28]

Hi,

As I'm writing for concert band, I need to write for 16 clarinets :
8 play the 1st part, 4 play the 2nd one, and 4 play the 3rd one.
What would you do if you were in my case, 'cause I'd like to hear like if numerous clarinets were playing.
(By the way, I use GPO in SONAR).

Thanks for reply.

Alex

[Skysaw]

16 clarinets? That's going to leave a mark!

Seriously, though... I'm not sure how you could easily get eight clarinets on one part without severe phasing problems with GPO. You might have to get pretty creative to simulate this, or use additional sound sources as well.

Here's one pretty off-the-wall idea you could try. It just popped into my head, so it's untested. Use the available ensemble clarinet samples (I think there are three? -- I'm away from my music machine) to all play one line. Then make a copy of that GPO instance and midi tracks, transpose all the midi notes up a major 2nd, and use the pitch wheel to bring them all back down into pitch. This might reduce phasing problems, as different samples from the instrument mapping will be used for the same pitches. You could make a third set transposing down, and pitch-bending up. Assuming there are three ensemble patches, you would now have as many as 9 clarinets on one part.

Theoretically you will get fewer phasing problems with larger transposition intervals, at the trade-off of less accuracy and realism in the samples. In any case, mix the first instance (untransposed) louder than the rest, since they'll be the least processed.

You may also consider using fewer than the prescribed number. Concert bands generally do this much doubling to:
1. Get more volume
2. Let everyone play

If there are no other considerations, the payoff for this kind of work is likely not worth it.