Watch. Copy. Compose.

Hear the orchestration, then see how to recreate it—short videos show you which instruments to load, and how to combine them.

Work with the orchestral library (s) you already have

Got winds, brass, percussion, piano, choir and strings? You’re good to go—discover what’s possible with the tools you already own.

Follow the scores, download the MIDI files

Concert-pitch scores for study, mockups, or checking your transcriptions. Then import the MIDI files for your own DAW sandbox experiments.

Go deeper with Chef's Notes

The written guide that accompanies every video. Detailed hints, tips, cautions, troubleshooting, and the thinking behind every step.
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Previews

Every recipe starts with a video…

You’ll hear the orchestration, then see a quick DAW build.

Every recipe starts with a video…

You’ll hear what you’ll be creating, then watch a quick DAW build.

Every recipe starts with a video…

You’ll hear the orchestration, then see a quick DAW build.

All recipes also include detailed Chef’s notes, scores, MIDI files & PDF desk references.

Get the complete collections

…then detailed Chef’s Notes, scores, MIDI files & PDF guide

All included in your purchase of Volume 1 or 2; Volume 3 has all details in narrated videos instead.

Watch the DAW build

Hear the orchestration, then see how to recreate it—short videos show you which instruments to load, and how to combine them.

Clear, detailed PDF desk references

Super clear PDF guides that detail every step—keep it handy as a cheat-sheet to refer to as you compose.

Follow the scores

Full scores lay bare every note of every track—for study, mockups, or checking your transcriptions. Shown at concert pitch for easy reading.

Download MIDI files and experiment

For your own sandbox experiments—MIDI files are included for every example, so you can import straight to your DAW or notation program.
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Recently Released

Volume 3

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Volume 3 Tour

2 hours of fully narrated videos
Walkthroughs, illustrations and loads of fresh musical examples to explore, in a new, brisk, fully narrated format.

Packed with orchestrated examples & ideas to try
Start with the videos. Practice building versions of your own, until you don’t need the videos. Then the sound is yours, to summon, whenever you need it.

Going beyond instrumental combinations
Spices are harmonic frameworks that inspire ideas, elevate cues, and set foundations for orchestrations of your own. (Which is the ultimate aim of this series)

Out now

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Tour

2 hours of fully narrated videos
Walkthroughs, illustrations and loads of fresh musical examples to explore, in a new, brisk, fully narrated format.

Packed with orchestrated examples & ideas to try
Start with the videos. Practice building versions of your own, until you don’t need the videos. Then the sound is yours, to summon, whenever you need it.

Examples from Volume 3

Spices inspire orchestrations. Notice just how different two cues with the same spice can be—thinking harmonically with spices can smash through writer’s block, and inspire orchestrations of your own.

All examples use readily available sample libraries, out-of-the-box—there’s nothing in the effects chain, beyond a splash of reverb on the master output. Effects, the libraries you use…it’s all icing; the notes you choose are the cake.

All examples use readily available sample libraries, out-of-the-box—there’s nothing in the effects chain, beyond a splash of reverb on the master output. Effects, the libraries you use…it’s all icing; the notes you choose are the cake.

Tour
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Dislocated Tethers • Build 1 of 3

Bisected 10ths • Build 1 of 6

Harmonic Splats • Build 1 of 4

Dislocated Tethers • Build 2 of 3

Bisected 10ths • Build 2 of 6

Harmonic Splats • Build 2 of 4

Contrails • Build 1 of 4

Serial Parallel 5ths • Build 1 of 5

Sunken Minors • Build 1 of 5

Contrails • Build 2 of 4

Serial Parallel 5ths • Build 2 of 5

Sunken Minors • Build 2 of 5

Start cooking

Volume 1: Classic

The original collection, drawn mostly from classical combinations.

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Volume 3 *New*

Going beyond instrument combinations.
2 hours of videos, packed with ideas to try.

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Volume 2: Cinematic

More commercial in focus, with recipes targeting specific moods and scenes.

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About the Orchestration Recipes Chef

Philip Johnston is one of music education’s best selling authors, known for presenting complex ideas in simple, engaging formats. Classically trained, he has a Masters Degree in Music from Indiana University and has recorded for Warner Music as a pianist/composer.

Philip has been working with orchestral sample libraries since the Gigastudio days. (You can still hear some of Philip’s Gigastudio demos at VSL’s website—created in 2003 on a PC that has worse specs than your phone…it’s all about the recipes, not the gear)

Email Philip