Orchestra hit
Encyclopedia
An orchestra hit, also known as an orchestral hit, orchestra stab, or orchestral stab, is a sound created through the layering of the sounds of a number of different orchestra
l instruments playing a single staccato
note or chord
. The orchestra hit sound was propagated by the use of early samplers
, particularly the Fairlight CMI
where it was known as the ORCH5 sample. The sound is used in pop
, hip hop
and techno
genres to accentuate passages of music.
The orchestra hit has been identified as a "hip hop cliché". In 1990, Musician
magazine stated that Fairlight's ORCH5 sample was "the orchestral hit that was heard on every rap and techno-pop record of the early 1980s". The orchestra hit has been described as popular music's equivalent to the Wilhelm scream
.
, which was extremely difficult through previous methods of tape splicing. Samplers also began to allow sections of audio to be edited and played by a keyboard controller
.
The orchestra hit was popularised in Afrika Bambaataa
's "Planet Rock
" (1982) and used soon after in Kate Bush
's "The Dreaming". Other examples of use in popular music
include En Vogue
's "Hold On
" (1990) and Duran Duran
's "A View to a Kill
" (1985). Yes
's "Owner of a Lonely Heart
" (1983) used an orchestra hit which was possibly sampled
from Kool and the Gang's "Celebration". By the mid 1980s, the orchestra hit had become commonplace in hip hop music, and its ubiquitous use became a cliché. Use in other genres extends to jazz funk, where it was used on the title track of Miles Davis
's 1986 album Tutu
. By the mid 1990s the sound had begun to be used in caribbean music
.
Anne Dudley
and Trevor Horn
used an orchestra hit in the Art of Noise as an effect
, rather than a melodic instrument. The sample was used in Close (to the Edit)
, where it was sequenced alongside sound effects of chainsaw
s, breaking glass and motorcycle
s. Similarly, the brass
orchestra hits in "Owner of a Lonely Heart" are used as a rhythmic device, rather than an effect to evoke a specific environment (in a similar way to samples in Yes's earlier recordings). The stabs in the song may also be substitutes for other instruments in the rhythm section, possibly drum fills, and the use of orchestra hits and other samples is particularly noticeable between the first chorus and the start of the guitar solo
.
Orchestra hits can be used in film music to represent loud noises such as closing doors.
sound set. It is assigned voice 56, in the ensemble sub group.
The Fairlight CMI
synthesizer included a sampled orchestra hit voice, which was later included in many sample libraries. The voice was given the name ORCH5, and was possibly the first famous orchestra hit sample. The sound was a low-resolution
, eight-bit
digital sample from a recording of Stravinsky's
Firebird Suite – specifically, the chord that opens the "Infernal Dance" section, pitched down a minor sixth
and at a reduced speed. It was sampled by David Vorhaus. Music magazine The Wire
suggests that the prototype sample is owned by Vivian Kubrick
.
Early orchestra hits were short in duration (often less than a second) both due to the nature of the sound (a staccato note) and the restrictions on bit rates and depths. A compromise for longer durations would be lower bitrates, which would leave the sample with little timbre
.
Fairlight produced a number of orchestra hit samples, including a chord version (TRIAD), a percussion version (ORCHFZ1) and a looped
version (ORCH2). Samples ORCH4, ORCH5 and ORCH6 were located on the CMI's disk 8, within the STRINGS1 library.
s. Each note is played at C4
(see scientific pitch notation
).
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l instruments playing a single staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
note or chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
. The orchestra hit sound was propagated by the use of early samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, particularly the Fairlight CMI
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
where it was known as the ORCH5 sample. The sound is used in pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
genres to accentuate passages of music.
The orchestra hit has been identified as a "hip hop cliché". In 1990, Musician
Musician (magazine)
Musician was a monthly magazine that covered news and information about American popular music. Initially called "Music America", it was founded in 1976 by Sam Holdsworth and Gordon Baird. The two friends borrowed $20,000 from relatives and started the publication in a barn in Colorado...
magazine stated that Fairlight's ORCH5 sample was "the orchestral hit that was heard on every rap and techno-pop record of the early 1980s". The orchestra hit has been described as popular music's equivalent to the Wilhelm scream
Wilhelm scream
The Wilhelm scream is a film and television stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. The effect gained new popularity after it was used in Star Wars and many other blockbuster films as well as television programs and video games...
.
History
Use of short samples (such as the orchestra hit) became popular in the early 1980s with the advent of digital samplers. These devices allowed sounds to be replayed at specific times and at regular intervals by sequencingMusic sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, which was extremely difficult through previous methods of tape splicing. Samplers also began to allow sections of audio to be edited and played by a keyboard controller
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
.
The orchestra hit was popularised in Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
's "Planet Rock
Planet Rock (song)
"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. In the background and hooks featured Marvella Murray, Yvette Murray, Melissa Johnson and Sandra Wheeler. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music...
" (1982) and used soon after in Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
's "The Dreaming". Other examples of use in popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
include En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
's "Hold On
Hold On (En Vogue song)
"Hold On" was the debut single from En Vogue's debut album, Born to Sing. It reached number one on the Hot Black Singles chart. The single became one of 1990s' biggest hits in the US and also a major hit in the UK . It also reached #1 on the U.S. Dance chart...
" (1990) and Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
's "A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill (song)
"A View to a Kill" is the thirteenth single by Duran Duran, released in May 1985.It was a stand-alone single, created for the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, and it remains the only James Bond theme song to have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100; it also made it to #2 for 3 weeks on the UK...
" (1985). Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
's "Owner of a Lonely Heart
Owner of a Lonely Heart
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by the progressive rock band Yes. It is the opening track of their 1983 album 90125. Written primarily by Trevor Rabin, the song reached number one on the United States Billboard Hot 100 — to date Yes's biggest chart success...
" (1983) used an orchestra hit which was possibly sampled
Sampling
Sampling may refer to:*Sampling , converting a continuous signal into a discrete signal*Sampling , converting continuous colors into discrete color components*Sampling , re-using portions of sound recordings in a piece...
from Kool and the Gang's "Celebration". By the mid 1980s, the orchestra hit had become commonplace in hip hop music, and its ubiquitous use became a cliché. Use in other genres extends to jazz funk, where it was used on the title track of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
's 1986 album Tutu
Tutu (album)
Tutu is an album released in 1986 by trumpeter Miles Davis on Warner Bros. Records.Originally planned as a collaboration with pop singer/songwriter Prince, Davis ultimately worked with bassist/multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller...
. By the mid 1990s the sound had begun to be used in caribbean music
Caribbean music
The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...
.
Anne Dudley
Anne Dudley
Anne Dudley is an English composer and pop musician, and was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in both the classical and pop genres. She is perhaps best known, however, as one of the core members of the synthpop band Art of Noise and also as a film...
and Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
used an orchestra hit in the Art of Noise as an effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
, rather than a melodic instrument. The sample was used in Close (to the Edit)
Close (to the Edit)
"Close " was a single by Art of Noise, released on various formats in May 1984. It was closely related to their earlier single "Beat Box", though the two tracks were developed as separate pieces from an early stage....
, where it was sequenced alongside sound effects of chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
s, breaking glass and motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s. Similarly, the brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
orchestra hits in "Owner of a Lonely Heart" are used as a rhythmic device, rather than an effect to evoke a specific environment (in a similar way to samples in Yes's earlier recordings). The stabs in the song may also be substitutes for other instruments in the rhythm section, possibly drum fills, and the use of orchestra hits and other samples is particularly noticeable between the first chorus and the start of the guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
.
Orchestra hits can be used in film music to represent loud noises such as closing doors.
Technical
Orchestra hit is defined in the General MidiGeneral MIDI
General MIDI or GM is a standardized specification for music synthesizers that respond to MIDI messages. GM was developed by the MIDI Manufacturers Association and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee and first published in 1991...
sound set. It is assigned voice 56, in the ensemble sub group.
The Fairlight CMI
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
synthesizer included a sampled orchestra hit voice, which was later included in many sample libraries. The voice was given the name ORCH5, and was possibly the first famous orchestra hit sample. The sound was a low-resolution
Audio bit depth
In digital audio, bit depth describes the number of bits of information recorded for each sample. Bit depth directly corresponds to the resolution of each sample in a set of digital audio data...
, eight-bit
Bit rate
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
digital sample from a recording of Stravinsky's
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
Firebird Suite – specifically, the chord that opens the "Infernal Dance" section, pitched down a minor sixth
Minor sixth
-Subminor sixth:In music, a subminor sixth or septimal sixth is an interval that is noticeably narrower than a minor sixth but noticeably wider than a diminished sixth.The sub-minor sixth is an interval of a 14:9 ratio or alternately 11:7....
and at a reduced speed. It was sampled by David Vorhaus. Music magazine The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
suggests that the prototype sample is owned by Vivian Kubrick
Vivian Kubrick
Vivian Vanessa Kubrick is an American-born English filmmaker and composer, known for her work with her father, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick...
.
Early orchestra hits were short in duration (often less than a second) both due to the nature of the sound (a staccato note) and the restrictions on bit rates and depths. A compromise for longer durations would be lower bitrates, which would leave the sample with little timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
.
Fairlight produced a number of orchestra hit samples, including a chord version (TRIAD), a percussion version (ORCHFZ1) and a looped
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
version (ORCH2). Samples ORCH4, ORCH5 and ORCH6 were located on the CMI's disk 8, within the STRINGS1 library.
Samples
The following samples are examples of orchestra hit voices on different sound moduleSound module
A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a keyboard, for example. Sound modules have to be "played" using an externally connected device...
s. Each note is played at C4
C (musical note)
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
(see scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
).
| Synthesizer | Sample | Waveform |
|---|---|---|
| Roland Virtual Sound Canvas 3 | ||
| Yamaha CS1X | ||
| Yamaha MU50 | ||
| Yamaha PSS31 |