I come from a traditional musical background. I have studied classical piano, harmony, theory, orchestration, and composition, and I can write romantic orchestral pieces till the cows come home. But what I really wanted to do was explore electronic music and play with modern sounds I could create myself.

I learned an immense amount about electronic music from Mark Isham, who’s been a great mentor, and who co-scores the Crash TV series with me. I learned even more on my own, by just playing with sounds in different combinations.

I started my journey by thinking like an orchestrator, and sorting sounds by timbre: Some are round and wind-like, some (like muted horns) are more biting, some synth attacks sound like a pizzicato cello, and so on. Here are just a few of my recent discoveries.

[Click thumbnails for larger images. Scroll down for audio examples.]

Ex. 1. 21st Century Baroque. I love the way Bach uses arpeggios to define harmony. This cue uses a plucked, harp-like sound from Spectrasonics Omnisphere. I play a little harder on the downbeats to bring out more of the plucky attack; you can also go back in and adjust the note velocity after playing. For a modern twist, I put a quarter-note delay on the track, so it feels like rolling waves of arpeggios.

Ex. 2. Eerie Melody. I like synthetic sounds that evoke acoustic ones, but I still want them to sound fresh and unique. This was intended for a sci-fi scene where giant insects are landing on a skylight. They’re horrifying, but there’s something ethereal and beautiful about them. I blended a few sounds to create the effect of a ghostly woodwind choir— a washy Omnisphere pad called “Megapad,” a high, flutey synth, and a Tibetan bowl sample for an attack that sounds like bug feet on glass. 

Ex. 3. Percolating Action Sequence. I’m a big fan of how minimalist composers John Adams and Steve Reich use seemingly simple patterns that interlock and transform over time. Sequencing lets you create many such parts, then try them in different combinations. Here, I’m using an arpeggiated synth, the pad “Desolate” from Spectrasonics Bizarre Guitar, and a pulsing pad from Native Instruments Pro-53. I also sampled myself singing “ha” and made a Logic EXS24 instrument out of it. 

Ex. 4. Suspenseful Brass Pads. Wagner knew that swelling French horn lines are a great way to pump up suspense and drama. For something a little edgier than fake brass, I created these swells from the Omnisphere pad “Evolving String Resonance” and upped the attack time so the sound creeps in gradually. The patch has a built-in swell that you can augment with volume automation. 

Ex. 5. Mexican Mystery. My favorite kind of score is a hybrid electronic/chamber score, with live players and interesting electronic textures. Sometimes a sampled sound can subtly enhance a live instrument, or lend it an otherworldly flavor. I’m using acoustic guitar parts, adding sampled harmonics with a half-note delay for a mysterious sparkle. 

Ex. 6. Ethereal Piano Ballad. I might have orchestrated this with strings and harp accents—if only I had an orchestra! Instead, I went for a hipper (and cheaper) collage of electronic textures: a plucked, percussive sound for accents, a pulsating pad for motion, and a breathy vocal pad playing a single line. These are all from Omnisphere, each with a little tweak to make them unique. Notice that none of the sounds play triads; instead, the combined individual lines build the harmony. 

Ex. 7. The Loop is the Limit. Loops have gotten a bad rap. But like any tool, they can be used for good or evil. Take a looping phrase and evolve everything else around it to change its musical meaning. Can you reharmonize it? Put a different bass line under it? Drift melodic phrases in and out of it? Change the rhythm or meter? I tried a bunch of these things, based on two guitar loops from Nine Volt Audio’s Chopped Guitars. Bass lines, a piano melody and chords, percussive accents, and pad swells all create a composition out of these found sounds. 

• Audio examples - sheet music is also on pp. 20-22 of the July 2010 issue.
  
• Ex. 1
• Ex. 2
  
• Ex. 3
• Ex. 4
• Ex. 5
• Ex. 6
• Ex. 7

Keyboardist, vocalist, and composer Cindy O’Connor has done everything from touring with Pat Benatar to scoring the hit TV series Crash alongside co-composer Mark Isham. See what she’s up to at cindyoconnor.com.