But there’s more! Leandro has also prepared a comprehensive walkthrough focused on mastering short articulations using Samplemodeling Strings, following the recent update that introduced a sharper and more aggressive attack layer. This tutorial is not just a technical guide—it’s a deep dive into expressive programming.

🎯 Key Takeaways from the Tutorial

• New articulation layer: Thanks to a collaboration with Samplemodeling, Leandro presents the new “aggressive attack” layer, triggered by specific combinations of CCs and velocity—ideal for driving, percussive passages.

• Essential CCs explained and demonstrated:

  • CC1 – Dynamics

  • CC25 – Velocity to dynamics control

  • CC26 – Attack time

  • CC38 – Attack type (0 = marcato, 127 = spiccato)

  • CC28 – Attack detuning (crucial for realism in fast or difficult passages)

• Programming with intention: Leandro shows that pushing all parameters to the max leads to flat, lifeless results. Instead, he emphasizes contrast and accentuation as the core of realism:

  “If everything is loud, nothing is.”

   

• Practical examples:

  • Accents are carefully placed via velocity (127 for key moments), while dynamics (CC1) shape the musical phrase.

  • Attack types are controlled by CC38 to alternate between spiccato and marcato articulations depending on phrasing and tempo. Attack detuning (CC28) is adjusted contextually: higher when difficulty increases (e.g. tight intonation in upper register), lower for repeated or simpler figures.

• Real musical context: Leandro applies these techniques to the Maruntzel section from Romanian Folk Dances, showing the role of short articulations in both melodic and accompanying parts.

• Legato vs. short: He briefly compares programming fast legatos vs. short notes, explaining how velocity affects clarity and how contrast between ensembles (e.g. layering solo and chamber strings) can enrich realism.