Orchestra hit

2025-09-06T18:45:43Z

2800:BF0:81F1:1484:B1DA:C139:A0EE:1A47: Updated

{{short description|Sound effect}}
{{About|the synthesizer sound effect|the musical performance technique|accent (music)|and|sforzando (musical direction)}}

{{Infobox instrument
| name = Orchestra hit
| names =
| image = Orchestra hit.ogg
| image_capt = Synthesized orchestra hit from [[Roland Corporation|Roland]]'s [[Roland JV-80|SR-JV80-01 Pop]] sound card
| background = other
| classification = [[Sampling (music)|Digital sample]]
| hornbostel_sachs =
| hornbostel_sachs_desc =
| inventors =
| developed = Early 1980s
| range =
| related =
| musicians = [[David Vorhaus]], [[Trevor Horn]], [[Duran Duran]]
| builders =
| articles =
}}
An '''orchestra hit''' is a sound effect consisting of isolated staccato note or chord [[synthesizer|synthesized]] from the sounds of many [[orchestra]]l instruments together, or sampled from a single [[Sforzando (musical direction)|sforzando]] performance.<ref name="Best 2004 72">{{harvtxt|Best|2004|p=72}}</ref> The orchestra hit sound was propagated by the use of early [[sampler (musical instrument)|samplers]], particularly the [[Fairlight CMI]]'s ORCH2 sample.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=15 May 2018 |title=The sound that connects Stravinsky to Bruno Mars |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A1Aj1_EF9Y |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=23 February 2020 |website=YouTube |publisher=[[Vox Media]] (which owns [[Vox (website)|Vox]])}}</ref> The sound is used in [[popular music|pop]], [[hip hop]], [[jazz fusion]], [[techno]], and [[video game music|video game]] genres to accentuate passages of music.<ref name="Fink 2005 14">{{harvtxt|Fink|2005|p=14}}</ref> In video games, it can also be used as a standalone sound effect, often to indicate a special gameplay situation.

The orchestra hit has been identified as a "hip hop cliché".<ref name="Fink 2005 6">{{harvtxt|Fink|2005|p=6}}</ref> In 1990, ''[[Musician (magazine)|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".<ref name="Musician 1990">{{harvtxt|Musician|1990}}</ref> The orchestra hit has been described as popular music's equivalent to the [[Wilhelm scream]], a sound effect widely used in film.<ref name="Kopstein 2011">{{harvtxt|Kopstein|2011}}</ref>

== History ==
Precursors to the popular samples can be found in contemporary classical music, for example in [[Igor Stravinsky]]'s ballet ''[[The Firebird]]''.

{{Listen
| filename = Owner of a lonely heart-YES.ogg
| title = Owner of a Lonely Heart
| description = An orchestra hit is used after the chorus in "[[Owner of a Lonely Heart]]" (1983) by [[Yes (band)|Yes]]
}}

Use of short samples (such as the orchestra hit) became popular in the early 1980s with the advent of [[digital sampler]]s.<ref name="Warner 2003 69">{{harvtxt|Warner|2003|p=69}}</ref> These devices allowed sounds to be replayed at specific times and at regular intervals by [[Music sequencer|sequencing]], which was extremely difficult through previous methods of [[tape splicing]].<ref name="Warner 2003 69" /> Samplers also began to allow sections of audio to be [[sound editor (filmmaking)|edited]] and played by a [[Electronic keyboard|keyboard controller]].<ref name="Warner 2003 69" />

The orchestra hit was popularized in [[Afrika Bambaataa]]'s "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]" (1982)<ref name="Fink 2005 1">{{harvtxt|Fink|2005|p=1}}</ref> and used soon after in [[Kate Bush]]'s "[[The Dreaming (song)|The Dreaming]]" (1982).<ref name="Fink 2005 5">{{harvtxt|Fink|2005|p=5}}</ref>

In "[[Owner of a Lonely Heart]]" (1983), [[Yes (band)|Yes]] used an orchestra hit that was [[sampling (music)|sampled]] from [[Funk, Inc.]]'s "[[Funk, Inc. (album)|Kool is Back]]" (1971).<ref name="Di Nicolantonio 2004">{{harvtxt|Di Nicolantonio
|2004}}</ref>

By the mid-1980s, the orchestra hit had become commonplace in hip hop music,<ref name="Fink 2005 15">{{harvtxt|Fink|2005|p=15}}</ref> and its ubiquitous use became a cliché.<ref name="Warner 2003 105">{{harvtxt|Warner|2003|p=105}}</ref>

Other examples of use in [[popular music]] include [[Duran Duran]]'s "[[A View to a Kill (song)|A View to a Kill]]" (1985)<ref name="Holmes 1997">{{harvtxt|Holmes|1997}}</ref> and [[En Vogue]]'s "[[Hold On (En Vogue song)|Hold On]]" (1990).<ref name="GPI Publications 1994 11">{{harvtxt|GPI Publications|1994|p=11}}</ref>

Use in other genres extends to [[jazz funk]], where it was used on the title track of the [[Miles Davis]] album ''[[Tutu (album)|Tutu]]'' (1986).<ref name="Sabin 2002 206">{{harvtxt|Sabin|2002|p=206}}</ref>

By the mid-1990s, the sound had begun to be used in [[Caribbean music]].<ref name="Best 2004 72" /><ref name="Best 2004 73">{{harvtxt|Best|2004|p=73}}</ref>

[[Anne Dudley]] and [[Trevor Horn]] used an orchestra hit with the [[Art of Noise]] as a [[sound effect]] rather than a melodic instrument.<ref name="Fink 2005 5" /> The sample was used in "[[Close (to the Edit)]]", where it was sequenced alongside sound effects of [[chainsaw]]s, breaking glass and [[motorcycle]]s.<ref name="Weisbard 2007 238">{{harvtxt|Weisbard|2007|p=238}}</ref> Similarly, the [[brass instrument|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).<ref name="Warner 2003 69" /> The stabs in the song may also be substitutes for other instruments in the rhythm section, possibly [[drum fill]]s, and the use of orchestra hits and other samples is particularly noticeable between the first chorus and the start of the [[guitar solo]].<ref name="Warner 2003 69" /> High-pitched versions of the orchestra hit were used in many late 80s and 90s songs in Eastern Europe, for example one notable use there was in the song "{{lang|el|S'agapao pou na parei|italic=no}}" ({{lang|el|Σ'αγαπάω που να πάρει}}) by Greek singer [[Thanos Kalliris]] in 1997.{{fact|date=June 2025}}

Orchestra hits are sometimes used in [[film music]] to represent loud noises such as closing doors.<ref name="Machin 2010 157">{{harvtxt|Machin|2010|p=157}}</ref>

== Technical ==
Orchestra hit is defined in the [[General MIDI]] sound set.<ref name="Rothstein 1995 56">{{harvtxt|Rothstein|1995|p=56}}</ref> It is assigned voice 56, in the [[General MIDI#Ensemble|ensemble sub group]].

The [[Fairlight CMI]] synthesizer included a sampled orchestra hit voice, which was later included in many sample libraries.<ref name="Di Nicolantonio 2004" /> The voice was given the name ORCH5, and was possibly the first famous orchestra hit sample.<ref name="Fink 2005 2">{{harvtxt|Fink|2005|p=2}}</ref> The sound was a [[Audio bit depth|low-resolution]], [[Bit rate|eight-bit]] digital sample from a recording of [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky's]] ''[[Firebird Suite]]''<ref name="Fink 2005 1" /> – specifically, the chord that opens the "Infernal Dance" section, pitched down a [[minor sixth]].<ref name="Fink 2005 3">{{harvtxt|Fink|2005|p=3}}</ref> It was sampled by [[David Vorhaus]].<ref name="Fink 2005 3" /> Music magazine ''[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]'' suggests that the prototype sample is owned by [[Vivian Kubrick]].<ref name="The Wire 2007 64">{{harvtxt|The Wire|2007|p=64}}</ref>

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 sampler memory. A compromise for longer durations would be lower bitrates, which would leave the sample with little [[timbre]].<ref name="Warner 2003 69" />

Fairlight produced a number of orchestra hit samples, including a chord version (TRIAD), a percussion version (ORCHFZ1) and a [[music loop|looped]] version (ORCH2).<ref name="Fink 2005 3" /> Samples ORCH4, ORCH5 and ORCH6 were located on the CMI's disk 8, within the STRINGS1 library.<ref name="Synthiman 2007">{{harvtxt|Synthiman |2007}}</ref>

The Chord is an F minor sixth chord.

== Samples ==
The following samples are examples of orchestra hit voices on different [[sound module]]s. Each note is played at [[C (musical note)|C<sub>4</sub>]] (see [[scientific pitch notation]]).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Synthesizer !! Sample !! Waveform
|-
| [[Roland JV-80|Roland SR-JV80-01 Pop]] || [[File:Orchestra hit.ogg]] || [[File:Orchestra hit.png|250px]]
|-
| [[Roland S-50]] || [[File:Orchestra Hit - Sound Canvas.ogg]] || [[File:Orchestra_Hit_-_Sound_Canvas.png|250px]]
|-
| [[Yamaha CS1x]] || [[File:Orchestra hit - CS1X.ogg]] || [[File:Orchestra hit - CS1X.png|250px]]
|-
| [[Yamaha MU-series|Yamaha MU50]] || [[File:Orchestra hit - MU50XG.ogg]] || [[File:Orchestra hit - MU50XG.png|250px]]
|-
| [[Yamaha PSS31]]|| [[File:Orchestra hit - PSS31.ogg]] || [[File:Orchestra hit - PSS31.png|250px]]
|}

==See also==
*[[Stab (music)]]
*[[Sforzando (musical direction)|Sforzando]], the equivalent in classical music

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation|last=Best|first=Curwen|title=Culture at the Cutting Edge: Tracking Caribbean Popular Music|year=2004|publisher=University of the West Indies Press|place=Kingston, Jamaica|isbn=976-640-124-1}}
* {{citation|last=Di Nicolantonio|first=Paolo|title=Famous Sounds|year=2004|publisher=SynthMania|url=http://www.synthmania.com/Famous%20Sounds.htm|accessdate=22 February 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Fink|first=Robert|title=The Story of ORCH5, or, the Classical Ghost in the Hip-Hop Machine|year=2005|url=https://ucla.academia.edu/RobertFink/Papers/179755/The_Story_of_ORCH5|journal=Popular Music|volume=24|issue=3|pages=339–356|doi=10.1017/S0261143005000553|jstor=3877522}}
* {{citation|author=GPI Publications|title=Keyboard|volume=20|issue=7–12|year=1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZqUJAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=22 February 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Holmes|first=Greg|title=Fairlight CMI Examples|year=1997|publisher=GH Services|url=http://www.ghservices.com/gregh/fairligh/examples.htm|accessdate=22 February 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Kopstein|first=Joshua|title=The Fairlight CMI's 'ORCH5' Is The Sample You Haven't Not Heard|year=2011|publisher=MotherBoard|url=http://www.motherboard.tv/2011/1/28/the-fairlight-cmi-s-orch5-is-the-sample-you-haven-t-not-heard--2|accessdate=22 February 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Machin|first=David|title=Analysing Popular Music: Image, Sound and Text|year=2010|publisher=SAGE Publications|place=Thousand Oaks, CA|isbn=978-1-84860-023-2}}
* {{citation|last=Rothstein|first=Joseph|title=MIDI: A Comprehensive Introduction|year=1995|publisher=A-R Editions|place=Middleton, WI|isbn=0-89579-309-1}}
* {{citation|last=Sabin|first=Ira|title=Jazz Times|volume=32|issue=1–5|year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jNLAAAAYAAJ|accessdate=22 February 2011}}
* {{citation|author=Musician|title=Issues 135-140|year=1990|publisher=Amordian Press|place=Boulder, CO}}
* {{citation|author=Synthiman|title=Fairlight CMI IIx|year=2007|url=http://www.home.zonnet.nl/synthiman/Fairlight_CMI_IIx.html#disk8|accessdate=22 February 2011|archive-date=8 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808101411/http://www.home.zonnet.nl/synthiman/Fairlight_CMI_IIx.html#disk8|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|author=The Wire|title=Issues 275-280|year=2007|publisher=The Wire Magazine Ltd|place=London}}
* {{citation|last=Warner|first=Timothy|title=Pop Music: Technology and Creativity – Trevor Horn and the Digital Revolution|year=2003|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|place=Farnham, Surrey|isbn=0-7546-3132-X}}
* {{citation|last=Weisbard|first=Eric|title=Listen Again: A Momentary History of Pop Music|year=2007|publisher=Duke University Press|place=Durham, NC|isbn=978-0-8223-4022-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/listenagainmomen00weis}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Musical techniques]]
[[Category:Sampling (music)]]

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Orchestra hit