TESTIMONIALS ON LESSONS and CLASSES

Last week was the last class of Dr. Ludwin's Orchestration class series offered for free by Local 47. I am writing to thank you so much for this wonderful experience. Dr. Ludwin is a terrific teacher...very organized, personable, and knowledgeable. His stories about working in the business were very interesting and insightful. This class has inspired me, it has expanded my horizons of understanding orchestration, AND!: I got to listen to and analyze a lot of fantastic music with a wonderful teacher. Thank you, thank you Local 47 for giving this gift of Orchestration classes with Dr. Ludwin. Jeffrey S.

It has been a pleasure attending both Orchestration sessions. I have learned so much and heard so much beautiful music. You have done a wonderful job and I will be back next year.
I will reach out to Local 47 tomorrow and let them know what a treasure you are!! Stuart E.

Thank you so, so much for class. It was really interesting, helpful and educational. I look forward for the next one, whenever that may be. Jocelyn S.

Thank you and everyone at Local 47 for offering such a wonderful class! We all learned tremendously - and had fun too - with you Norman, much appreciated. I hope I'll be able to attend your future classes as well. Again, thank you very much...Roberto M.

Thanks Norman for a great eye opening class. I now know what areas I need to further explore and develop . The class gave an overwhelming amount of information organized in a kind of a road map. Now the real work begins in the follow up. Itzhak Y.

Hey Norman, I just wanted to thank you for a really good lesson yesterday. I'm starting to really understand about being more selective in doubling and how best to utilize my instruments. This morning when I sat down and started reworking some details, all of a sudden I could hear the flute melody perfectly, it wasn't getting lost under the clarinet anymore, and just giving the clarinet or the violin etc parts on their own to play sounded great. Barry N.

As a member of Local 47, I just want to express my gratitude to the union for sponsoring Norman Ludwin's orchestration classes. After having so manny sessions, tours and residencies cancelled due to the covid shut down, those classes were exactly what I needed to improve my arranging chops and focus my creativity.

Additionally, Ludwin is really a terrific teacher. In both the beginning and advanced sessions it was clear that there were students of varying degrees of proficiency, and the class was taught in such a way as all would benefit. During the second orchestration session I was relieved to get home recording work, but the materials from Norman were so clear and comprehensive, I could attend all the classes and then later go back to work through the assignments offered, as well as apply the methodology to my own arranging work moving forward.

I am hoping you will offer these types of courses again, and honestly, if Norman's orchestration class was offered again, I would retake it. These are just the types of experiences that help us get through these challenging times. Janice M.

I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated the orchestration classes and what you have to offer! It brought me back to my college days at Cal Arts! I got so engrossed in one assignment, I forgot to eat. And last night I pulled an all nighter working on the last assignment. It was worth it! Thank you again! Tony P.

Just wanted to say thanks for such a great course. I really enjoyed the discussion about scores and the way you shared your insights and expertise. I do want to thank you for using ‘dumb’ as an adjective for music creation. It is a brilliant, succinct way to sling-shot a person from navel gazing to having a (dumb) go. THANK YOU. It will stay with me a long time. Savannah JL.

I have referenced your textbook more times than I can count, and just wanted to reach out to say thank you for providing such an in depth look at orchestration. I appreciate how you explain not only good orchestration practices, but bad practices as well. Brandon S.

It’s been awhile. Just want to say how much I learned from your classes. I still use the skills I learned in your class. I am due for another class soon. Germaine F.

Thank you :] Such a thorough introduction to the basics of string writing. Orion C.

This is fantastic, man! What an extremely well laid out, comprehensive class and I’m enjoying it immensely.
Thanks for the homework, as well; I’m looking forward to the challenge!
-Greg P.

"Professor. On behalf of my family and me, I wanted to thank you very much for your help and guidance, today I received my letter of acceptance from Berklee College of Music, without you this would not be possible. Please if there is anything I could do for you let me know. I am really grateful to have you in my life/" -Rey F.

Much appreciation to you for conducting the class. Justin B.

"This is awesome! I have that Schoenberg Composition book and didn't make it past page 20 haha! Your descriptions and the examples of motives, phrases, and all the variation techniques are stellar! Can't wait to go through this more and do an in depth study! Going to be incredibly helpful in writing! Thanks! - Demi B.

"Hey Norman, I just wanted to say thank you again for a fantastic quarter, and I look forward to another opportunity to learn and progress with you. Strings was by far my favorite class of the program thus far." -Peter C

"Hello Norman, Thank you for your invaluable opportunities and inspiration you've given me! It wouldn't have been possible if we hadn't hung out and worked together last Spring!"- Ace V.

"Hello President Acosta,

I'm so glad that I finished Orchestration I with Dr. Norman Ludwin.

He has a deep knowledge of music in Orchestration, Conducting, Arranging, Harmony, Film Scoring, etc. and he makes the class very interesting. I want to thank AFM-47 Directors and all the personnel involved to bring this into reality, I wish that these classes will continue as long as possible in the years to come." - Vick M.

"Hello President Acosta,

I have been taking Norman's orchestration study.

I was totally green about orchestration and classical music before I take this class.

I learned a lot in a short period and finished a conducting and arranging assignment for practical orchestration for the last class of orchestration1.

This study opens a new door to go through. Thank you very much and I can't wait for Orchestration 2."

-Akira K.

"Hi Dr. Ludwin ,
Just wanted to let you know that I found your Orchestration: A New Approach 15 Lesson Course book (which I finished last night) to be utterly fantastic. I've been projecting your e-book in my home theater, following along with recordings of the scores with a remote clicker, kind of like a big PowerPoint presentation. Your clarity in whittling down the concepts of orchestration to its essentials has provided me with so many "aha!" moments that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this book has changed my life...or at the very least, it's has given me the tools to reach the next level of my musical development." - Jeff B.

"Dr. Ludwin,
My name is Ivy, and I was in attendance at your lecture last night at BMI in New York City. Thank you for a wonderfully-instructional and enlightening evening of learning. These types of classes are so helpful to me, as I am in the beginning stages of getting opportunities to score for TV and film. I can use all of the tools, insight, and instruction that I am able to get! All of the best to you, as you continue your impressive career." - Ivy S.

"Hi Norman,

First of all, just wanted to say thanks for presenting at the SCL seminar last Thursday night in NY. Definitely had a lot of keen insight, and really liked the structuring of your analysis." - Kevin L.

"Norman,
Fabulous book....so packed with wisdom and so real. I'm finding it really helpful."- Larry W.

"Norman, it is a shame that some of us didn't meet your precious books earlier. I purchased the 15 Lesson Course, Anthology #2 (Contemporary) and #3 (Film Music). An incredible amount of material and detailed analysis. A lot of distilled knowledge.Thank you very much for your hard work, and for making these lessons available to the wide public." - P. Tram

"Norman, I have *ALL* your books and continue get a lot out of them....they're a great source of inspiration and help me overcome sticking points in my own work." - Steve. H

"Thank you Norman!

I appreciate the process that you are putting in place:
defining what my goals may be for those lessons is a great idea!" - Patrick C.

"This is my third purchase from Dr. Ludwin, I suspect I will end up purchasing nearly all his courses over time.
My first purchase was the film music anthology (volume 3), not only did I learn some cool stuff, but it was a lot of fun working through the examples. His comments are generally very clear and instructive...
So I picked up the handbook on the intro offer because I have developed a sense of trust. I briefly paged through it, and there is a lot of material here. Same delivery, which is good I think, and I am considering putting Variations on hold and digging in. My first impression of this book is that it might have been a good choice for a first book from him. I think it develops some foundations for the way he teaches that might have sped things up for me.
His overall approach is new to me (there may be other teachers who do the same thing) and it is a nice fit for my situation. For the price it isn't much of a gamble, and I think a lot of people can benefit from his books. I heartily recommend!" - Bill T.

"Just purchased as well. Was just looking for a new book to read, and I have enjoyed Norman's others, so this should be no different. Thanks for writing these Norman - Looking forward to diving in."- Kayle C.

"Norman, thank you so much for everything you are doing for me, I have learned a great deal since I have been under your tutoring, I will recommend you to anyone that needs help with composition, orchestration and music theory." -Rey F.

"I've just now finished the 16 week Orchestration course with Dr. Norman Ludwin (Introduction To Orchestration and Advanced Orchestration), and I wish to tell you how incredible the course is and what a delight it has been to learn from Dr. Ludwin.
Dr. Ludwin explained everything so clearly in the classroom and in the course materials that it all simply seemed so obvious to me. It takes a very talented teacher to reveal information that well, and Dr. Ludwin does just that and with a wonderful dose of humor to spice it all up. Each class was informative and enormously fun, too." - Kelly M.

" I just wanna say thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity and experience. By the way the book is insanely amazing !!!! It's a pleasure and honor being able to work on it together !" - Angelo Z.

"I love your books, I already bought 4 of them!" - Sonia M.

"I am really enjoying our classes big time; you opened my eyes to things I never thought about before!" - Mamdouh S.

"Thank you so much for the great lesson yesterday!" Isabel L.

"I took lessons from Norman Ludwin for about 8 months and learned so much. He is an excellent teacher and also a really great guy. Two thumbs up from a happy student here!"--Marc L.

"Norm... your presentations are always excellent. I enjoyed our Skype study and as you know, I documented our work for presentation as an independent study course toward my M.A. My supervisor was most impressed with our work together. Thanks for your kindness and sharing."--Paul N.

"Norman is a WONDERFUL teacher, I was lucky enough to have a lesson over the summer and would highly recommend his offer!"--Benjamin K.

"Norman Ludwin is a fantastic teacher and mentor. I had took his orchestration classes and have learned so much. He always manages to simplify concepts for easy understanding. I highly recommend taking his classes. On top of that, he is one of the nicest people that I have met in LA."--Reinchez N.

"Norman, thanks again for a great orchestration workshop. I just emailed Rick, the VP of AFM47 to let him know how awesome it was." -- Jason R.

"I'm am a proud owner of vol 1 of this orchestration book. After an Amazon purchase and some confusion about shipping costs, Norman included a $4 personal check with the book! I never cashed it (the book is so reasonable anyway) but if the myriad musical reasons to study with Norman weren't enough, this is what a stand up guy we're dealing with, people. Highly recommended!"-- Jesse W.

"I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how much I enjoyed Norman's Orchestration classes.

I very much appreciate that they have been made available to union member composers like myself. It was a great environment in which to sharpen our arranging skills and connect with fellow member composers as well as the wonderful players in Symphony 47.

I hope to take the Advanced class again next year to keep up these skills."--Conan S.

"Norman is one of my favorite teachers, and his books are great. I barely understood orchestral works a few years ago, thinking that those great composers had an amazing imagination all the time. When I started reading Norman's books, it helped me understand easily how the instruments are grouped, the development/continuation of melodies, etc., and that's because of how simple it's presented. It's also color coded so you'll have no trouble in seeing and understanding the analysis.

He has books on how to exercise your composition skills as a composer, and a book on how to develop a melody. As long as you use those techniques, you'll always have a bunch of ways to vary your melody. Overall, Norman's a great guy, and his books are also great!"--Juls M.

"Thank you Norman for taking time to teach this class. It was a pleasure to be in it, you taught the class in a way that it was easy to understand.

I recently opened my book from college "Orchestration" which I tried to review on my own many times and could not understand, but this time I was able to relate to the words in the book because you already talked about it in class.

This class was a refresher for me and more; this class open my eyes to realize that I can do this, I can arrange or compose, which is something that in my younger years I thought it was not possible because I thought I could not do it.

You are an excellent professor, mentor, and I thank you again for taking the time to teach the class. I will let the members of the union know about it.--Maritza O.

"Hi Norman! I love your orchestration books, I recently found them and am working through them steadily. I would love to have some Skype lessons from you for sure. Greetings from Australia! 🇦🇺 👍"--Amy V.

"Your book is a must have for every person interested in Orchestration !... Thank you Maestro Norman !"--Jorge E.

"Anyone interested in learning more about music composition and orchestration should reach out to Norman Ludwin. Not long ago I studied string writing with him. He's top. Looking forward to getting your composition book sometime soon. They say the best way to get good at Orchestration is to score read. When you have a Professional Orchestrator giving you his insights into the works you're currently looking at you can't but help improve on the craft 10x's faster. Thanks for creating the books!"-Jason T.

"Thank you for the great class. You are an excellent teacher and I learned a lot about orchestration, analyzing score and much more. I appreciate you looking at my score and helping me make correction in my orchestration. I am looking forward to you conducting my music with the orchestra." Carl R.

"Currently studying EIS composition with Glenn Jordan.. I have already asked him, when I am done with this course where do I go for orchestration study. He said Norman Ludwin bar none.. already have some of your ebooks.. looking forward to studying with you!" --Carl B.

"I am working through Norman Ludwin books... they are excellent :)"

--Wendy K.

"Norman is a true stand-up guy. He's one of us. Aside from being extremely knowledgeable about orchestration and composition, he is also a breeze to work with and can help you get from where you are to where you want to go in terms of knowledge and scope. If you haven't already, check out his course. His book is stellar." -- Frederick R.

"From personal experience, private time with Norman is incredibly enlightening...like getting the keys to the kingdom of that great Hollywood sound." -- Don B.

"Really enjoyed your class, invaluable experience that I can take forward." -- Flynn S.

"I recently took Norman Ludwin's Orchestration I and Advanced Orchestration classes and wanted to tell you how wonderful they were.

To get instruction from a guy who has a doctorate, is a top-call session bassist, who plays in professional and community orchestras and is a working orchestrator was fantastic.

I intend to repeat his Advanced Orchestration class whenever it is offered - the chance to write and conduct a piece for the Symphony 47 was a fantastic experience."--Joellen M.

"I just want to say that Norman’s orchestration class was great, he is very knowledgeable and a great teacher."--Paulinho G.

"Your analysis is very helpful. I'm really glad I took the class. Before I'd look at scores and feel so overwhelmed. The class has been super helpful looking at scores and even listening -- being able to see and hear how it's mostly just a few parts." --Ernest A.

"Just wanted to let you know that I found your Orchestration: A New Approach 15 Lesson Course book to be utterly fantastic... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this book has changed my life...or at the very least, it's has given me the tools to reach the next level of my musical development." -- Jeff B.

"I want to thank you again for the wonderful work you did in instructing the "Advanced Orchestration" class. You truly inspired me to write more, think more, listen more, and to advance more in my musical endeavors. Please accept my greatest thanks for being the catalyst for change in my music. I was searching for help to inspire me. I found it in your class and teachings. What a joy!!" -- Germaine F.

"Just wanted to write and to send you many, many thanks for such a great class! It was so inspiring -- you are a wonderful teacher -- and I learned so much!" -- Lisa L.

"Norman,

I just want to thank you for doing such a great job conducting the last class today and for the whole course! I learned a lot, especially how much I don't know! I am happy to know you and look forward to your second course starting in September. Our Local needs more programs like this that directly help it's members. Thank you again for your time and talent."--Michael G.

"I just wanted to thank you for the Orch I series of seminars which I enjoyed tremendously. You have a combination of the background, the ability, and the commitment to be an excellent musical guide for us and that is deeply appreciated." -- Ray D.

"Dr. Ludwin is an extremely gifted educator who knows his material thoroughly and puts it across with minimum fuss and maximum effect. Additionally, he put a huge amount of effort in checking all our homework and making astute and detailed comments - it's very much appreciated!" --Kendall M.

"I have bought several of the excellent books of the professor Norman Ludwin and I can attest to their excellence. Thanks for this job and I hope I can buy more of them in the future." --Miguel A.

"Your books are exceptional and really helping my compositional skills. Thank you so much for such great tools for furthering my compositional skills!!!"- Ty C.

"First of all thanks for being such a great teacher! your class was awesome I really enjoyed it and I learn a lot! "- Leandro P.