The qualities of instrumental color should dictate the development of thematic material in a orchestral score. This, I feel, is one of the hardest things for a beginning orchestrator to grasp. Very often, I’m seeing beginning scores where thematic development is very pianistic, and of course that’s natural as most composers nowadays are pianists or…
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A great orchestral theme should use certain precepts of communication for maximum emotional impact. Yesterday I spoke about the importance of shaping a phrase orchestrally to fit the appropriate instrument. Today’s topic takes this further – not merely shaping a phrase or musical sentence, but an entire theme that’s more like a paragraph – composed…
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The ability to shape a phrase orchestrally should be one of the primary concerns of a developing orchestrator, not just thinking vertically. Something I’ve observed in many early orchestrational efforts is the concept that orchestration is mostly about combinations of sound and color. Developing orchestrators tend to think about the big picture a lot, and…
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A video installment in my daily series of tips. Please follow me on Twitter for the Orchestration Online Tip of the Day at @OrchestrationOL, or join the Orchestration Online Facebook group for feedback, resources, and advice. Score-read the following works, transposing horn and trumpet parts: Beethoven Symphony No. 5, Movt. II Haydn Symphony No. 100,…
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Despite what several modern orchestration texts may claim, horn and trumpet players prefer not to have key signatures. I picked up the Alfredo Casella orchestration text in an English translation a while back. Some of the presentation of principles is truly original, and I can recommend it as a supplement to a more thorough book…
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It is much simpler to slur up on a horn than to slur down. Most non-wind and non-brass players don’t instinctively understand this, and it can lead to scoring that is much more difficult than the composer realizes. For a brass player to slur upwards, pressure must be increased and the embouchure tightened. This is…
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If you want to test the effectiveness of a horn part, simply sing it all the way through. This tip comes from my wife, the professional horn player. Too many composers have the idea that horns simply are the chucks in a “boom-chuck” – which they can do very easily. Or that horns are simply…
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The “horn pad,” once thought obsolete and to be avoided, still has possibilities for the imaginative orchestrator. From the Late Classical through to Romantic Periods, composers would often employ what’s come to be known as the “horn pad” – 3-part and 4-part harmony sitting softly in the background, while the strings or strings+winds dominated the…
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Orchestrators should learn the difference between stopped notes and muted notes on the horn, and also how to ask for mutes and give time for their installation. One bit of common knowledge in older orchestration manuals like the Piston is that composers don’t seem to differentiate between stopped notes and muted notes in scores, sometimes…
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Be mindful of range when scoring stopped horns – the best notes are inside the treble staff. The higher the pitch above top G, the greater the risk of cracking. The lower the pitch below middle C, the flabbier the tone. It’s interesting that neither Piston nor Adler (or most other texts) address the issue…
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