(Adapted from 100 LAST Orchestration Tips, planned for release in late 2026) Despite claims of its obsolescence, C clarinet is still employed in a limited way by section players and soloists. However, it is by no means an escape valve for anti-transposing composers. As a social media moderator of orchestration topic for the past 15…
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(Adapted from 100 LAST Orchestration Tips, planned for release in late 2026) Despite the emphasis by orchestration manuals on the clarinet’s odd-numbered overtones, both in character of tone and in overblowing, even-numbered overtones also play a key role in the shaping of the clarinet’s unique timbre. There is no question that odd-numbered partials dominate the…
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The clarinet is an excellent resource for supporting and colouring harmonic and melodic texture. (Tip no. 18 from 100 Orchestration Tips, 2nd Edition) The unique resonance of the clarinet’s registers are sometimes misconstrued as too individual to blend harmonically or melodically with other instruments. But a little score-reading will immediately reveal the clarinet as the perfect mixer at a…
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Use extreme caution when scoring octave melodies for clarinets, and be aware that the overtones reinforce each other with great potency. (Tip no. 17 from 100 Orchestration Tips) Octave melodies for wind instruments of the same model are generally problematic. Rimsky-Korsakov gently advises against their use, though he opens the door for doubling by auxiliaries at…
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Use extreme caution when scoring octave melodies for clarinets. Be aware that the overtones reinforce each other with great potency. If you need an octave melody in winds but want to avoid such a pungent sound, try them with the clarinet as the top instrument over a bassoon or english horn, or the old Mozart…
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