Percussion: the Right Instrument for the Right Job

Percussion: the Right Instrument for the Right Job

(Tip no. 57 from 100 MORE Orchestration Tips, to be released March 2020) Percussion instruments of similar timbre and attack can be quite different from one another in performance. The orchestrator should factor in range, intensity, and colour in choosing the correct instrument for a specific role. It sometimes takes a while before composers get…
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Suspended Cymbal vs. Hand Cymbals

Suspended Cymbal vs. Hand Cymbals

(Tip no. 63 from 100 MORE Orchestration Tips, to be released in 2018) Sometimes composers treat the choice between suspended cymbal and hand cymbals as an arbitrary one, as if either might be used in the same situation. Or even more confusingly, the technique assigned to one actually would be better on the other. But…
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