Description
Practical, indispensable knowledge from one of the internet’s leading orchestration teachers.
From the Foreword by Tim Davies:
“Once you have the Swiss Army knives of Piston or Berlioz in your library, then it’s time to acquire more specific tools. Think of 100 Orchestration Tips as a new fine paring knife to add to your arsenal.
“This is not so much a “how-to” manual but a “why-to” reference. It contains details and explanations that you simply will not find in other sources. Instead of merely being told something is common practice because X composer did it that way, you will learn why certain techniques work or don’t work on a given instrument.
“In reading these tips, I often found myself discovering the reasons why a lot of the things I’ve picked up from trial and error work the way they do. All orchestrators could benefit from having this knowledge.”
What Readers Think…
“A truly 21st-century approach to teaching orchestration.”
– Robin Haigh
“Lots of books will teach you how to orchestrate, this one will actually teach you how to orchestrate well!”
– Jason Loffredo
“I have found 100 Orchestration Tips valuable because it addresses many questions that are not answered anywhere else, and yet are fundamental to the art of orchestration. Thomas has an elegant accessible narrative style to his writing and is able to explain and give context to difficult concepts. The book is attractive to look at with great examples and illustrations. In addition, it is easy to navigate as an e-book, making it an ideal reference while working on scores.”
– Cathy Applegate
“When it comes to studying orchestration, I can’t imagine a more fun book than this one!! A must for everyone to have.”
– Deniz Hughes
“Once again, an invaluable resource that is a work of art in and of itself. A fine addition to my assortment of orchestration manuals (some of which I have recently acquired): Adler, Casella, Korsakov, Forsyth and Piston.”
– Joshua Taylor
“A book from a mentor who remembers what it’s like to face the awesome art.”
Dave Nedwek
“In reading these tips, I often found myself discovering the reasons why a lot of the things I’ve picked up from trial and error work the way they do. All orchestrators could benefit from having this knowledge.” – Tim Davies, DeBreved
“This book has put an end to most of my Google searches. A bit deeper than a just reference guide.”
– Christopher Paul
“I just love its practicality and that it is written in bite-size chunks.”
– Andrew DuFresne
“Deep. I get through maybe one tip and set it down. Gives me enough to ponder for the day. Love it! And the navigation buttons: genius!”
– Dallas Crane
“So good, almost bought it twice!”
– Thiago Trajano
Orchestration manuals tell you the basics: the varieties, characteristics, techniques, and ranges of orchestral instruments; how they’re generally used; and some useful samples to study. 100 Orchestration Tips goes deeper, bringing you the perspective of working orchestrators and professional concert players. It shows how these people think, why they make certain choices, and how that can improve your abilities as an arranger and composer.
What really makes an orchestral score come alive? Imagination backed up by confidence and practical knowledge. What do the musicians know, and how does that affect how they perform your music? What are the consequences of using certain approaches? How do instruments and sections relate to one another? 100 Orchestration Tips opens the door on this enormous, sprawling topic with some practical advice, helping you to get a good foundation, and build from there towards mastery. The book’s contents include:
- Internet-browsing-style navigation, allowing the reader to instantly jump between topics for comparison and reference.
- An introduction discussing the evolution of the orchestration process, how modern orchestrators work, and how to increase your speed and efficiency to make more time for the tools of the imagination.
- 100 detailed tips on orchestration, with many illustrations showing the advice in action. Some of these tips have been adapted and expanded from those already available [link to daily tips category] on the Orchestration Online website. Others are completely new, rounding out the information to cover all main sections of the orchestra. I’ve also added 13 bonus tips on scoring, to illustrate some basic strategy and philosophy that nearly all top-level orchestrators share.
- An added section of 20 commonly asked orchestration questions, to take a lot of the guesswork out of the fundamental challenges faced by professional orchestrators and composers.
Added below: three excerpts taken directly from the book in full-screen e-book format. 10 Orchestration Tips is only available as an e-book at the present time.
Tip 15: Oboe Family Optimum Ranges
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