Music Composition DUMmIES

The written range for the oboe is B%3 to A6 (Figure 14-14).

Orchestral harp ..................................................................................

People have played some version of the harp for thousands of years. The pre-

Hellenic (neolithic) Greeks left dozens of little marble kourosfigures playing

harps behind for future archeologists to mull over, while Egyptian artists

painted florid murals depicting harpists playing in the royal court.

The notes of the harp range from C1 to G7, with each single string being a

separate note. The harp is tuned to the scale of C, with each F string colored

either black or blue and each C string colored either red or orange to ease

navigation of the instrument.

The written range of the harp is C%1 to G#7 (Figure 14-15).

Tenor slide trombone ........................................................................

The tenor slide trombone is another cool-looking instrument. It’s the one with

the long bar attached to the side of it that allows the performer to move fluidly

from one note to another (or jerkily, depending on the piece or performer). The

trombone is more powerful and brassy-sounding than the French horn, but

its tone isn’t as rich.

Because of its slide, it’s possible for a trombonist to play both the whole and

half steps possible on a piano, as well as the spectrum of tones in between

those notes. However, most trombonists stay away from these microtones for

the simple fact that most composers write their music on a standard staff,

which doesn’t allow for microtones.

?

◊

√

wb

harp

concert range w#

&

Figure 14-15:

Range for

the harp.

&

wb

oboe

concert range

w w

Practical range

Most effective range

w

Figure 14-14: w^ X

Range for

the oboe.

178 Part IV: Orchestration and Arrangement