Music Composition DUMmIES

Getting the Sounds You Want .....................................................................

Getting the sound you want goes beyond choosing the right notes and instru-

ments. As we have said in other places throughout this book, each instru-

ment has a unique range of tonal colors and dynamic expressions available to

it. Playing an instrument through a mouthpiece provides distinctly different

possibilities and limitations, for example, than playing an instrument with a

pick or a bow. Even though some symbols, such as dynamic markings and the

notes themselves, are common to all instruments, each family of instruments

also has its own additional symbolic language for expression.

Here we present some of these symbols and their explanations for the string

instruments and the brass and woodwind instruments. Much more informa-

tion can be acquired through the study of instrumental arranging. We won’t

go too deeply into this area for lack of space, but composition and arranging

overlap each other so much that the line between them is blurry — when it

can be seen at all. The melody you hear in your head played by the French

horn probably already has a dynamic shape and a tonal quality before it ever

gets written down. At any rate, the more specifically you can indicate what it

is that you want to hear from the instruments, the more effectively you will

be able to communicate your music to your audiences.

Ao BoC1D1E1 F1G1A1B1C2D2E2 F2G2A2B2C3D3E3 F3G3A3 B3C4D4E4 F4G 4 A4 B4C 5 D5E5F5G 5 A5B5C 6 D6E6F6G 6 B6A6 C 7 D7E7F7G 7 A7B7

Tenor Slide Trombone (E2 to F5)

Alto Flute (C4 to C7)

Viola (C3 to A6)

Violin (G3 to B7)

Cello (C2 to E6)

≥

Bass Flute (E3 to E6)

≥

≥

≥

≤

≥

Bass Clarinet (E2 to E5)

Concert Flute (C4 to C7)

Cor Anglais (B3 to G6)

Double Bass (E2 to G5)

Bassoon (B 1 to E 5)

≤

Flugelhorn (F3 to C6)

BClarinet, E≤ Clarinet (E3 to E6)

Piccolo Trumpet (F3 to G5)

French Horn (F2 to C6)

BTrumpet (F3 to E6)

Orchestral Harp (C≤1 to G7)
Figure 14-20:
Where the
instrument
ranges are
on the piano
keyboard.

Chapter 14: Composing for the Standard Orchestra 181