Music Composition DUMmIES

Stringed instruments .........................................................................

Because the bow (or pick, in the case of the guitar) is such an important com-

ponent of playing a string instrument, and because there are so many varia-

tions of expression produced by different bowing techniques, a set of

symbols instructing the player as to which bowing techniques to use has

been developed.

For example, a down-bow (pulling the bow down) can produce a more aggres-

sive expression than an up-bow (when you push the bow up). This holds true

for down and up picking on a guitar as well, and the guitar symbols are bor-

rowed from the string symbols. Notice in Figure 14-21 that the down-bow looks

like a picture of the heel end of the bow and the up-bow looks like the tip.

&4

4 j

œ

≥

ϲ

J

œ

≥ œ≤ œ≥

œ

≤ œ≥

J

ϲ

̇

≥

j

œ Œ

Figure 14-21:

Notation

for bowed

or picked

instruments:

down-bows

and up-

bows.

182 Part IV: Orchestration and Arrangement

Tips on transposing

Here are a few shortcuts to help you remember

how to do the most common transpositions:

E flat instruments: Find the relative minor, make

it major, then write in that key. This means that

if you were writing a piece of music in the key

of C, and you wanted to write a part for an E flat

instrument, you would first find the relative

minor of C major (A minor), then notate the

music for the instrument in A major — that is,

with three sharps in the key signature. All the

notes in the music are then moved up a fourth,

or three spaces and lines, from their original

positions. Some E flat instruments include the

contra-alto clarinet, the alto clarinet, the E flat

clarinet, the alto saxophone, the baritone saxo-

phone, the tenor horn, and the E flat tuba.

F instruments: Just add one sharp or subtract a

flat from the key signature, and write the music

in the resulting key. All notation is moved up one

perfect fifth from where originally written. Some

F instruments include the English horn, the

basset horn, and the F alto saxophone.

B flat instruments: Move everything up one

whole tone. Some B flat instruments include the

B flat clarinet (soprano and bass), the soprano

and tenor saxophone, the trumpet, the cornet,

the flugelhorn, the euphonium, and the tenor

trombone.