Par t 6:Arranging
The Least You Need to Know
◆In descending order, the four main voices in the choir are soprano, alto,
tenor, and bass (SATB).
◆The main families of instruments are strings (both bowed and plucked),
woodwind, brass, keyboards, and percussion.
◆Transposing instruments don’t sound in concert pitch; they sound a speci-
fied interval above or below the written note. Their parts must be trans-
posed so that the note they play is the proper note in concert pitch.◆Binstruments (trumpet, clarinet, and soprano and tenor saxes) sound a
major second lower than concert pitch; Einstruments (alto and baritone
saxes) sound a major sixth lower than concert pitch; and F instruments
(English horn and French horn) sound a perfect fifth lower than concert
pitch.238
The topic of orchestration is a big one; if you’re serious about it, there’s a lot you
need to know about all the different instruments and voices. If you’re interested in
learning more, there are two very good books I can recommend.
Samuel Adler’s The Study of Orchestration(W.W. Norton & Company, 3rd
Edition 2002) is an extremely comprehensive guide to classical and modern
orchestration, one used by many college orchestration classes. And Henry
Mancini’s Sounds and Scores: A Practical Guide to Professional Orchestration
(Northridge Music Inc., 1973) is an easy-to-read, extremely practical guide to
jazz and popular music arranging, from the composer of the Pink Panthertheme
and tons of other movie scores. Both these books will teach you a lot more about
orchestration than I can in this short chapter.
If you’re interested in arranging for big bands or jazz ensembles, there are two
other books that make my list—and happen to be the two books that I personally
learned from, back in the day. These books are David Baker’s Arranging and
Composing for the Small Ensemble(Alfred Publishing, 1970; revised edition 1988)
and Dick Grove’s Arranging Concepts Complete(Alfred Publishing, 1972; sec-
ond edition 1989). Both books are still in print, and still very useful.Note