QcCowboy

These lessons are not intended to replace a good book on instrumentation/orchestration nor more serious study with a qualified professor. However, they should give you a solid head start.

INSTRUMENTATION

LESSON ONE:

Each instrument has a natural range with both weaker and stronger octaves. Acoustic effects explain the reason for this. I won’t go into that aspect of it, as it’s not absolutely necessary to understanding the final effects we are looking for here.

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS

The woodwind section is the least homogenous section of the orchestra. It consists of 4 basic groups of instruments: flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. There are also “auxilliary” instruments for each of these families, as well. Some are in common usage, while others are more rarely seen and should not be expected as being readily available.

A cursory examination of these instruments will immediately show us that we are dealing with a minimum of three completely different means of sound production. While all of them are “wind” instruments, one is akin to blowing air across a bottle top, one relies on the vibration of a single flat piece of reed, and the other two rely on the vibration of two thin slivers of reed for sound production. This creates endless difficulties for the composer who works with these instruments in an ensemble, and learning to get past those difficulties as well as using those differences is what will result in successful orchestration.

The following section divides the instruments loosely into their different registers. Bear in mind that the level of your musician will have a significant impact on these ranges and the lesser or greater difference in timbral quality between them. This is also a very rapid overview that will by necessity leave out much detail. As I’ve said: nothing beats having a good book on instrumentation.