LESSON ONE (continued):
RESONANCE (cont.)
Here is a very simple example of resonance in orchestration. We have a simple melody in C major, which covers two harmonies only: C major and G major (a dominant 7th chord). With a full woodwind section we might consider giving the actual melodic line to a unison of flute and either oboe or clarinet, or possibly a unison of two different timbres with a third timbre an octave down. The balance of the material is either the bass line, harmonic “filler”, or simply parallel thickening of the melody.
The role of the resonance instrument is to
hold notes through the passage, mimicking the effect of the piano sustain pedal. In this particular case, we’ve chosen to follow the simplest route, a note that is common to the entire harmonic passage: G. Using only two horns, the simplest choice was to place them in octaves since both notes would fall very comfortably into the “normal” range of the instrument.
So the observant among you will have noticed that the resonance instruments, in this case the horns, are really not moving very much. In fact, they are not moving at all! This is one prime indicator that a line is resonance rather than harmony or melody in an orchestral passage. So we can deduce from this the following guideline:
Creating resonance implies that the instrument in question will have a more static role in the orchestration
The more an instrumental part moves, the less it suits the role of resonance. You can almost think of it as a form of pedal tone. Resonance is a background plane in your orchestration. The listener should not be aware of that plane of sound. Its role is to sustain sound through material that is otherwise quite active.