I have the book "The Study of Orchestration" by Samuel Adler, and I think it's a pretty decent orchestration book. It's easy to read and has lots of pictures and examples of stuff (it comes with 4 CDs of sample music....or at least it should. Mine's from the library
). Anyway, it's good for ranges and sound qualities in those ranges.
Still, as Qccowboy said, a teacher or some experience with the instrument is invaluable in orchestration. A couple of weeks ago, when writing a duo for trumpet and trombone, I had notes that were in the range of the trumpet, but too high to come out effectively. So, I lowered the notes by an octave and it worked great, while still being playable.
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I love music, Portugal, and soccer
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(me = formerly known as Verdi_lver. You can call me Dave if you wish)
