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InstrumentationStudentWorkbook

Instrumentationinvolvestakingapieceofpianomusicandrewritingeachofthepartsfora

differentinstrument.

Youcannot

add

new

material

or

do

your

own

thing.

You

must

take

what

is

there

and

rewrite themusicforatleastfourdifferentinstruments.

Youreallyneedtobeabletoreadmusictodothisexercise.(itishighlydesirable)

ItisalsodesirabletobeabletouseamusicnotationprogramsuchasSibelius.

Belowisanexampleinitssimplestform. Intheexamplebelowatanyonetimethereare

threedifferentnotesbeingsoundedatthesametime.

Therearethreelinesofmusicthatcouldbeseparatedintopartsfordifferentinstruments

toplay.

So

while

apiano

could

play

what

is

written

below

you

would

need

three

separate

windinstrumentstoplayonelineeachtogetthesameeffect.

Sibelius File1A

Thenextstepistocreatethreelinesofmusiconthreedifferentstaves.Oneforeachlineof

musicsothatthreedifferentinstrumenteachplayingjustonenotecouldcreatetheabove

pieceofmusic.SibeliusFile1B

Thisisthetop

line.

Thisisthe2nd

lineofmusic

Thisis

the

bottomline

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Thenextstep Allthatwouldbeneedednowwouldbetoassigneachofthose

partstoadifferentinstrument.

Theexamplebelowshowsthepossibilitiesofthatcanbedonewhenrewrittenforthree

stringinstruments

Obviouslythe

part

in

the

bass

clef

has

to

be

written

for

an

instrument

that

plays

in

the

bass

cleforisalowpitchedinstrument.InthisexampleaCelloSibeliusFile1c

Exercise1Lookatthefollowingpieceofpianomusic.Firstlywritebesideandcolourinwitha

differentcoloureachoftheseparatelinesofmusic.Rewriteeachlineonadifferentstave.You

candowithonthemanuscriptortheSibeliusfile1d

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Anexampleofmusicinfourparts

IntheexamplebelowtherearefourdistinctpartsSibeliusFile2a

Eachofthelineswillbeassignedtoadifferentmelodiclineandhavetheirownstave.

SibeliusFile No2

Thosemelodiclinescouldbeeachassignedtoadifferentinstrument.SibeliusFile No3

1

2

3

4

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PianoMusic

Whenyoulookatapieceofpianomusicthereisusuallymorethanonenoteoreventwo

notesbeingplayedatonce.Basicallyyouaredecidingwhattodowiththevariouslinesof

music.

Exercise2.Lookatthepianomusicbelowanduseahighlightertopickoutthevariousmusical

lines.Ifyoudonothaveahighlighter,useapencilandlinestoshowwherethedifferentmusical

linesare. SibeliusFile4

Exercise3. Onceyouhavesortedthepartscontinueswritingthemoutseparatelyasstartedfor

youbelow.SibeliusfileNo5hastheanswer.

Exercise 4. Hereisanotherexerciseifyoufellthatyouneedmore practice.Thisisapieceof

pianomusicbythecomposerWilhelmBachandisinthreeparts.GotoSibeliusFile6andwrite

thepartsoutonseparatemelodiclines.

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Knowledgeofchordsandharmony

Ideallybeforeembarkingonyourinstrumentationitisdesirabletohaveasoundknowledgeofchordsand

keys.

*Thetask

Istodeviseinstrumentationforanensemble.Itistotakeapieceofpianomusicandcreate

instrumentalpartsforeachoftheseparatelinesofmusic. Somemighthavetobedoubledup.

Itisimportantthatbeforedoingthisyoumust:

Knowwhattheinstrumentsare

Knowaboutthedifferentinstrumentyouwishtowriteforarticulationperformance

indicatorstheirrangeofplayablenoteshowtheysoundindifferentregisters.

Theinstrumentsarebrokendownintofamilies.(Ifyoudidlevel1scoreareadingyoushouldhavecovered

this)Withinthesefamiliesyouhaveagroupwhichareconsideredthemainorchestralinstrumentsand

thenotherinstrumentswhicharenotsocommon.

ThemainOrchestralInstrumentsfamilies

Strings Woodwind Brass Percussion

Violin

Viola

Cello

Doublebass

Flute

Oboe

Clarinet

bassoon

Trumpet

FrenchHorn

Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Bassdrum

Snaredrum

Other

LessknownInstruments

Harp Piccolo

Coranglais

BassClarinet

Doublebassoon

Vibraphone

Xylophone

Jazzinstruments TheseareinstrumentsassociatedwithJazz.

Woodwind Brass RhythmSection

SopranoSaxophone

Altosaxophone

TenorSaxophone

BaritoneSaxophone

Trumpet

Trombone

Piano/Keyboard

Bassguitar

Rhythmguitar

Drumkit

Possiblyvibraphone

RockInstruments

Guitars Percussion

ElectricGuitar DrumKit

ElectricBass Keyboard

Ifyouarenotsurewhattheseinstrumentslooklikeorsoundlikefindout.

OnyourstudentresourcesortheCDavailabletherearesomeexamplesfromyoutubeofthese

instrumentsbein

la ed.

Further

knowled e

will

be

covered

in

class.

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Choosingyourinstruments

Knowingabouttheinstrumentsyouchoose

Itisimportanttoknowabouttheinstrumentsyouarechoosing.

Everyinstrumenthasarangeofnotesthatitcantechnicallyplayandarangeofnotesthatiswhatiscalledtheplayablerange.

Theinstrumentsalsohavearangeofnotesthatmuchofthemusicthatiscomposedforthemuses.(Howmanypianopiecesdoyouknowthatonlyusethebottom8notesofpiano)

Manyinstrumentssounddifferentwhenplayedwithindifferentpitchranges(Agoodexampleistheflutewhichsoundsquitemellowwhenplayedlowerdownbutverybrightandsometimesshrillintheupperregister.)

Ifpossiblelistentoexamplesoftheinstrumentsyouwishtouse eitheronYouTubeorasktheteacherforexamples.(thereisaCDwithexamplespleaseasktoviewandlistentothis)

TherearetwotypesofinstrumentsThoseatconcertpitch.Whattheyseeonthepageiswhat

wehearandtransposinginstruments.Themusictheyreadisnotwhatwehear.

Transposing

instruments.

Theseareinstrumentsthatdonotplaytheactualnotestheyread. IfaclarinetwhichisinBbreadsthe

noteofCitactuallysoundsBb.

IfaninstrumentdoesnothaveBb Eb etcwrittenbesideitisnottransposing.

Itisimportanttohaveanunderstandingoftransposinginstrumentifyouchoosetousethemin you

instrumentation.

Belowisalistofthecommontransposinginstrumentsandwhattheytransposeat

Instrument Whatit reads Whattheinstrumentplays

Clarinet

in

Bb

Reads

the

note

of

C

Sounds

Bb

a

2nd

lower

TrumpetinBb SameastheClarinet

Instrument Whatit reads Whattheinstrumentplays

FrenchhorninF ReadsthenoteofC SoundsFaPerfect5thlower

Whenchoosingyourinstrumentschoosethosethatworkwelltogetherand/orfitthegenreofthe

musicyouaresettinganinstrumentationfor.Someinstrumentssoundlouderthanothers.Somework

betterwithothers.Forexampleafluteandtwotrumpetsmightnotbeagoodcombination.

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Saxophones

Instrument Whatitreads Whattheinstrumentplays

AltosaxophoneinEb ReadsthenoteofC SoundsandplaysthenoteofEba

major6thlower

TenorSaxophonein

Bb

Soundsquiteabit

lowerthanwhatis

written.

ReadsthenotofCbutsoundsthe

Bb9noteslower

SoundsaMajor9thlowerthan

whatiswritten

BaritoneSaxophone

EbThisisalmostabass

instrument.

ReadsthenoteofCsounds 13notes

lower

than

is

written

sounds 13noteslowerthanis

written

Oneoctaveplus

amajor6th.

Othertransposinginstruments

Instruments Whattheyread Whatweheartheinstrumentplays

Guitar

Electricbass

DoubleBass

Theyread

the

note

of

C

AcousticguitarThey

all

sound

8notes

or

an

octave

lower. Acousticguitar

soundsthesenotes

BassGuitarWhenwritingmusicforabassguitarbeawarethatisactuallysoundsan

octavelower(8notes)thanwhatiswritten.

When

writing

music

in

Sibelius

you

can

have

the

instruments

sound

what

you

are

writing.

Ifyouwritethenotesonthetopstaveforthebaritonesaxwhatyouwillhearisonthe

bottomstave

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Instrument Ranges of Notes

Below is a guide to the possible ranges of various wind and guitar instruments and a guide to their suitable

playing range.

Actual Range Playable Range

Concert pitch

Concert Pitch

Sounds Maj 2nd

lower

Sounds M6th lowerMusic will be written 6notes higher

Sounds M 9thlower

Concert Pitch

Sounds a P5 lower

Sounds M2nd lower

Concert pitch

Concert pitch

Sounds an octavelower.8 notes lower

Sounds an octavelower 8 notes lower

Reads Sounds

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Sibeliusfile10hereisthesamepieceofmusicwiththeinstrumentstransposedfortheperformers

toplaythemusic

Youcanwritefordifferentinstrumentatconcertpitchasabovethenclickthelittle

Bbkeysignaturebesidethescorewordatthetop.

Thiswillchangetheinstrumenttohavethecorrecttransposition.Youstillhearthecorrectnotes.

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Differentwaysoflookingatthemusic Thetoppartcanbegiventootherinstrumentstoplay.

Whatcannotchangeistheactualmusicitself.SibeliusFileNo11.Thetenorsaxophonehasthe

melodylinewhilethealtosaxisplayingtheharmonypart. Listentotheexample

Exercise5 Chooseoneortwoofthefollowingpianopiecesandwriteasmallinstrumentationfor

thefirstthreebarsofmusicforoneofthefollowinginstrumentcombinations.

Flute Violin Altosax(inEb

ClarinetinBb Violin TrumpetinBb

Oboe Viola TenorSax

Bassoon Cello Bassguitar

SibeliusFileNo12

Choosethree

instruments

Sibelius Fileno13

SibeliusFile

14

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Articulation

Onceyouhavegraspedtheconceptoforganisingthepartsfordifferentinstruments. Thenextstepisto

understandtheactualinstrumentsthemselvesandthevariousformsofarticulationandtheeffects.

Itisexpectedthatyouwillhaveanunderstandingofdynamicsandbasicarticulationwhichcoverall

instruments.

Staccatostaccatissimo Martello Accent Tenuto

PhrasingPhrasesareusedtocaptureamusicalstatement.Aphrasewilldefinemusicalshapewitha

curvedlineoverthenotes.

Slur Isusedtoindicatesmoothplaying.Inastringinstrumentasluris

usedtoindicateplayingwithonebowwhileinawindinstrumentorvoice

itisusetoindicateplayingwithonebreath.

Otherterms

Some

of

these

are

used

to

describe

how

the

music

should

be

played

Detache Toplayinadetachedmanner

Legato Toplaysmoothly

Fermata Pause

Dolce Sweetlyandnice

Cantabile Inasingingstyle

Simile Carryoninasimilarstyle

Marcato Marked

Smorzando morendo Dyingaway

Therearemanyothertermsthatcanalsobeusedtodescribehowthemusiccanbeplayed

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StringInstruments

Violin viola Cello DoubleBass

Astringinstrumentsusesabow.Thedownbowismoreforcefulthantheupbowandisoften

foundon

the

first

beat

of

abar.

Thedownbowisshownby

Theupbowisshownby

Acurvedlineisusedtoindicatethemusicwillbeplayedbyonebow.

Thiswillcreateasmoothereffect

Thebowingwillfollowonunlessotherwisestated

Othertermsforstringedinstruments

PizzorpizzicatoThisiswherethestringsarepluckedinsteadofbowed.

ArcoThestringsarebowed.

Beawarethatifyouputpizzicatoforasoloviolinitsoundsquieterthanifitwasbowed.Usingpizzicatoagainstanotherinstrumentsuchasaclarinettheviolinmightnotbeheardthatclearly.DoubleBassPizzicatoisoftenusedbythedoublebassplayercreatingasimilareffecttoanelectricbassguitar.LegatoAgroupofnotesisplayedsmoothlybyonebow

Portatoplayedwithasinglebowbutwithaslightbreakbetweenthenotes

notatedasaseriesofnoteseachbearingastaccatodot,placedunderaslur

Consordini Sordiniisanothertermformutes.Amuteisplacednearthetopoftheviolinand

createsasoftermoresubduedsound.Thismightbeusedforaverysofterriesolo.

Windinstruments

SlurIfaslurisplacedoveragroupofnotesthatistoindicatethe

musicbeingplayedwithonebreath.Whenwritingforwindinstruments

itisimportanttorealisetheydoneedtobreath.

Changesononenote.Awindinstrumentcanchangedynamicsononenote

Othervariationscaninclude

Trumpetcanalsouseamute whichwillchangethesound.

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Puttingitalltogether

Step1istochooseyourpieceofmusic.

Step2istodecidewhatinstrumentsyouwillcreateyourinstrumentwith

Step3is

to

look

through

your

piano

score

and

how

you

are

going

to

organise

your

instruments

Pretask Activity lookatthepianoscorebelowandthenexaminethetwodifferentversionsof

instrumentationsdoneforthisscore.Foreachone,identifygoodpointsandpossibleproblemsor

aspectthatmightnotwork. TchaikovskysnowDrop

Whenyouplaythenextexamplethemutethepianopart.

Didyouseesomeproblems? Readthecommentsonthenextpage

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ProblemswiththatcombinationofInstruments.

1.ThecombinationofinstrumentsmightbequestionedAtrumpetismuchlouderthanaviolin

andflute.Itmightbebettertosubstitutethetrumpetpartwithaclarinetorviola

2.While

the

bassoon

part

has

been

put

down

an

octave

you

could

try

moving

this

up

and

here

adifferenteffect.

3.Maybetheflutemightbebetterupanoctavealso.Beawarethereisadiscordinthefirstbar

withthefandgplayedtogether.

4.Youcouldtryshiftingoneofthemiddlepartsupanoctave.Rememberyoucannotchangethe

actualmusicbutyoucanchangethepitch

SibeliusFile15b Hereisanotherversionofthesamepiecewiththefluteupanoctave.This

meansyou

can

hear

it

much

better.

Theviolinistakingthemiddlepartofthethreenoteswhiletheviolatakesthetopofthethree

notes

Intermsofinstrumentrangesandcombinationsthisismuchmoresuccessful

Youneedtothinkaboutpitch.Intheoriginalpianopartthe bottomthreenotesarecluster

together.Thiscouldbebrokenup.

Viola

Violin

Bassoon

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Listentoyetanotherversionofthesamepiecewiththebassoonparttakenbythecelloan

octavelower.Theviolinpartisactuallymiddlenotetakenupanoctave.

Sibfile15c

YetanothercombinationmightbetouseFluteClarinetGuitarBassguitar Sibfile15d

Notethebassguitarandtheguitarbothsoundanoctavelowerthanwhatiswritten

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Inthisnextexampleofthesamepiecethenotesintheguitarhavebeenspacedoutandre

arranged.Notethesamenotesareusedandthesamerhythm.Sibfile15e

MorePractice.Takethisexampleofpianomusic.Youdonotnecessarilyhavetohaveallfour

instrumentsplayingallthemusic. Theremaybeoccasionswhereonlyoneortwoplay.Sibfile16

Useittoplanwhatyoumightdochoiceofinstruments Wherecouldyoudoubleup? Sibfile

16bsuggestionsyoumightliketocarryonortryandcreateyourwonexample.

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Lookandifpossiblelistentotheexamplebelowandseehowthepianoparthasbeenadapted

forthevariousinstruments.