An orchestra

[bluestar]

Hi the members !

I am composing a concerto. Now, I have to know all about the amout notes, high, features, etc. of the instruments. Can you helf me ? Thanks first !

[iinfotech10]

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the twentieth century.

A smaller-sized orchestra for this time period (of about fifty players or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra. A full-size orchestra (about 100 players) may sometimes be called a "symphony orchestra" or "philharmonic orchestra"; these modifiers do not necessarily indicate any strict difference in either the instrumental constitution or role of the orchestra, but can be useful to distinguish different ensembles based in the same city . A symphony orchestra will usually have over eighty musicians on its roster, in some cases over a hundred, but the actual number of musicians employed in a particular performance may vary according to the work being played and the size of the venue. A leading chamber orchestra might employ as many as fifty musicians; some are much smaller than that.

[teddy]

Welcome to the forum bluestar/

You will certainly find all the information you need here, not to mention some new friends

teddy

[Krummhorn]

Welcome to our forum, bluestar

I would suggest reading a book on Counterpoint which is essential in learning how two or more instruments or melodic lines are written so that they compliment each other, but keep their own individuality.

A wonderful source too is the Dolmetsch Online Music Dictionary which is an invaluable font of information about music theory and describes in detail each orchestral instrument and their ranges.

You see, it's just more than writing out a bunch of notes on paper (or in a notation software program) ... each orchestral instrument has a certain range of notes that they are capable of playing, and when composing, we need to take that into consideration.

I wish you well on your endeavour .. and please share your work with us as you go along. We have a wealth of very qualified instrumentalists here who will be more than happy to help guide you through this project.

[SilverLuna]

Wow and concerto! Have you decided for what instrument?

I could actually use some of this info too. I'm half-way through my 1st symphony in D minor
I suggest you do lots of research on each of the instruments and see what they're capable of doing. For instance, it's not wise to have a flute play soft with very high written notes, because the musician needs to form thier lips a particular way, and it's VERY hard to do it quiet, and it's also not good to forte a flute on low notes, because it has the same effect. You also need to research a lot on brass..... picky instruments they are... there are quite a few things they're not able to do.
And yes. You should have a solid understanding of music theory.. so just make it sound good. Of course you are going to have many revisions of it before you publish it. You should scan/record each of them though so that you know what it sounds like and
so we can hear it and give you pointers Like everyone said here, you'll have a lot of help and info from books and really experienced composers around here.

[Contratrombone64]

yea, easy, years of studying orchestral scores and at least four years of university level courses in harmony, composition and orchestration should give you the basics ...

[Lusaka_Guitarist]

yea, easy, years of studying orchestral scores and at least four years of university level courses in harmony, composition and orchestration should give you the basics ...

If thats the easy part then ... wow.

[Soubasse]

Both Silva Luna and CT64 have it covered well - thorough study on each instrument as well as harmony, orchestration and I'll throw counterpoint into the mix as well. As far as text references go, Rimsky-Korsakov's book Orchestration and Berlioz's Treatise on Instrumentation still have much valuable information to offer despite their age, because many orchestral instruments have not changed that much since their days (perhaps the way they're played has changed though). Walter Piston's Orchestration book is also a highly used resource in my meagre collection.

However, the most useful thing (speaking personally of course) has been putting in years of study and especially detailed analysis of other composer's scores. It has nothing to do with copying what they do, but learning from how they do/did it, and deciding whether similar techniques will work for you in your approach.

There's a lot more than just knowing how high or low an instrument is capable of playing, there's also whether you're writing in the most effective range for that particular instrument with the subject material you're presenting, will it balance well with any other instruments playing at the same time, whether it's capable of the type of articulation you've requested, can it effectively play that fast, etc, etc, etc, etc. There are a great many variables, especially in an ensemble the size of an orchestra.

Among my favourite orchestrations are Beethoven's 3rd, 7th and 9th symphonies Berlioz's Te Deum and the Symphonie Fantastique, Holst's The Planets, Respighi's Pines of Rome, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Mahler's 1st Symphony and plenty of other concert favourites - there's a reason why they're popular with orchestras.

[wljmrbill]

My,,,,My I assuming you play only the piano.. without a few years of study and practice or perhaps help from a friend who is already familiar with concerto composition work.. You have a diffucuilt task ahead. Some software programes might be of help to you... see other post regarding this subject. I wish you luck..

[John Watt]

Wow! I just had to stop in and see how the orchestration is coming.
Maybe I should start a thread about wanting to write a jazz standard.

[John Watt]

What about adding one of those copywrite, monthly fee, blank symphony programs?
You know, write your notes on a scale, do a click, and hear how it sounds.
Change them around some more, do a click, see if it sounds better.
If you think your trumpets are a little shrill, tone them down, or mute them a little.
If you see that little red squiggle underneath a note, you're being prompted it's wrong.
I'd avoid the synth with the Miles Davis program that has three options.
It's just so wrong choosing between loud, muted and whisper, because it sounds so real.
That's a nice way to sit in front of a computer and start writing a symphony.

[Catrina]

Wow! I just had to stop in and see how the orchestration is coming.
Maybe I should start a thread about wanting to write a jazz standard.

If you decide to write a song, make it an old song. Nobody writes those any more