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InstrumentationStudentWorkbook
Instrumentationinvolvestakingapieceofpianomusicandrewritingeachofthepartsfora differentinstrument.
Youcannotaddnewmaterialordoyourownthing.Youmusttakewhatisthereand rewritethemusicforatleastfourdifferentinstruments. Youreallyneedtobeabletoreadmusictodothisexercise.(itishighlydesirable) ItisalsodesirabletobeabletouseamusicnotationprogramsuchasSibelius. Belowisanexampleinitssimplestform.Intheexamplebelowatanyonetimethereare threedifferentnotesbeingsoundedatthesametime. Therearethreelinesofmusicthatcouldbeseparatedintopartsfordifferentinstruments toplay.Sowhileapianocouldplaywhatiswrittenbelowyouwouldneedthreeseparate

windinstrumentstoplayonelineeachtogetthesameeffect. SibeliusFile1A Thisisthetop line. Thisisthe2nd lineofmusic Thisisthe bottomline

Thenextstepistocreatethreelinesofmusiconthreedifferentstaves.Oneforeachlineof musicsothatthreedifferentinstrumenteachplayingjustonenotecouldcreatetheabove pieceofmusic.SibeliusFile1B

ThenextstepAllthatwouldbeneedednowwouldbetoassigneachofthose partstoadifferentinstrument.
Theexamplebelowshowsthepossibilitiesofthatcanbedonewhenrewrittenforthree stringinstruments Obviouslythepartinthebassclefhastobewrittenforaninstrumentthatplaysinthebass cleforisalowpitchedinstrument.InthisexampleaCelloSibeliusFile1c Exercise1Lookatthefollowingpieceofpianomusic.Firstlywritebesideandcolourinwitha differentcoloureachoftheseparatelinesofmusic.Rewriteeachlineonadifferentstave.You candowithonthemanuscriptortheSibeliusfile1d

Anexampleofmusicinfourparts
IntheexamplebelowtherearefourdistinctpartsSibeliusFile2a

1
4 2 3

Eachofthelineswillbeassignedtoadifferentmelodiclineandhavetheirownstave. SibeliusFileNo2 Thosemelodiclinescouldbeeachassignedtoadifferentinstrument.SibeliusFileNo3

PianoMusic Whenyoulookatapieceofpianomusicthereisusuallymorethanonenoteoreventwo notesbeingplayedatonce.Basicallyyouaredecidingwhattodowiththevariouslinesof music. Exercise2.Lookatthepianomusicbelowanduseahighlightertopickoutthevariousmusical

lines.Ifyoudonothaveahighlighter,useapencilandlinestoshowwherethedifferentmusical linesare.SibeliusFile4

Exercise3.Onceyouhavesortedthepartscontinueswritingthemoutseparatelyasstartedfor
youbelow.SibeliusfileNo5hastheanswer.

Exercise4.Hereisanotherexerciseifyoufellthatyouneedmorepractice.Thisisapieceof
pianomusicbythecomposerWilhelmBachandisinthreeparts.GotoSibeliusFile6andwrite thepartsoutonseparatemelodiclines.

5 Knowledgeofchordsandharmony

Ideallybeforeembarkingonyourinstrumentationitisdesirabletohaveasoundknowledgeofchordsand keys.

*Thetask
Istodeviseinstrumentationforanensemble.Itistotakeapieceofpianomusicandcreate instrumentalpartsforeachoftheseparatelinesofmusic.Somemighthavetobedoubledup.

Itisimportantthatbeforedoingthisyoumust:
Knowwhattheinstrumentsare Knowaboutthedifferentinstrumentyouwishtowriteforarticulationperformance indicatorstheirrangeofplayablenoteshowtheysoundindifferentregisters.
Theinstrumentsarebrokendownintofamilies.(Ifyoudidlevel1scoreareadingyoushouldhavecovered this)Withinthesefamiliesyouhaveagroupwhichareconsideredthemainorchestralinstrumentsand thenotherinstrumentswhicharenotsocommon.

ThemainOrchestralInstrumentsfamilies
Strings Woodwind Brass Violin Flute Trumpet Viola Oboe FrenchHorn Cello Clarinet Trombone Doublebass bassoon Tuba LessknownInstruments Harp Piccolo Coranglais BassClarinet Doublebassoon Percussion Timpani Bassdrum Snaredrum Other Vibraphone Xylophone

Ifyouarenotsurewhattheseinstrumentslooklikeorsoundlikefindout. OnyourstudentresourcesortheCDavailabletherearesomeexamplesfromyoutubeofthese instrumentsbeingplayed.Furtherknowledgewillbecoveredinclass.

JazzinstrumentsTheseareinstrumentsassociatedwithJazz. Woodwind Brass

SopranoSaxophone Altosaxophone TenorSaxophone BaritoneSaxophone Trumpet Trombone

RhythmSection
Piano/Keyboard Bassguitar Rhythmguitar Drumkit Possiblyvibraphone

RockInstruments
Guitars ElectricGuitar ElectricBass Percussion DrumKit Keyboard

Choosingyourinstruments Whenchoosingyourinstrumentschoosethosethatworkwelltogetherand/orfitthegenreofthe
musicyouaresettinganinstrumentationfor.Someinstrumentssoundlouderthanothers.Somework betterwithothers.Forexampleafluteandtwotrumpetsmightnotbeagoodcombination.

Knowingabouttheinstrumentsyouchoose Itisimportanttoknowabouttheinstrumentsyouarechoosing.
Everyinstrumenthasarangeofnotesthatitcantechnicallyplayandarangeofnotesthatiswhat iscalledtheplayablerange. Theinstrumentsalsohavearangeofnotesthatmuchofthemusicthatiscomposedforthem uses.(Howmanypianopiecesdoyouknowthatonlyusethebottom8notesofpiano) Manyinstrumentssounddifferentwhenplayedwithindifferentpitchranges (Agoodexampleistheflutewhichsoundsquitemellowwhenplayedlowerdownbutverybright andsometimesshrillintheupperregister.) IfpossiblelistentoexamplesoftheinstrumentsyouwishtouseeitheronYouTubeoraskthe teacherforexamples.(thereisaCDwithexamplespleaseasktoviewandlistentothis)

TherearetwotypesofinstrumentsThoseatconcertpitch.Whattheyseeonthepageiswhat wehearandtransposinginstruments.Themusictheyreadisnotwhatwehear. Transposinginstruments.

Theseareinstrumentsthatdonotplaytheactualnotestheyread.IfaclarinetwhichisinBbreadsthe noteofCitactuallysoundsBb. IfaninstrumentdoesnothaveBbEbetcwrittenbesideitisnottransposing. Itisimportanttohaveanunderstandingoftransposinginstrumentifyouchoosetousetheminyou instrumentation.

Belowisalistofthecommontransposinginstrumentsandwhattheytransposeat Instrument
ClarinetinBb

Whatitreads
ReadsthenoteofC

Whattheinstrumentplays
SoundsBba2ndlower

TrumpetinBb

SameastheClarinet

Instrument
FrenchhorninF

Whatitreads
ReadsthenoteofC

Whattheinstrumentplays
SoundsFaPerfect5thlower

Saxophones Instrument
AltosaxophoneinEb

Whatitreads
ReadsthenoteofC

Whattheinstrumentplays
SoundsandplaysthenoteofEba major6thlower SoundsaMajor9thlowerthan whatiswritten

TenorSaxophonein Bb Soundsquiteabit lowerthanwhatis written. BaritoneSaxophone Eb Thisisalmostabass instrument.

ReadsthenotofCbutsoundsthe Bb9noteslower
ReadsthenoteofCsounds13notes lowerthaniswritten

sounds13noteslowerthanis written Oneoctaveplus amajor6th.

Othertransposinginstruments Instruments
Guitar Electricbass DoubleBass

Whattheyread
TheyreadthenoteofC Acousticguitar

Whatweheartheinstrumentplays
Theyallsound8notesoranoctave lower.Acousticguitar soundsthesenotes

BassGuitarWhenwritingmusicforabassguitarbeawarethatisactuallysoundsan octavelower(8notes)thanwhatiswritten. WhenwritingmusicinSibeliusyoucanhavetheinstrumentssoundwhatyouarewriting. Ifyouwritethenotesonthetopstaveforthebaritonesaxwhatyouwillhearisonthe bottomstave

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.

Reads

Sounds

Actual Range

Playable Range Concert pitch

Concert Pitch

Sounds Maj 2nd lower Sounds M6th lower

Music will be written 6 notes higher

Sounds M 9th lower

Concert Pitch

Sounds a P5 lower

Sounds M2nd lower

Concert pitch

Concert pitch

Sounds an octave lower.8 notes lower Sounds an octave lower 8 notes lower

WritingforinstrumentsonSibelius
Thereareanumberofwebsitesyoucangotothathaveexamplesoftheinstrumentsactuallyplaying.Ask yourteacherforexamplesofwhatdifferentinstrumentsoundlike. MosttimeswhenyouarewritingfordifferentinstrumentusingtheSibeliusfileifyouwritean instrumentoutofrangeitwillshowupasREDonthestave. Whenwritingfordifferentinstrumentscheckoutthefollowingguide.

Instrument Flute

Toprange Shrillandveryclear

Middlerange Stillclearmore mellow Moremellow Stillclear Normalrangeclear Moremellowbut stillquiteloud Normalrange Oftenusedin harmonyparts Normal

Clarinet Oboe Bassoon Trumpet Horn

Shrillquitepiercing Veryclear Almostlikeacello Veryclearandbright Veryclearalmost piercing Clearersound

Low Range Huskyandsometimesnot heardaboveother instruments Huskydarkersounding Huskynoteasilyheard againstotherinstrument Canbequitegruff. Blendsinmore

Notsonoticeableblendin toharmonyparts.Canbe slightlygruff. Trombone Quiteloudandclear Lowpitchblendsincan soundquitegruff Alto Veryclearsometime Normalrange Fillinforharmonyparts. saxophone quiteshrill Notsoeasilyheard. Whenwritingoutmusicfordifferentinstrumentsyoudonthavetohavethehighestpitched instrumentplayingthetopmelodicline.Thepitchofthemusicallineinthepianopartcanbe changed.

SibeliusFileNo9Belowisasmallpieceofpianomusic.ListentoitonaSibeliusfiletherearetwo
differentversionsofthesamepiece.Noticethefirstversionjusthasthesaxophoneswrittenbut notsoundingatthecorrectpitch.

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Sibeliusfile10hereisthesamepieceofmusicwiththeinstrumentstransposedfortheperformers toplaythemusic

Youcanwritefordifferentinstrumentatconcertpitchasabovethenclickthelittle Bbkeysignaturebesidethescorewordatthetop. Thiswillchangetheinstrumenttohavethecorrecttransposition.Youstillhearthecorrectnotes.

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DifferentwaysoflookingatthemusicThetoppartcanbegiventootherinstrumentstoplay. Whatcannotchangeistheactualmusicitself.SibeliusFileNo11.Thetenorsaxophonehasthe melodylinewhilethealtosaxisplayingtheharmonypart.Listentotheexample Exercise5Chooseoneortwoofthefollowingpianopiecesandwriteasmallinstrumentationfor thefirstthreebarsofmusicforoneofthefollowinginstrumentcombinations.

Flute ClarinetinBb Oboe Bassoon Violin Violin Viola Cello Altosax(inEb TrumpetinBb TenorSax Bassguitar

SibeliusFileNo12 Choosethreeinstruments SibeliusFileno13 SibeliusFile14

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Articulation
Onceyouhavegraspedtheconceptoforganisingthepartsfordifferentinstruments.Thenextstepisto understandtheactualinstrumentsthemselvesandthevariousformsofarticulationandtheeffects. Itisexpectedthatyouwillhaveanunderstandingofdynamicsandbasicarticulationwhichcoverall instruments.

StaccatostaccatissimoMartelloAccentTenuto

PhrasingPhrasesareusedtocaptureamusicalstatement.Aphrasewilldefinemusicalshapewitha
curvedlineoverthenotes.

SlurIsusedtoindicatesmoothplaying.Inastringinstrumentasluris usedtoindicateplayingwithonebowwhileinawindinstrumentorvoice itisusetoindicateplayingwithonebreath.

OthertermsSomeoftheseareusedtodescribehowthemusicshouldbeplayed
Detache Legato Fermata Dolce Cantabile Simile Marcato Smorzandomorendo Toplayinadetachedmanner Toplaysmoothly Pause Sweetlyandnice Inasingingstyle Carryoninasimilarstyle Marked Dyingaway

Therearemanyothertermsthatcanalsobeusedtodescribehowthemusiccanbeplayed

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StringInstruments Violin viola Cello DoubleBass Astringinstrumentsusesabow.Thedownbowismoreforcefulthantheupbowandisoften foundonthefirstbeatofabar. Thedownbowisshownby Theupbowisshownby Acurvedlineisusedtoindicatethemusicwillbeplayedbyonebow. Thiswillcreateasmoothereffect Thebowingwillfollowonunlessotherwisestated Othertermsforstringedinstruments PizzorpizzicatoThisiswherethestringsarepluckedinsteadofbowed. ArcoThestringsarebowed. Beawarethatifyouputpizzicatoforasoloviolinitsoundsquieterthanifitwasbowed.Using pizzicatoagainstanotherinstrumentsuchasaclarinettheviolinmightnotbeheardthatclearly. DoubleBassPizzicatoisoftenusedbythedoublebassplayercreatingasimilareffecttoan electricbassguitar. LegatoAgroupofnotesisplayedsmoothlybyonebow Portatoplayedwithasinglebowbutwithaslightbreakbetweenthenotes notatedasaseriesofnoteseachbearingastaccatodot,placedunderaslur ConsordiniSordiniisanothertermformutes.Amuteisplacednearthetopoftheviolinand createsasoftermoresubduedsound.Thismightbeusedforaverysofterriesolo. Windinstruments SlurIfaslurisplacedoveragroupofnotesthatistoindicatethe musicbeingplayedwithonebreath.Whenwritingforwindinstruments itisimportanttorealisetheydoneedtobreath. Changesononenote.Awindinstrumentcanchangedynamicsononenote Othervariationscaninclude Trumpetcanalsouseamutewhichwillchangethesound.

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Puttingitalltogether Step1istochooseyourpieceofmusic. Step2istodecidewhatinstrumentsyouwillcreateyourinstrumentwith Step3istolookthroughyourpianoscoreandhowyouaregoingtoorganiseyourinstruments PretaskActivitylookatthepianoscorebelowandthenexaminethetwodifferentversionsof instrumentationsdoneforthisscore.Foreachone,identifygoodpointsandpossibleproblemsor aspectthatmightnotwork.TchaikovskysnowDrop Whenyouplaythenextexamplethemutethepianopart. Didyouseesomeproblems?Readthecommentsonthenextpage

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ProblemswiththatcombinationofInstruments. 1.ThecombinationofinstrumentsmightbequestionedAtrumpetismuchlouderthanaviolin andflute.Itmightbebettertosubstitutethetrumpetpartwithaclarinetorviola 2.Whilethebassoonparthasbeenputdownanoctaveyoucouldtrymovingthisupandherea differenteffect. 3.Maybetheflutemightbebetterupanoctavealso.Beawarethereisadiscordinthefirstbar withthefandgplayedtogether. 4.Youcouldtryshiftingoneofthemiddlepartsupanoctave.Rememberyoucannotchangethe actualmusicbutyoucanchangethepitch SibeliusFile15bHereisanotherversionofthesamepiecewiththefluteupanoctave.This meansyoucanhearitmuchbetter. Theviolinistakingthemiddlepartofthethreenoteswhiletheviolatakesthetopofthethree notes
Viola Violin Bassoon

Intermsofinstrumentrangesandcombinationsthisismuchmoresuccessful Youneedtothinkaboutpitch.Intheoriginalpianopartthebottomthreenotesarecluster together.Thiscouldbebrokenup.

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Listentoyetanotherversionofthesamepiecewiththebassoonparttakenbythecelloan octavelower.Theviolinpartisactuallymiddlenotetakenupanoctave. Sibfile15c YetanothercombinationmightbetouseFluteClarinetGuitarBassguitarSibfile15d Notethebassguitarandtheguitarbothsoundanoctavelowerthanwhatiswritten

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Inthisnextexampleofthesamepiecethenotesintheguitarhavebeenspacedoutandre arranged.Notethesamenotesareusedandthesamerhythm.Sibfile15e MorePractice.Takethisexampleofpianomusic.Youdonotnecessarilyhavetohaveallfour instrumentsplayingallthemusic.Theremaybeoccasionswhereonlyoneortwoplay.Sibfile16 UseittoplanwhatyoumightdochoiceofinstrumentsWherecouldyoudoubleup?Sibfile 16bsuggestionsyoumightliketocarryonortryandcreateyourwonexample.

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Lookandifpossiblelistentotheexamplebelowandseehowthepianoparthasbeenadapted forthevariousinstruments.