38
votes
What are overtones?
What is an overtone?
When you pluck a guitar string, there are a variety of ways it could vibrate1:
Each vibration will produce a different pitch, because they have different frequencies. For ...
- 11.3k
34
votes
Accepted
Which instruments to physically familiarize with to become a better orchestrator?
I would strongly advise you NOT to buy any instruments. You don't need to. Do you imagine composers play lots of instruments? They don't. The only instrument Berlioz played was a guitar - tolerably - ...
- 5,543
22
votes
Does the difference in harmonic series between instruments have a significant effect on the consonance of the sound?
Is it an important thing to consider in Orchestration?
You have in fact stumbled onto the very foundation (and art) of orchestration. Orchestration is about not only knowing how each instrument ...
- 25.6k
21
votes
Accepted
Impossibly long flute note
The handover is feasible. The circular breathing thing would be classed as a #special skill' I think!
But how long do you need? A good flautist might give you 30 seconds without special technique....
- 94.7k
21
votes
Accepted
Trumpet type or technique?
Vent. is an abbreviation for Ventil, which is the German for valve.
Ord. probably denotes ordinary, for non-valved trumpets, i.e. bugles.
If you look through the Vent. parts, they do feature ...
- 11.8k
18
votes
Accepted
Duplicate instruments in unison in an orchestra
Since the different instruments are not producing the exact same waveforms perfectly phase aligned, there is not nearly a 6 dB boost when the number of instruments playing the same part is doubled. It’...
- 57.7k
18
votes
Accepted
What are the typical trumpet parts in classical music?
I'm a trumpet player who's played in many orchestras.
The first thing to understand is that historically, the trumpet is a relatively new addition to the orchestra. Before the mid-19th century, ...
- 22.5k
17
votes
How to distinguish between different instruments in a classical orchestra?
You begin by listening to individual instruments, to learn what they sound like, and the variations in their sound. Solo pieces, quartets, etc. are one way to do this. Searching Youtube for instrument ...
- 1,076
16
votes
Double basses in Beethoven's Eroica
Beethoven wrote those low notes even though he knew they were not playable on the instruments available. The subject of Beethoven's disregard for the range of the bass has been much discussed. Stephen ...
- 21.6k
16
votes
Voicing in the Finale of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"
In the 19th century it was standard to have the first and second violins on opposite sides (i.e. the second violins would sit where the cellos now normally sit). This kind of voicing would give a sort ...
- 21.6k
15
votes
What are "horn 5ths"?
More specifically, a horn fifth is a form of direct fifth that occurs when two parts moving in the same direction progress through a fifth. So called because:
it is characteristic writing for natural ...
- 1,874
15
votes
How to distinguish between different instruments in a classical orchestra?
There are several compositions written in purpose to present the orchestra, the instrument sections and the single instruments to the audience and especially for children like Peter and the wolf (...
- 26k
15
votes
Does the difference in harmonic series between instruments have a significant effect on the consonance of the sound?
Other answers so far make good points -- matching timbres (and sound spectra) is actually essential to orchestration, and composers have been noticing these patterns (and using them in orchestration) ...
- 12.7k
15
votes
Voicing in the Finale of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"
I discuss this conundrum in my book 'Musical Illusions and Phantom Words' (Oxford University Press, 2019). Apparently Artur Nikisch tried to persuade Tchaikovsky to amend his scoring. There's no ...
- 151
14
votes
How to distinguish between different instruments in a classical orchestra?
Get an idea, how each instrument sounds separately (as covered in
other answers)
Train to read scores of ensembles with increasing
number of instruments while listening. For orchestra pieces like ...
- 11.3k
14
votes
Accepted
What is the largest number of parts (divisi) an instrument should have?
Brass and woodwinds are always one player per part, so you write as many parts as there are players. Four horns is standard for a symphony orchestra.
Strings are nearly always multiple players per ...
- 21.6k
14
votes
Blondie's Heart of Glass shimmering cascade effect
To my ears, that's a synth filter sweep. It's a whole bunch of high harmonics of a midrange synth chord, with a resonant filter sweeping through them. You could approximate that sound with a large ...
- 199
14
votes
Accepted
How quickly can a [skilled, professional] percussionist switch between tam-tam and bass drum?
Just a measley college freshman, but I think in this very specific instance that this would be perfectly OK.
I've played parts doing this in much worst circumstances. My only concern would be what is/(...
- 216
13
votes
What are "horn 5ths"?
Horn fifths are not parallel fifths. Rather, they are the characteristic sequence of intervals that occurs when two horns play their natural scale with an offset of two notes.
Since the notes of ...
- 7,828
13
votes
Accepted
Can there be five flutes in (a score for) a symphonic orchestra?
A classic symphony orchestra has two flutes, a symphony orchestra with doubled woodwinds has four flutes, and occasionally we see something in between with three flutes. This means that while it is ...
- 22k
12
votes
Orchestral Composition Process
Well Hector, I'm a composer who's written for orchestra several times, and I'm happy to tell you how composers typically wrangle that beast.
There are 3 primary ways composers work, depending on ...
- 25.6k
12
votes
Accepted
Partially-optimized orchestra scores?
Would such a score cause confusion or turn away conductors?
Absolutely not. Especially if it's the whole movement, nobody is going to be confused. But really, it's such a common practice, as is ...
- 24.2k
11
votes
Does the difference in harmonic series between instruments have a significant effect on the consonance of the sound?
Does the difference in harmonic series between instruments have a significant effect on the consonance of the sound?
Absolutely - and not only between instruments. Different ranges of the same ...
- 46.1k
11
votes
Horn & Trumpet and Key Signatures
I play trumpet and horn, and have played both in orchestras for many years.
Both instruments used to not be fully chromatic (mainly playing their overtones) and so they'd be crooked into the key of ...
- 22.5k
11
votes
Accepted
In what ways does (late) Romantic-era orchestration practice differ from contemporary film orchestration?
As already noted by the OP, the question is indeed very broad, and this answer obviously takes a very subjective approach to what is being asked, so I'm mostly going to address music about the cited ...
- 7,111
11
votes
Accepted
Multiple Voices in "Rock" Piano
Is it also correct that in modern (e.g. non-classical) music multiple voices are used to show different instruments in a more compact way?
Correct. There's nothing about this kind of multiple-voices-...
- 92.2k
10
votes
Accepted
Fundamental and In-Depth Music Theory for an Absolute Beginner
No textbook is flawless. Even ignoring the occasional typo, every student is different and learns in a different way, so the best textbook for one student might be just "eh" for another. (And don't ...
- 84.9k
10
votes
Are there "left-hand" pianists that keep time with their right hand?
By "keep time in the right hand," I'm assuming you mean "play something other than the melody in the right hand." And quite a lot of composers have done this over the years! There ...
- 84.9k
10
votes
Do composers arrange an entire score without parallel perfect intervals or is this only when you have few voices and need them to all be independent?
A full orchestra playing usually has lots of doubling, especially a classical or early romantic symphony. Basically, a classical symphony is often written as four-part harmony, following the “rules” ...
- 57.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible