Orchestra Sounds

Ruminations and illuminations on music and writing it for orchestra

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Current Post

71. Woodwind Exploration 3
(August 1, 2019)
A Wealth of Timbres at the Top of the Score

Series

31. Careful Writing 1
(September 2, 2014)
32. Careful Writing 2
(September 9, 2014)
33. Careful Writing 3
(September 16, 2014)
34. Careful Writing 4
(September 23, 2014)
35. Careful Writing 5
(September 30, 2014)
It’s all in the details, right? We examine works in which the composers roll up their sleeves and get into those details
7. Blind Dates and Other Pairings 1
(December 16, 2013)
8. Blind Dates and Other Pairings 2
(December 23, 2013)
9. Blind Dates and Other Pairings 3
(January 4, 2014)
Surprising sounds from Brahms, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Holst, Mahler…
10. What Would Ravel do? 1
(January 22, 2014)
11. What Would Ravel do? 2
(February 2, 2014)
12. What Would Ravel do? 3
(February 12, 2014)
16. What Would Ravel do? 4
(March 11, 2014)
17. What Would Ravel do? 5
(March 18, 2014)
24. What Would Ravel do? 6
(May 6, 2014)
36. What Would Ravel do? 7
(October 7, 2014)
37. What Would Ravel do? 8
(October 14, 2014)
38. What Would Ravel do? 9
(October 21, 2014)
39. What Would Ravel do? 10
(October 28, 2014)
40. What Would Ravel do? 11
(November 4, 2014)
41. What Would Ravel do? 12
(November 11, 2014)
Examining Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition and Ravel’s approach to its orchestration
18. Triple time 1
(March 23, 2014)
19. Triple time 2
(April 2, 2014)
20. Triple time 3
(April 8, 2014)
21. Triple time 4
(April 15, 2014)
We’re bipeds, right? So how do we write in three? Reviewing Berlioz, Butterworth, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov and Strauss
25. Debussy: Interesting Items in Ibéria 1
(May 13, 2014)
26. Debussy: Interesting Items in Ibéria 2
(May 20, 2014)
Sounds from Spain courtesy of Claude Debussy
42. Combinations
(November 18, 2014)
43. Combinations 2
(November 26, 2014)
Always interesting and educational
45. The Colors of Melody
(January 9, 2015)
46. The Colors of Melody 2
(January 20, 2015)
47. The Colors of Melody 3: Subtlety
(February 8, 2015)
A range of ways to color a tune
48. The Richness of Thirds 1
(February 24, 2015)
49. The Richness of Thirds 2
(March 14, 2015)
50. The Richness of Thirds 3
(March 23, 2015)
Overused for a reason: Examining some great thirds
52. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 1
(May 8, 2015)
53. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 2
(June 1, 2015)
54. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 3
(July 1, 2015)
55. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 4
(August 1, 2015)
Ways to score for the whole orchestra and how to get there
56. Charismatic Woodwinds 1
(August 21, 2015)
57. Charismatic Woodwinds 2
(September 12, 2015)
A focus on the colorful sounds a combination of woodwinds can produce
59. Rhythmic Irregularities 1
(November 1, 2015)
60. Rhythmic Irregularities 2
(December 1, 2015)
61. Rhythmic Irregularities 3
(January 1, 2016)
62. Rhythmic Irregularities 4
(January 22, 2016)

The title says it all
65. Tremolo Varieties 1
(May 14, 2016)
66. Tremolo Varieties 2
(June 21, 2016)
67. Tremolo Varieties 3
(September 14, 2016)
Lots of options for this (mostly) string technique
69. Woodwind Exploration 1
(March 24, 2017)
70. Woodwind Exploration 2
(June 1, 2017)
71. Woodwind Exploration 3
(August 1, 2019)
A Wealth of Timbres at the Top of the Score

Single Posts

1. Subtle Accents
(November 4, 2013)
A look at some ways that Bartok, Butterworth, Mahler and Prokofiev approach accents
2. Hearing Voices
(November 11, 2013)
Inner voices in Beethoven, Berlioz, Debussy, Holst and Ravel
3. Theme and Incarnations: “Dies Irae”
(November 18, 2013)
Use of the once forbidden sequence by Berlioz, Mahler and Rachmaninoff
4. The Hand-off
(November 25, 2013)
How writers like Debussy, Ravel, Puccini and Saint-Saëns pass the tune to another player
5. Pre-Orchestration FAQs
(December 5, 2013)
Fundamentals of scoring
6. Score Basics
(December 10, 2013)
Reviewing some orchestration building blocks in Beethoven and Ravel
13. Got Rhythm?
(February 19, 2014)
Working without a drum synth
14. Countermelodies from the Beethoven Seven to the Magnificent Seven
(February 25, 2014)
Polyphony in Beethoven, Elgar, Bernstein, Kahn and Sousa
15. Early 60s String Fills
(March 3, 2014)
Supporting hits by King and Goffin, Chad and Jeremy, The Crystals, The Shirelles and more
22. Successful, Albeit Temporary, Unions
(April 22, 2014)
Unique sonic combinations from Bax, Rachmaninoff and Ravel
23. The Bringer of Jollity and Orchestral Shimmer
(April 29, 2014)
How Holst gets a shimmer effect from the orchestra
27. Prelude To The Afternoon In A Summer Garden
(May 27, 2014)
Debussy and Delius painting the timbre of a summer day

28. Spending Time In A Summer Garden
(June 3, 2014)
More impressions of a summer day
29. Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin
(July 24, 2014)
Orchestral sounds of a nefarious city
30. Evocative Sounds
(August 23, 2014)
Similar sounds can evoke similar music – or different music
44. Presenting Melody
(December 29, 2014)
Looking at a variety of ways to introduce a tune
51. Atop The Orchestra
(April 19, 2015)
Examining the orchestra’s top wind
58. Gershwin Variations
(October 6, 2015)
So few measures. So many variations.
63. JOBE
(February 20, 2016)
A diverse group of tidbits composed within ~30 years (with a small chromatic emphasis)
64. Divided Strings
(March 13, 2016)
Sustained string parts. A lot of parts!
68. Unisons
(February 17, 2017)
All (mostly) together now

All Posts in Chronological Order

1. Subtle Accents
(November 4, 2013)
2. Hearing Voices
(November 11, 2013)
3. Theme and Incarnations: “Dies Irae”
(November 18, 2013)
4. The Hand-off
(November 25, 2013)
5. Pre-Orchestration FAQs
(December 5, 2013)
6. Score Basics
(December 10, 2013)
7. Blind Dates and Other Pairings 1
(December 16, 2013)
8. Blind Dates and Other Pairings 2
(December 23, 2013)
9. Blind Dates and Other Pairings 3
(January 4, 2014)
10. What Would Ravel do? 1
(January 22, 2014)
11. What Would Ravel do? 2
(February 2, 2014)
12. What Would Ravel do? 3
(February 12, 2014)
13. Got Rhythm?
(February 19, 2014)
14. Countermelodies from the Beethoven Seven to the Magnificent Seven
(February 25, 2014)
15. Early 60s String Fills
(March 3, 2014)
16. What Would Ravel do? 4
(March 11, 2014)
17. What Would Ravel do? 5
(March 18, 2014)
18. Triple time 1
(March 23, 2014)
19. Triple time 2
(April 2, 2014)
20. Triple time 3
(April 8, 2014)
21. Triple time 4
(April 15, 2014)
22. Successful, Albeit Temporary, Unions
(April 22, 2014)
23. The Bringer of Jollity and Orchestral Shimmer
(April 29, 2014)
24. What Would Ravel do? 6
(May 6, 2014)
25. Debussy: Interesting Items in Ibéria 1
(May 13, 2014)
26. Debussy: Interesting Items in Ibéria 2
(May 20, 2014)
27. Prelude To The Afternoon In A Summer Garden
(May 27, 2014)
28. Spending Time In A Summer Garden
(June 3, 2014)
29. Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin
(July 24, 2014)
30. Evocative Sounds
(August 23, 2014)
31. Careful Writing 1
(September 2, 2014)
32. Careful Writing 2
(September 9, 2014)
33. Careful Writing 3
(September 16, 2014)
34. Careful Writing 4
(September 23, 2014)
35. Careful Writing 5
(September 30, 2014)
36. What Would Ravel do? 7
(October 7, 2014)
37. What Would Ravel do? 8
(October 14, 2014)
38. What Would Ravel do? 9
(October 21, 2014)
39. What Would Ravel do? 10
(October 28, 2014)
40. What Would Ravel do? 11
(November 4, 2014)
41. What Would Ravel do? 12
(November 11, 2014)
42. Combinations
(November 18, 2014)
43. Combinations 2
(November 26, 2014)
44. Presenting Melody
(December 29, 2014)
45. The Colors of Melody
(January 9, 2015)
46. The Colors of Melody 2
(January 20, 2015)
47. The Colors of Melody 3: Subtlety
(February 8, 2015)
48. The Richness of Thirds 1
(February 24, 2015)
49. The Richness of Thirds 2
(March 14, 2015)
50. The Richness of Thirds 3
(March 23, 2015)
51. Atop The Orchestra
(April 19, 2015)
52. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 1
(May 8, 2015)
53. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 2
(June 1, 2015)
54. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 3
(July 1, 2015)
55. Kitchen Sink Orchestration 4
(August 1, 2015)
56. Charismatic Woodwinds 1
(August 21, 2015)
57. Charismatic Woodwinds 2
(September 12, 2015)
58. Gershwin Variations
(October 6, 2015)
59. Rhythmic Irregularities 1
(November 1, 2015)
60. Rhythmic Irregularities 2
(December 1, 2015)
61. Rhythmic Irregularities 3
(January 1, 2016)
62. Rhythmic Irregularities 4
(January 22, 2016)
63. JOBE
(February 20, 2016)
64. Divided Strings
(March 13, 2016)
65. Tremolo Varieties 1
(May 14, 2016)
66. Tremolo Varieties 2
(June 21, 2016)
67. Tremolo Varieties 3
(September 14, 2016)
68. Unisons
(February 17, 2017)
69. Woodwind Exploration 1
(March 24, 2017)
70. Woodwind Exploration 2
(June 1, 2017)
71. Woodwind Exploration 3
(August 1, 2019)
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