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Orchestral scores can be quite complicated to the untrained but taken one step at a time they can be less daunting than they first appear. First of all the score is made up of several rows of staves that represent each instrument. Depending on the piece you are working on the number of staves can range from as little as 2 to a massive 25 or so. The instrument names may be in a foreign language (See appendix for translations) and unfamiliar clefs may be used. If you don't already have, for example, a Symphony score at your disposal then I suggest a trip down to your local library to acquire one for the purpose of this tutorial. (i)Instrument Groups The first thing to note is that the instruments come in groups. And they are as follows:
Obviously, this is just a guide as different pieces may demand more or fewer instruments.
(ii)Clefs & Transposing Instruments One thing you will notice is that not every instrument has the same clef or key signature. Obviously instruments like the Bass Clarinet, Tuba, Bass Bassoon, Double Bass, etc... will carry the Bass Clef most of the time. Several instruments carry the Alto and Tenor clefs.
The different key signatures are due to the 'transposing instruments' that play one note but sound another. This is due to the scaling of the instruments. I would advise that when sequencing you adhere to the clefs and key signatures
on the score and to transpose those parts appropriately using the non-data
altering function of your sequencer. If your sequencer doesn't possess such
a feature then although it will So just how much do we transpose these parts then? The following list shows you how much to transpose most instruments you may encounter:
Other things you will notice with orchestral scores are the plethora of foreign names and abbreviations and marks. It is not the intention of this tutorial to list all such items you are likely to encounter (one of many dedicated books on this subject would be useful if you are not familiar with them) but appendix (ii) given at the end of this tutorial will list most of the more common terms you may encounter. |
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