Orchestration Masterclass, Part 3: Lines and Doublings

Switch from MuseScore to Dorico for professional notation and load external sample libraries, using the BBC Symphony Orchestra library in the free version.

Set up the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Dorico by loading core and pro playback templates with Halion Sonic SE, and import playback templates to streamline MIDI routing.

Recognize caveats in orchestration by avoiding the mixer to shape sound, and focus on understanding dynamics and how it blends with everything to achieve colors.

Explore how intersecting lines drive orchestration, focusing on melodies and monophonic instrument roles. Use Bach chorales to study lines in music, not simple tunes like Mary had a little lamb.

Explore the concepts of foreground, middle ground, and background in orchestration, linking them to mixing principles to shape depth, space, and texture using melodic foreground and grounding base.

Explore selecting a Bach chorale from the Riemenschneider 371 harmonized chorales using a dice roll to pick a corral, then examine the lines in G minor.

Identify the four lines of a G minor chorale—soprano melody, bassline, alto, and tenor—distinguish foreground, middle ground, and background, and outline an orchestration plan for lines and doublings.

Avoid the kitchen sink when orchestrating; distribute voices by intended sound, not all instruments at once, and focus on what will be heard rather than unneeded doublings.

Explore how adjectives shape orchestration by selecting sound textures, from thick brass and low strings to lighter winds, through careful doubling and instrument placement.

Explore the two meanings of doubling in orchestration, from instrument doubling like flute and piccolo to doubling the same material in multiple instruments at unison.

Explore the six main ways to blend orchestral colors, from a single instrument to unison doubles, octave doublings, cross-instrument unison, octave-divided lines, and added harmony.

Apply method one by assigning a single line to each instrument, exploring four lines across instrument families, and internalizing how the melody sounds by listening to orchestral music, especially strings.

Explore assigning one line per string instrument—violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello—to create a clean, thinner sound by soloing each part, effectively forming a string quartet within the orchestra.

Assign brass lines to trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba for a clean, balanced sound. Manage range and dynamics to prevent trumpet from dominating, using mezzo piano or conductor balance.

Delve into winds to craft a light, airy texture using flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Adjust voicing and octaves, and lighten the mix by removing the bass line.

Evaluate percussion options to achieve a light, thin texture, considering mallet percussion and xylophone, possibly with four mallets. Conclude that percussion is best left out to preserve the desired clarity.

Explore how to pair piano and harp by arpeggiating chords like G major and F major to complement winds and create a light texture.

Double the line at unison with two instruments to add warmth through slight intonation differences, while trading some precision for security in amateur ensembles.

Explore winds doublings and unison, hearing how vibrato and slight imperfections add warmth, and why doubling parts sounds warmer but not twice as loud in practice.

Explore how assigning a single line to brass doublings changes warmth, articulation, and vibrato, from one player's precise rhythm to four players' loud, warm textures.

Explore how strings create warmth in unison versus solo lines, and how doubling violins changes volume and timbre, with antiphonal panning from 19th-century to modern scores.

Experiment with warm orchestration by doubling lines in unison across violins, clarinets, and horns, adding tuba and bass trombone doubling for depth while balancing dynamics.

Explore how doublings on piano and harp affect orchestral texture, noting that two pianos or two harps serve volume or tuning work, while doubling percussion is rare and not warmer.

Double lines at an octave to create a powerful, organ-like sound, using outward octave doublings (lower line down, upper line up) with less sensitivity to intonation.

Experiment with doubling the top voice an octave higher on winds such as clarinet to create an organ-like, cut-through melody, while monitoring range and blending with strings.

Master brass doubling and octave placement to achieve thick, stable textures. Navigate trumpet range limits, consider outward and inward doubling, and use unison to support low parts.

Explore orchestration techniques for strings by doubling lines in octaves across violins, exploring divisi and octave shifts to make parts cut through and balance.

Create a combined ensemble by doubling strings and bass trombone in octaves, and doubling clarinet with the alto voice in unison for a warm, powerful texture.

Double melodies in octaves for piano, harp, and percussion to strengthen the timbre and help melodies cut through the orchestra, with examples like xylophone, marimba, and chimes.

Combine instrument families to create new colors of sound by blending timbres, such as oboe and trumpet in unison, and examine how the envelope shapes each blend.

illustrate how the adsr envelope shapes sound, emphasizing attack and its role in blending instrument colors; compare flute, oboe, violin, trumpet, and timpani to pair similar attacks for cohesive orchestration.

Explore how instrument pairings with matched envelopes create blends, and how mismatched envelopes reveal new timbres by combining attack and sustain in orchestration.

Pairings with mismatched envelopes reveal new textures by balancing attack and sustain across trumpet, violin, and oboe, exploring imperfect doublings, tenuto, and varied articulation.

Experiment with oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trombone, and tuba to create a blended four-voice texture, doubled for greater color and a fuller orchestral sound.

Extend your orchestration palette by blending instruments to create new colors. Add octaves to deepen texture, compare doublings like oboe and clarinet, and connect orchestration to synthesis and sound design.

Experiment with octave doublings and unison lines to thicken textures across oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, trombone, tuba, and cello. Hear how octave choices alter range, density, and voice crossings.

Experiment with octave doublings and dynamic tweaks to balance tone across flute, oboe, clarinet, bass, and tuba, creating a smoother, airy, well balanced orchestration.

Explore doubling a note with harmony beyond the octave using mutation stops to add a perfect fifth, shaping timbre and emphasizing melody while noting intonation challenges.

Harmonize the top voice with a third using clarinet and flute to thicken the texture, staying in key in G minor for a denser corral sound.

Explore adding an octave and a third to the melody, revoicing for bassoons and winds while returning to key. Adjust dynamics and reduce strings to highlight the thick octave-and-third texture.

Develop a thick melodic texture by layering octave, a fifth, and a sixth above the fifth, creating a rich wall of melody across strings and brass.

Stack harmonies beyond thirds, octaves, and fifths to build thick textures, while honoring the envelope rule and spacing that shape color and harmony.

examine real-world orchestral pieces to identify the six concepts in action, using Bach's b minor mass, Tchaikovsky's symphony no. 6, and Mussorgsky's pictures at an exhibition orchestrated by Ravel.

Analyze Bach's mass in B minor, highlighting wind doubling: flute one with oboe one at unison and flute two with oboe two, with bassoon adding a third line.

Explore lines and doublings in Tchaikovsky's symphony no. 6, analyzing string and wind doubling, octave textures, bassoon solo, and transposed versus sounding pitches.

Explore how Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition builds a brass fanfare and rich harmonies through trumpet, horn, and trombone doublings, octave textures, and wind and string color.