Orchestration Masterclass, Part 1: The Strings and The Winds

Explore big orchestral scores that fit the full ensemble on oversized pages, with red rehearsal notes, multiple staves, and handwritten details, including Ligeti Requiem.

Learn the traditional score order—from winds to brass, then harp and piano, percussion, and strings—with timpani as its own line, and how high-to-low ordering and cutaway scores aid readability.

Learn practical score reading by tracking instrument entrances and looking ahead, zigzagging through lines from trumpet solos to harp riffs, to hear the music in context.

Master page turns in string parts by aligning rests with turns, using vs notation for quick transitions, and choosing foldouts or blank pages to ensure smooth music flow.

Learn to place cues in orchestral parts to guide entries during rests, using tiny noteheads and tpt labels to confirm entrances, save rehearsal time, and use cues in notation software.

Clarify that instrument transposition depends on the instrument's design, not the music key, with horn in F and clarinet in B-flat, and demonstrate adjusting transposition in score to hear unison.

Explain three reasons behind the musical system: tradition and repertoire, instrument evolution with equal temperament, and player versatility via transposing instruments like clarinet in b-flat and alto sax in e-flat.

Learn practical tricks for transposition by untransposing in a notation editor, writing music, then transposing and verifying instrument range with double checks in the strings section.

Describe the orchestra string family, including violin, viola, cello, and double bass, split into violin I and II, across five staves, and identify non-string exceptions.

Explore bowings in orchestral strings by weighing whether to write bowings or let players decide, and coordinate up-and-down bowing for a unified sound in professional ensembles.

Learn how to notate and perform pizzicato, turning on with pits and off with arco, allowing 2–3 beat transitions, and honoring one-finger plucked notes and fatigue limits.

Explore how fatigue affects wind and string players, including pacing breath, handling tremolo and pizzicato, and using rests to protect the right arm.

Explore viola notation and range fundamentals, alto clef use, and treble clef switching to avoid ledger lines. Learn viola tuning (c g d a) and tips for a darker timbre.

The bass differs in hand position and size, requiring more bow power; it is tuned in fourths (E, A, D, G) and emphasizes low range, with a C extension possible.

Respect the strings' lush ensemble and leave them alone; write middle C at mezzoforte for all instruments as a whole note, and the blend sounds gorgeous.

Explore string effects beyond playing notes, assess feasibility and instrument safety, and start with harmonics as a standard technique.

Clip a rubber mute on the bridge to darken and quieten string sound; notate with mute, muted, or con sord, allowing a couple of beats to apply or remove.

Explore col legno, using the bow wood for percussive or eerie sounds, noting bow damage, required rests, and standard notation with ord to return to normal playing.

Learn to write glissando on strings with a smooth, single-string glide, using two notes connected by a line and careful note durations to avoid cross-string jumps.

Explores scordatura, the practice of retuning string instruments to different notes, and explains why it’s unsuitable in orchestras due to tuning time and risks to delicate instruments.

Explore the woodwinds, including flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and saxophones, and how single and double reed mechanisms shape their sounds, plus why saxophones aren't standard in the orchestra.

Plan breathing spots for wind players to sustain long phrases, since woodwinds fatigue and need quick breaths; avoid circular breathing in orchestral writing, and adjust after drafting.

Explore how wind players create fast rhythms through tonguing and breath control, using tongue positioning to interrupt air flow on flute and clarinet, enabling intricate rhythmic writing for winds.

Explore wind instrument transpositions in orchestration masterclass contexts, from concert pitch to transposed parts, with flute and clarinet varieties and the practice of writing in concert pitch and proofreading.

Discover the flute family, from piccolo and alto to bass and concert flutes in C, plus rare E-flat soprano and wooden flutes, then learn standard doubling practices in orchestras.

The flute range spans from C to F, with piccolo higher and bass flute lower, and its dynamic curve demands careful orchestration to keep low passages audible.

The oboe is our first double reed instrument with a nasal yet beautiful tone, and in the modern orchestra the main types are the concert oboe and the English horn.

Explore the common orchestra clarinets - B-flat as standard, bass clarinet for a sultry lower range, and rarer A, E-flat, contrabass clarinets, with doublings being uncommon.

Explore the bassoon's range and sound, with a powerful low end and a delicate high range, plus percussive reed effects and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring example.

Examine the four standard saxophones—soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone—and why they are woodwinds despite brass construction. Learn orchestral usage, writing tips, and why saxophones are rarely featured in traditional ensembles.

Explore the alto saxophone, a transposing instrument in e-flat, with a written range from b-flat to f and sounding from d-flat to a-flat, plus its buzzy jazz and ensemble potential.

Acquire the tenor saxophone’s range and creamy, buzzing sound, with cello-like orchestral context, and explore its treble clef transposition for jazz, blues, and pop.

Explore the baritone saxophone, the lowest commonly used sax, with e-flat transposition. Understand its treble-clef written notation and bass-clef sounding range, and compare with bass and contrabass saxes.

Explore two woodwinds special effects to shape dynamics, one extremely quiet and the other notably loud, as part of the orchestration masterclass.

Learn how key clicks, air, and rare mute effects from woodwinds (and strings) can create quiet, cool textures that cut through when orchestrated with restraint.

We thank you for watching and purchasing the class, and announce that the next session will cover orchestration two.