Anybody else interested in orchestration?

• Jan 21, 2024 - 22:29

Orchestration is very much an art, and is affected by what the orchestrator feels the music as. There are some restrictions of playability, however.

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• Jan 22, 2024 - 10:04

Some kind of motif /clipboard manager, and placeholder block placement feature would be excellent for orchestration.

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• Jan 22, 2024 - 15:51

Create a "item block 1", place it onto a flute staff. Duplicate it onto a trombone staff, and onto cello section staff. Add notes to the block, all of them are updated. Select cello item, add some cello specific modifications. Done.
Create a "item block 2", place it onto violin section. Add notes to the block. Resize the block to loop content back-to-back. etc

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• Jan 22, 2024 - 15:30

I don't think I would view "playability" as a restriction. But rather a parameter. If something isn't playable, why write it? That is, of course, if you are writing for real players.

I write for playback. As a hobby. Therapy, if you will. No one will play what I write, but I still write playable stuff.

I spent many years playing in many different kinds of groups. I have a pretty good idea of how instruments bend together. Recorded sounds don't always blend the same way.

And when is the orchestration done? It isn't unusual to hear a live group play a new piece, and then the composer doesn't like something and has to re-write it.

And I wouldn't write something for full orchestra, the way I would write for a quartet.

Just some random thoughts.

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• Jan 22, 2024 - 15:35

Here’s an example of some notes I would make on a piano piece before writing it down: Erlkonig 2.Pdf
Pardon the messy handwriting and mediocre scanning haha
I also had to just do the first page because of the size limit. Sorry.

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