Basic Orchestration
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Flashcards
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transposing instruments
instruments that produce pitches at a consistent interval away from those that are written in notation.
concert score
a non-transposing score, meaning that all pitches for all instruments are written in concert pitch.
C score
a non-transposing score, meaning that all pitches for all instruments are written in concert pitch.
tonguing
a technique that wind performers use to create a temporary break in the airflow to the instrument in order to place a slight emphasis on each note within a passage and create separation between rhythmic values.
double tonguing
a technique that wind players use to perform passages featuring quicker rhythms that demand faster tongue movement than a series of repeating silent “tees” could produce; this is accomplished by tonguing the letters “d–k” or “t–k” in alternation.
trill
a score marking that signifies the need for a rapid alternation of pitches.
glissando
a smooth, gliding pitch transition from one note to another that proceeds through all of the intermediate microtones.
mute
a device placed on or inside an instrument to change its timbre, usually creating a muffled sound or wah-wah effect.
con sordino
a score marking used to indicate that a passage is to be played with a mute.
senza sordino
a score marking used to indicate that a passage is to be played without a mute, thereby canceling any previous con sordino marking.
natural harmonics
flute-like tones that are produced when performers lightly press on various locations that divide an open string’s length and correspond to points within the overtone series above the open string’s fundamental.
artificial harmonics
false harmonics that are created when the performer uses one finger to stop a string at some point within its length and then lightly presses a P4 above the stop in pitch with another finger while bowing or plucking. In doing so, the performer generates a harmonic that sounds two octaves above the stopped note.
double stop
a string technique that involves plucking or bowing two pitches simultaneously on two different strings.
triple stop
a string technique that involves bowing or plucking three pitches simultaneously on three different strings.
divisi
a score marking that divides the total number of players within a single string section into two or more distinct parts.
scordatura
a score marking indicating that a passage is to be played in an alternate tuning.
accordatura
a score marking indicating a cancelation of scordatura and return to standard tuning, usually in a score for stringed instruments.
aleatoricism
a composition technique involving indeterminacy or chance procedures that was popularized in the twentieth century by composers such as John Cage, Kryzstof Penderecki, and several others.
stacked voicing
a chord voicing for multiple instruments that features pitches being distributed among instruments such that one group is exclusively given the relatively higher pitches while another group is given the lower pitches.
staggered voicing
a chord voicing for multiple instruments that features pitches being distributed among instruments such that instruments of the same type do not play adjacent chord tones.
surrounded voicing
a chord voicing for multiple instruments that features pitches being distributed among instruments such that the inner chord tones are given to one instrument type, while the outer chord tones are given to others, which “surround” the timbre of the inner-voice instruments.
octave-down doubling
an orchestration technique that involves doubling lower register melodies an octave lower, usually with the double basses, to add weight and depth to the bottom of the ensemble.
legato transitions
samples that are added to legato patches within virtual instruments in order to create smooth transitions between overlapping MIDI events.
multi-sample
a combination patch that itself consists of multiple samples, often from different instruments to recreate full sections or ensembles within a single patch.