Two Orchestration Mini-Courses

These two mini-courses each treat one specific problem:

  1. achieving blended harmony for winds
  2. orchestrating a crescendo

Each mini-course presents a problem in the first example, and follows with various solutions, beginning with poor ones and finishing with a professional version. It is very important to work through this pedagogical progression, so as to really hear the difference in quality between versions. A lot of learning orchestration is really a kind of ear training. Listen carefully, pay attention to details, especially in the background. It is not hard to orchestrate so it sounds “not bad”, but it is difficult to orchestrate really well.

The student should listen to each example, attempt one or more solutions himself, and then compare the solutions furnished, trying to pinpoint both good and bad aspects in each. The first mini-course has eight versions in all; five are soft, and the remaining three are loud. The second mini-course has five versions.

COURSE #1: BLENDED HARMONY FOR WOODWIND

COURSE #2: DIALOGUE AND CRESCENDO