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Orchestral

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Orchestra / Symphony Instruments

Most genres of modern music are played with a small band arrangement that consists of a collection of certain instruments, such as, a drum kit, an electric bass guitar, an electric guitar or two, and vocalists. There are sometimes other instruments that are used, such as, piano or electric keyboard, percussion instruments like tambourine and shakers, horns, etc… Some genres, such as Country Music, use instruments like fiddles (violins), mandolins, banjos, washboards and even sometimes accordions. Often producers will add orchestral instrument arrangements to enhance a track.

The following section is to acquaint you with the instruments used in a symphony. For each instrument we'll look at several factors, such as the following:

• The tuning of the instrument.
• The range of the instrument.
• The sweet spot of the range.
• Any articulations that the instrument can make.
• Any other relevant details about the particular instrument.

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Symphony Orchestra Instruments

Modern symphony orchestra is usually divided into four sections or choirs. Here is a partial list of the different instruments in these groups:

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Ordering of Instruments and Sections in an Orchestral Score

As a general rule, the instruments in each section are listed in the score from highest to lowest in pitch, top to bottom. Notice the different placement of percussion in orchestra and band scores.

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Staff Range & Octave Numbers

Before defining the range of the instruments, it's important to note the names of each note in the context of where it sits on the common notation staffs. This is often illustrated with a full range piano keyboard and using an illustration of the Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone and Grand Staff. A full size 88 key piano keyboard ranges from A0 to C8. C4 is middle C. The numbers change on the note C. For example the first four notes of the grand piano are A0, A^#0/B^b0, B0 and C1.

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Transposing Instruments

A transposing instrument is an instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch. For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing instrument produces a pitch other than middle C. Playing a written C on clarinet or soprano saxophone produces a concert Bb, so these are referred to as Bb instruments. Providing transposed music for these instruments is a convention of musical notation. The instruments do not transpose the music; rather, their music is written at a transposed pitch. Where chords are indicated for improvisation they are also written in the appropriate transposed form.

For some instruments, a written C sounds as a C, but is in a different octave; these instruments are said to transpose "at the octave". Pitches on the piccolo sound an octave higher than written while those on the double bass sound an octave lower.

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Tempo Terms

From slowest to fastest:

• Larghissimo very, very slow (24 bpm and under)
• Adagissimo very slow (24-40 bpm)
• Grave very slow (25-45 bpm)
• Largo slow and broad (40-60 bpm)
• Lento slow (45-60 bpm)
• Larghetto rather slow and broad (60-66 bpm)
• Adagio slow with great expression (66-76 bpm)
• Adagietto slower than andante (72-76 bpm) or slightly faster than adagio (70-80 bpm)
• Andante at a walking pace (76-108 bpm)
• Andantino slightly faster than andante (although, in some cases, it can be taken to mean slightly slower than andante) (80-108 bpm)
• Marcia Moderato moderately, in the manner of a march (83-85 bpm)
• Moderato at a moderate speed (108-120 bpm)
• Andante Moderato between andante and moderato (thus the name) (92-112 bpm)
• Allegretto by the mid-19th century, moderately fast (112-120 bpm)
• Allegro Moderato close to, but not quite allegro (116-120 bpm)
• Allegro fast, quick, and bright (120-156 bpm) (molto allegro is slightly faster than allegro, but always in its range; 124-156 bpm)
• Vivace lively and fast (156-176 bpm)
• Vivacissimo very fast and lively (172-176 bpm)
• Allegrissimo or Allegro Vivace very fast (172-176 bpm)
• Presto very, very fast (168-200 bpm)
• Prestissimo even faster than presto (200 bpm and over)

Additional Tempo Terms

• A Piacere the performer may use their own discretion with regard to tempo and rhythm; literally "at pleasure"
• Accelerando gradually play faster
• Assai (very) much
• A Tempo resume previous tempo
• Con Grazia with grace, or gracefully
• Con Moto Italian for "with movement"; can be combined with a tempo indication, e.g., Andante Con Moto
• Lamentoso sadly, plaintively
• L'istesso, L'istesso Tempo, or Lo Stesso Tempo at the same speed; L'istesso is used when the actual speed of the music has not changed, despite apparent signals to the contrary, such as changes in time signature or note length (half notes in 4/4 could change to whole notes in 2/2, and they would all have the same duration)
• Ma Non Tanto but not so much; used in the same way and has the same effect as Ma non troppo (see immediately below) but to a lesser degree
• Ma Non Troppo but not too much; used to modify a basic tempo to indicate that the basic tempo should be reined in to a degree; for example, Adagio ma non troppo to mean ″Slow, but not too much″, Allegro ma non troppo to mean ″Fast, but not too much″
• Maestoso majestically, stately
• Molto very
• Meno less
• Più more
• Poco a little
• Subito suddenly
• Tempo Comodo at a comfortable speed
• Tempo Di the speed of a ... (such as Tempo di valzer (speed of a waltz, dotted quarter note. ≈ 60 bpm or quarter note≈ 126 bpm), Tempo di marcia (speed of a march, quarter note ≈ 120 bpm))
• Tempo Giusto at a consistent speed, at the 'right' speed, in strict tempo
• Tempo Primo resume the original (first) tempo
• Tempo Semplice simple, regular speed, plainly

Terms For Change In Tempo

Composers may use expressive marks to adjust the tempo:

• Accelerando speeding up (abbreviation: accel.) Opposite of Ritardando, it is an Italian term pronounced as [aht-che-le-rahn-daw] and is defined by gradually increasing the tempo until the next tempo mark is noted. It is either marked by a dashed line or simply its abbreviation.
• Affrettando speeding up with a suggestion of anxiety
• Allargando growing broader; decreasing tempo, usually near the end of a piece
• Calando going slower (and usually also softer)
• Doppio Movimento, or Doppio Più Mosso double-speed
• Doppio Più Lento half-speed
• Lentando gradually slowing, and softer
• Meno Mosso less movement; slower
• Meno Moto less motion
• Più Mosso more movement; faster
• Mosso movement, more lively; quicker, much like Più Mosso, but not as extreme
• Precipitando hurrying; going faster/forward
• Rallentando a gradual slowing down (abbreviation: rall.)
• Ritardando slowing down gradually; also see rallentando and ritenuto (abbreviations: rit., ritard.) sometimes replaces allargando.
• Ritenuto slightly slower, but achieved more immediately than Rallentando or Ritardando; a sudden decrease in tempo; temporarily holding back. (Note that the abbreviation for Ritenuto can also be rit. Thus a more specific abbreviation is riten. Also, sometimes Ritenuto does not reflect a tempo change but rather a 'character' change.)
• Rubato free adjustment of tempo for expressive purposes, literally "stolen"—so more strictly, to take time from one beat to slow another
• Slargando slowing down, literally "slowing down", "widening" or "stretching"
• Stretto in a faster tempo, often used near the conclusion of a section. (Note that in fugal compositions, the term stretto refers to the imitation of the subject in close succession, before the subject is completed, and as such, suitable for the close of the fugue.[24] Used in this context, the term is not necessarily related to tempo.)
• Stringendo pressing on faster, literally "tightening"
• Tardando slowing down gradually (same as ritardando)
• Tempo Primo resume the original tempo

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