Orchestra - Woodwinds

The Woodwinds Choir

A woodwind choir, also called woodwind orchestra, or woodwind ensemble is a performing ensemble consisting exclusively of members of the woodwind family of instruments. It typically includes flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and saxophones, all of varying sizes. Woodwinds are used a lot in jazz ensembles, especially clarinets, saxophones and occasionally flute.

Woodwinds Articulations

Vibrato

The tone of woodwinds like that of strings is enriched by the use of vibrato. On wind instruments, vibrato is produced by starting a rapid pulsation of the air column in one of four different ways.

Tonguing and Phrasing

A tone on a woodwind instrument is initiated when the tongue touches the roof of the mouth and immediately pulls back, as if one were saying the syllable "tuh". The tone is stopped either by returning the tongue to it's original position, or by cutting off the supply of breath. Where no slurs are present, each note is tongued or articulated separately. When slurs are present the player performs all of the pitches within the slur in one breath. This in one breath articulation is called legato playing. Note that a wind player can play more notes legato (in one breath) notes, than a string player can play in one bow, due to the limitations of the bow length.

Staccato

When a dot is placed above or below a notehead, the player will articulate a very short, staccato note, with natural separation between notes.

Soft Tonguing

In some instances, slurs are placed over repeated notes that have dots or dashes, calling for "soft tonguing". With dots over the notes under the slur, the articulation is slightly "harder" than when dashes separate the notes. The effect is similar to staccato and loure on strings, played on one bow stroke. Such slurred notes are performed in one breath.

Double and Triple Tonguing

In very fast passages, the player will double tongue or, especially in fast triplet passages, triple tongue. The syllables that are used to articulate double and triple tonguing are "te" and "ke" in various combinations.

Dynamic Envelopes

The usual way of releasing a tone on a woodwind instrument is to return the tongue to it's original position. There is also a way of using the tongue to create a special effect that, although not exclusive to the woodwinds, is one at which they excel. It consists of creating a strong attack, then immediately decreases volume, and in some cases, increasing again.

Flutter Tongue

This special effect is not unlike the unmeasured tremolo for strings in notation and purpose. Of course the sound is different, more like a whir. Flutter tonguing can be produced either by a rapid roll or fluttering of the tongue, or by a prolonged guttural "r" rolled in the throat. It is relatively easy to execute on all flutes, Clarinets and saxophones, but more difficult on oboes and bassoons, even though it is used in 20th and 21st century literature quite often. Flutter tonguing may be required on long notes, or an entire passage (fast or slow) may be played with flutter tonguing. The parts must be marked like an unmeasured string tremolo, with three slashes through the stems or above whole notes, or with the words "flutter tongue" (abbr: flt) written in the score above the passage.

Muting

None of the woodwind instruments have mutes, yet composers have asked for muted sounds. Wind players usually accommodate by lightly stuffing a cloth or handkerchief into the opening of the instrument, or by covering the open end of the bell with their hands. Obviously this is not possible to do on the flute.

Glissandi

Glissandi are most successful on the Clarinet and saxophone, but only in an upward direction; the downward glissando is effective only between neighboring pitches. Flutes, oboes, and bassoons, as well as Clarinets, can depress a pitch or raise it slightly by changing the embouchure; this sounds like a slight glissando, but should not be used between pitches greater than a 2nd.

Slap Tonguing

Slap tonguing, a special effect taken from jazz, produces a perky, snappy, over articulated attack. It is especially effective on single reed instruments: the player creates suction against the reed, suddenly releasing it to make a popping sound, which is amplified as it travels through the instrument. Flutists can approximate that sound by "popping" the tongue against the air hole. Oboes and bassoons are seldom if ever asked to use this type of tonguing.

Woodwinds Ranges

A graphical range of the range of piccolo, flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoon
A graphical range of the range of the saxophone family

Principals of Transposition

Something to note about woodwinds that is also common in some brass instruments. A transposing instrument produces pitches that sound different from what is notated in the score. It is up to the composer or orchestrator to transpose the part so that the player can simply read it off the page, fingering it naturally on the instrument but producing the pitches that the music demands. It is therefore important to distinguish between written pitch, the note one sees on a page, and the sounding or concert pitch, the resulting pitch emanating from a transposing instrument. The key in which the entire orchestra is playing is called the concert key. The reason this is done is to make it easier for the musician to switch between instruments without having to memorize what concert pitch each instruments sounds. The score may have different key signatures for each different transposing instrument to make them sound in tune with the rest of the orchestra.

In order for the following instruments to sound in the key of C Major, the key signature:

Classification by Family:

The Flute Family:

  • Piccolo
  • Flute
  • Alto Flute
  • Bass Flute

The Oboe Family:

  • Oboe
  • Oboe d'Amore
  • Bass Oboe
  • English Horn
  • Hecklephone
  • Bassoon
  • Contrabassoon

The Clarinet Family:

  • C Clarinet
  • D Clarinet
  • Eb Clarinet
  • Bb Clarinet
  • A Clarinet
  • Eb Alto Clarinet
  • Basset Horn,
  • Bb Bass Clarinet
  • Bb Contrabass Clarinet

The Saxophone Family:

  • Bb Soprano Saxophone
  • Eb Alto Saxophone
  • Bb Tenor Saxophone
  • Eb Baritone Saxophone,
  • Bb Bass Saxophone

Flute Family

The flute is the only non-reed instrument in the woodwind choir, and though all the other woodwind instruments exhibit great agility and sensitivity, none can equal the flute in these attributes.

Range Of The Flute

Most professional flutes made in America have a B foot, meaning that they are able to play low B3. In the upper register, the modern flute goes beyond high C7 to C#7 and D7. All pitches are more difficult to produce above A6.

Description Of Flute Ranges

Piccolo

This instrument in the flute family is used to produce pitches in the higher register. It's range is from D4 to C7

Description Of Piccolo Ranges

Alto Flute

The Alto Flute, the first extension of the flute family downward, came into prominence in the last decade of the 19th century and was made popular by the scores of Stravinsky and Ravel in particular. The Alto Flute is a transposing instrument; it's mechanism and fingering are the same as on the C Flute, but the Alto Flute is in G and therefore sounds a perfect 4th lower than written.

Description Of Alto Flute Ranges

Bass Flute

the Bass Flute doesn't look anything like it's counterparts. Because of the physics involved in creating a flute that can produce pitches in the lower register, it had to be created with a bend that curves 180 degrees below the head joint, so that the main tube crosses the right side of the player's body. An adjustable bracket allows the player to balance the instrument on the right thigh when sitting down. This transposing instrument sounds an octave lower than written.

Bass Flute Range

C3 to C6.

Oboe Family

This family of woodwinds consists of the Oboe, Oboe d'Amore, English Horn, Bass Oboe and the Heckelphone.

Oboe

The Oboe, basically a lyrical instrument, has possibly the most individual personality of all the woodwinds. Many people have described the double reed instrument as the prima donna of the woodwind choir. This is not due to its position in the section, but rather because it's such a temperamental instrument to play. Professional oboists develop an extraordinary ability to sustain notes for a long time or to play quite lengthy passages in one breath.

Range of the Oboe:

F6 to A7

Description Of Oboe Ranges

Oboe d'Amore

The Oboe d'Amore is the mezzo-soprano instrument of the Oboe family. This instrument was very popular during the Baroque period, but since a larger sound was needed for the larger orchestras and halls, it fell out of favor and was supplanted by both the Oboe and English Horn. The Oboe d'Amore is a transposing instrument, sounding a minor third lower than written. The sound of the Oboe d'Amore is much gentler than that of an Oboe, but since it has a bulblike bell like the English Horn, its lower notes are full, dark, and beautiful. The upper register is quite thin and almost useless. It's range is G#3 - C#6

English Horn

There are no standard instruments in the Oboe family that extend the range upward, but there are at least three that extend the range downward. The English Horn, the Alto instrument in the Oboe family, is the most popular and works on the same principal as the Oboe. It is an instrument with a conical tube and a double reed, with both the tube and the reed slightly longer than those of the Oboe. Added to the flared part of the oboe tube is a bulb shaped bell (d'Amore Bell), which gives the English Horn a more sonorous, melancholy sound.

Range of the English Horn:

E3 to C6

Description Of English Horn Ranges

Baritone or Bass Oboe & Heckelphone

The Baritone Oboe, sometimes called the Bass Oboe, has the same range and transposition as the Heckelphone and a very similar sound; the difference is in appearance. The Heckelphone was made by a bassoon maker, hence the instrument resembles a bassoon, whereas the Baritone Oboe was manufactured by an Oboe maker and looks very much like an oversized English Horn, since it has a d'amore bell. The Heckelphone is named after it's inventor, Wilhelm Heckel, an instrument maker in Germany. It sounds an octave lower than the regular Oboe.

Range of the Bass Oboe and Heckelphone:

C1 to E5

Clarinet Family

This family of woodwinds consists of the Eb Clarinet, Bb Clarinet, A Clarinet, Eb Alto Clarinet, Basset Horn, Bb Bass Clarinet and Bb Contrabass Clarinet.

The Clarinet consists of a cylindrical tube with an added bell, which flares slightly more than an Oboe. The mouthpiece with a single reed is the uppermost joint of the five sections that make up the instrument. This mouthpiece is sometimes referred to as the "beak". Since all Clarinets have the same fingering system, clarinetists are able to play all instruments in the family, regardless of their size or transposition. The modern Clarinet's size dictates its particular tuning.

Range and Registral Characteristics

All Clarinets have the same written range from E3 to A6. The concert pitch depends upon the particular instrument used. For example the concert pitch range of a Bb Clarinet is D3 to G6. The concert pitch range of an A Clarinet is C#3 to F#6.

The Piccolo Clarinet: Clarinet in D or Eb

The two small Clarinets that extend the range of the Clarinet family upward stand in the same pitch relationship to each other as the Bb and A instruments and were created for similar considerations of key. However, the Clarinet in D is seldom used today, and therefore we recommend that all piccolo Clarinet parts be written for the Eb Clarinet. The D and Eb Clarinets have the same mechanical and fingering systems, a factor that facilitates playing parts originally written for the D Clarinet on the Eb Clarinet; the player simply transposes all pitches down a half step.

Bass Clarinet

The bass Clarinet is most commonly a Bb instrument, although composers in the past have asked for a bass Clarinet in A. For a long time E3 was the lowest note on the Bb bass Clarinet, but composers had long desired to expand its range downward, and finally an Eb was added to the instrument. Today one can reasonably expect every Bass Clarinet to have a low Eb.

Concert Pitch Range of the Bass Clarinet: C2 to D5

Alto Clarinet in Eb

The alto Clarinet in Eb is seldom used in orchestra, but it has become a more or less regular member of the standard band and wind ensemble. It has the same fingering and mechanical system as the Bb and A Clarinets, but only the lowest two octaves of its range speak effectively.

Concert Pitch Range of the Alto Eb Clarinet: G2 to G5

Basset Horn (in F)

The Basset Horn is sometimes described as the orchestral tenor Clarinet. Like the English Horn, it always transposes a perfect fifth down; it also is certainly not a horn, but is so called probably because of its sickle shape. The term basset may be interpreted as a diminutive form of bass.

Contrabass Clarinet

This Clarinet, in Bb or Eb, has a range an octave lower than that of the Bass Clarinet. In contrast to the majority of Clarinets, which are made of wood (except for the Bass Clarinet and Alto Clarinet bells), the Contrabass Clarinet is made of metal and is folded in on itself, thereby looking like a diminutive contrabassoon.

Saxophone Family

This family of woodwinds consists of the Bb Soprano Saxophone, Eb Alto Saxophone, Bb Tenor Saxophone, Eb Baritone Saxophone and the Bb Bass Saxophone Though it is made of brass and having a conical pipe, the saxophones are included in the woodwinds family for several reasons.

The Saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in Paris around 1840. Today there are a great variety of saxophones, used extensively and in multiple numbers in band and jazz band literature, but in a limited way in standard orchestral repertoire. The saxophone family has never been fully accepted into the symphony orchestra. The sound of all saxes is quite distinctive, and tends to overpower other instruments of the symphony orchestra. In modern times, the saxophone has been used extensively in Jazz and in early rock and roll bands.

  Saxophone Key   Sounds octave lower than Sounds octave higher than
1 Sopranissimo Bb     Soprano
2 Sopranino Eb Minor 3rd up   Alto
3 Soprano Bb Major 2nd down Sopranissimo Tenor
4 Alto Eb Major 6th down Sopranino Baritone
5 Tenor Bb Major 9th down Soprano Bass
6 Baritone Eb Major 13th down Alto Contrabass
7 Bass Bb 2 octaves + major 2nd down Tenor Subcontrabass
8 Contrabass Eb   Baritone  
9 Subcontrabass Bb   Bass  

Sopranissimo Saxophone

The sopranissimo saxophone (also known as the piccolo or soprillo saxophone) is the smallest member of the saxophone family. It is pitched in Bb, one octave above the soprano saxophone. The keywork only extends to a written Eb6 (sounding Db7), rather than F, F#, or sometimes G, like most saxophones, and the upper octave key has to be placed on the mouthpiece. The extremely small mouthpiece requires a small and focused embouchure, making the soprillo difficult to play, particularly in its upper register. There is very little market demand for soprillos, reducing the economy of scale and making the soprillo more expensive than more common saxophones like the alto or tenor.

Playing range: Bb3 to Eb6

Sopranino Saxophone

The sopranino saxophone is one of the smallest members of the saxophone family. It is tuned in the key of Eb, and sounds an octave higher than the alto saxophone. The sopranino saxophone has a sweet sound and although it is one of the least common of the saxophones in regular use today. Due to their small size, sopraninos are not usually curved like other saxophones.

Playing range: Bb3 to F6

Soprano Saxophone

The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass saxophone and tuba. Soprano saxophones are the smallest and thus highest-pitched saxophone in common use. A transposing instrument pitched in the key of Bb, modern soprano saxophones with a high F# key have a range from concert Ab3 to E6 (written low Bb to high F#) and are therefore pitched one octave above the tenor saxophone.

Playing range: Ab3 to Eb6

Alto Saxophone

The alto saxophone, also referred to as the alto sax, is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. It is pitched in Eb, smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano. It is the most common saxophone and is commonly used in popular music, concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, and jazz (such as big bands, jazz combos, swing music).

In Eb: sounds a major sixth lower than written. Most modern alto saxophones can reach a high F# (or higher using altissimo fingerings).

Tenor Saxophone

The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of Bb (while the alto is pitched in the key of Eb), and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F# key have a range from Ab2 to E5 (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone. People who play the tenor saxophone are known as "tenor saxophonists", "tenor sax players", or "saxophonists".

The tenor saxophone uses a larger mouthpiece, reed and ligature than the alto and soprano saxophones. Visually, it is easily distinguished by the curve in its neck, or its crook, near the mouthpiece. The alto saxophone lacks this and its neck goes straight to the mouthpiece. The tenor saxophone is most recognized for its ability to blend well with the soprano, alto and baritone saxophones, with its "husky" yet "bright" tone.

Playing range: Ab2 to Eb5

Baritone Saxophone

The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones are relatively uncommon. Like all saxophones, it is a single-reed instrument. It is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, military bands, big bands, and jazz combos. It can also be found in other ensembles such as rock bands and marching bands. Modern baritone saxophones are pitched in Eb.

In Eb: sounds one octave and a major sixth lower than written. (range is concert Db to Ab). Many models have a key for a (written) low A and/or a key for high F#. With practice, there is an altissimo range on the saxophone leading up to D8.

Bass Saxophone

The bass saxophone is one of the largest members of the saxophone family, larger than the more commonly encountered baritone saxophone. The modern bass saxophone is a transposing instrument pitched in Bb, an octave below the tenor saxophone. The bass saxophone is not a commonly used instrument, but it is heard on some 1920s jazz recordings; in free jazz; in saxophone choirs; and occasionally in concert bands.

Although bass saxophones in C were made for orchestral use, modern instruments are in Bb. This puts them a perfect fourth below the baritone and an octave lower than the tenor. Music is written in treble clef, just as for the other saxophones, with the pitches sounding two octaves and a major second lower than written. As with most other members of the saxophone family, the lowest written note is the Bb below the staff - sounding as a concert Ab in the first octave (~ 51.9 Hz). German wind instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim has made bass saxophones to low A, similarly to the extension in the baritone saxophone. This sounds as a concert G in the first octave (~ 49 Hz).

Until the start of the 21st century, the largest existing member of the saxophone family was the rare contrabass, pitched in Eb, a perfect fifth lower than the bass. Inventor Adolphe Sax had a patent for a subcontrabass saxophone (or bourdon saxophone), but apparently never built a fully functioning instrument. In 1999, Benedikt Eppelsheim introduced the subcontrabass tubax, a modified saxophone pitched in Bb an octave below the bass saxophone.

In Bb: sounds two octaves and a major second lower than written

Contrabass Saxophone

The contrabass saxophone is the second-lowest-pitched extant member of the saxophone family proper. It is extremely large (twice the length of tubing of the baritone saxophone, with a bore twice as wide, standing 1.9 meters tall, or 6 feet 4 inches) and heavy (approximately 20 kilograms, or 45 pounds), and is pitched in the key of Eb, one octave below the baritone saxophone.

The contrabass saxophone was part of the original saxophone family as conceived by Adolphe Sax, and is included in his saxophone patent of 1846, as well as in Kastner's concurrently published Method for saxophone. By 1849, Sax was displaying contrabass through sopranino saxophones at exhibitions.

In Eb: sounds two octaves and a major sixth lower than written

Bassoon Family

The Bassoon and Contrabassoon are double reed instruments and are the main bass voices of the wind section.

Bassoon

The Bassoon, a double reed instrument with a conical bore, is the main bass voice of the wind section. The reed is fitted onto a curved metal mouthpiece called the “crook” or “bocal”. The pitch can be adjusted by pulling this mouthpiece out slightly, thus lengthening it, or pushing it in a bit to shorten it. Although the Bassoon, by virtue of it's double reed and conical shape, is related to the Oboe, its tone is less nasal. Like the Oboe, the Bassoon performs lyric melodies beautifully and produces attacks and staccato passages incisively.

Contrabassoon

The Contrabassoon, the lowest of the woodwinds, widens the Bassoon's range by an octave. It sounds an octave lower than notated.

The Role in the Symphony

The string choir is fairly homogeneous in sound and plays almost continuously throughout most orchestral compositions. In contrast the woodwind choir's sound is heterogeneous and is usually reserved for specific functions. The woodwinds most common functions have been:

The wind instruments, being more heterogeneous, all sound more unique than the string choir. Because of this, it's not as easy to choose which instrument is a better choice because its timbre can be so different from another.

Melody

Wind instruments can be used as melody instruments as well as harmony. There are combinations of woodwinds that many composers will refrain from using because the timbre of one may overshadow the other. For example many will note pairing the Oboe with the Clarinet is not a good match because of the following reasons:

These are merely guidelines and are sometimes ignored. In Schubert's Symphony No. 8, First Movement, he does just this.

The following are some choices that could have been made instead of the oboe, clarinet pairing.

A flute and oboe pairing:

The oboe, in a more advantageous register, will stand out, but the flute will neutralize the nasal quality of the oboe and give the passage a rounder, richer sound.

A flute and clarinet pairing:

If we combine flute with clarinet, we eliminate the bite of the oboe sound, but the clarinet stands out almost exclusively. The flute is in a no-brilliant register, contributing little more than a thickening of the resulting tone.

A bassoon as the pairing instrument:

The bassoon, which cannot play this in the same register as the flute, oboe, or clarinet, could instead be doubled with any one of these instruments at the octave. Any of these pairings would be quite sonorous.

Accompaniment

The woodwinds can be used as accompaniment by themselves or in combination with the string choir. They provide a palate of different timbres that allow the orchestrator to provide different coloring to passages and parts of a passage.

The Variety of Orchestral Treatments

Melodic Treatments

Choosing A Color To Characterize Or Clarify A Melodic Gesture Or Passage

Frequently, particularly in tone poems, a particular instrumental color (or the color of a small group of instruments) is used melodically to represent a person or an object. Think of the idea of a musical conversation between two instruments, where the timbre, as well as the melody played, distinguish between the roles. The heterogeneous nature of the woodwind choir, make it a musical timbral palette which is much more varied than the other choirs in the orchestra. Assigning a motive or melody to a particular instrument or group of instruments is an effective way to clarify the form of a piece. Between the instruments available in the woodwind section: Flutes, Oboes, English Horns, Clarinets, Bassoons and Saxophones; the clarinet in the 19th century was considered the nightingale of the orchestra.

Harmonic Treatment

Pedal Accompaniment

In many forte tutti passages within the Classical and Romantic repertoire, the winds (with horns) serve to strengthen the harmony by providing one or more pedals to give strong, continuous, and solid underpinning to the music.

Sustained Accompaniment

Large scale sustained harmonies played by the woodwinds are a common device of the Classical and Romantic period orchestrations.

Homophonic Writing For Woodwinds

The wind choir with or without horns was not widely used in homophonic passages until the 19th century. But from that point on, there are many examples of homophonic writing, as brief as four measures to as long as entire passages.

Chord For Wind In Pairs

Chords for winds in pairs may be voiced in four ways:

Stacking one woodwind pair over the other is probably the most frequently used voicing, but you must be sure that the most prominent melody note is in a good register for the instrument to which it has been assigned.

Interlocking the instrumental parts is a more imaginative voicing because it mixes the wind colors, but it must be used carefully because the pitches in some registers on some instruments will predominate over those on other instruments that lack a similar carrying power.

Enclosing one instrumental group within another may present similar problems to those that result from interlocking instrumental groups, namely, upsetting the timbral balance.

The third combination in the above illustration encloses the oboe within two different instrumental timbres. This not only gives better balance, since the clarinet is stronger on D5 than the second flute, but also adds color.

Overlapping instrumental parts (doubling instruments at the unison) was in much greater use before the 20th century than it is today; as we have noted, this technique can obscure the timbral characteristics of both sets of instruments and often results in strengthening a pitch that does not necessarily need that kind of emphasis. In orchestral tutti sections, of course, this practice is still common.

Chord For Multiples Of Woodwinds

When multiples of three or four instruments are used, the same principals of stacking, interlocking, enclosing, and overlapping should be followed. Assign pitches that are registrally and technically practical for each instrument so that the balance of the chord or the flow of the melody is not upset.

Chords In Which Each Note Has A Different Timbre

In most cases it is best to avoid using chords in which each note has a different timbre. Such chords are difficult to balance, and often played out of tune. However they can work when scored for single winds in a small orchestra, particularly if the chord is widely spaced, allowing each instrument to be placed in its most advantageous register. In the following example, notice that the preferred spacing has the largest intervals between the bass and the next highest voice. It is customary to voice the higher woodwinds (the upper notes of the chord) in close position.

Spacing

Composers often treat the spacing of chord tones in a very personal way. The way that Beethoven vs Stravinsky vs Berlioz vs Schumann, etc… can be very different.

Contrapuntal Writing For Woodwinds

Since the wind section was not predominant in orchestral pieces of the Baroque and Classical periods, not many examples of fugal or imitative composition written specifically for winds can be found in those eras. In later periods contrapuntal passages written specifically for winds are a feature of many large orchestras.

Since each of the woodwinds has such a distinctive color timbre wise, contrapuntal writing, particularly when coupled with strong rhythms, can be very effective.

Using The Woodwinds For Contrast

One obvious use of the wind section is to provide color that contrasts with the string section. This can be done in a number of ways. For instance, one section of the orchestra can alternate with another section. Another technique is to have one section dovetail or merge with another in a passage.

Using The Woodwinds To Double Other Instruments

The woodwind choir is often called on to double the string choir, especially in tutti sections. In the 18th and 19th centuries, unison doublings of strings by winds were very popular. Today octave doublings are used more frequently. Many composers felt that unison doublings detract from the clarity of a line by thickening the sound and muddying the upper partials of both instruments.