Before you can write correctly and effectively for the instruments of the orchestra you will need to know: (1) the ranges of the instruments, (2) how to write for the instrumental parts which must be transposed (higher or lower than actual sound), (3) something about the special qualities of different pitch locales or registers of each instrument, (4) how to mark staccato and legato indications for wind instruments, and bowings for strings, (5) how to set the instruments into effective motion and (6) how to avoid writing musical parts which would be physically awkward or impossible for a player to perform on his instrument.
The charts, examples and discussions which follow will furnish this information in concentrated form.
As a preparatory exercise, those unfamiliar with the various instruments should write one example, correctly transposed, for each of the instruments included below. Whenever possible, performers should be invited to visit the orchestration class to demonstrate the ranges, tonal characteristics and physical limitations of their instruments.
Playable Books