For pure instrumentation info, Alfred Blatter’s “Instrumentation and Orchestration” is gold. The info on orchestration isn’t great, but the descriptions of the individual instrumental properties, characteristics, and capabilities is stellar. For the jazz/contemporary side, Sammy Nestico’s “The Complete Arranger” is the gold standard, surpassing anything put out by Berklee Press. An excellent academic book on jazz and popular arranging is “Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age” by Sussman and Abene.
George McKay's "Creative Orchestration" is a handy little book. Talks about textures and breaking down each section into a certain role depending on the need of the song/piece.
@@hansamitamajee1930 study GRADNUSS AD PARNASSUM....best book 📚 to learn COUNTER POINT.... TEXTURES COUNTERPOINT WITH good SATB rules.... Start experimenting to the core.... U will get ur style for successive scores
@@andreyfw If you can, if you have an access to the internet (I know -it’s a wartime...) please find and subscribe to Orchestration Online UA-cam channel, presented by an orchestrator-tutor Thomas Goss. He presently resides in New Zealand, and his video output is simply awesome for any orchestration student (and even pros can learn a thing or two). He also has a PDF book available for download. I hope it helps. BTW - I perform often with a violinist from Ukraine in our orchestra at Disney.
Your suggestions are a great starting point and even more if possible. I happened to be locked in a rehearsal room with the orchestra and a score that didn't work. At that point you are alone, with your pencil and what you have studied. These books are absolutely essential to know and study... Ciao from Italy ( because of my basic english I did this comment with Google Translator. I hope nothing sounds weird...)
Another great read is William Russo's Composing for the Jazz Orchestra...jazz obviously, but has great information still. Used often at Columbia College Chicago. =) Obviously not classical / film, but still great read!
Henry Brant's is a must read for orchestration. However if you want to learn and comprehend orchestration from a book you can simply get Sevsay's "Cambridge Guide to Orchestration". For more on the Mancini style and beyond Sammy Nestico's "The Complete Arranger" is a fantastic companion.
Thanks for another great one, Anne-Kathrin! I'm from neither Europe nor North America and can say the one we use the most where I'm from is the Rimsky-Korsakov ones - I even first learned 4-part harmony with his Harmony book as well. I agree that Adler's book is overall the best, but I think what elevates it above everyone else's is the extra CDs you can get with it. I got a used copy of the 3rd edition ages ago, along with the CDs, and they are phenomenal because basically every little excerpt used as an example in the book is accompanied by a recording. Being able to listen to the examples just takes everything to another level. Cheers!
If you read French (a big if, I know), Koechlin's Treatise of orchestration (1940's) is a gold mine. It's roughly 1600 pages divided into 4 volumes: instrumentation and balance, writing for instrument groups, and the last two on actual orchestration, with examples galore. It's the most comprehensive books I've read on the subject (and I've read Adler), although the writing style is a bit outdated and not the easiest to read.
My eye caught this at 12:50 and I had to rewind and pause! Where it shows Chapter Six on the rhythm section, I couldn’t help but notice that the first paragraph lists the names of the session musicians on the Peter Gunn recording. The last name on that list is the one and only, Johnny Williams. (Yes, that John Williams)
Very nice overview of a big, difficult topic and books that might help. For me, the real issue was learning to write for full orchestra and getting the balances right. The 2nd volume of the books by Ebenezer Prout, published by Dover, was a real godsend as the whole book is about writing for large ensembles. It is the product of the Victorian Era, but for many of us, that style of orchestration is all we need. The other book I found very helpful was by French composer Charles Marie Widor. Again, his comments on writing for full orchestra were most helpful, and his explanation of the harp very clear.
As a teenager back in the 1970s, I discovered a book called "The Technique of Orchestration" by Kent Kennan on the shelf of my local public library. Over the next couple years, their copy probably spent more time on my bookshelf than theirs. It was used as the textbook for the orchestration class at my university back in the day. Originally published in 1953, I currently own the 5th edition (1996), and a 6th edition was released in 2002. Like your description of the Adler book (which I haven't read but will look into, based on your recommendation), most of the text is spent focusing on the individual instruments and sections, and relatively little space is devoted to writing for a full orchestra.
I don't own it, but another supplemental book by one of big band's most respected orchestrators is "Arranged by Nelson Riddle", which includes many tips based on his years of conducting sessions for television and motion pictures. It's about 200 pages long and costs $35 new. Riddle is probably most famous for his orchestrations for Frank Sinatra. Dick Grove also has a very practical book on arranging for jazz band, which I believe has accompanying audio.
Dear Anne-Kathrin ☘️ Yes, Adler is used WORLDWIDE as you already pointed out in your video. Of course there are other spectacular orchestration books available as we all know as composers but Adler is widely preferred (especially for beginners and intermediate level students) because of two main reasons: 1. It has a workbook. 2. Priceless audio examples. Also, needless to say that it's a very meticulously organized book and the writer is Adler! Greetings from Türkiye 🇹🇷🙂
I'm from Brazil and I've been writing music and trying to compose for films, video games and such. I also have a band and play the bass - I'm also the songwriter for the band. Thank you so much for these recommedations! I've been "teaching" myself on how to write complex music and OSTs and this video has come to great use! You got yourself a subscriber! :) I'll watch your other videos! Cheers!
Great video, thank you! I used both the Piston and the Adler at conservatory. I still love the Adler, though I completely agree that it falls short on orchestral "punchline". At school, we had a running joke about the Piston, that perhaps the Navajo translation would have been easier to read. To one of your last points, I heartily agree that score study, especially of those of the great composer-orchestrators, is a must. Don't tell anybody, but I even went to the trouble of copying out (by hand) quite a few scores by composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel. I've also done things like transcribe by ear orchestral cues from film soundtracks I love, and then annotate them with comments on why particular instrumentation, motif, or voice leading especially works.(Completely mad, I know.) I think that relying on my ears this way forced me to be honest about what in particular stood out for me in a passage (or what didn't). Anyway, I can honestly say that doing so has served me very well to this day. I think I've learned to be a little less obsessive since then. Cheers! 🙂
Sounds like a fantastic way to learn! I've done similar things with counterpoint and I've learned a lot of orchestration techniques by mocking them up in my DAW - nothing beats this kind of study!
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Amen! When I was a kid, I remember reading that Bach had learned composition by copying out Buxtehude-by candlelight, no doubt. I figured if that approach was good for him, it certainly couldn't hurt to try! ;-)
I transcribed orchestral cues from my favorite films by ear too, mostly on MuseScore but also Finale (I didn't know the DAW system yet), with their pretty terrible sounds. I did the opening of Out of Africa, Apollo 13's reentry, The Lighting of the Beacons from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars The Force Awakens trailer #2 and a few others, but I must admit that I didn't really LEARN anything by doing it. I only did it for pleasure, because I felt compelled to. However, when you know nothing about orchestration and simply transcribe music that comes to your ears, you just write the notes from the instruments you think you hear, but you don't even know they're doubled, much less which doubles which. You even discover to your astonishment there's a 3/4 bar right in the middle of a whole 4/4 score and you can't even imagine that it is due to picture sync. Now that I have learned a few things in that matter, it would certainly be different if I did it again. Nothing replaces the original score, though.
This is a great example of why I find your content so helpful. Over the past several years I’ve considered getting the Adler book more than a few times, but that price tag was too steep for a retired guy and I was reluctant to buy what I feared would be an out-of-date edition. But you’re the first composer I’ve seen who ever discussed the relative value of the different editions … and if the 3rd edition suits you well enough, I am sure it is fine for me as well. So I’ve got a used 3rd edition copy on order now, because of this video. My thanks to you for shedding some new light on another of the mysterious dark corners of this field. (By the way, I do already have the Rimsky-Korsakov book and enjoyed it, but did notice it was mostly about volume balancing and color combinations, as you have said here. So I expect Adler will be at least as helpful, and probably even more so.)
Good video Anne. Very informative. I haven't read all the books you reviewed, but I full heartedly agree with your assessment of Korsakov's excellent book on the PRINCIPLES OF ORCHESTRATION. The text book we used at USC in the 1980s was Kent Kennan's THE TECHNIQUE OF ORCHESTRATION which I remember was useful as a constant easy-go-to reference for instrument ranges, transpositions, and combining certain instruments for specific colors and effects.
What a relief your videos are. I used (& still have ) the 1st Edition (1982) of Adler, and am just beginning to study orchestration. I got the free edition of BBCSO and I'm so glad to hear a good word about Adler. My theory professor (5 semesters) was from Eastman as well. Thanks!
Glad my videos are helpful! As I mention in the video, be very careful with the first edition of Adler since it contains a lot of mistakes (that were fixed starting with the second edition).
Anne-Kathrin, the comprehensive but concise nature of your presentations are always a pleasure to listen to. "...it's been a bit of a sausage fest over the centuries..." 😂😜That's one way of putting it Anne-Kathrin. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the music of Nadia and Lili Boulanger.
I completely agree, I'm Loving Adler for details on organology and the study of scores as examples of how to balance the choirs of the orchestra, but of course practicing writing and even programing based on real recordings. Thank you for the list!
Worked with arranger and orchestrator Victor Vanacore who won a Grammy on a Ray Charles Album. Victor uses many of the techniques outlined in Mancini’s book. So that book is great for Pops and Big Band sounding music.
I share your fondness for the 'Essential Dictionary' series, especially the notation volume. As a percussionist I used it often to find how to notate a particular unorthodox technique. Thanks for the list! Oh - you really ARE fond of slowly blinking colored lights, aren't you? ;-) Once more I was mesmerized.
I have the Piston & the Korsakov. Hate the former [for much the same reasoning as you], love the latter. I also have a little paperback volume "Orchestral technique" by Gordon Jacob. It is only 106 pages or so, but it packs stuff in. And it is practice-based: every section ends with lists of piano music to be orchestrated by the student for the forces just discussed - bearing in mind that as he says in his intro "it cannot be too strongly insisted upon that when *composing* for orchestra the music must be conceived orchestrally". My copy cost £1.60 new in the mid-1970s... Amazon has it new for £68.00, which I would say is daylight robbery, but it has 2nd-hand versions from £11.69.
Hey, from Australia - love your channel. At the Sydney Con composition course, we had Piston, which I love and I still refer students to to this day. Also, I too like some of your other readers, love Arranged by Nelson Riddle as I've had to do more and more over the years. Thanks so much for the other suggestions - I also will be putting them on my reading list. Big hugs from "downunder".
Anne-Kathrin, you did great, as always ! All books you mentioned here are a MUST for any serious musician for many reasons - historic, practical, theoretical etc. I absolutely agree : Adler's book is Essential (with all recorded examples of course). 'Textures and Timbres' by H.Brant is awesome too - lots of practical suggestions (he uses his method of identifying various timbres : "Oboe" Timbre, "Flute" Timbre, "Pizzicato" Timbre and so on with various instruments combinations). NO individual instruments study. That part is completely omited in this book (as you'll see during your Holiday break, ha, ha !). Two more books I would strongly recommend that you didn't mention : as an alternative to Adler's, try "The Cambridge Guide To Orchestration" by Ertugrul Sevsay (Professor of Music in Vienna). He starts with individual instruments (252 pages), but unlike Adler, he devotes almost 400 pages to actual orchestration !! Simply GREAT ! And the last (but not least) book that you didn't mention is "The guide to MIDI Orchestration" by Paul Gilreath - a "must have' by all MIDI orchestration students. The 4th edition is from 2010, so it's slightly outdated (by our standards of course), but for anybody wanting to delve into DAW orchestration and production it is simply essential. All information that is available, but scattered around all over the internet - it's condensed here. This is the book mostly useful for "band musicians" now starting with their DAW orchestral adventures. It covers all basics and much, much more...
I would love to see you do a video on your method for score study. In one of your videos you recommended IMSLP, which I have. I would love to hear a method on this. I am one of those older folks you were mentioning, so I need all the help I can get (57). My current project is working on a ballet for a local dance studio so you can kind of get a feel for where I am coming from. Thank you for all of your insights and information.
For my 11th birthday, my father gave me “Orchestration” by Stephen Douglas Burton, which I have never since looked back from. Structured a bit like the Piston, it still is a bit more modern and encourages the reader to take a look at older and newer scores alike. He also gives more examples of special techniques on each instrument and extreme ranges. What I really like about it though is that it also has a chapter devoted to the voice as an instrument, which he treats in a far more comprehensive manner than Piston or Adler. It also has chapters devoted to various types of concert bands, string orchestras, jazz ensembles, and an appendix devoted to a variety of less commonly used instruments. It’s a real shame more people don’t use it. He also references Adler, Piston, Forsyth, Rimsky-Korsakov and Berlioz quite regularly. The edition I have is from 1980.
Not only is this video very informative, but the engagement from our community has also been quite eye-opening. This is part of the reason why I love meeting and engaging with other creatives. Always something to learn. Cheers to all!!
I have most of your recommendations other than the Berlioz (which I'm sure I've seen but is no longer on my shelf). I should read more of the Adler, which I acquired relatively recently, but my go-to is almost always Kent Kennon's "Techniques of Orchestration" book, mostly to check ranges when I am unsure of the extremes of unfamiliar instruments. I use the other books when I face specific questions on esoteric instrument techniques. Except for the Adler and Mancini books, most of mine were purchased more than fifty years ago, when prices were more reasonable.
I bought Adler's Study of Orchestration when you first mentioned in your channel. You cannot get better than studying whatever pupils learn on Academy level. I'm half-through it. Not as if I didn't hear what range seems to be fine with most instruments, but it gave my guesses stability. I used to feel what I was doing, now I know what I'm doing. I have clarity on when I used my orchestration well. As a side effect of reading this book I clearly can study now full symphony scores simply because I can see the doublings/voice leadings/pedal tones/chord fillings or texturing. Most of those 10-50 rows symphonies are quartet like ideas in very elegant fancy outfit and That gives me infinite amount of study on orchestration for the future. I'm looking forward to seeing what the other half of the book brings. But after 3-4 weeks of reading I'm already several level above from wherever I got stuck for over a decade before and I have the ability of self-studying anything I really like.
Not an orchestration book, but one I keep next to my orchestration books when arranging is Gardner Read's . As the name implies, it's a book on music notation that was very useful formatting a score either on paper or using Finale. A further -- and perhaps stranger -- book I used when Orchestrating (particularly since I was also working with on electronic music, is Allen Strange's. He shows how Sound synthesis is really the same process as orchestration: the mixing of instruments as the direct comparison with the mixing of wave forms: thinking about timbre in a deeper way. I think I'm going to pick up your recommended . 'Textures' is weird word in the academic music world since it refers to the mixing of voice, rather than the mixing of sound sources into timbre (which is much more intuitive to most musicians, who continually use the term 'texture' to demote timbre (or perhaps more bizarre is how guitarists use the term 'tone' to denote timbre because of their familiarity with the so-called 'tone' control (with the function of attenuating treble frequencies).
Thanks for sharing your perspective! If I could add another honorable mention, one of my favorites is “The History of Orchestration” by Adam Carse. An old book but it goes through the evolution of the orchestra from Monteverdi to Ravel. Gives a great insight into why composers wrote in a certain way for the instruments available in their time.
I never took orchestration when I was in university, and I've always wished my education was a bit more traditional and I learned that. I did have Piston's book on harmony but didn't make that much use of it. The program I was in was generally more concerned with avant-garde, experimental, and academic music, which I liked, but not very practical for creating other kinds of music.
Thank you for these helpful recommendations. Also like Jonathan E. Peters as an essential reference and overview to look up stuff qickly. Brahms' Third is a nice backdrop.
Great video, thanks Anne! You mentioning the Mancini book reminded me of "The Complete Arranger" by Sammy Nestico. It's much more on the jazz/big band side more so than the traditional orchestration like Adler or Piston. But if someone is interested more in the jazzy, Mancini side, it could be a cool one to check out.
Very interesting and balanced approach and good well equilibrated choosen books.. And indeed : the best thing is to have a variety of books because they all have their specificaties and accents and different point of views and different ways to explain a ton of things. Thank you for this video and all your other videos. I learned so much based on your YT video channel 👍👌
Thanks for the reviews. I was hesitant about the first book. Thanks for showing some of the pages. I’m definitely getting that book. I’m glad it has demonstrations and not just walls of text talking without showing. That is the selling point for me and more.
😆 liebe immer wieder deine Intros 😂😂😂👍 Finde deine Einschätzung sehr gut. Habe selbst einen Teil dieser Bücher. "Arranging for Strings" kannte ich nicht und hab's gleich bestellt. Sollte ich es vor Dir gelesen haben, sag ich dir, wie ich es finde 😉
Great presentation!!! Henry Brant's book is GREAT! Definitely a must have for composers. Another one is The Guide to Midi Orchestration by Paul Gilreath. However, score study is THE BEST guide for orchestration.
Korsakov's book was the only available in the book store in where i live...but this was very helpful for my career as an orchestral composer! Nice to know other books of orchestration exist too! Will look into it!
I had just found out about The Study of Orchestration this year and it was on my need to buy wishlist. But when I saw your Q&A series I saw that you had it so I bought it. You inspire me very much and I'm learning so much from you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in all music and I hope you're successful in attaining your goals.
Hi A-K, I totally agree with what you are saying I own the study of orchestration 3rd edition and also the workbook and also the CD collection. Mimi Rabson book Arranging for Strings with audio- excellent. Also check out The “Norton Scores “ with available audio is Gr8. We use Norton Scores in Australia as a Score reading book as it highlights the main listening section of the orchestra. This is all Classical / Orchestral music. There are two volumes. I also own Orchestration by Cecil Forsyth. This is an excellent book for one fact only……. How String Instruments work. eg how to write string friendly chords for strings. This starts on about page 324 onwards. Tonic, Dominant 7, Dim 7, Aug 5th, Maj. & m9th. I only bought this book to have a greater understanding of string writing & these pages are a real gem. This section in his book kinda has a comparison to guitar “bar chord” chord frames but for strings. ( the same fingering for moving in semitones up the finger board) The Complete Arranger by Sammy Nestico comes with audio CD. This Book focuses on ( Big Band) and concert band more than full orchestra. This is a great book for the introduction to the above ensembles. In Chapter 10 Sammy talks/writes about Tone Colours. Sammy also has a list of the music vocabulary under headings tempo markings, tempo changes, Dynamics, Directional signs, and descriptive terms such as Assai, Rubato, Sempre, Subito etc. He also has another heading titled General Terms. Contemporary Counterpoint Theory and Application. Berklee Press. by Beth Denisch. ( Hurah female writer) Book with online audio. Excellent info for beginners/ intermediate in plain english & simple language. Two more Berklee Press books that are excellent are. Arranging For Large Jazz Ensemble (big band) by Dick Lowell & Ken Pullig. Modern Jazz Voicings by Ted Pease & Ken Pullig. Written in plain english and easy to understand. CHANGES OVER TIME The evolution of Jazz Arranging. By Fred Sturm. Book with audio. I love this book because it shows how the same tune can be arranged differently. “Hollywood Harmony” by Frank Lehman. This one is for A-K that’s you. I purchased the iBooks sample copy. Chapters such as, Musical Wonder and the Sound Of Cinema. A bit pricey but after reading the sample I think it looks VG. And finally “Omni Music Scores” see their website as there are really Gr8 movie scores listed. Hope this helps. Best Peter
Great video. My comments: 1. PISTON does provide some very important fundamental information that an orchestrator needs to know, but I agree that he makes things way too complex. If you want to tell me the range of an instrument, just say "don't go above the high E on the treble clef, not "never exceed the 11th partial." 🙂 2. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV. Great book, but I sometimes had trouble finding the examples. The reference number in the text often did not match a score excerpt that made sense. The best recommendation for this book is that the author is possibly the best orchestrator of all time.
Fantastic video! Thank you for being so down to earth and completely honest. It feels like I’m meeting you and you’re genuinely telling me about your experiences with each book. Which is SO helpful for a conservatory student like me. Thank you
Love your channel! I've learned so much from your videos. Orchestration has always been of interest to me, and you make it so easy to understand. Oh, and I love your makeup! 😉
Anne-Kathrin, I have just discovered you. I am now 73, a self taught composer who began learning early on by studying scores at ten years old! I am often asked what books to have on hand to compose. I relay these in this exact order: Adler's Study of Orchestration 4th edition (Unbelievably wonderful, as is the man, an acquaintance of mine who is now 96 years old!), Rimsky-Korsakov's Orchestration, Essential Dictionary of Orchestration, and Rabson's Arranging for Strings. In other words, after watching this video, I want to marry you. OMG, you are so informative, clear, and scintillating in your delivery, and as I listen to even your music, I fond it is of the same ilk in many ways as mine. Congratulations. People are gaining a great reward by watching your amazing videos. C'mon you'll, buy this GAL A COFFEE! Also, are you married? I have never found a female so wonderfully well rounded in my most beloved delight, composing music. I love you!!
Piston’s orchestration book is good because he makes the techniques-such as string finger position-clearer compared to work like Adler. Also, at the end if I remember correctly, he discusses orchestration by type of writing-homophonic, contrapuntal, etc.
Love the Adler. I also have the 3rd edition and it's my go-to. My only gripes with it are 1. Not enough full orchestration info (like you said). 2. No information on choral writing at all, either by itself or with the orchestra 3. No information on modern instruments like synthesizers and electric guitars and how they might be used as a feature, as support, as well as things to avoid.
I heard the best method of orchestration study is to reduce sections of an existing orchestral score down to a piano version where you highlight which instruments are playing which notes. In doing so you notice more the choice of register ie high or low, the doubling of instruments and the function of certain orchestral sections how they contrast ie brass and percussion providing rhythm while winds and strings playing melody and counterpoint etc.
Great suggestions! I'm a trombonist and was I a student in the 80s, I remember Piston's book well. I also remember writing orchestration exercises in longhand in pencil. Hopefully, computer programs make things easier now.
I actually love the 3rd edition but I wish Adler spoke more into the not so touched instruments like the Bass trumpet contra contra bass Flute/Trombone/Cimbasso/ bass sax and more exotic instruments. I want to know what the 4th has. Also something I wish it spoke about more, are setups. So for symphony what are the best setups, for large ensembles, brass choir, voice Choirs, what is a great setup? 6 euphoniums, 3 tubas etc same for winds and what would you double if you had 6+ clarinets, 5 flutes you know. Large ensembles harder to comprehend sound. Maybe i need your Principles of Orchestration book. It sounds juicy ;)
Back in the days, I started with the Principles of Orchestration, but I was lacking a lot of exemples to listen to (exclusively from his own repertoire). This was far before UA-cam and al. Now I'm into Adler that's way more accessible, probably the #1 recommendation as you picked it. When you buy it new, you have a limited-time access to all the audio excerpts mentionned in the book. The French edition, oddly enough, adds a section about choral arrangement, and IIRC modern instruments. But no audio portal. I have the Mancini too and totally agree with you ; I use it to pick some licks and orchestration tips when I want to write old style. It's a great addition to other books but not the one to begin with. I also have "Jazz Composition and arranging in the digital age" by Sussman & Abene. I didn't start it yet but it's definitely not for beginners. But as anything in the (educational) world, it's not one-size-fits-all. You have to try, see what fits best to you at the moment and go on. Thanks for dedicating a video to this topic. (and yes, your new microphone works well).
I just discovered your channel! Personally, the Walter Piston's book has been quite useful to me, I suppose it is written differently because I read it in Spanish. I'm from Mexico, greetings. Good information. Suscribed.
I just picked up a gently (hopefully) used copy of The Study of Orchestration. Based on this video I did some more digging and it is SO widely loved/respected I decided to pick it up. I saved a bundle by the way...not much difference between the 3rd and 4th edition so I just bought the 3rd. I wish I had started at 4 but instead, I'm starting at 48...bummer. But hey, I think you are right Anne, time and patience. I'm working my way through the basics of music theory, sight reading/singing, and other topics using a few different resources. Know that your message of "don't just listen to my (or someone else's) UA-cam videos and think that get's you somewhere" is well taken in the spirit intended...and at least for myself...there is slow but steady action. And hey, while I'm doing all that...I also really enjoy watching your videos 🙂 BTW...the new mic sounds great 🙂
Waaaayy back in the day (2004?) Garritan had a free online course on their forums based on Principles of Orchestration. It was very simplified of course, but provided a bunch of example media and MIDI files so users could practice making mockups and orchestrating their own melodies (using GPO 'natch) systematically covering each technique with each section, and then, best of all, you could post your mockups and ask questions and get feedback on the forum (including from Gary himself!). Sadly I never finished the course and it is now long since defunct, but I learned a lot all the same. Now that I'm back into music I've been questioning whether it's worth picking up the book itself to basically finish what I started or if, being a hundred years old, its usefulness has been supplanted by newer texts. I think I will buy it. I like what you say about it jumping directly into orchestration itself - I really don't need a ton more information about the instruments, and I think that's a subject that many UA-cam channels have covered very well anyway.
I studied Walter Piston's books (harmony, counterpoint and orchestration) in the early eighties. Harmony was very useful but I agree with you that Orchestration was a dry read. My son graduated as a music major earlier this year. His textbook was Adler's Study of Orchestration which I borrow constantly. Adler's book is more easily understandable than Piston's (in my opinion).
Great vid. Been diving into some orchestration resources lately, I'm keen to give the Korsakov book another go as I remember really liking it, and will check out some of the others as well that I haven't read. Cheers!
Are you familiar with Peter L. Alexander's "Professional Orchestration" based somewhat on Rimsky-Korsakov's Principles of Orchestration but updated for film? Peter worked with Mancini and later established an online teaching site based in Richmond, VA before passing on a few years ago. I believe his widow is still maintaining the site and selling his multiple books and related learning materials.
I do some dialogue editing. The key with lavs is to dip around 500 Hz, give or take 50. That region tends to build up against the body. Dip it by 4 to 8 dB at a Q of around 2. Careful not to make yourself hollow. Just get rid of the excess dark vowel resonance.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer If you mean clothing noise, that's a much more complicated subject. All you can do really is try to choose clothes that don't rustle or produce static electricity easily, and play with different mic positions. If you mean room noise, yeah, they're omnidirectional mics, so they're going to pick up the whole environment. There are a few plug-ins that can mitigate the noise without hurting the sound too much. Izotope RX is best, but it's expensive.
Perfect! I'll keep this in mind. Yes, I mean room noise... insane how much the environment is picked up. I'll be sure to take a noise print in the future so I can feed that into RX and get rid of the noise floor.
Your presentation was excellent and very well thought out. Thank you! I was hoping you would mention Andrew Stiller's Handbook of Instrumentation. It is NOT an orchestration book, which are books that basically say "great composers have put these instruments together and this is why it works well." Stiller's book should be on the bookshelf (or on the computer because it's available as a CD-ROM PDF edition) of every composer and arranger because it discusses the technical details of every instrument in the orchestra (even more obscure doubles), covering things such as various ranges (professional, amateur), playing techniques, special effects techniques, technical limitations. It even covers electronic instruments although that section is very out-dated because it was written many years ago. It is the perfect reference for people who don't play or have much experience with those who do play the various instruments they might want to write for. It goes along with the orchestration books very nicely. Thank you for making this overview of orchestration books for us -- I've read through (or at least skimmed) all the ones you've mentioned and find that while they offer some guidance much of the success of the excerpts they cite from the orchestral literature succeed mainly because of the great skill of the composers and that often trying the same combinations and suggestions don't work very well for lesser composers/arrangers.
Your read on Piston definitely gave me a chuckle. All these years after being introduced to the Professor's books, I still cannot get behind his approach to conveying information.
I have read most of these books -- excellent reviews, Anne-Kathrin! Unfortunately, I have the first edition of Samuel Adler's book, but I got it with the workbook and the box of CD's. It's a treat. Rimsky Korsakov's book is very nice, Mimi Rabson's book "Arranging for Strings" is very incomplete. I bought the book, but I returned it. Another useful book is "Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer" by Andrea Pejrolo and Richard DeRosa. It is the only book I know of, that covers both orchestrating for a live orchestra and for MIDI orchestrations.
I have the pocket version of the Orchestation Dictionary is so beautiful, I love it so much! The smartphone may make it obsolete, but it's such a beautiful tiny object/book!
I bought the Piston book back in the 80s when I was just getting into music. I don't have the Adler book...may have to pick that one up. I did get the e-book version of Rimsky-Korsakov on Amazon for next to nothing. There is also a free version.
It happened to me exactly the same as you, Anne! Once I went through Adler's I read Rimsky-Korsakov's and it was the most useful for me. Especially for brass and winds. Funny to hear you the exact same story ;-)
So the only ones I had to get to complete the collection were the Brant: Textures & Timbres, Mancini: Sounds and Scores, Rabson: Arranging for Strings and went ahead and grabbed the Gates: Arranging for Horns - now to shut myself off from the rest of the world and READ. :D
I have a long way to go through the Adler book - it’s great but I agree when it comes to full orchestra it could use a bit more. I was looking up basic info on dynamics so that I could notate the concert piece I’m working on and I couldn’t find any info to help me decide what is a mp, mf, f etc and when crescendos and decrescendos should have dynamic indicators at the beginning and end and when they shouldn’t. In the end, I guess I just need to keep reading/listening to the score examples.
It's super confusing to begin with since all the dynamics are just relative (unlike tempo which is absolute). Every orchestra will interpret mp differently which is where the conductor comes in to make those decisions. Also, dynamics have been interpreted differently over the centuries as well, especially since the instruments and orchestra sizes have changed so much. In our case, this is where we'd give notes from the booth during a session or rehearsal to let them know if they're too loud or soft. The important part is to know how the orchestra balance changes across dynamics for which I think Korsakov's book is very good. As for cresc and decresc - I'd always put dynamic indicators to avoid confusion. It's always good to be precise in how big or small the swells are. The musicians would probably ask otherwise (which we try to avoid in sessions because it costs time). However, if you have a dynamic movement that repeats over many bars, you can just notate it once and then write "simile". It'll tell the players to continue the interpretation as before but it makes the score less cluttered and saves time. 🙂
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer thank you! That’s reassuring and also very helpful! It’s going to be a learning experience and hopefully I will get to be in the booth if it makes it to Air. I also have our friend Andres who is going to help clean up the Sibelius file I gave him. 😅
I would like to plug a very difficult-to-get book: "Elements of Orchestral Arranging" by William Lovelock. If you're starting from zero (i.e. you've done harmony and counterpoint, but essentially no orchestration), this is the book I would work through first. The way it works is that it works you through arranging small piano pieces for larger and larger ensembles (string quartet, string orchestra, wind choir, etc), working your way up to the full orchestra. I have a question. What's your opinion on Spectratone?
All these orchestration books can be rather hefty, but if you're after a smaller volume that you can easily carry around as a reference if you're composing on the road or whatever, I like Gordon Jacob's book "Orchestral Technique". It mainly concentrates on orchestrating keyboard pieces. This may seem like an odd thing but in terms of workflow, a lot of composers will probably be writing a piano sketch first and then orchestrating that afterward, so the approach has value for those that work that way. The book does have some good orchestration insights, despite being somewhat outdated in terms of info on instrumental capabilities. I just like that I can carry this one around while the others get stuck at home due to being too heavy!
For pure instrumentation info, Alfred Blatter’s “Instrumentation and Orchestration” is gold. The info on orchestration isn’t great, but the descriptions of the individual instrumental properties, characteristics, and capabilities is stellar.
For the jazz/contemporary side, Sammy Nestico’s “The Complete Arranger” is the gold standard, surpassing anything put out by Berklee Press.
An excellent academic book on jazz and popular arranging is “Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age” by Sussman and Abene.
You are a godsend. Been looking for more resources on orchestration in modern genres
My journey into arranging and orchestration began with "The Complete Arranger." An indispensable resource!
Yes, Orchestrating in the Digital Age is great! The technique for voicing brass vamps is insightful.
George McKay's "Creative Orchestration" is a handy little book. Talks about textures and breaking down each section into a certain role depending on the need of the song/piece.
Thanks this is what I wanted do you have any other suggestions?
@@hansamitamajee1930 study GRADNUSS AD PARNASSUM....best book 📚 to learn COUNTER POINT....
TEXTURES
COUNTERPOINT
WITH good SATB rules....
Start experimenting to the core....
U will get ur style for successive scores
Anne, you are marvellous! Thank you for all your work!
@@andreyfw If you can, if you have an access to the internet (I know -it’s a wartime...) please find and subscribe to Orchestration Online UA-cam channel, presented by an orchestrator-tutor Thomas Goss. He presently resides in New Zealand, and his video output is simply awesome for any orchestration student (and even pros can learn a thing or two). He also has a PDF book available for download. I hope it helps. BTW - I perform often with a violinist from Ukraine in our orchestra at Disney.
Your suggestions are a great starting point and even more if possible. I happened to be locked in a rehearsal room with the orchestra and a score that didn't work. At that point you are alone, with your pencil and what you have studied. These books are absolutely essential to know and study... Ciao from Italy ( because of my basic english I did this comment with Google Translator. I hope nothing sounds weird...)
Another great read is William Russo's Composing for the Jazz Orchestra...jazz obviously, but has great information still. Used often at Columbia College Chicago. =) Obviously not classical / film, but still great read!
Henry Brant's is a must read for orchestration. However if you want to learn and comprehend orchestration from a book you can simply get Sevsay's "Cambridge Guide to Orchestration". For more on the Mancini style and beyond Sammy Nestico's "The Complete Arranger" is a fantastic companion.
I’d love to hear you talk about how to score study! 🙂
I suggested this topic, I'm sure I was not the only one that made a comment about it but watching this makes me happy, thank you
Thanks for another great one, Anne-Kathrin! I'm from neither Europe nor North America and can say the one we use the most where I'm from is the Rimsky-Korsakov ones - I even first learned 4-part harmony with his Harmony book as well.
I agree that Adler's book is overall the best, but I think what elevates it above everyone else's is the extra CDs you can get with it. I got a used copy of the 3rd edition ages ago, along with the CDs, and they are phenomenal because basically every little excerpt used as an example in the book is accompanied by a recording. Being able to listen to the examples just takes everything to another level.
Cheers!
If you read French (a big if, I know), Koechlin's Treatise of orchestration (1940's) is a gold mine. It's roughly 1600 pages divided into 4 volumes: instrumentation and balance, writing for instrument groups, and the last two on actual orchestration, with examples galore. It's the most comprehensive books I've read on the subject (and I've read Adler), although the writing style is a bit outdated and not the easiest to read.
My eye caught this at 12:50 and I had to rewind and pause! Where it shows Chapter Six on the rhythm section, I couldn’t help but notice that the first paragraph lists the names of the session musicians on the Peter Gunn recording. The last name on that list is the one and only, Johnny Williams. (Yes, that John Williams)
Very nice overview of a big, difficult topic and books that might help. For me, the real issue was learning to write for full orchestra and getting the balances right. The 2nd volume of the books by Ebenezer Prout, published by Dover, was a real godsend as the whole book is about writing for large ensembles. It is the product of the Victorian Era, but for many of us, that style of orchestration is all we need. The other book I found very helpful was by French composer Charles Marie Widor. Again, his comments on writing for full orchestra were most helpful, and his explanation of the harp very clear.
As a teenager back in the 1970s, I discovered a book called "The Technique of Orchestration" by Kent Kennan on the shelf of my local public library. Over the next couple years, their copy probably spent more time on my bookshelf than theirs. It was used as the textbook for the orchestration class at my university back in the day. Originally published in 1953, I currently own the 5th edition (1996), and a 6th edition was released in 2002. Like your description of the Adler book (which I haven't read but will look into, based on your recommendation), most of the text is spent focusing on the individual instruments and sections, and relatively little space is devoted to writing for a full orchestra.
Yes! This was the first orchestration book that I studied and I found it very clear.
I don't own it, but another supplemental book by one of big band's most respected orchestrators is "Arranged by Nelson Riddle", which includes many tips based on his years of conducting sessions for television and motion pictures. It's about 200 pages long and costs $35 new. Riddle is probably most famous for his orchestrations for Frank Sinatra. Dick Grove also has a very practical book on arranging for jazz band, which I believe has accompanying audio.
Hello Anne, here in Brazil Samuel Addler's book is used too, I believe in Latin America it is used as well.
Dear Anne-Kathrin ☘️ Yes, Adler is used WORLDWIDE as you already pointed out in your video. Of course there are other spectacular orchestration books available as we all know as composers but Adler is widely preferred (especially for beginners and intermediate level students) because of two main reasons: 1. It has a workbook. 2. Priceless audio examples. Also, needless to say that it's a very meticulously organized book and the writer is Adler! Greetings from Türkiye 🇹🇷🙂
I'm from Brazil and I've been writing music and trying to compose for films, video games and such. I also have a band and play the bass - I'm also the songwriter for the band.
Thank you so much for these recommedations! I've been "teaching" myself on how to write complex music and OSTs and this video has come to great use! You got yourself a subscriber! :)
I'll watch your other videos!
Cheers!
Great video, thank you! I used both the Piston and the Adler at conservatory. I still love the Adler, though I completely agree that it falls short on orchestral "punchline". At school, we had a running joke about the Piston, that perhaps the Navajo translation would have been easier to read. To one of your last points, I heartily agree that score study, especially of those of the great composer-orchestrators, is a must. Don't tell anybody, but I even went to the trouble of copying out (by hand) quite a few scores by composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel. I've also done things like transcribe by ear orchestral cues from film soundtracks I love, and then annotate them with comments on why particular instrumentation, motif, or voice leading especially works.(Completely mad, I know.) I think that relying on my ears this way forced me to be honest about what in particular stood out for me in a passage (or what didn't). Anyway, I can honestly say that doing so has served me very well to this day. I think I've learned to be a little less obsessive since then. Cheers! 🙂
Sounds like a fantastic way to learn! I've done similar things with counterpoint and I've learned a lot of orchestration techniques by mocking them up in my DAW - nothing beats this kind of study!
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Amen! When I was a kid, I remember reading that Bach had learned composition by copying out Buxtehude-by candlelight, no doubt. I figured if that approach was good for him, it certainly couldn't hurt to try! ;-)
I transcribed orchestral cues from my favorite films by ear too, mostly on MuseScore but also Finale (I didn't know the DAW system yet), with their pretty terrible sounds. I did the opening of Out of Africa, Apollo 13's reentry, The Lighting of the Beacons from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars The Force Awakens trailer #2 and a few others, but I must admit that I didn't really LEARN anything by doing it. I only did it for pleasure, because I felt compelled to. However, when you know nothing about orchestration and simply transcribe music that comes to your ears, you just write the notes from the instruments you think you hear, but you don't even know they're doubled, much less which doubles which. You even discover to your astonishment there's a 3/4 bar right in the middle of a whole 4/4 score and you can't even imagine that it is due to picture sync. Now that I have learned a few things in that matter, it would certainly be different if I did it again. Nothing replaces the original score, though.
+1
This is a great example of why I find your content so helpful. Over the past several years I’ve considered getting the Adler book more than a few times, but that price tag was too steep for a retired guy and I was reluctant to buy what I feared would be an out-of-date edition. But you’re the first composer I’ve seen who ever discussed the relative value of the different editions … and if the 3rd edition suits you well enough, I am sure it is fine for me as well. So I’ve got a used 3rd edition copy on order now, because of this video. My thanks to you for shedding some new light on another of the mysterious dark corners of this field. (By the way, I do already have the Rimsky-Korsakov book and enjoyed it, but did notice it was mostly about volume balancing and color combinations, as you have said here. So I expect Adler will be at least as helpful, and probably even more so.)
So glad this was helpful! And yes, Adler will contain a lot more information than the Korsakov book. Hope you'll enjoy it!
Good video Anne. Very informative. I haven't read all the books you reviewed, but I full heartedly agree with your assessment of Korsakov's excellent book on the PRINCIPLES OF ORCHESTRATION. The text book we used at USC in the 1980s was Kent Kennan's THE TECHNIQUE OF ORCHESTRATION which I remember was useful as a constant easy-go-to reference for instrument ranges, transpositions, and combining certain instruments for specific colors and effects.
What a relief your videos are. I used (& still have ) the 1st Edition (1982) of Adler, and am just beginning to study orchestration. I got the free edition of BBCSO and I'm so glad to hear a good word about Adler. My theory professor (5 semesters) was from Eastman as well. Thanks!
Glad my videos are helpful! As I mention in the video, be very careful with the first edition of Adler since it contains a lot of mistakes (that were fixed starting with the second edition).
Anne-Kathrin, the comprehensive but concise nature of your presentations are always a pleasure to listen to.
"...it's been a bit of a sausage fest over the centuries..." 😂😜That's one way of putting it Anne-Kathrin.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the music of Nadia and Lili Boulanger.
I completely agree, I'm Loving Adler for details on organology and the study of scores as examples of how to balance the choirs of the orchestra, but of course practicing writing and even programing based on real recordings. Thank you for the list!
I was at Eastman when Adler was there. He was an INCREDIBLE teacher! You nailed it!!
Adler's book is pretty much the go-to book for orchestration, I still have the 2nd edition and I use it all the time (I bought the book back in 1988).
I know several people who have studied with Adler and not a single one of them has a single bad thing to say about him.
Great video Anne-Kathrin and you are seriously rocking that eye liner that looks absolutely fab!
Thank you!
Worked with arranger and orchestrator Victor Vanacore who won a Grammy on a Ray Charles Album. Victor uses many of the techniques outlined in Mancini’s book. So that book is great for Pops and Big Band sounding music.
I share your fondness for the 'Essential Dictionary' series, especially the notation volume. As a percussionist I used it often to find how to notate a particular unorthodox technique. Thanks for the list!
Oh - you really ARE fond of slowly blinking colored lights, aren't you? ;-) Once more I was mesmerized.
I have the Piston & the Korsakov. Hate the former [for much the same reasoning as you], love the latter.
I also have a little paperback volume "Orchestral technique" by Gordon Jacob. It is only 106 pages or so, but it packs stuff in. And it is practice-based: every section ends with lists of piano music to be orchestrated by the student for the forces just discussed - bearing in mind that as he says in his intro "it cannot be too strongly insisted upon that when *composing* for orchestra the music must be conceived orchestrally". My copy cost £1.60 new in the mid-1970s... Amazon has it new for £68.00, which I would say is daylight robbery, but it has 2nd-hand versions from £11.69.
Hey, from Australia - love your channel. At the Sydney Con composition course, we had Piston, which I love and I still refer students to to this day. Also, I too like some of your other readers, love Arranged by Nelson Riddle as I've had to do more and more over the years. Thanks so much for the other suggestions - I also will be putting them on my reading list. Big hugs from "downunder".
Please do a video on score studying Anne-Kathrin! I’d love to get your take on how to get the most out of a score! 🙏
Anne-Kathrin, you did great, as always ! All books you mentioned here are a MUST for any serious musician for many reasons - historic, practical, theoretical etc. I absolutely agree : Adler's book is Essential (with all recorded examples of course). 'Textures and Timbres' by H.Brant is awesome too - lots of practical suggestions (he uses his method of identifying various timbres : "Oboe" Timbre, "Flute" Timbre, "Pizzicato" Timbre and so on with various instruments combinations). NO individual instruments study. That part is completely omited in this book (as you'll see during your Holiday break, ha, ha !). Two more books I would strongly recommend that you didn't mention : as an alternative to Adler's, try "The Cambridge Guide To Orchestration" by Ertugrul Sevsay (Professor of Music in Vienna). He starts with individual instruments (252 pages), but unlike Adler, he devotes almost 400 pages to actual orchestration !! Simply GREAT ! And the last (but not least) book that you didn't mention is "The guide to MIDI Orchestration" by Paul Gilreath - a "must have' by all MIDI orchestration students. The 4th edition is from 2010, so it's slightly outdated (by our standards of course), but for anybody wanting to delve into DAW orchestration and production it is simply essential. All information that is available, but scattered around all over the internet - it's condensed here. This is the book mostly useful for "band musicians" now starting with their DAW orchestral adventures. It covers all basics and much, much more...
One of my favorite yt channels for composition for films and tv. Love your content. thanks for making this video on orchestration books.
I would love to see you do a video on your method for score study. In one of your videos you recommended IMSLP, which I have. I would love to hear a method on this. I am one of those older folks you were mentioning, so I need all the help I can get (57). My current project is working on a ballet for a local dance studio so you can kind of get a feel for where I am coming from. Thank you for all of your insights and information.
I'll put it on my list, that's a good idea! There are many different approaches so I'll have to think about it for a moment to give a good overview.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thank you for considering the idea.
For my 11th birthday, my father gave me “Orchestration” by Stephen Douglas Burton, which I have never since looked back from. Structured a bit like the Piston, it still is a bit more modern and encourages the reader to take a look at older and newer scores alike. He also gives more examples of special techniques on each instrument and extreme ranges. What I really like about it though is that it also has a chapter devoted to the voice as an instrument, which he treats in a far more comprehensive manner than Piston or Adler. It also has chapters devoted to various types of concert bands, string orchestras, jazz ensembles, and an appendix devoted to a variety of less commonly used instruments. It’s a real shame more people don’t use it. He also references Adler, Piston, Forsyth, Rimsky-Korsakov and Berlioz quite regularly. The edition I have is from 1980.
You look incredible. And thanks for your hard work best wishes UK England 👍🙏
Not only is this video very informative, but the engagement from our community has also been quite eye-opening. This is part of the reason why I love meeting and engaging with other creatives. Always something to learn. Cheers to all!!
I always enjoy listening to the topics you choose to speak about. Your makeup is great.
I have most of your recommendations other than the Berlioz (which I'm sure I've seen but is no longer on my shelf). I should read more of the Adler, which I acquired relatively recently, but my go-to is almost always Kent Kennon's "Techniques of Orchestration" book, mostly to check ranges when I am unsure of the extremes of unfamiliar instruments. I use the other books when I face specific questions on esoteric instrument techniques. Except for the Adler and Mancini books, most of mine were purchased more than fifty years ago, when prices were more reasonable.
I bought Adler's Study of Orchestration when you first mentioned in your channel. You cannot get better than studying whatever pupils learn on Academy level. I'm half-through it. Not as if I didn't hear what range seems to be fine with most instruments, but it gave my guesses stability. I used to feel what I was doing, now I know what I'm doing. I have clarity on when I used my orchestration well. As a side effect of reading this book I clearly can study now full symphony scores simply because I can see the doublings/voice leadings/pedal tones/chord fillings or texturing. Most of those 10-50 rows symphonies are quartet like ideas in very elegant fancy outfit and That gives me infinite amount of study on orchestration for the future. I'm looking forward to seeing what the other half of the book brings. But after 3-4 weeks of reading I'm already several level above from wherever I got stuck for over a decade before and I have the ability of self-studying anything I really like.
Not an orchestration book, but one I keep next to my orchestration books when arranging is Gardner Read's . As the name implies, it's a book on music notation that was very useful formatting a score either on paper or using Finale. A further -- and perhaps stranger -- book I used when Orchestrating (particularly since I was also working with on electronic music, is Allen Strange's. He shows how Sound synthesis is really the same process as orchestration: the mixing of instruments as the direct comparison with the mixing of wave forms: thinking about timbre in a deeper way. I think I'm going to pick up your recommended . 'Textures' is weird word in the academic music world since it refers to the mixing of voice, rather than the mixing of sound sources into timbre (which is much more intuitive to most musicians, who continually use the term 'texture' to demote timbre (or perhaps more bizarre is how guitarists use the term 'tone' to denote timbre because of their familiarity with the so-called 'tone' control (with the function of attenuating treble frequencies).
That eye make up though 😍 Thanks so much for these wonderful, humorous and informative videos!
Thank you so much for the support!
Another great resource of a video, but the part I’m most thankful for is at the end when you told me to go practice
thanks for the recommendation, maybe do composition techniques books next as I am trying to find some good ones atm
Loving the comedy start 👍🤣
Thanks for sharing your perspective! If I could add another honorable mention, one of my favorites is “The History of Orchestration” by Adam Carse. An old book but it goes through the evolution of the orchestra from Monteverdi to Ravel. Gives a great insight into why composers wrote in a certain way for the instruments available in their time.
I love that Adam Carse book. It's a very well written, fascinating read. I recommend it to anyone who asks me about orchestration books.
I'd definitely check that out too. I think that could help on preparing classes on the subject.
I never took orchestration when I was in university, and I've always wished my education was a bit more traditional and I learned that. I did have Piston's book on harmony but didn't make that much use of it. The program I was in was generally more concerned with avant-garde, experimental, and academic music, which I liked, but not very practical for creating other kinds of music.
Thank you for these helpful recommendations. Also like Jonathan E. Peters as an essential reference and overview to look up stuff qickly. Brahms' Third is a nice backdrop.
Great video, thanks Anne! You mentioning the Mancini book reminded me of "The Complete Arranger" by Sammy Nestico. It's much more on the jazz/big band side more so than the traditional orchestration like Adler or Piston. But if someone is interested more in the jazzy, Mancini side, it could be a cool one to check out.
Very interesting and balanced approach and good well equilibrated choosen books.. And indeed : the best thing is to have a variety of books because they all have their specificaties and accents and different point of views and different ways to explain a ton of things. Thank you for this video and all your other videos. I learned so much based on your YT video channel 👍👌
Thanks for the reviews. I was hesitant about the first book. Thanks for showing some of the pages. I’m definitely getting that book. I’m glad it has demonstrations and not just walls of text talking without showing. That is the selling point for me and more.
😆 liebe immer wieder deine Intros 😂😂😂👍
Finde deine Einschätzung sehr gut. Habe selbst einen Teil dieser Bücher.
"Arranging for Strings" kannte ich nicht und hab's gleich bestellt.
Sollte ich es vor Dir gelesen haben, sag ich dir, wie ich es finde 😉
Great presentation!!! Henry Brant's book is GREAT! Definitely a must have for composers. Another one is The Guide to Midi Orchestration by Paul Gilreath. However, score study is THE BEST guide for orchestration.
Well now I can wait even less to check out Brant's book!
Korsakov's book was the only available in the book store in where i live...but this was very helpful for my career as an orchestral composer! Nice to know other books of orchestration exist too! Will look into it!
I had just found out about The Study of Orchestration this year and it was on my need to buy wishlist. But when I saw your Q&A series I saw that you had it so I bought it. You inspire me very much and I'm learning so much from you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in all music and I hope you're successful in attaining your goals.
So glad to hear that!
Hi A-K, I totally agree with what you are saying I own the study of orchestration 3rd edition and also the workbook and also the CD collection. Mimi Rabson book Arranging for Strings with audio- excellent.
Also check out The “Norton Scores “ with available audio is Gr8.
We use Norton Scores in Australia as a Score reading book as it highlights the main listening section of the orchestra. This is all Classical / Orchestral music. There are two volumes.
I also own Orchestration by Cecil Forsyth. This is an excellent book for one fact only……. How String Instruments work. eg how to write string friendly chords for strings. This starts on about page 324 onwards. Tonic, Dominant 7, Dim 7, Aug 5th, Maj. & m9th.
I only bought this book to have a greater understanding of string writing & these pages are a real gem. This section in his book kinda has a comparison to guitar “bar chord” chord frames but for strings. ( the same fingering for moving in semitones up the finger board)
The Complete Arranger by Sammy Nestico comes with audio CD.
This Book focuses on ( Big Band) and concert band more than full orchestra. This is a great book for the introduction to the above ensembles.
In Chapter 10 Sammy talks/writes about Tone Colours. Sammy also has a list of the music vocabulary under headings tempo markings, tempo changes, Dynamics, Directional signs, and descriptive terms such as Assai, Rubato, Sempre, Subito etc. He also has another heading titled General Terms.
Contemporary Counterpoint Theory and Application. Berklee Press. by Beth Denisch. ( Hurah female writer) Book with online audio.
Excellent info for beginners/ intermediate in plain english & simple language.
Two more Berklee Press books that are excellent are. Arranging For Large Jazz Ensemble (big band) by Dick Lowell & Ken Pullig.
Modern Jazz Voicings by Ted Pease & Ken Pullig.
Written in plain english and easy to understand.
CHANGES OVER TIME The evolution of Jazz Arranging. By Fred Sturm. Book with audio.
I love this book because it shows how the same tune can be arranged differently.
“Hollywood Harmony” by Frank Lehman.
This one is for A-K that’s you.
I purchased the iBooks sample copy.
Chapters such as, Musical Wonder and the Sound Of Cinema.
A bit pricey but after reading the sample I think it looks VG.
And finally “Omni Music Scores” see their website as there are really Gr8 movie scores listed.
Hope this helps.
Best Peter
Great video. My comments:
1. PISTON does provide some very important fundamental information that an orchestrator needs to know, but I agree that he makes things way too complex. If you want to tell me the range of an instrument, just say "don't go above the high E on the treble clef, not "never exceed the 11th partial." 🙂
2. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV. Great book, but I sometimes had trouble finding the examples. The reference number in the text often did not match a score excerpt that made sense. The best recommendation for this book is that the author is possibly the best orchestrator of all time.
Fantastic video! Thank you for being so down to earth and completely honest. It feels like I’m meeting you and you’re genuinely telling me about your experiences with each book. Which is SO helpful for a conservatory student like me. Thank you
You can get a CD of the Adler tracks
Love your channel! I've learned so much from your videos. Orchestration has always been of interest to me, and you make it so easy to understand. Oh, and I love your makeup! 😉
i like (for Jazz Arrangements) The Complete Arranger by Sammy Nestico very much.
Anne-Kathrin, I have just discovered you. I am now 73, a self taught composer who began learning early on by studying scores at ten years old! I am often asked what books to have on hand to compose. I relay these in this exact order: Adler's Study of Orchestration 4th edition (Unbelievably wonderful, as is the man, an acquaintance of mine who is now 96 years old!), Rimsky-Korsakov's Orchestration, Essential Dictionary of Orchestration, and Rabson's Arranging for Strings. In other words, after watching this video, I want to marry you. OMG, you are so informative, clear, and scintillating in your delivery, and as I listen to even your music, I fond it is of the same ilk in many ways as mine. Congratulations. People are gaining a great reward by watching your amazing videos. C'mon you'll, buy this GAL A COFFEE! Also, are you married? I have never found a female so wonderfully well rounded in my most beloved delight, composing music. I love you!!
I loved your comments about learning to read music near the end.
you are the best youtuber! you are like the amadeus of our recent times (you rock). i will study sheet music harder now because of your content
Absolutely fabulous! I mean simply so, because I hadn't seen such a review/comparison before now. Very helpful. Thanks
Piston’s orchestration book is good because he makes the techniques-such as string finger position-clearer compared to work like Adler. Also, at the end if I remember correctly, he discusses orchestration by type of writing-homophonic, contrapuntal, etc.
Love the Adler. I also have the 3rd edition and it's my go-to. My only gripes with it are
1. Not enough full orchestration info (like you said).
2. No information on choral writing at all, either by itself or with the orchestra
3. No information on modern instruments like synthesizers and electric guitars and how they might be used as a feature, as support, as well as things to avoid.
Great!) Thank you for this video!!!)
I heard the best method of orchestration study is to reduce sections of an existing orchestral score down to a piano version where you highlight which instruments are playing which notes. In doing so you notice more the choice of register ie high or low, the doubling of instruments and the function of certain orchestral sections how they contrast ie brass and percussion providing rhythm while winds and strings playing melody and counterpoint etc.
Great suggestions! I'm a trombonist and was I a student in the 80s, I remember Piston's book well. I also remember writing orchestration exercises in longhand in pencil. Hopefully, computer programs make things easier now.
I actually love the 3rd edition but I wish Adler spoke more into the not so touched instruments
like the Bass trumpet contra contra bass Flute/Trombone/Cimbasso/ bass sax and more exotic instruments. I want to know what the 4th has. Also something I wish it spoke about more, are setups. So for symphony what are the best setups, for large ensembles, brass choir, voice Choirs, what is a great setup? 6 euphoniums, 3 tubas etc same for winds and what would you double if you had 6+ clarinets, 5 flutes you know. Large ensembles harder to comprehend sound. Maybe i need your Principles of Orchestration book. It sounds juicy ;)
Back in the days, I started with the Principles of Orchestration, but I was lacking a lot of exemples to listen to (exclusively from his own repertoire). This was far before UA-cam and al.
Now I'm into Adler that's way more accessible, probably the #1 recommendation as you picked it.
When you buy it new, you have a limited-time access to all the audio excerpts mentionned in the book. The French edition, oddly enough, adds a section about choral arrangement, and IIRC modern instruments. But no audio portal.
I have the Mancini too and totally agree with you ; I use it to pick some licks and orchestration tips when I want to write old style. It's a great addition to other books but not the one to begin with.
I also have "Jazz Composition and arranging in the digital age" by Sussman & Abene. I didn't start it yet but it's definitely not for beginners.
But as anything in the (educational) world, it's not one-size-fits-all. You have to try, see what fits best to you at the moment and go on.
Thanks for dedicating a video to this topic.
(and yes, your new microphone works well).
I just discovered your channel! Personally, the Walter Piston's book has been quite useful to me, I suppose it is written differently because I read it in Spanish. I'm from Mexico, greetings. Good information. Suscribed.
Thank you! That Korsakov book is exactly what I needed.
I just picked up a gently (hopefully) used copy of The Study of Orchestration. Based on this video I did some more digging and it is SO widely loved/respected I decided to pick it up. I saved a bundle by the way...not much difference between the 3rd and 4th edition so I just bought the 3rd. I wish I had started at 4 but instead, I'm starting at 48...bummer. But hey, I think you are right Anne, time and patience. I'm working my way through the basics of music theory, sight reading/singing, and other topics using a few different resources. Know that your message of "don't just listen to my (or someone else's) UA-cam videos and think that get's you somewhere" is well taken in the spirit intended...and at least for myself...there is slow but steady action. And hey, while I'm doing all that...I also really enjoy watching your videos 🙂 BTW...the new mic sounds great 🙂
So happy to hear all this! It takes so much time to acquire all these skills - one day at a time will get you there, I have no doubt! 😀
My Korsakov is my definitive read, but thank you for exploring other texts. I will be very keen to read your favorites.
Waaaayy back in the day (2004?) Garritan had a free online course on their forums based on Principles of Orchestration. It was very simplified of course, but provided a bunch of example media and MIDI files so users could practice making mockups and orchestrating their own melodies (using GPO 'natch) systematically covering each technique with each section, and then, best of all, you could post your mockups and ask questions and get feedback on the forum (including from Gary himself!). Sadly I never finished the course and it is now long since defunct, but I learned a lot all the same. Now that I'm back into music I've been questioning whether it's worth picking up the book itself to basically finish what I started or if, being a hundred years old, its usefulness has been supplanted by newer texts. I think I will buy it. I like what you say about it jumping directly into orchestration itself - I really don't need a ton more information about the instruments, and I think that's a subject that many UA-cam channels have covered very well anyway.
Lol I still have it all, downloaded offline. And I still refer to it on occasion.
@@musical_lolu4811 Might you share it with me? I wanna see that. It's a shame that already does not exist in the official webpage.
I studied Walter Piston's books (harmony, counterpoint and orchestration) in the early eighties. Harmony was very useful but I agree with you that Orchestration was a dry read.
My son graduated as a music major earlier this year. His textbook was Adler's Study of Orchestration which I borrow constantly. Adler's book is more easily understandable than Piston's (in my opinion).
Great vid. Been diving into some orchestration resources lately, I'm keen to give the Korsakov book another go as I remember really liking it, and will check out some of the others as well that I haven't read. Cheers!
Are you familiar with Peter L. Alexander's "Professional Orchestration" based somewhat on Rimsky-Korsakov's Principles of Orchestration but updated for film? Peter worked with Mancini and later established an online teaching site based in Richmond, VA before passing on a few years ago. I believe his widow is still maintaining the site and selling his multiple books and related learning materials.
I do some dialogue editing. The key with lavs is to dip around 500 Hz, give or take 50. That region tends to build up against the body. Dip it by 4 to 8 dB at a Q of around 2. Careful not to make yourself hollow. Just get rid of the excess dark vowel resonance.
Thank you! Totally new to this type of mic (and totally shocked by how much noise it picks up) so I really appreciate the advice!
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer If you mean clothing noise, that's a much more complicated subject. All you can do really is try to choose clothes that don't rustle or produce static electricity easily, and play with different mic positions. If you mean room noise, yeah, they're omnidirectional mics, so they're going to pick up the whole environment. There are a few plug-ins that can mitigate the noise without hurting the sound too much. Izotope RX is best, but it's expensive.
Perfect! I'll keep this in mind. Yes, I mean room noise... insane how much the environment is picked up. I'll be sure to take a noise print in the future so I can feed that into RX and get rid of the noise floor.
Your presentation was excellent and very well thought out. Thank you! I was hoping you would mention Andrew Stiller's Handbook of Instrumentation. It is NOT an orchestration book, which are books that basically say "great composers have put these instruments together and this is why it works well." Stiller's book should be on the bookshelf (or on the computer because it's available as a CD-ROM PDF edition) of every composer and arranger because it discusses the technical details of every instrument in the orchestra (even more obscure doubles), covering things such as various ranges (professional, amateur), playing techniques, special effects techniques, technical limitations. It even covers electronic instruments although that section is very out-dated because it was written many years ago. It is the perfect reference for people who don't play or have much experience with those who do play the various instruments they might want to write for. It goes along with the orchestration books very nicely. Thank you for making this overview of orchestration books for us -- I've read through (or at least skimmed) all the ones you've mentioned and find that while they offer some guidance much of the success of the excerpts they cite from the orchestral literature succeed mainly because of the great skill of the composers and that often trying the same combinations and suggestions don't work very well for lesser composers/arrangers.
I have to checkout Korsakov's Principles of orch! I've always wanted to buy it, and used maybe great option. Thanks Anne!
Your read on Piston definitely gave me a chuckle. All these years after being introduced to the Professor's books, I still cannot get behind his approach to conveying information.
out of topic, but SICK eye makeup:)
I have the Piston and _The Elements of Orchestral Arrangement_ (Lovelock, 1968).
I have read most of these books -- excellent reviews, Anne-Kathrin! Unfortunately, I have the first edition of Samuel Adler's book, but I got it with the workbook and the box of CD's. It's a treat. Rimsky Korsakov's book is very nice, Mimi Rabson's book "Arranging for Strings" is very incomplete. I bought the book, but I returned it.
Another useful book is "Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer" by Andrea Pejrolo and Richard DeRosa. It is the only book I know of, that covers both orchestrating for a live orchestra and for MIDI orchestrations.
I have the pocket version of the Orchestation Dictionary is so beautiful, I love it so much! The smartphone may make it obsolete, but it's such a beautiful tiny object/book!
Lav sounds good and oooh la la the makeup!
I bought the Piston book back in the 80s when I was just getting into music. I don't have the Adler book...may have to pick that one up. I did get the e-book version of Rimsky-Korsakov on Amazon for next to nothing. There is also a free version.
Great video as always. I'm trying to save some money and create a routine which will allow me to compose more and be able to join your your bootcamp
Thanks!
It happened to me exactly the same as you, Anne! Once I went through Adler's I read Rimsky-Korsakov's and it was the most useful for me. Especially for brass and winds. Funny to hear you the exact same story ;-)
So the only ones I had to get to complete the collection were the Brant: Textures & Timbres, Mancini: Sounds and Scores, Rabson: Arranging for Strings and went ahead and grabbed the Gates: Arranging for Horns - now to shut myself off from the rest of the world and READ. :D
In the USA here, 20 years ago in college I bought Adler 2nd Edition, and I still use it to this day. I bought R-K's "Principles" about 5 years later.
I have a long way to go through the Adler book - it’s great but I agree when it comes to full orchestra it could use a bit more. I was looking up basic info on dynamics so that I could notate the concert piece I’m working on and I couldn’t find any info to help me decide what is a mp, mf, f etc and when crescendos and decrescendos should have dynamic indicators at the beginning and end and when they shouldn’t. In the end, I guess I just need to keep reading/listening to the score examples.
It's super confusing to begin with since all the dynamics are just relative (unlike tempo which is absolute). Every orchestra will interpret mp differently which is where the conductor comes in to make those decisions. Also, dynamics have been interpreted differently over the centuries as well, especially since the instruments and orchestra sizes have changed so much. In our case, this is where we'd give notes from the booth during a session or rehearsal to let them know if they're too loud or soft. The important part is to know how the orchestra balance changes across dynamics for which I think Korsakov's book is very good. As for cresc and decresc - I'd always put dynamic indicators to avoid confusion. It's always good to be precise in how big or small the swells are. The musicians would probably ask otherwise (which we try to avoid in sessions because it costs time). However, if you have a dynamic movement that repeats over many bars, you can just notate it once and then write "simile". It'll tell the players to continue the interpretation as before but it makes the score less cluttered and saves time. 🙂
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer thank you! That’s reassuring and also very helpful! It’s going to be a learning experience and hopefully I will get to be in the booth if it makes it to Air. I also have our friend Andres who is going to help clean up the Sibelius file I gave him. 😅
I actually reference 2 arranging books, "Music Arranging and Orchestration: John Cacavas", &
"Arranged by Nelson Riddle".
You're so cool, always getting directly to the centre of things.
I would like to plug a very difficult-to-get book: "Elements of Orchestral Arranging" by William Lovelock. If you're starting from zero (i.e. you've done harmony and counterpoint, but essentially no orchestration), this is the book I would work through first. The way it works is that it works you through arranging small piano pieces for larger and larger ensembles (string quartet, string orchestra, wind choir, etc), working your way up to the full orchestra.
I have a question. What's your opinion on Spectratone?
simply amazing
All these orchestration books can be rather hefty, but if you're after a smaller volume that you can easily carry around as a reference if you're composing on the road or whatever, I like Gordon Jacob's book "Orchestral Technique". It mainly concentrates on orchestrating keyboard pieces. This may seem like an odd thing but in terms of workflow, a lot of composers will probably be writing a piano sketch first and then orchestrating that afterward, so the approach has value for those that work that way. The book does have some good orchestration insights, despite being somewhat outdated in terms of info on instrumental capabilities. I just like that I can carry this one around while the others get stuck at home due to being too heavy!