Chapter xX SCORING OF CHORDS FOR EACH SECTION AND FOR ORCHESTRa4 Woopwinp Cxorps There are four ways in which instruments of different kinds may be combined in a chord. These are demonstrated here, using wood. winds in pairs. (All notes shown are actual sounds.) Ex. 1 Juxtaposition ? Interlocking * Enclosure Overlapping cus, Juxtaposition is used very frequently. Pairs of instruments are simply put side by side, usually in the normal order of register. Interlocking has the slight advantage of mixing the colors in such a way that a more homogeneous blend results, However, there are cases in which interlocking does not work well. For instance, in the following chord the second flute would be relatively weak: Ex. 2 Sata £ oe And a similar lack of balance would result if interlocking forced the oboe, for example, to play in an abnormally high register where it would be too thin, Enclosure is likely to be less successful than the first two methods in arranging woodwinds, at least when one pair encioses another : “In Rimsky-Korsakofl’s Principles of Orchestration the wanslator has used the term “ove” laying’ ather than “juxtaposition” and “crossing” “i "Certain oh and “crossing” rather than “interlocking.” | orchestration books refer to interlocking as “dovetailing.” ‘The terms chosen here are th which seem to offer the least chance for ambiguity or eeafusion 154 Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHORDS 155 The difficulty is that when two instruments of a kind are spread an octave or more apart, they are likely to be playing in different registers and therefore to differ considerably from each other in strength and color; consequently, balance and blend may suffer. Consider the difference in sound between the first and second flutes in this chord, for example: Ex. 3 (The second flute is obviously too weak here.) On the other hand, if a pair is enclosed by two different instruments, the effect may be perfectly good: Ex. + ‘The overlapping method, though much in vogue during the classical period, is seen less often today. Its weakness is the fact that the outer notes (especially the bottom one) are not as strong as the others. Whereas overlapping involves only a partial duplication of notes, there is another more complete and balanced form of duplication that is much used, as in arrangements such as these: Ex. 5 ob. 2Floter ce, SOD, iar. how does the arranger decide ‘The obvious question at this point is on the best method to use? There is no general answer that can be given to that question; range, voice-leading, instruments involved, the coloring desired, and other factors will all enter into the choice. Juxta- Position and interlocking are chosen much more frequently than the other methods, however. And of course in actual practice two or more methods are often used in the same chord—when the chord consists of more than four notes. In any case, the difference in sound between Scanned with CamScanner156 SCORING OF CHORDS 1 a chord that uses juxtaposition, let us say, and one that uses interlocking is not really a very startling one. ‘The important thing is to plan for proper balance and blend, whichever system is chosen. It should be understood that this material on voicing is illustrated by isolated chords only for the sake of convenience and that it applies to the part-writing of harmonic successions as well. Except in small orchestras which include only one of each wood. wind, chords are rarely arranged with a different color on each note: Ex. 6 Because of the several different timbres involved in such an arrange- ment, a good blend is difficult to achieve. If the chord were a widely spaced one in a higher register, the resulting sound would be some- what better: Ex. 7 —_s o Ber, However, this sort of spacing is almost never used today in writing for wind instruments in the orchestra, Although at one time wood- wind chords were often arranged with gaps between the upper chord members, the current practice (which is certainly preferable) is to write the upper woodwinds in close spacing. Of course the occasional gaps that occur as a result of special voice-leading or doubling are not objec- tionable (Example 8 [a] and [b]) nor is the octave gap that is caused by a doubling of the top voice an octave higher (8[c]): Ex. 8 @ 6) © fie fe tad Clar lar, Ob, vow tb Before going on to the examples of chords scored for woodwinds; the reader would do well to review the hints on spacing and doubling 4 Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHORDS 157 given at the end of Chapter II. One small point might be added here, even though it does not figure in the scoring of isolated chords: when a progression involves both stationary and moving voices, it is better to give the stationary voices to one color, the moving voices to another: Ex. 9 (a) (b) 108, ob, not Char, lar. In the examples that follow, some of the chords are scored for wood- winds in pairs plus two horns (the latter included because they are so often combined with woodwinds). Another section of the illus- trations makes use of a large woodwind section: piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, and contra bassoon. And there are a few examples for woodwinds in threes, a less frequently used combination. With both the large woodwind section and woodwinds in threes, juxtaposition works far better than any of the other systems. Interlocking is especially un- successful in the case of woodwinds in threes because it pushes instru- ments of a kind too far apart: Ex. 10 Flere OF, Complete duplication, with three of each woodwind, allows for a uniformly mixed color in three-note chords: Ex. I wind section, the piccolo may double the ke the top chord tone immediately above the flutes, The English horn may be placed just below the oboes to form a three-note chord in close spacing (the most usual arrangement) or it may play lower down, with other instruments between it and the In scoring for a large wood flute an octave higher or may tal Scanned with CamScanner158 SCORING OF CHoRps oboes. The bass clarinet, on the other hand, is much less often placed immediately below the clarinets to form a three-note chord; it is fap more apt to take the bass, since it is most effective in its lower ang middle registers. It is, in fact, better than the bassoon for the bass of a woodwind chord; it has enough body to give a solid foundation to the chord, whereas two bassoons would often be required to achieve the equivalent sense of solidity. The role of the contra bassoon as the rock bottom of the chord is an obvious one. It normally doubles the bass an octave lower. Most of the chords in the following examples are scored in such q way as to be fairly brilliant in coloring, but in two of them, (g) and (m), the instruments have been placed relatively low in their respec. tive registers to produce a darker coloring. The clarinets in their bottom octave are particularly good at adding a sombre tinge. Ob. viously, there is no point in including the piccolo in such cases, and even the flutes have been omitted in (m). In fact, any instrument may be omitted at any time for the sake of color or volume—or possibly to keep it fresh for an entrance that is to follow. Ex. 12 (For woodwinds in pairs and two horns) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) cian BP g)r. © () (n) @ fst fnverston 2nd inversion of V7 2 2FL 4nd resolution. FLLS 1] Tifa. a Hens] clas] Tins, a_ Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHORDS 159 (For large woodwind section) o (k) a Flee. ‘a (Pee, 8° ad lib) FI. Caan, = “Leen.clar. cise, cane (For woodwinds in threes) (n) (0) (p) (q) In general, the same dynamic marking can be given to all the instru- ments in each one of the arrangements just shown. One possible exception concerns the horns. Since they are capable of a more robust forte than any of the woodwinds, it would be safer to mark them mf when the woodwinds are marked f, and f when the woodwinds are marked ff. Brass CHorps Juxtaposition, interlocking, and enclosure are all used frequently in scoring chords for brass. Overlapping as a method is rarely seen, though a low trumpet note is sometimes overlapped by the top trom- bone or by a horn for the sake of better balance. If our brass section consists of four horns, two trumpets, three trom- bones, and tuba, we have ten instruments. As long as the dynamic marking is softer than mf, these instruments can actually play ten notes. But in a mezzo-forte or louder, the horns will normally be used two to a note, and the section can then cover only eight notes at the most. When chords of more than eight notes are to be scored forte or louder’ for the brass section we have just described, the two-horns- Scanned with CamScanner160 SCORING OF CHORDS to-a-note principle must obviously be abandoned; the horns are given four different pitches and (when possible) marked one degree louder than the rest of the brass. This type of arrangement is shown jn Example 13 (i). Of course if the chord to be scored has fewer than eight notes, instruments may simply be omitted, or certain ones may be doubled on a pitch so as to bring out a particular voice if that jg appropriate. Some of the following examples have been scored for two trumpets, some for three, since brass sections vary in that respect. Three would seem to be the more satisfactory number, because it allows for a com. plete three-note harmony in the trumpet color. As before, the chords have merely been sketched on two staves at concert pitch. It should perhaps be stressed that the examples here and elsewhere in this chapter make no pretense of exhausting all the possibilities; they simply show some of the more usual arrangements, CHORDS FOR BRASS Ex. 13 (With two trumpets) (a) (b) () (d) (e) f Tube Tatas Tuba Tob Taha () (s) (h) (i) fst Inversion aS Tuba 5 (With three trumpets) Gi) (k) Q) (m) V7 and resolotlon Tabs Tuba & Toh ‘Tike —d Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHORDS 161 () (0) () @ Va and resolutlon 2nd Inversion Ast Inversion rns) of STuba Tuba Srrinc Corps Having wended his way through the maze of possibilities in scoring woodwind and brass chords, the reader may be relieved to be told that the problem of scoring chords for strings is a bit less involved. In the first place, the difference in color between one string group and another is not nearly so decided as the difference in color between, say, a flute and an oboe. Consequently the strings present fewer problems of blend. And they do not vary in strength from register to register as much as the woodwinds do. This means that balance is more easily calculated. On the other hand, strings involve two possibilities that wind in- struments do not: (1) double, triple, and quadruple stops; (2) the use of an entire section that can be divided into any number of parts. As pointed out earlier, double stops may be used even in sustained chords, whereas triple and quadruple stops are valuable principally for short, sharply punctuated chords. In this latter type of chord, the main objectives are usually maximum resonance, fullness, and volume, and it is unnecessary to worry much about exact balance or correct voice-leading because the chord is not heard long enough for these features to be very apparent to the ear. The open strings so often involved in chords of this sort not only give added resonance but simplify the technical problem of the player. As for divisi writing, remember that the fewer the players the riskier itis to divide a section. ‘This is particularly true of division into more than two parts. Ideally, of course, we are scoring for an orchestra of the proportions of the Boston Symphony, in which case a divisi a 4 Passage for the violas is quite practical. But the sad reality of the matter is that we are much more likely to be working with a college orchestra that is able to| muster only thtee viola players, fugitives from the violin section, who have had only a limited amount of experience Scanned with CamScanner162 SCORING OF CHoRps in playing the viola. Under such circumstances, division into four of more parts is obviously an impossibility; and division into three Parts, though possible, is hardly advisable if the parts involve any technical difficulties, for each player is left alone and unsupported on a part, Furthermore, when such small string groups are divided, the result is a solo quality rather than a group quality on each voice. (It takes at least three violins or violas on a part to give the effect of a group of strings.) While the other string groups tend to be somewhat better staffed than the viola section, they can still suffer from overdivision if the orchestra is not full-sized or if the players are inexperienced, Juxtaposition (illustrated in the first three of the chords in Example 14) is by far the most usual method used in arranging strings. On rare occasions, interlocking is employed to achieve a more complete blend (d). Overlapping of one string group with another (also rare) produces a richer, more “lush” quality (). Enclosure seldom figures in string scoring. As mentioned earlier, open harmony is more success- ful in strings than in woodwinds or brass. Examples () through (}), which are shown in actual score form, are string chords taken from orchestral literature. Each illustrates a particular effect or device, Notice the interlocking of the notes in the triple stops in (£), a fre- quent arrangement in multiple-stop chords. in (g) and (h). Ex. 14 Interlocking also figures (Condensed at actual pitch) (a) (b) () (d) (e) DB. Bel D.B. (Doublestops) dive Le Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHoRDs (In score form) (£) Beethoven, Seventh Symphon (g) Hindemith, Mathis der EE (cond te tenet) (h) Strauss, Don Juan (eight bars after G) (4) Barték, Concerto for Orchestra (fifth bar of Finale) (j) Wagner, Lohengrin, Prelude to Act I (beginning) @ (gs) (hy @ 6) eva wu solo vLI Le tity les. a, The “eS ae + ¥ ve be. Ff f Example 14 (g) reproduced by permission of Schott & Co., Ltd., London; Example 14 (i) copyright, 1946, by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. By permission of the copyright owner, Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. —{\ Cionos or OncHEsea In considering the scoring of chords for orchestra, we must remem- ber, first of allythat there is a vast difference in the weight of the three sections (woodwind, brass, and strings). That is, if each section is marked ff, the brass will be much louder than the woodwinds or iS \_ strings This is still true in a forte, although somewhat less so at softer dynamic levels, The first thing to do, then, is to arrange the brass section so that it will sound well in itself. There is never any question of attempting to fill in a gap in the brass harmony with a note in the Woodwinds or strings; that will not work. The brass must be bal- anced as a unit. F F If we carry this process over into the woodwinds and strings and arrange the chord in such a way that each section would sound com- Scanned with CamScanner164 SCORING OF CHORDS plete and balanced if played by itself, the composite sound of the three sections playing at the same time is bound to be good. This is, in fact, 2 fool-proof method and one that is often used. It is demonstrated in Example 15 (a), (e), and others that follow here. But it is not the only way, nor is it necessarily the most effective, because it sometimes involves putting the upper woodwinds in the same register as the trumpets, in which case the woodwinds are all but drowned out and actually add little. If the flutes and clarinets, especially, are placed well above the trumpets, they are better able to make themselves heard, first because they are not covered by the trumpets in the same octave, and second because they are much more powerful and brilliant in the higher register. (We are assuming here that a loud, brilliant effect is wanted.) With this sort of arrangement, there is often a gap in the middle of the woodwind chord, but that is not objectionable. Al- though the woodwind section would not sound entirely satisfactory if played by itself, it will be effective when combined with the brass and strings. The same general principle applies to the role of the strings in a chord for orchestra. That is, they may either play the complete chord or merely reinforce certain notes of it. But, unlike the woodwind section, they are frequently arranged in open spacing; sometimes, in fact, they are spread out even more widely, with gaps of an octave or more between certain notes. At other times they are simply ar ranged in straightforward four-part fashion, using close spacing. Octave doublings may be added or not, depending on whether a full, rich effect is wanted. Some of the more likely possibilities can be seen in the examples that follow, all of which are condensed at actual pitch. Chords (a), (b), (c), and (d) in Example 15 use woodwinds in pairs, (c) and (£) a large woodwind section. In (d) a dark coloring has been aimed at. In (c) and (£) are shown two different scorings of the same chord, the first very brilliant, the second about “medium” color. Chords taken from well-known scores are given in (g) to (n)- ‘The Beethoven chord is one of the short, “hammered-out” kind s0 characteristic of his music. —_ Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHORDS 165 CHORDS FOR ORCHESTRA Ex. 15 (Condensed at actual pitch) (a) (b) (<) (4) (e) (é) r tn Bee. ¥ 3 Bs canyon Z ‘an 28 ng od Baas ices 35 Bass, a : ‘lleonainy Bon. wpe Oe. ee BB. De. , DL v gon, if op ‘The dynamic marking below each chord applies to all the instruments. y S P Scanned with CamScanner166 SCORING OF CHORDS (g) Beethoven, Fifth Symphony (bar 316) (1) Franck, Symphony in D minor (last chord) (i) Strauss, Till Eulenspiegel (five bars before figure 37) (j) Wagner, Gétterdimmerung (Trauermusik, bar 16) (k) Wagner, Tristan and Isolda (last chord) (s) (h) (i) G) (k) tun, t, 8 Boke ob Woot. winds ‘ripant “ vi YEE airy Bp Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHORDS 167 (1) Prokofieff, Fifth Symphony (last chord in first movt.) (m) Strauss, Sinfonia Domestica (last chord) ay Plee. ebclar. g. Wood winds Bons.,C.Bsn, Per. cussion [Bete D, R Wood. winds: ‘Byes Clhe| or Brass Per. 2 Harps Strings ID on, (Pour ad ibltum saxophone arts are not showa here’) Scanned with CamScanner168 SCORING OF CHORDS (n) Hindemith, Mathis der Mater (last chord) Fg by Ba Pice ola Brass Per- Stringsé Example 15 (m) copyright, 1904, by Ed Bote and G. Bock, Berlin. By permission of Associated Music Publishers; Example 15 (n) reproduced by permission of Schott & Co., Ltdy London. It should not be inferred from the comments and examples given here that in a chord for orchestra all the sections must have the same dynamic marking. There is no law, for instance, against marking the strings and woodwinds f, the brass f or mp or even pp, if that will produce the particular sound that is wanted. (It is important, by the way, to remember that the brass—particularly the trombones and horns—can provide an extremely quiet but rich background for the other instruments if need be.) Similarly, it would be perfectly possible to mark the strings louder than the woodwinds or vice versa, in order to bring outa certain timbre or register. However, there would seldom be any point in marking the brass much louder than the strings oF 2 The best examples of this approach to dynamic markings can be found in the scores of Mabler. Scanned with CamScannerSCORING OF CHORDS 169 woodwinds, since the latter tend to be overshadowed by the brass even when the dynamic markings are equal, It should perhaps be men- tioned that certain scores (particularly pre-twentieth-century scores) use “block” dynamics—all the instruments invariably marked the same in a tutti; but in such cases the conductor is obviously expected to adjust the dynamic proportions wherever that becomes necessary. Dissonances are more prominent and acute when given to instru- ments of the same kind, milder when allotted to different instruments. For instance, accentuates the dissonance much more ha a It would be impractical to attempt to catalog all the doublings pos- sible between woodwinds, brass, and strings. Some of the possibilities in woodwind and string doubling are discussed in Chapter XII, and a few of the combinations involving woodwinds and brass might be mentioned here. In general, the doubling of woodwinds in unison with brass makes the brass tone somewhat less transparent and brilliant in timbre; clarinets and flutes “soften the edges” of the trumpet tone, while oboes tend to accentuate the nasal quality of it. Clarinets in their chalumean register add a rich, dark touch to the brass. Bassoons doubled in unison with horns or trombones make those instruments a little grayer and more opaque in quality; the bassoon color is largely absorbed by the brass color. Leaving the matter of actual doublings, it might be helpful to pass ona small point which Rimsky-Korsakoff and others have mentioned: there is a certain resemblance between the tone of the oboe (or English horn) and that of stopped horn or muted trumpet; consequently, these instruments can be combined in a chord (on different notes) with surprisingly good results. Even the unmuted trumpet tone is close enough to the oboe tone for the two instruments to give a fairly unified sound when placed side by side. One hears chiefly the trumpet quality; in fact, such combinations may even give the illusion of being played entirely by trumpets. A similar affinity of tone quality exists (rather surprisingly) between the low notes of the flute and soft trumpet tones in that register. 2 Tpts. Scanned with CamScanner170 SCORING OF CHORDS SUGGESTED ASSIGNMENTS Score the following chords as directed. The chords are to have the root in the bass unless an inversion is indicated. Either they may be written with a key signature (assuming that each is the tonic chord) or the key signature may be omitted and accidentals inserted where necessary, Include dynamics in every case. (Supply your own where none are given.) Use the principles discussed in the text to produce the type of coloring called for. You will achieve better results and save time in the long run if you sketch the layout of each chord at actual pitch before writing out the scored version. A. For two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns: (1) F major, F in the soprano, brilliant. (2) C major, G in the soprano, medium color. 3) Eb major, 1st inversion, Eb in the soprano, brilliant. B. For piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, ‘two bassoons, and contra bassoon: (1) E major, Gf in the soprano, very brilliant. (2) B major, B in the soprano, medium color. (3) D minor, A in the soprano, dark (omit piccolo). C. For four horns, two or rhree trumpets (Bb or C), three trombones, and (1) Db major, F in the soprano, brilliant, forte. (2) F minor, C in the soprano, medium color, mezz0-pi (3) EF major, F in the soprano, rather dark, pianissimo. D. For string orchestra: The chord of G major, G in the soprano, arranged in four different ways to illustrate: (1) close spacing; (2) open spacing; (3) octave doublings (use either divisi writing or double stops or both here); (4) triple and quadruple stops (this chord is to be the short, vigorous type). E. For orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bas- soons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, and strings: (1) B minor, Ff in the soprano, brilliant, fortissimo. (2) F major, A in the soprano, medium color, pianissimo. F. For orchestra consisting of piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contra bassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba and strings: (1) Ab major, 2nd inversion, Ab in the soprano, very brilliant, fortissimo. (2) C minor, G in the soprano, medium color, piano. (3) E minor, G in the soprano, very dark, mezzo-forte, Scanned with CamScanner