PREPARING THE SCORE

Up to this point we have been learning about the instruments in each section of the orchestra so that we have
the knowledge necessary to write music for all of these wonderfully different instruments. Next we need to
learn how a score is organized and how to create parts. After this we will at last be ready to study scoring for
orchestra!

The first page of your score will be the title page. If you are dedicating the piece to anyone, the next page will
be the dedication page. This will be followed by the instrumentation page, and finally the musical score.

INSTRUMENTATION PAGE

The instrumentation page is a list of all the instruments that are used in the piece. This list will include the
instrument name, key of the instrument, and number of players. The number of string players is not indicated
unless an extra-large number (or minimum number) of players is specifically required by the composer.

Instruments are placed in groups according to section (from top to bottom): woodwind section, brass section,
percussion section, keyboards & harp, and lastly the string section.

Here is an example of an instrumentation page.

The instruments of the orchestra are always placed in the score in a particular order. The reason for having a
standard score order is so that conductors and anyone else reading a score can spot the different sections of
the orchestra and the instruments within these sections quickly and easily. Imagine if every
composer/orchestrator placed the instruments in a completely different order on the page. No one reading
the score would know where to look to find a particular instrument.

Woodwinds:

The woodwinds are placed at the top of the score and are ordered from highest to lowest sounding. A
bracket is placed on the left side of the staff system to group the instruments together.

Pairs of instruments may share a staff; for example, two flutes on a staff, two oboes on a staff, etc. When a
pair of instruments share a staff you must always specify how many are playing at a time. For example, if you
only want one flute to play you must write “Solo” above the staff. Typically the principle player will play the
solo parts but if you want flute 2 to take the solo just write “2” above the part.
If you want both flutes to play the same line of music you must write “a 2” above the staff. This means “with
two” in Italian. If you have three flutes and you want all three of them to play the same line of music you
would write “a 3” above the staff.

If the pair of flutes is playing rhythmically identical parts in intervals it is not necessary to place “a 2” above
the staff, since it is obvious that two flutes are needed to play two simultaneous pitches.

When the parts are rhythmically different it is important to use split stems. For example, flute 1 would have
stems pointing up and flute 2 would have stems pointing down. Again, it is not necessary to notate “a 2” in
this situation.

If there are three flutes, it is typical to place flutes 1 & 2 on one staff and flute 3 on a separate staff directly
below. (The same principle applies when there are three oboes, three clarinets, or three bassoons.)

If the piccolo part is to be played by a piccolo player (rather than one of the flute players) it should have its
own dedicated staff line placed above the flute part. If the 2nd or 3rd flute is doubling as a piccolo player,
write the piccolo part on that same staff and notate above the staff whenever they switch instruments. (For
example “Fl. 3 to Picc.” and “Picc to Fl. 3”.) The same applies to oboe players doubling as English horn,
clarinet players doubling as bass clarinet, or bassoon players doubling as contrabassoon. However, if there are
separate players for these instruments they would each have their own staff.

Brass:

After the woodwinds, the next group of instruments placed in the score is the brass section. A bracket is
placed on the left side of the staff system to group the instruments together. (Remember: do not write key
signatures for horns or trumpets!)

The order of the brass instruments in the score is unique in that they are not arranged from highest to lowest.
Although the horns are lower than the trumpets, they are actually placed first in the score. This became the
standard score layout because the horns were frequently used in combination with woodwinds while the
trumpets were frequently used in combination with the timpani (which is placed below the brass).

When there is more than one brass player per staff you must always specify how many are playing at a time
(just as with woodwinds). Notate “Solo” above the staff when you only want one instrument to play the part.
Typically the principle player will play the solo parts but you can also specify with a number (for example, “2”
or “3”) if you want one of the other players to take the solo. Write “a 2” (“a 3” or “a 4”) when you want
multiple instruments to play the same line. Use split stems for rhythmically different parts.

Typically though, when the brass have more than two players per instrument, multiple staves are used. For
example, a standard modern orchestra will have at least 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and 1 tuba. They
would be arranged in the score in the following way. (Again, do not write key signatures for horns or
trumpets!)
As you can see, one main bracket groups the entire brass section, while each instrument family is grouped
with a “brace” (curly bracket). This makes them easier for the conductor to spot. Horns 1 & 2 take the first
staff, horns 3 & 4 take the second staff. Trumpet 1 gets its own staff, while trumpets 2 & 3 share a staff.
Trombones 1 & 2 (tenor trombones) share a staff, while trombone 3 (bass trombone) gets its own staff. The
tuba always gets its own staff.

There is yet another unique aspect of the brass section score layout that needs mentioning. Typically an
instrument labeled “1” will have higher pitches assigned to it than the same instrument labeled “2”. This is
not so in the case of the horns. Horns 1 and 3 are assigned the higher pitches, while horns 2 and 4 are
assigned the lower pitches. This division stems from an earlier time in the history of the orchestra when only
two horns were used. Each horn had a different crook; thus a high player and a low player. When another
pair of horns was added to the orchestra, the first pair of horns kept their place as high and low horns and the
new pair of horns were divided in the same way; one high and one low.

Here is an example of how a four-note chord would be assigned to the horns. Horn 1 is assigned the highest
pitch. Horn 3 is assigned the second highest pitch. Horn 2 is assigned the second lowest pitch. Horn 4 is
assigned the lowest pitch. Just remember: “1, 3, 2, 4”.

Percussion:

After the brass, the next group of instruments placed in the score is the percussion section. A bracket is
placed on the left side of the staff system to group the instruments together. One frustrating thing about
writing for percussion instruments is that there is no standard order (except that timpani are always placed
first). One common way of ordering the percussion instruments is the following.

As you can see, after the timpani come two groups: indefinite pitched percussion and definite pitched
percussion. The instruments within each of these groups are ordered from highest to lowest sounding and
according to their material or family. The tubular bells, although struck with a type of mallet, are not
considered part of the family of mallet instruments.

If you are using notation software to create your score, be aware that the order of the percussion instruments
may differ slightly between programs. You can always change the software’s default settings and reorder the
instruments however you like. Remember, there is no set standard except that timpani are placed first.

Keyboard Instruments and Harp:

Beneath the percussion section are placed the keyboard instruments and harp. Although there is no standard
score order for these instruments, one method is to place the keyboard instruments first (from highest to
lowest) and then the harp. Although it is not a bowed string instrument, the harp is a member of the string
family and should therefore be placed next to the string section which comes next in the score. Each
instrument gets its own brace. Measure lines are not drawn continuously through each staff, with the
exception of the the very left measure line at the beginning of each staff system.

Strings:

The string section is placed last in the score. Again, the instruments are placed in order from highest to
lowest. A bracket is placed on the left side of the staff system to group the instruments together.
If divisi is used to divide any instrument into more than two parts you should use two staves. Here is an
example of Violin I and Violin II divided into two groups. Braces are used to indicate each group.

On the following page is an example score set up so you can see how all the sections look together.

Remember, the left bar line is the only bar line drawn through all of the instruments’ staves. All other bar
lines start and stop with each section and do not continue through to the next section. This makes the score
much easier to read and allows the conductor to quickly and easily spot each section.

Notice the space left between the woodwinds and brass, between the brass and percussion, between the
percussion and harp, and between the harp and strings. This also helps to make the score much easier to read.
Your music notation software might be set up to automatically add this extra space. If not, you can manually
add space between the sections while setting up your score layout.

It is important to note that only the first page of a score lists the instruments’ full name on each staff. On all
subsequent pages instrument abbreviations are used to identify each staff. (For a list of instrument
abbreviations, please see the appendix.)
REDUCED SCORE

If every page of the score contained all of the instruments in the orchestra there would be many empty lines
in the score because not all of the instruments of the orchestra play at the same time and for the entire length
of the piece. By getting rid of all the empty staves of instruments that aren’t playing, the score will contain
fewer pages and be easier to read. This is called a “reduced score”. A reduced score has all of the notes and
information of the full score but in a simpler visual form.

In the following example a different set of instruments is playing in each staff system. All instruments that are
not playing have been removed. It is important to leave extra space in between each staff system and to place
a pair of slash marks on the left side in between each staff system. The slash marks are basically system
dividers which separate the staff systems and make it easier for the conductor to read the score.

Note: When writing a reduced score, the first page of the score should contain all of the instruments needed
for the piece (even if they don’t play on the first page).

DYNAMICS & ARTICULATIONS

It is vital that you always include dynamics, articulations, and other performance instructions in both your
scores and parts. Just writing out the notes is not enough. Dynamics and articulations are a huge part of what
gives life to the notes on the page. Don’t leave these items for the conductor or performer to decide. All this
will do is cause frustration for everyone and waste precious time in rehearsals. It doesn’t matter how good
your music is, if it doesn’t include dynamics and articulations it will most likely not get played.
Dynamics are typically placed below the staff.

Dynamics may be placed both above and below the staff in situations such as pairs of instruments sharing a
staff or divisi strings.

MEASURE NUMBERS

Measure numbers are absolutely necessary and make it possible for a conductor to ask the orchestra members
to begin at specific locations. Measure numbers should be placed at the beginning of each line of music above
the very top staff.

Some composers/orchestrators prefer to place them every 5 or 10 measures, which is also an acceptable
practice.
TEMPOS

Since tempo applies to all instruments at the same time, all tempo markings are placed above the very top
staff in the score. They may also be placed above the string section for ease of reading by the conductor.
These tempo markings include the initial tempo, sudden tempo changes and any variations to the tempo such
as ritardando and accelerando.

REHEARSAL MARKS

When an orchestra is rehearsing a large piece it is helpful to include rehearsal marks. Rehearsal marks are
letters (or numbers) placed above the top staff in the score at key locations throughout the piece so that a
conductor can ask everyone to begin playing from a specific location. (They are sometimes placed above the
top staff of the string section as well.)

The composer chooses at which points in the music to place the rehearsal marks. Common places include:
the beginning of a new section, at a key change or tempo change, important moments in the piece, or even at
technically difficult spots.

Typically the letter (or number) is placed inside a box so it is easier to spot on the page. “Rehearsal mark” is
the general term. When numbers are used they are called “rehearsal numbers”. When letters are used they are
called “rehearsal letters”.