Dear Composer

Dear Composer,

• Give your bass instruments something to do. Mozart did not have modern percussion for rythmn. Consquently he had to put the “fire” in his music in supporting passages and rhyhmns. Do this and it will amaze you. And your bass players will thank you.

• For orchestra, do no score a unison part for Tuba and Tympani. Yes, that creates a powerful sound that can be used for punch. But if you do it the whole way though, it is a disservice to both instruments.

• Do not write excessive upbeats for your horns. Leave upbeats for percussion if they must be constant. Write counter melodies instead. You’ll get better music from the players.

• It is easier on the ear for the lower end to be lower than the higher end higher. Give your flutes and clarinets a break now and then. Give your tubas and trombones a pedal tone now and then. The sound will be darker and more in tune.

• Learn to use “one on a part” and “a2” appropriately. Giving 12 clarinets, 6 flutes, and 2 oboes a unison part marked piano never will be. And it is an impediment to the production of the music.

  The same goes for section and balance. Two oboes with a mezzo forte soli will be buried by accompanying clarinets, flutes, and low reeds even if they are only at piano.

• Learn each instrument and what it’s voicing is. Get a good recording that a player of that insturment would reccommend as an example of good writing. Learn the palette you paint with. To whit:

  • An alto clarinet is not an alto sax.
  • Saxapones are not french horns.
  • String basses are not tubas.
  • Euphoniums are not trombones.
  • Trumpets are not cornets.
  • Eb Clarinet is not a piccolo.
  • Contra clarinet is not a Bari sax is not a Contra Bassoon

• Get a set of good scores and recordings of the great voicing composers in your medium. Alfred Reed, Vicent Persichetti etc in band, Tchikovsky, Ravel in orchestra, etc. Look for the passages where the only variety in the theme is a change in voicing. Look at the combinations and also how they are paired back to back to dovetail. Listen to why. You won’t get better in voicing without study of voicing and trusting your own ears.

• Learn to score the intended rhythmn clearly on the page. It’s amazing how a simple change in barring or rests can make a passage much clearer.

• If you must write a double sharp or double flat, do so in the score so that the chord is clear. In the part, write the easier-to-read enharmonic equivalent.

• Yes, sections like flute, clarinet, and trumpet are considered the “violins” of the ensemble. Give solos elsewhere now and then. And remember to create second part solos when appropriate. Give your payers something to do.

• It also helps to mark the dynamic of customary lead instruments clearly when a solo is elswhere. In many groups they will need to be reminded to be a supporting player.

• Do not call for 16 percussion parts unless truly necessary. Many groups do not have the luxury of more than 4 or 5 percussion players. Consider that some groups may have only 1 or 2. Organize your percussion parts so that they are playable without excess instrument swappage between players. Keep the most important parts in parts 1 and 2 so that short-handed groups won’t have to create a custom part.

• For orchestra - do not call an instrument for merely a handful of notes.

• For orchestra - Percussion can accompany and enhance soft and tender passages as well. Dont have them sitting only for the boom at the end.