Orchestra instruments and special effects SC Flashcards
How would you create beautiful sunrise tone?
Use a mute on string instrument
How would create a classic whistle tone?
Artificial harmonic - player lightly presses a 4th above chosen note
What is a nice sweet instrument combo for high melody?
Fute and violin
What instrument combo creates a very grand melody?
Trumpets and violin with trumpets octave below
What do the different ranges of a cello sound like?
Low-ominous
Middle-sweet
High-tense and uneasy
What instruments double well together for pizz sounds?
Cello and basoon. (also Bass if need weight)
What can harp be used for?
Magical glissando
connect one section to another
a revelation
What can piano double effectively?
Low notes with Low bass and cello to add bite
Mid register - pizz strings, clarinet or xylophone
What 2 instruments are a good accompaniment for celesta?
Soft flute and harp
How is a percussion roll notated?
With 3 slashes above it
What is a common effect used by wind instruments and what is it usually supporting/paired with?
Staccato
support pizz strings and Trills.
Triangle rolls often present
What is a cool flute effect?
Double or triple tounging to create a staccato flurry
What pairing can can create a comical effect?
Piccolo double with and intstrument several octaves lower such as basoon
What solo wind really creates beautiful melody in mid and upper register?
Oboe
What wind can create a richer and more menacing tone than oboe?
English horn usually played below oboe register
What ranges does the bassoon tone sound like?
Low range sounds buzzy and a struggle.
Mid range sounds poignant melody like funeral a bit.
High sounds sweeter but fragile
What is contra bassoon and how does it sound?
One octave lower range than bassoon but sounds buzzy as fuck
What moods do the clarinet ranges provide?
Low - lusciously dark, at other times quite ominous
Mid - rich, warm, woody sound - used most often
High - thinner and less warm, often employed in comical moments - providing a teasing, bratty sound.
What instrument sounds great as harmony with itself?
Clarinet
What effect/note duration choice sounds comical on the clarinet and bass clarinet?
Very fast scale runs as an apogatura
What wind instrument has a deep rich tone better than low of basoon?
Bass clarinet
What is most used brass instrument?
French horn
What brass is good at fast melodic lines and modified by the use of mutes?
Trumpets
What can create an amazing wall of sound in the brass section?
Trombones playing 3 note harmony with tuba adding the 4th note on bottom.
What brass technique adds an element of drama?
sforzando, loud stab to crescendo
What family have the greatest tonal change form soft to loud?
Brass
Which range in french horn is weakest in and how does it sound?
Low range but also has interesting colour worth exploring, quite fragile and haunting
What is the french horn middle range good for?
lush, dreamlike harmonies,
also the range best suited to sweeping majestic melodies, although a continuation upward to the French horn’s highest range will bring even greater power to your melodies
What creates a very lush melody line combining brass and string only?
4-6 french horns and a cello doubling all in mid register and legato
What emotion do you get out french horn high register?
Almost a musical scream, quite a strained sound, urgent,
What can you double with to add a gutsy macho power to french horn?
double with trombones (trumpets for more airy effect)
What are french horn special effects?
glissando or rip. Metal mute
What do the 3 ranges of the trumpets sound like?
Low - powerful but a bit restrained
Mid - quintessential trumpet sound, beautiful “sing-song” quality of the trumpet in this mid range. You can hear how easy it is for the trumpet to make melodies come alive.
High - trumpet really comes alive. Its top notes can sound almost piercing. Here it will be louder than any other instruments in your orchestration.
What percussion often accompanies loud brass moments like trumpet?
Crash cymbals
What effect are trumpets very good at?
Stacattoo fast repeated
What harmony with brass always sound exciting?
Loud trumpet chords
What mutes are used with trumpets?
Straight mute - common in orchestra, sets the tone to comical and in background
Cup mute - Sounds more musical, used in pop and jazz, more energy
Harmon mute - sounds very jazzy
What brass instruments most often play together?
Trombones
What do trombones sound like in different registers?
Low - ominous but powerful, metallic buzz
Mid - more aren’t, strained like a low french horn, very metal buzzy
What is a good way to voice harmony for trombone?
With some width to create space as can easily get dense
What is trombones most regular roles in orchestra?
Doubling melody or supporting harmony
What special effect can trombone do that is classic comedy?
Slide
What effect and tempo is commonly used for trombone?
Rhythmic fast stacatto
What is bass trombone most commonly used for?
Very loud powerful bottom note as well as support harmony with solo bottom note
What does tuba sound like in different registers?
Low - Very deep, almost elephant trumpet with buzz, quite powerful but not to much as slightly thin
Mid/High - bit more grand, like for the queen, still bit thin
Which brass instrument can take the melody in light comical settings?
Tuba
What is a powerful low register brass combo?
Bass trombone and tuba doubled octave lower
