Hey guys. I've decided to take a step onto my own creativity and write a score for Weeping China Doll. It's a difficult task, yes, but I've decided to do it. Anybody with advice, anything to ad, anything would be appreciated. It's such an epic peice it's such a shame it isn't scored orchestrally.



Preparing for a hard nights composing X)

lets see-i have 10 yrs of experience orchestrating...hmmm

Buy all of these books:

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Diction ... hestration

http://www.amazon.com/Orchestration-Dov ... pd_sim_b_7

http://www.amazon.com/Workbook-Study-Or ... tion+adler

start with those and then begin orchestrating

Also if you can't play a wind instrument- you should learn one before starting because without that experience OR reading hundreds of scores you have no idea what kind of things instruments do and play in the real world

Trumpets don't play long borning notes all day- they ususally do articulated stuff on off beats or cool runs followed by fanfares

French horns pretty much play 4 note chords on off beats teh entire time with sometimes taking the lead... but there's pretty much an entire class you need to take on how to write out those 4 notes to come out well written with perper counterpoint and no parellelism

anyway get to reading

also- a bad way to start is a book with the word TABLATURE on it

The pocketguide to orchestration above is the best book i own and have ever read on the subject but you have to read the other stuff first
enjoy learning about the ranges of the SERPENT and SACBUT (they're instruments) in the Forysth book

TSO was actually the reason I learned Orchestration

I heard Carol Of The Bells
(actually called Christmas Eve 24/something)

and went to my band director and said "i want to orchestrate"

the gists of it were taught to me but a student teacher in the library over 2 lunches and he and the band directors told me to get 2 of those books.

(the student teacher now runs Auburns marching band i think)

As stupid as this sounds- i don't think orchestration has much to do with theory as you think- its really all about knowing what the parts do and knowing the transpositions and ranges of them

if you play sax you're ahead of the game

BECAUSE SAX IS THE HARDEST TO ORCHESTRATE FOR

(well first real symphonies and orchestras DONT HAVE SAXES they have low brass clainrets and french horns who can play damn well and then you don't need 'em- sorry)

I'd suggest downloading Finale Notepad or whatever is free

I've been using Finale since I was 16 or 17