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Product Description
An accessible and complete introduction to writing and scoring music for each instrument of the orchestra. Clear explanations, vivid descriptions of various instruments, expert advice, and numerous musical examples to maximize the student's understanding of concepts being presented. A valuable resource and reference for students in their future professional endeavors, this text maximizes its usefulness beyond the classroom.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book invaluable during my music degree, especially as I majored in orchestration and arranging. The writing is clear, the examples of techniques given are extremely useful, and on the whole I found this text much more approachable than many of the standard works on this subject.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Blatter is absolutely first-rate. It is the essential composer's reference book.
It includes practical information about all the instruments of the orchestra, all the voices (both trained and choir), and a selection of less familiar instruments.
The book is organised into choirs (strings, brass, wind etc). The data include varieties of instruments available; their playable ranges (professional, good player and student); how to notate for them; idiomatic usage; trills available; transpositions; weaknesses and strengths; agility or the lack of it; special techniques (bowing for strings, breathing for wind, etc); and short musical examples of typical writing for the instrument (very useful - unlike some other books). Modern innovations are added at the end of each section, with guidance on how many players are likely to be able to do them!
There are also sections on orchestrating for ensembles which are perhaps more of a 'read once' than a 'consult every day', but which give a good outline of what should be in the composer's mind. There's a useful index of notating marks, and appendices which include fingering charts, harmonic series - even the International Phonetic Alphabet.
You may need some additional information when writing for specialist instruments such as harp, recorder, guitar or organ (although Blatter covers them in outline), and irrespective of instrument, nothing beats a conversation with a good player.
But for general every day use, Blatter is absolutely essential. If you are looking for just one reference book, this is it. I use it all the time - while Walter Piston, Rimsky-Korsakov and the rest gather dust.
Four hundred pages of pure gold. Not cheap - but worth every penny.
It includes practical information about all the instruments of the orchestra, all the voices (both trained and choir), and a selection of less familiar instruments.
The book is organised into choirs (strings, brass, wind etc). The data include varieties of instruments available; their playable ranges (professional, good player and student); how to notate for them; idiomatic usage; trills available; transpositions; weaknesses and strengths; agility or the lack of it; special techniques (bowing for strings, breathing for wind, etc); and short musical examples of typical writing for the instrument (very useful - unlike some other books). Modern innovations are added at the end of each section, with guidance on how many players are likely to be able to do them!
There are also sections on orchestrating for ensembles which are perhaps more of a 'read once' than a 'consult every day', but which give a good outline of what should be in the composer's mind. There's a useful index of notating marks, and appendices which include fingering charts, harmonic series - even the International Phonetic Alphabet.
You may need some additional information when writing for specialist instruments such as harp, recorder, guitar or organ (although Blatter covers them in outline), and irrespective of instrument, nothing beats a conversation with a good player.
But for general every day use, Blatter is absolutely essential. If you are looking for just one reference book, this is it. I use it all the time - while Walter Piston, Rimsky-Korsakov and the rest gather dust.
Four hundred pages of pure gold. Not cheap - but worth every penny.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
my freshman year of college at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, my composition teacher required me to buy this text. i've definitely not regretted it. i'm on my second copy of it, and any time i need to learn about something the book has served me just fine, and it works beautifully as a reference matieral as well. it covers from the most basic aspects of composition to the complexities of writing new music and writing for extended techniques. i can't live without this book - i use it every time i write. <and i do a LOT of composing.>
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good for a read through.
As with many reviews here this is a great book for collage/uni level of studies. If you're learning the craft then its a great book and can be read from cover to cover. Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2005 by Mr. C. H. Jones
A must for composers
This book is a valuable resource for anybody looking to improve their orchestration technique. It is clear and concise but to get the most out of the book I would recommend reading... Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2004 by "mail17011"
A must-have for all writers
It may not be the chepest text out there, but this is 500 pages full of invaluable information, illustrations and examples, clearly presented... Read more
Published on 9 April 2001
THE Bible of orchestration books
This is absolutely the cat's meow in orchestration books: more thorough, more subtle, more current than anything else on the market. Read more
Published on 23 April 1998
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