Essential Dictionary of Orchestration: The Most Practical and Comprehensive Resource for Composers, Arrangers and Orchestrators (Essential Dictionary Series)

I'd give it ten stars! Anyone interested in writing, arranging, composing, orchestrating, or just a curious musician should own a copy of this book. It covers over 150 instruments giving the general/practical range as written and transposed, plus it gives the tonal/dynamic qualities of each register and where they might be used (e.g.each string on stringed instruments, chalumeau/throat/clarino on clarinet). It covers general information about each instrument (construction, special attachments, general considerations). It covers technical considerations with specific characteristics for each instrument to help you avoid writing something a player would consider stupid (e.g. low B-Bb slide positions on trombone, low C-Db trill on flute). It also has scoring hints for each and within their families. It covers all sorts of articulations/mutes/effects etc, what they sound like, where to use them and how to write them (e.g. velvotone mute/'doit' articulation for trumpet, flutter tonguing on flute, string technics). Also, there is information on harmonics for stringed instruments and pedal tones for trombones, french horns et al. It has an amazing section on percussion instruments. Composers have always looked like idiots to a percussionist because they hadn't the slightest idea how to write for them. You will know how if you use the info in this book (and be admired by the 'battery'). In short, if this book sold for $200, it would be worth it. At $100 it would be a bargain. BUT at 6 bucks, why haven't you bought it already?? p.s. while a bit confusing a first to find an instrument, however, with about five minutes of use you will understand the reasons for the arrangement of material in the book by families (you would not want a coronet at the front and trumpet at the back of a book). The table of contents explains it. Plus there is an alphabetical listing of instruments with page #'s at the back of the book.

This is an excellent little book (and I do mean LITTLE... the book has a wealth of information, but it's tiny, like pocket-sized!) to reference when creating film scores or other orchestrations. The instruments are grouped together for ease of navigation (e.g., percussion, stringed instruments, horns, reeds, etc.). The book details the ACTUAL range and the SOUNDED range of each instrument, and it has some really uncommon/bizarre instruments listed! It's really nice that the sounded range is included, as instruments vary in timbre and thus play in a different register, so the same note on the same staff can sound different. I use this book frequently when I'm writing various orchestrated sections of film scores. Use this as a reference book only. It doesn't go much further than that. Quite worth the money!

This pocket dictionary manages to pack more useful information than some orchestration tomes out there. It covers not only the basics like range and articulations for every possible instrument out there, but it adds idiosyncraties to watch for. I use it to validate scores before sharing with a performer for feedback (I take a composition class). Knowing what register is resonant, and which is not fast (clarinet, bassoon), where the breaks are between registers and what I can and should not do when music runs through those changes -- this information is invaluable -- and much faster to retrieve than googling site after site hoping someone will have a 45 minute video that addresses what makes musicians mad at composers! Small enough to fit in the external pocket of my shaped violin case. It is a treasure!

I was somewhat skeptical when I purchased the hard copy. One review said it was small--they might have underestimated: this book is tiny. However, it fits wonderfully in my purse as it is scarcely larger than my wallet. HOWEVER: this tiny book is packed with very useful AND very accurate information. I purchased it because sometimes I compose or arrange for instruments I don't normally do on a regular basis, and I am sometimes unsure. For example, the slide positions on the trombone--just where do those partials begin, and where does the tenor and bass trombone differ. The harp--I have written extensively for this instrument, but it is always good to keep up with current or alternate practices that I might not have learned. Strings: this book covers the gamut of techniques. IF you are a thoughtful music professor, I recommend you require this book for your class rather than one of those $100+ books, and fill in the broad scope with your lectures. IF you are a student, go along with what your professor requires, but carry this tiny book with you at all times. :-) Nessa

A good book for quick checks and info on a lot of instruments, ranges, and techniques. It's important to note that this isn't a book on how to orchestrate music like some of the previous reviewers expected. The book itself is organized well, but it's not an all-answers book on every instrument. It does, however provide good info on all instruments like their range (possible and practical), info on the instrument itself and variations if applicable, dynamic contours, and their sounding range written in concert pitch. As a Horn player and composer/arranger/orchestrator, it's a good tool for checking information on instruments and freshening up on instrument-specific techniques.

This is a fantastic book - IF it suits your purposes. If you already have a massive textbook on the subject of orchestation (e.g., the Cecil Forsythe book) this book would potentially be redundant. However, used as what it claims to be - a concise, literally pocket-sized desk reference for the working composer or orchestrator - it is easy-to-use and informative. It contains basic information about every instrument, including ranges, transposition, tone color, tricks and special notation, impossibilities for players, and occasional scoring/arranging tips. For a novice like myself, it's very informative when read cover-to-cover; for an experienced orchestrator, it might still be handy for quick checks. Either way, highly recommended!

Accurate, affordable, and handy size to fit in my workspace. I use it all of the time to check my orchestrations.

This small book is very handy to have around. It's a great quick reference guide if you can't remember an instrument's range or transposition. It's not a textbook of orchestration, but it has a lot of useful information.

IF you are a composer this book will help you out a lot, its small, portable and full of information, it states all the instruments strenghts and weakneses, all their ranges and what timbre the instruments have. Great product!

Was great thank u

管楽器、弦楽器、打楽器の音域をまだ覚えていない程度のレベルなので、この本を使ってオーケストレーションの勉強を続けたいです。

It contains useful and precise information. Good amount of knowledge in a pocket size version

As an eBook, the index of instruments on the last page ought to have hyperlinks to the corresponding pages. Navigation is a bit clunky.