Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

I'm Miss Mantle and I'm gonna be your teacher for today.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson outcome is, I can identify key considerations when composing for different instruments, and can exploit the strengths of different instruments in my own composition.

Let's have a look at some keywords for today.

Range.

The span of pitches that a particular instrument can play from its lowest to its highest possible note.

Register.

A particular section of an instrument's range.

For example, a specific octave.

Disjunct.

Where notes move by intervals of a third or larger, moving by leap.

Today's lesson on playing to an instrument strengths is in two parts.

The first part is analyzing instrumental writing in a solo piece, and the second part is instrumental writing in your own composition.

So let's get started with part one, analyzing instrumental writing in a solo piece.

Every instrument has things it can do well and things it finds more difficult.

Some of these are basic technical features like how loud it can play or how low its pitch range goes.

Others are more specific, such as certain types of melodies or techniques that suit one instrument better than another.

Knowing these strengths and limitations helps you compose music that is both playable and makes the most of each instrument.

Let's analyze a piece for trumpet and piano to see how the composer has taken these factors into account.

A fundamental consideration is the range of an instrument.

This is the span of pitches that an instrument can play.

Some instruments like the piano have a very large range, while others, such as the glockenspiel have a much smaller one.

Making sure that the notes in your composition are within the range of the instrument is crucial.

The normal range for a trumpet is between these two notes.

That's a concert E and a concert C.

And by concert, I mean that's the note that's sounding.

The trumpet is of course, a transposing instrument, so if you were writing those notes, you'd write them at tone higher.

Although this is the standard trumpet range, players differ.

Beginners often struggle with the highest notes, while professional players can reach notes above the usual upper limit.

The different sections of a range are called registers.

We could roughly divide the trumpet range into low, middle, and high registers.

So here you can see low, middle, and high.

The most comfortable registers to play in are the lower and middle registers.

In this composition, the composer has used these two registers, so this is comfortably playable for most trumpet players.

Understanding these subtler aspects of an instrument, not just its technical range, is key to writing effectively.

This is why many composers write for instruments they play themselves.

They know which notes and registers feel easier or more challenging on that instrument.

Another important consideration for brass players is breathing.

Brass players need to take regular breaths, so it is difficult to play long, continuous melodic lines in which there are no moments for them to take a breath.

Where there are passages of sustained playing, it's also important to follow these with less sustained passages, giving the performer an opportunity to recover.

Have a listen to the whole composition.

How does the composer create opportunities for breathing and rests?

Have a listen now.

The first section has sustained playing on the trumpet, so the composer builds in occasional rests to allow the player to take a breath.

So you can see those highlighted here, some quaver rests.

Following this sustained section, in the second section, the trumpet has longer rests, creating an opportunity to recover, and you can see those highlighted here.

So full bar, crotchet rest, minim rest.

There are some musical effects and features that are more difficult to play on brass instruments than others.

Playing very quietly can be challenging, especially in the high register.

Brass instruments are also less agile than woodwind or strings when it comes to playing fast, complex melodies, particularly those using fast disjunct movement.

This is because pitch changes rely on valves and embouchure control.

Melodies that avoid rapid disjunct movement tend to suit brass instruments better.

Listen to the composition.

How does the composer avoid these limitations?

Have a listen to it now.

In this case, the melodies on the trumpet are a mixture of conjunct and disjunct, but where there are rapid changes between different pitches, the movement is conjunct.

This ensures that the part is comfortably playable on the instrument.

The composer uses a variety of different dynamics on the trumpet, but never asks the performer to play extremely quietly.

This avoids making the music very difficult to play.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

What is the range of an instrument?

Pause and have a think.

You should have said something like the span of pitches that it can play from its lowest to its highest possible note.

And how is a register different from a range?

Have a think.

Hopefully you said something like a register is a section of a range.

For example, the low register for the trumpet is the low section of its range, the middle register is the middle section, and the high register is the higher section of its range.

This composition also shows careful consideration of the piano's capabilities.

The piano is a highly versatile instrument with a wide pitch range, a broad dynamic range, and the ability to play many notes at once.

Listen to this section of the composition.

How does the piano part exploit these features of the piano?

In this piece, the composer uses a wide range from a very low register to a high one, which makes good use of one of the piano's main strengths.

The composer also uses chords in both hands, taking advantage of the piano's ability to play multiple notes.

Importantly, the chords are spaced so they're comfortable to play staying within a typical hand span.

Most pianists can play octaves comfortably.

Here you can see an example of those chord spans.

One limitation of the piano is that it cannot sustain notes as effectively as other instruments because the sound quickly decays.

The composer has considered this by using repeated rhythms that allow the player to keep the chord audible.

You can see those repeated rhythms in the score there.

They also use the sustain pedal, a distinct feature of the piano to create a sustained effect, and you can see those pedal marks there in the score.

In summary, this composition takes advantage of the instrument strengths by choosing suitable ranges and comfortable registers for each instrument, including places for the trumpet player to breathe and recover, writing trumpet melodies that are more easily playable by avoiding fast disjunct movement, making the most of the piano strengths.

For example, its wide range, dynamic flexibility and ability to play chords within a hand span using repeated rhythms and the sustain pedal to create sustained note effects on the piano.

Let's do task A.

Listen to the complete composition.

Write a paragraph explaining how the composer has played to the strengths of both instruments.

Refer to range, register, breathing, melody, chords, and any other relevant features.

Have a listen to the composition and write your paragraph now.

How did you get on?

So in your paragraph, you could have mentioned choosing suitable rangers and comfortable registers for each instrument, including places for the trumpet player to breathe and recover, writing trumpet melodies that are more easily playable by avoiding fast disjunct movement, making the most of the piano's strengths by using wide range dynamic flexibility and the ability to play chords within a hand span, using repeated rhythms and the sustain pedal to create sustained note effects on the piano.

Well done if your paragraph included a lot of those points.

Let's move on to part two of our lesson.

Instrumental writing in your own composition.

The key considerations for all instruments are what is the range of the instrument?

Are there any registers that are more comfortable to play?

Are there any specific musical features that the instrument will struggle to play or is well suited to play?

For example, very high registers are often best suited to advanced players.

Playing very quietly is generally difficult on brass instruments.

Then consider specific strengths and weaknesses of the instrument.

For woodwind and brass, make sure you consider, opportunities for breathing, very important, which registers are the most comfortable to play in, what types of melodic line are easily playable, woodwind instruments are very agile, brass are less agile, specific limitations of instruments, for example, brass instruments struggle to play pianissimo, any specific techniques that are unique to the instrument, for example, mutes for brass or flutter tonguing for woodwind.

Let's do a check for understanding.

What key aspect must composers consider when composing for brass and woodwind instruments that does not apply to percussion or stringed instruments?

Pause and have a think.

I hope you got the right answer.

It's breathing.

For strings, make sure you consider string specific techniques.

For example, pizzicato, so plucking strings, arco, that's bowing and col legno, which is using the wooden part of the bow.

If you are using double-stopping, consider the playable intervals on the instrument.

Double-stopping using fifth or sixth is easier than intervals bigger than an octave or smaller than a third.

The bowing.

In some cases, it's a good idea to indicate where you want performers to use down bows and up bows.

For keyboard instruments, make sure you consider compensating for the quick decay of sound, for example, by using the sustain pedal or repeating chords, exploiting the versatility of the instrument, its dynamic capabilities, large range and abilities to play chords and making chords playable.

So no more than an octave in each hand.

For voice, make sure you consider planning opportunities for breathing, specific vocal techniques, for example, melisma, vocalize, scat or falsetto, writing melodic lines that are easy to sing.

So mostly avoiding large and unusual intervals like seventh or ninth.

Identify two considerations that apply to all instruments.

Pause and have a think.

You could have said the range of the instrument, comfortable registers to play, specific musical features that are hard to play on the instrument or that are well suited to it, instrument specific techniques that can be used to create particular effects.

Hope you've got two of those.

Let's do task B.

We want you to reflect on your composition.

Check that your instruments all play within their range and use mostly comfortable registers.

Identify a few opportunities to more effectively exploit the capabilities of your instrument or to make the music better suited to that instrument.

Develop your composition by making those adaptations.

So pause the video now and go and work on your composition.

How did you get on?

Reflect on the changes you've made to your composition.

Use these questions to help you consider your next steps.

Does each part use a suitable range and register for the instrument?

If you're not sure what this is for the instrument, research it.

Have you managed to exploit the instrument's specific capabilities, for example, techniques that are unique to that instrument such as playing chords?

Is each part easily playable on the instrument?

If you're not sure, ask someone who plays that instrument.

Do you avoid the limitations of the instrument?

For example, asking a trumpet to play very quietly in a high register.

Let's summarize today's lesson.

Considering the strengths and weaknesses of instruments is important when composing.

Making sure that the range suits each instrument and choosing suitable registers is crucial.

We should also consider creating opportunities for woodwind and brass players to take breaths.

Other considerations include the kind of intervals, dynamics and articulation that best suit the instrument.

Considering using techniques or timbres that are unique to the instrument can help to fully exploit its capabilities.

Thank you for joining me for today's lesson.