How to Write for Brass Bands

Author: Nigel Horne, njh@bandsman.co.uk

Introduction
Whatyouwillreadisbasedontheory,myexperiencewithbothstrongerand
weakerbandsandmyopinion.
Musicisanart,notascience.Muchofwhatyoureadbelowonthetopicof
writing,composingandarrangingforbrassbandsisapersonalviewgainedfrom
manyyearsplayingin,conductingandwritingforbandsofalllevels.Whilstthere
aremanypartswhicharefactual,theinstrumentationforexample,youwillfind
manyitemsherethatareopentodebate.Imakenoapologiesforholdingsome
viewsthatdifferfromthenorm,nordoImakeanyapologiesforexpressingthem;
tocreatediscussionandexperimentationisoneofthemostenjoyableaspectsof
beinginvolvedwithmusic,ithelpsustogrowpersonallyaswellastomovethe
movementforward.

Whoshouldbereadingthis?
I'mgoingtomaketheassumptionthatthereaderhassomebasicknowledgeof
musictheory,harmonyandcounterpoint.Youdon'tneedtobeanexpertinwriting
Bachfugues,butyouwillneedtoknowbasicfourpartharmonyandsimple
conceptsofmusicalform.Thisarticlewon'ttellyouhowtowriteamarch,butit
willhelpyoutoorchestrateoneforbrassbands.
I'malsogoingtoassumethatthereadereitherplaysin,orisfamiliarwith,the
Britishstyleofbrassbands.Ishallexpectthereadertobeabletorecognisea
euphonium,cornet,baritoneandsoon,buttheymaynotbefamiliarwiththe
instrumentationsuchasthenumberofplayersonpartsorevenwhatthepartsare
called.Havingsaidthat,areaderaskingquestionssuchas"Whatinstrumentsdoes
abrassbandcontain?";"Mytubaplayerscan'treadtrebleclefpartsyet,Ineedto
beabletochangetheirpartstobassclefwhiletheylearn";"HowdoIWritefora
BrassBand?";or"Whatmusiciansareinvolvedinabrassband"shouldfindtheir
answerhere.Thosewithlittleornoexperienceofwritingbrassbandswillgain
fromthisarticle;hereyouwilllearnhowtoarrangeasimplehymntuneforbrass
band.
Ifyouaren'tfamiliarwiththeinstrumentsofabrassbandthenIsuggestthatyou
makecontactwithyourlocalband(s).Ibelievethatwhilstlisteningtoband

recordingscangiveyouaninsightintowhatbandssoundlikeasanensemble,
thereisnosubstituteforlisteningtoabandlivetolearnwhatmakesthatensemble
soundasitdoes.Youwillbelikelytogainmostbyattendingarehearsal.Band
conductorswillbeabletogiveyouaguidanceonthesoundofeachinstrumentin
theband,andit'smuchbetterlive,whereyoucanaskquestions,thanonaCD
whereyoucan't.
Anysuggestionsofwhatyou'dliketoseewouldbeappreciated.Iwillbeadding
musicalexampleslater.

BrassBandInstrumentation
Background
Allbrassbands,whatevertheirstandardandwherevertheyare,usethesame
instrumentation.Thisisthefirstofmanysurprisesthatthenewcomertowritingfor
thisgenrewillhavetobereadyfor.Orchestralwritersareaccustomedtousing
whateverorchestrationtheyexpecttobemostappropriateforthemusic;exceptfor
thepercussionsection,bandingcomposersandarrangers,however,needtostickto
thegiveninstrumentation.Iamfudgingtheissuealittlebecausethe
instrumentationusedbySalvationArmybandsisslightlydifferentfromthatused
incontestingbands.Ishallreturntothatlater.
Asisthecasewithmanyofthepeculiaritiesofbanding,thereasonforthisissetin
historythatisbeyondthescopeofthisarticle.Theinterestedreadermaywishto
consultoneofthemanybooksdocumentingthishistory.Afullerreferencewill
appearlater.
Nowthatcontestingissoimportanttomanybandsitisunlikelythatbands'
instrumentationwillchangeintheforeseeablefuture.Contestingrequiresthat
bandsarefixedintheirinstrumentationinthesensethatfootballteamsare
restrictedto11players,oneofwhichisthegoalkeeper.Maybemoreinnovative
usewillappearinthefutureonconcertprogrammes;thisauthor,however,seesno
pressureforittohappen.Manycomposersandarrangershavesoughttobypass
thisrestrictionbyconcentratingonnewerpercussioninstruments,whereamore
liberalattitudeprevails.Whendiscussingpercussion,Ishallcoveronlythe
instrumentsthatthecomposerandarrangershouldreasonablybeabletoexpectin
mostbandrooms.
Apartfromthebasstromboneandpercussionwhicharewrittenatpitchinthebass
clef,allpartsaretransposingandwritteninthetrebleclef.Exceptwhere
mentionedotherwise,anynotesinthisarticlerefertowrittenratherthansounded
notes.Thisistheusualpracticeamongbands.Brassinstrumentsarepitchedin

EborBb,whichmeansthatwhenaplayerseesanoteonthe3rdspaceofthetreble
clef,hecallsitCandplaysaC,butthenotethatcomesoutisB borEb.Hence,
everynotesoundsdifferentthanwritten.
Thetheoreticalwrittenrangeofeachofthebrassinstrumentsthatarewrittenin
trebleclefislowF#totopC,butthefullextentisnotusuallyusedbecauseof
tuningandstaminaproblems.
SinceIexpectmuchoftheaudienceofthispapertohaveamusicaltrainingthatis
notnecessarilybrassbandrelated,Ihavetriedtousegenerallyacceptedterms
ratherthanbrassbandrelatedterms.Forexampletomostmusicianstheterm
middleCrelatestothenotethatisoneledgerlinebelowthestaveonthetrebleclef
(middlebetweenthemainclefsandcentraltoapiano).Howevermanybandsman
mistakenlycallthisnotelowC;tothemmiddleCisthenoteonthethirdspaceof
thetrebleclef(middletotheirrange).IfyouseethetermmiddleCinthispaperit
willbeusedintheformersense(belowthetrebleclefstave).
Instrumentation
Thebasicbrassbandformathas25/26brassplayerswith2or3percussionists.
Thecollectivenounfortherepiano,2ndcornetand3rdcornetpartsis"backrow
cornets".Inthiscontextthesolocornetlineisoftencalledthe"frontrowcornets".
solo (4/5 players)
repiano (1 player)
2nd (2 players)
3rd (2/1 players)
solo, 1st, 2nd
1st and 2nd
1st and 2nd

2 or 3 players

TheInstruments
Ihavewrittenabriefoverviewofeachinstrumentinuseinthemodernbrassband
andanindicationoftherangeofnotesplayable.Amoredetaileddiscussion
appearsinthepartssection.

Asnotedabove,withtheexceptionofthebasstromboneandthepercussion
sectionalltheinstrumentsofabrassbandplayofftransposingparts.Awritten
middleCsoundsasEbonanEbinstrument,andasBbonaBbinstrument:

Cornet
ThecornetispitchedinBb,soundingamajorsecondbelowthe
writtennote.
ThewrittenrangeofthecornetisF#belowmiddleCtoConthesecondledger
line.
NotesbelowaBbbelowmiddleCshouldbeavoidedbecauseoftuningproblems,
andweakerplayerswilltendtohavetuningdifficultyaboveEonthetopspace.
Notesabove"topC"arepossibleforadvancedplayers.thoughtheuseofmodern
largeboreinstrumentshasincreasedthedifficulty.Asoloistmayoccasionallybe
expectedtoplayhighEborEbutsuchextremenotesshouldbeavoidedexcept
whentheplayerisknowntohavethisrange.Whenstartingtowriteforcornets,the
rangeshouldbekeptbetweenlowBandGa13thaboveit.
SopranoCornet
ThesopranocornetispitchedinEb,soundingaminorthirdabovethewrittennote.
ThewrittenrangeofthesopranoisF#belowmiddleCtoConthesecondledger
line.However,notesbelowGonthesecondlineshouldbeusedsparinglybecause
oftuningproblemsandnotesbelowmiddleCshouldbeavoidedatallcosts.Long
stretchesaboveGabovethetoplineshouldbeavoidedbecauseofthephysical
strainputontheplayer.Whenstartingtowriteforthesopranocornet,therange
shouldbekepttoGonthesecondlinetoGanoctaveaboveit.
FlugelHorn
TheflugelispitchedthesameastheBbcornetandhasthesamewrittenrange.Its
largerborechangesthesoundtoadarker,moremellowtimbreandmovesthe
playablerangedown.NotesbelowalowAandaboveatopGshouldbeavoided.

Whenstartingtowritefortheflugel,therangeshouldbekepttolowB btoDonthe
4thlineofthetrebleclef.
Someflugelshaveafourthvalve,howeverthecomposershouldnot
relyonitsavailability.
TenorHorn
ThetenorhornispitchedinEb,anoctavebelowthesopranocornet;thatis,it
soundsamajorsixthbelowthewrittennote.
ThewrittenrangeofthetenorhornisF#belowmiddleCtoConthesecondledger
line,orpossiblyhigherwithanadvancedplayer.
Thelargerboresofmoremoderninstrumentshavebeenamixedblessing
forthetenorhornplayer.Inthestrongerplayerthereisnodoubtthatthe
soundwillnowcomethroughmoreeasily,lesseningthehorn'sbalance
problem(seebelow).Thisimprovement,however,hascomeatthepriceofamore
restrictedrange.NotesbelowmiddleCshouldbeusedsparinglyandnotesbelow
Bbshouldbeavoidedsincetheyaredifficulttoplayandarerathersharp.Notes
aboveatopGrarelyappearalthoughitistheauthor'sopinionthatnotesupto
Bbshouldbeconsideredacceptableonthesolohornpart.Whenstartingtowrite
forthetenorhorn,therangeshouldbekepttomiddleCtoFonthetopline.
InAmericathisinstrumentiscalledanaltohorn.
Baritone
ThebaritoneispitchedinBb,anoctavebelowthecornet;thatis,amajorninth
belowthewrittennote.
ThewrittenrangeofthebaritoneisF#belowmiddleCtoConthesecond
ledgerline,orpossiblyhigherwithanadvancedplayer.Notesbelow
middleCshouldbeusedsparinglyandnotesbelowBbshouldbeavoided.
NotesuptoatopCareacceptableforallbuttheweakestofplayers.Whenstarting
towriteforthebaritone,therangeshouldbekepttomiddleCtoGabovethetop
line.
InAmericathisinstrumentissometimescalledatenorhorn.
TenorTrombone
ThetenortromboneispitchedinBb,thesamepitchasthebaritone.Whenreferring
totheinstrument,theword"tenor"isusuallydropped.

ThewrittenrangeofthetenortromboneisF#belowCtoConthesecondledger
line,orpossiblyhigherwithanadvancedplayer.
Inoldermusic,thetrombonewasoftennontransposing,writteninthetenorclef,
similartomanyorchestralworks.Howeverthishasbecomeobsoleteandtenor
trombonepartsarenowalwaystransposingusingthetrebleclef.
Manytrombonesnowincludeanattachmentthatwillpitchtheinstruments
inFwhichextendstherangedownaroundanoctave.Howeverthe
composershouldnotassumethatplayersareusingthistypeofinstrument.
Thefundamentaloftheinstrument(knownaspedalCsoundinglowB bbelow2
ledgerlinesofthebassclef)isplayablebymanyplayers.
Whenstartingtowriteforthetenortrombone,therangeshouldbekepttomiddle
CtoGabovethestave.
Composerswhoplayvalveinstrumentsandareunawareofslidepositionswould
dowelltolearntheslidepositionsgiveninthetablebelow.Ifyouareunsureabout
whichlinesaredifficultontrombonesthathavenotrigger,thesimpleruleisto
avoidtoomanyfastpassagesthatinvolvemovementsfrom1stto5th,6thor7th
positionsandviceversa.ThisgenerallycausesconcernbetweenmiddleCandD.
Whenwritingforthetenortrombone,thecomposerneedstoallowforthe
possibilitythatoneoreitherofthepartswillbeplayedonaninstrumentwithouta
trigger.
Thistablealsoappliestothebasstrombone.
Valve

Slide

Open

1st

2nd

3rd

1,2/3

4th

2,3

5th

1,3(4)

6thor1stwithtrigger

1,2,3(2,4)

7thor2ndwithtrigger

Eachslidepositionisasemitoneawayfromtheeithersideofit.Forexample,the
2ndpositionisasemitonelowerthanthe1stposition.
Thetablewillalsoproveusefulasaguidetowhichnotescanbebestcombinedin
aslur.Itisbesttoavoidslursacrossslidepositions,thoughofnecessitythisis
moreaguidelinethanarule.Whendecidingifaslurispossible,rememberthat
tromboneplayerstendtobemorefamiliarwithalternativepositionsthanvalve
playersarewithalternativefingering.ForexampleaConthe3rdspaceisplayable
on5thposition,soaslurtoorfromanAbonthesecondspaceispossible.
Thepartisheldbacktoanextentintechnicaldifficultybecauseofthelackof
valves,especiallyinthelowerranges.Trillsmustbelippedwhichisonlypossible
intheupperrange,andbyavirtuosoplayer.Whenlearning,thenewcomposer
shouldavoidfastpassages,especiallythosebelowGonthesecondline.Allnotes
higherthanBbonthemiddlelinecanbeplayedonthefirstthreepositions,though
manyplayersavoidusingthefirstpositioninfastpassageswherepossible.With
moreexperience,thewriterwillbecomemoreawareof"alternateshifts"which
ease,forexampleGtoAb,whichcanbeplayed6>5ratherthan1>5.
Tenorandbasstrombonesaretheonlybrassinstrumentscapableofquartertones,
althoughtheirusetowardtheendofEtudeisarareexampleinbrassbandwriting.
BassTrombone
Thebasstrombonepartisalwayswritteninconcertpitchinbassclef.Therangeis
fromDbbelowthestavetoaroundFabovetwoledgerlinesofthebassclef.
TraditionallythebasstrombonewasatrombonepitchedinGthatneededahandle
attachmenttotheslidetoreachthefurthestpositions.Howeverthisinstrumenthas
beennearlycompletelyphasedout,beingreplacedbyverylargeboretenor
tromboneswithanattachmentoperatedbyarotaryvalve,commonlyknownasa
plug,toretunefromBbtoFandoftenbyasecondvalvetoEband/orD,inso
called'doubleplugbasstrombones'.Inmodernwriting,thecomposercansafely
assumethatthepartneverwillbeplayedoneitheraGorG/Dtrombone.

Pedalnotesareobtainablebymostplayers.Accomplishedplayerswillbe
abletoextendtherange,inextremecasestoF,fourledgerlinesbelowthe
stave;andpossiblyextendtherangeupwards.Thusthebasstromboneis
secondonlytotheeuphoniumintheextentofitsrange.
Whenstartingtowriteforthebasstrombone,therangeshouldbekepttoE bbelow
thestavetoBbjustabovethestave.
Euphonium
TheeuphoniumispitchedinBb,thesamepitchasthebaritoneandtenortrombone.
InAmericathisinstrumentiscalledbothabaritoneoraeuphonium.
ThewrittenrangeoftheeuphoniumisF#belowmiddleCtoConthe
secondledgerline,orpossiblyhigherwithanadvancedplayer.Itissafeto
assumethatnearlyalleuphoniumshavea4thvalve,which,inthehandsof
allbuttheweakestplayers,canbeusedtoextendtherangeoftheeuphonium
down,usuallyaslowasD,fourledgerlinesbelowthestave.Pedalnotesare
playablebutrarelywritten.NotesabovetopCareplayablebystrongerplayers,
extendingtherangeupamajor3rd.Thefullrangeoftheinstrumentcanbeused.
Whenstartingtowritefortheeuphonium,therangeshouldbekepttoB bbelow
middleCtoFonthetopline.
Inorchestralscorestheinstrumentiscalledatenortuba,butsoareother
instrumentssuchasthewagnertuba,soifyouseeatenortubacalledforinascore
itmaynotnecessarilybeaeuphonium.
EbBass
TheEbbassispitchedoneoctavebelowthetenorhorn.
ThewrittenrangeoftheEbbassisF#belowmiddleCtoConthesecondledger
line.ItissafetoassumethatnearlyallEbbasseshavea4thvalve,whichinthe
handsofmoreaccomplishedplayerscanbeusedtoextendtherangeoftheE bbass
downasfaraspedalnotes,thoughnotesbelowanFnaturalaren'tusedveryoften.
NotesaboveanEonthetopspacearebestavoidedbecauseoftuning
problems.
WhenstartingtowritefortheEbbass,therangeshouldbekeptto
BbbelowmiddleCtoConthethirdspaceofthetrebleclef.

Instrumentsusedinabrassbandtendtousepistonvalvesratherthanrotaryvalves
whichimpedesdexterityonthelargeinstrumentswherealongvalveactionis
involved.
Inorchestralscoresthisinstrumentiscalledatuba,thoughanorchestratubacould
bepitchedinF,Eb,oroccasionallylowC,dependingoncountryoforiginandthe
preferenceoftheplayer.
BbBass
TheBbbassispitchedoneoctavebelowtheeuphonium.
ThewrittenrangeoftheBbbassisF#belowmiddleCtoConthesecondledger
line.ManyBbbasseshavea4thvalve,whichinthehandsofmoreaccomplished
playerscanbeusedtoextendtherangedownwards;itsusehowevershouldnotbe
reliedoninmusicwrittenforweakerbands.Writersneedtobeawarethatsimilar
tothefourstringeddoublebassinorchestralwriting,whereabandisusingthree
valveinstruments,playerswillraisebyanoctavethosenotesthatwouldrequirea
fourthvalve,seelaterforamoredetaileddiscussionofthis.Pedalnotesareonly
obtainablebythemoreaccomplishedplayers.NotesaboveanEonthetopspace
arebestavoidedbecauseoftuningproblems.TherangeoftheB bbassisthe
smallestofthebrasssectionofaband.
WhenstartingtowritefortheBbbass,therangeshouldbekepttoBbbelowmiddle
C,withtheoccasionalbottomA,toConthethirdspaceofthetrebleclef.
ThechoiceofpistonvalvescausesasimilarproblemontheB bbassaswiththe
Ebbass.
Percussion
Thepercussionsectionistheonlysectionwheredifferentinstrumentationmaybe
usedfrompiecetopiece;anditisthesectiontohaveseenthemostradicalchanges
overthehistoryofthebrassbandmovement.
Modernbrassbandscanbeexpectedtohavetwoorthreepercussionists,oftensplit
betweentunedanduntunedinstruments,thoughmanystillonlyhaveoneplayer
whousesadrumkit.Allbuttheweakestplayershouldbeexpectedtoplayall
instrumentsinthesection,thoughinevitablytheywillhaveinstrumentsupon
whichtheyaremorecomfortable.
Composersandarrangerscanassumethatabrassbandhastimpani(2drums),
glockenspiel,snaredrum,triangle,rideandcrashcymbalsandadrumkit.Stronger
bandswillalsohaveatamtam,clashcymbals,abassdrumanda3rdtympanum.

Othercommoninstrumentsarexylophone,windchimesandvarioustunedandun
tuned,effectinstruments.
Whenstartingtowriteforpercussion,thecomposershouldwriteonlyfor2
timpani(GtoF)withlittleretuningandadrumkitthatincludesoneridecymbal,
onecrashcymbalandtwotomtoms.

TheParts
Thepartsarelistedhereintheorderthattheyappearonabrassbandscore.
However,Iwouldsuggestthatthereaderleavesreadingaboutthesopranocornet
untilafterthesolocornetpart.
Soprano
Thesopranocornetisoftenlikenedtothepiccolofoundinorchestrasandmilitary
bands.Unlikeasymphonyorchestrawhichis"topheavy"becauseofthelarge
numberoftrebleandsopraninoinstruments,manyofwhichhaveanextremely
highrange,thebrassbandisbassheavy.Bandshavetheequivalentof4tubas,and
whencoupledwithtimpaniandthebasstrombonetendstogiveasoundthatis
"bottomup".
Whilstonlyslightlyhigherinpitchthanthecornet,andunabletoplaylonghigh
passagesbecauseofthephysicalstressontheplayer,thesopranohasanalmost
uniqueabilitytobrightenthetonecolourofabandsinglehandedly.
Whenstartingtowriteforthesoprano,manycomposersfallintothetrapofusing
theplayermerelytobackupthesolocornets,eitherinunisonwiththeirhigher
parts,oranoctaveupwiththeirlowerparts.Thisisfineasfarasitgoes,sinceit
helpstoeaseahighsolocornetline;anditaddsweighttopresentastrongmelody
inoctaves.
However,Iencourageamoresparinguseoftheplayer.Inpractice,manyplayers
willrestwhenplayinginunisonwiththefrontrow(solocornet)line,andthe
composerneedstobeawareofthis.Writingnotesthatmayormaynotbeplayed,
dependingonhowthelipoftheplayeris,willleadtoalossofcontrolofthe
balanceofthebandfromthecomposer.Bysparinguse,wecanensurethatthe
playerplayswhenneededandthatweknowwhentheplayerwillplay.
Isuggestthatthesopranopartonlybeusedinsolopassagesorwhenplayingapart
thatisinsomeotherwayimportant;suchasapartthatisanoctaveabovethesolo
cornetoracountermelodyperhapsinoctaveswiththerepianocornet,orsolo
horn.Playingafewnotesinunisonwiththesolocornetlineattheendofthe

previousphrase,wherepossible,andatadynamicleveldown,willhelpthe
player'sconfidenceandabilitytotuneinwiththebandbeforestartingthemore
importantphrase.
Whenapieceofmusicendswithaffnote,thesopranowillsitwellonaveryhigh
notetoaddexcitementtothechord.EndinglikethisonatopCorB bisfine,but
otherwisebeverysurebeforewritingnotesabovethestave.
SoloCornet
Thesolocornetpartistheprincipalmelodiclineofthebrassband.Despitethe
word"solo",ithasthemostplayersofanypart,4orpossiblyeven5players.The
strongestplayerisknownastheprincipalcornet;astheprimarysoloistofthebrass
bandtheyfulfilthesameroleasleaderinanorchestra.
PartsrarelygobelowmiddleC(knowninbrassbandcirclesasbottomC)and
oftenhaveextendedpassageswheremanynotesappeartowardthetopoforabove
thestave.Iwouldnotsuggestextendingthenumberofconsecutivenotesabovea
topGtomanyphrases.
Itispossibletocallfortheplayerstoplaydifferentnotes:oftenlowernotesare
usedtoboostthepartsofweakerplayersonthe"backrow"parts,thatisthe
repiano,2ndand3rdcornetparts.However,suchsplitpartsdonottendtoextend
verylong.Usuallythereisnoneedtowritetheworddivisiontothepart,themusic
willshowthattheplayerswillbeplayingdifferentnotes,onlystatedivisiwhere
theremayotherwisebesomeconfusion.Onlyiftherhythmsofsplitpartsarevery
independentshouldseparatestavesbeprovided,andthepracticefavouredbysome
arrangersofprovidingseparatedeskpartsfor1/2and3/4solocornetsshouldbe
avoidedexceptinexceptionalcircumstancessuchasfoundinthetranscriptionof
Bach'sAllegroAssai.Ifthepartsareverydifferentthisusuallymeansthatthe
writingwon'tworkforthemajorityofbandsandthescoringneedstobereworked.
Itispossibletoindicatethenumberofplayersplayingtheline,thereadermay
choosetousethisinchamberpartstoavoidbalanceproblems.Indicationssuch
assolo,2only,andtuttiareoftenused.Thetermsoloshouldonlybeusedfora
leadline:ifonlyoneplayerisrequiredforreasonsofbalance,abettertermwould
beoneonly.Carefullythinkifyoumeansolooroneonly.
Thesolocornetlineisoneofthemoretechnicallyadvancedlinesofthebrass
band.Oftentheprincipalcornetwillbethestrongestplayerintheband,andparts
canbeexpectedtoreflectthis.Thefirsttwoplayerswillbethestrongestcornet
playersintheband.

Wherestaminaisaproblem,forexampleinrepeatedtechnicallydifficultorhigh
parts,thecomposercanusethehighnumberofplayersontheparttohisorher
advantagebycleveruseofdovetailing.
ThesolocornetpartshouldbeexpectedtohavethefullrangeofnotesfromtopC
tolowBb,thoughyoushouldthinkbeforewritinglongpassagesabovetopG.
Repiano
Althoughtheword"repiano",beingamisspellingofthemusicalterm"ripiano",
wouldseemtoindicateotherwise,thereppartwillbeplayedbyonlyoneplayer.
Despitenotbeingonthefrontrow,therepianoplayerisusuallythethirdstrongest
cornetplayerofaband,andthecomposershouldbepreparedtowritetothatlevel.
Thereppartisahighlyprizedpositionamongcornetplayers,includingasitdoes
melody,countermelody,solo,harmonyandaccompaniment.Assuchitispossibly
themostvaried,interestingandchallengingpartsofabrassband:trulyadark
horsepart.
Asamelodicpart,ittendstoduplicatethesolocornetpartwhenallofthebandis
playing.Theveryhighestnotesmaybemissing,sincetraditionallythereppart
doesnotgoaboveatopGorpossiblyA.
Oftenthepartisusedtoprovideacountermelodywherethewriterwantstoutilise
thecornetsound.Thepartwillsithappilyeitheronitsownorjointwithother
playerstoamelodythatisplayedineitherthefrontroworsoprano.Fora
particularlyimportantcountermelody,itwouldbeworthconsideringutilisingthe
repandsopranoinoctavesasacountermelodytothetuttisolocornetline.
Iwouldnotconsiderusingtherepianoasasolopartinitself.Somewritersusethe
playerasakindof"principalbackrow".Whynotusetheprincipalcornetplayer
forthis?Orifthatplayerneedsabreak,usethe"numbertwo"playerofthefront
rowbymarkingthatpart"2ndplayeronly".However,theplayershouldbeseento
bestrongenoughtoplaytrioswithtwoofthefrontrowcornets.
Therearesome"exceptionsthatprovetherule".Firstly,variations.Inboth"air
varies"andsituationssuchasthethirdverseofGaryBricault'sPraisetothe
Lordwherethesolocornetsembellishthemelody,therepianocanbeused
effectivelybyplayingtheoriginaltheme.Thismaymeanthatthemelodycomesin
aheadoftheembellishment,especiallyifthelatterisadescantstartingonthe
secondorsubsequentbar.Secondly,inafugue,therepianomayplaythealtopart,
enteringbeforethesolocornetlineandstrengtheningthe2 ndand3rdcornetlines,
(
OWorshiptheKingfigureR).

Inadditiontherepianopartisequallyathomeprovidingharmonicsupporttoany
instrument,orprovidingthetoplineofanaccompanimentpart,theotherlines
beingprovidedbytheotherbackrowcornetparts.(
IlkestonSonatabar3and
followingoffigureC).
Onafinalblockchord,ifthesopranohasbeenwrittenanoctaveabovethesolo
cornets,itmaybeworthconsideringfillingwhatotherwisecouldseemalargegap,
witha3rdorperhapsa5thplayedbytherepiano.Atothertimes,avoidthe
temptationtowritetherepianoabovethesolocornetline.
SalvationArmybandstendtocallthispart1stcornet,andoftenhavetwoplayers.
2ndCornet
The2ndcornetpartisthefirstpartthatwehavecoveredindetailthatplaysthe
altolineinfourpartharmony.Traditionallyanaccompanimentpart,itwillbe
calledontoprovideharmonicandcountermelodiessimilar,thoughwithalesser
degreeofintensity,tothatoftherepianopart.Thepartisusuallyplayedbytwo
playersinunisonandwithsimilarabilities;itis,however,possibletosplitormark
"oneonly"ifneeded.
Inmarchesthepartisoftenplayinglinewiththesolohornwhichisconsistentlya
3rdor6thbelowthemelody.Thisideacanusefullybeextendedtoothermusical
genresoftenmosteffectivelyatcadences.
ThepartshouldnormallynotgoaboveanEorbelowaC.Thisrange,amajor
tenth,isverylimitinganditistemptingtobreakit,butthistemptationshouldbe
avoidedexceptwhenwritingforthestrongestbands.
3rdCornet
The3rdcornetpartisthelowestofallcornetparts.
Newwritersareoftentemptedtodismissthispartasapartforlearnersandonly
giveitpartsthatonthesurfacearetrivial.Howeverthiswillunfairlyglossoverthe
hiddendifficultiesofthepart.ThepartcentresaroundmiddleC,C #,D,D#andE
whichimpliestheneedforastrong3rdfingertraditionallyadifficultysincein
thehumanhandasingletendonconnectsboththe3rdand4thfingerstothewrist.
Also,oncornetswithouttriggersthesenotesareoftenrathersharp.
Thepartprovidesafoundationtotheentirecornetline,oftenworkingwellatthe
bottomofafanfareforcornets.Perhapsinthiscontextitmaybestrengthenedbya
playerfromthefrontrow.

TherangeisfromlowBbtoConthethirdline.Mucholdmusicgoeslower:donot
followthislead,exceptwhenwritingforthestrongestofbandsandplayers.Itwas
traditionaltosharepartswithclarinetsinsocalledwindandreedbands,and
arrangementsappeartohavebeenwrittenbycomposerswhounderstoodreed
betterthanbrass.Clarinetsarehappyplayingdownthere:cornetsarenot.
SalvationArmybandsdonothavea3rdcornetpart.
Flugel
Thereisonlyoneflugelhornplayerinaband,providingasecondarysoloist.
Harmonically,itbridgesthegapbetweenthetenorhornsandcornets.Itisbest
seenasanextensionofthehornpartsupwards,thoughitcanalsoworkwellwith
thetrombones.
Theinstrumentisbestusedinmelodicthemeswhicharetoohighforthetenor
horn.Itisnotusuallygivenatechnicallydemandingrole.
Theflugelshouldnotbewrittenveryhigh,sinceitslargeboreandbellcanleadto
tuningandstaminadifficulties.ThebestrangeislowB btohighG.
RecentlymanybandshavetendedtouseAmericanflugelswhichbeingaimed
moreatjazz,tendtobebrightsotheyoftenhavedifficultymergingwiththehorns.
However,recentlytherehasbeenabacklash,withlargeboreandbelled
instrumentsfindingfavourwithanincreasingnumberofbands.
Itisonlyoverthelast30orsoyearsthatdedicatedpartsfortheflugelhave
becomethenorm.Beforethentheflugelandrepianopartswereprintedonone
sheet,withoccasionalmarkingssuchas"cornetonly"whentheflugelshouldstop
playingand"flugel"whentherepianoshouldstopplaying.Quiteoftenitwasleft
uptoguessworkwhenbothshouldplayagain!Oftentheflugelwouldn'tgeta
mentionandasetofmusicwouldjustincludetwopartsmarkedasrepiano.
Fortunatelythispracticehasnowceased,asabuddingcomposerorarrangeryou
willbeexpectedtoprovideseparatepartsfortherepianoandflugelandtothinkof
themasseparateinstruments,whichofcoursetheyare.
SoloHorn
Unlikethesolocornetpart,thesolohornpartiscoveredbyonlyoneplayer.The
solohornisasecondarysoloistbridgingthegapbetweenthecornetsand
euphoniumsortrombones.
Thepartisusuallyatthetopofthetriadformedfromthethreehornparts.Thesolo
hornisgenerallyusedforaccompanimentbutitcanbeusedforcountermelodies;

andinmarchtriositoftenmirrorsthemelodydownathirdorsixth,ofteninunison
withthesecondcornet.Thepartwillalsooftendoublethesecondcornetwhenused
inaccompaniment:theinfamoustediousumchucksthatformthebackboneof
muchsimplermusic.
Forthenovicewriteritisusuallysafeforthesolohorntodoublethesecondcornet
inthewaythattheflugeldoublestherepiano,thoughitwouldbeworthwhilethat
thebuddingcomposerdoesnotdwelltoolongonthissinceittooeasilyignoresthe
differencesintonecolourbetweentheinstrumentsandstrengthsoftheplayers.
Theinstrumentblendswellwiththebaritonesandeuphoniumsasthetopofan
ensemble;andwiththetrombonesasthetopofaquartetcoveringwhatthe
composerwouldprefertobeplayedbyanaltotrombone(notusedinbrassbands)
orathirdtrombone(onlyfoundinSalvationArmybands).Thepossibilityofduets
withtheflugelhornseemsalargelyunexploredpossibilitywithinthebrassband.(
SilentNight).
Oldermusicsometimeshasthesopranoandsolohornplayingtheleadinoctaves,
presumablybecausetheyarebothinEb,thoughthispracticeisnowrarer.The
authorcanseetheadvantageinapieceinsonataform.Intheexposition,the
secondsubjectcouldbepresentedbythesopranoandsolohorn,theninthe
recapitulationthechangeofkeycouldlendtoasimilardoublinginthesolocornet
andeuphoniumparts.Inthiswaythemusiccouldbekeptwithinthetessituraofall
fourinstruments.Usingthesopranoandsolohorninoctavesinacountermelody
canbeeffective,provideditisnotoverdone.
Oneofthedifficultiesoftenorhornsolowritingisthequestionofthe
instrumentationfortheaccompaniment(Ishalldealwiththislaterinthesectionon
ensemblewriting),theproblembeingthatitstessituraliesacrossthecornets,
euphoniumsandtrombones.Withthebellsoftenfacingawayfromtheaudience,
projectionofthesoloist'ssoundneedscarefulconsideration.
Inaslow,melodicpassage,thesolohornworkswellbydoublingthesolocornetin
thelastphraseorfewnotesofthemelody,providedthatthenotesareintherange
AtoD.Theinstrumentwilladdextrasweetnessandtonetoroundoffthemelodic
line.
Whenstudyingscoresyoumayseethehornhelptheeuphoniumwhenthe
euphoniumhastheleadandgoeshigh.Thisispresumablytohelptheweaker
euphoniumsection;inthisregister,however,thehornandeuphoniumdonotblend
well,unlessthehorniswrittenquieterthantheeuphonium.Thispracticeisbest
avoided,unlessaparticulareffectoftonecolouriswanted.

Technically,thecomposershouldbeabletoinferthatthesolohornpartiscovered
byoneofthebetterplayersintheband.Partsmaybeasdemandingasthoseforthe
solocornetoreuphonium.
TherangeofthesolohornpartisfrommiddleCtohighG,oroccasionallyA,but
usuallylimittheparttoE.
1stHorn
Whenwritingforthe1sthorn,itisusualtoconsiderapartthatisprimarilyused
foraccompaniment,oftendoublingthe3rdcornetpartinensemble
accompaniment.Thusthepartmirrorsthesolohornwhichoftendoublesthe2nd
cornet.
Infftuttiwriting,thepartmaydoublethesolohorn,butthisismoretheexception
thantherule.Furthermore,thepossibilitiesofhornduetshasnotbeengenerally
explored.Bridget'sBadger,wasspecificallywrittenfortwoequalplayers.
Therangeofthe1sthornpartisfrommiddleCtohighF,oroccasionallyG,but
usuallylimittheparttoE.
2ndHorn
The2ndhornisbestusedasanaccompanimentpartunderthesoloand1sthorns.
Unlesstheplayerisknowntothecomposer/arranger,itisbesttoassumethatthe
partistobeplayedbyaweakerplayerandnotincludetechnicallyadvanced
writing.However,aswiththe3rdcornet,caremustbemadetoavoidwritingparts
thatareboringanddonotstretchtheplayer.
PartsshouldberestrictedtotheoctavefrombottomC,butrememberthattenor
hornsarenotequippedwith4thvalvesortriggers,sotheytendtoplaysharpon
lowC#sandDsandonlowAbdowntoF#.
Unlikeorchestralandwindbands,the2ndhornshouldbekeptlowerthanthe1st
horn;ifbalancebecomesanissue,itisbettertodoublethepartinabaritonerather
thancrosstheparts.Thiswillbecoveredlateronwhendiscussingwritingforthe
hornsasasection.
(
figureCofIlkestonSonata,wherethebottompartofthetriadisdoubledinthe
2ndbaritonetoensurethethreenotesareequalweight).
1stBaritone

Thefirstbaritoneparthasoftenbeendescribedasthemosttechnicallydemanding
ofallthepartsofthebrassband.Yetinmanysensestheinstrumentisthe
Cinderellaofthebrassband,nearlyalwaysbowingtotheeuphoniumor1st
tromboneasasoloist.
Partofthedifficultyliesintheheightofmuchmusic.Extendedhighpassagesare
commoninthepart,butIthinkthattheyarebestavoided.
Mostcommonlythepartwilleitherdoublethe1sthornor2ndhornin
accompaniments,beabottomtenorhorninahornquartetortrio,ordoublethe
euphoniumincountermelodiesortenormelodieswhereextrastrengthisrequired.
Anovel,buteffective,useofthe1stbaritoneisastheleadinatubaensemble(

figureCofWhileShepherdsWatched).
Sadly,moderninstrumentsoftenhavelargeboresthatcansoundclosertoa
euphoniumthanthetruelightsoundofabaritone.Thisisunfortunateforthe
composerwhowantstowriteforatenorinstrumentwithalightersoundthan
euphoniumandwherethesoundofthetenortrombonewouldnotbeappropriate.
Thepartwillbeplayedbyatechnicallyproficientplayer,sodemandingpartscan
bewritten.
AfullrangeoftwooctavesfrommiddleCispossible,andextendedwritingtotop
AandBbispossible,thoughnotencouragedexceptformoreadvancedbandsand
music.
2ndBaritone
The2ndbaritoneistothe1stbaritone,thesameasthe2ndhornistothesolohorn
part.Itismostlyasupportive,accompanimentpart.Themostsignificantdifference
betweenitandthe2ndhornpartisthatthe2ndbaritonewillhelpin"basssolos"in
moretraditionalmarches;orwiththemelodyline,whenafullsoundisneededin
unisonwiththe1stbaritoneandeuphonium.Comparethiswiththe2ndhorn,
whichmanyarrangersunfortunatelyrarelyuseforanythingotherthanan
accompanyingrle.
Whenwritingatriadof"offbeat"lines,itisusefultodoublethe2ndbaritoneand
2ndhornlines.Theweakerplayerswillcombinewelltobalanceagainststronger
playersplayingonetoapartof,forexample,solohorn.
Thepossibilityofbaritoneduetshasnotbeenexploredbymanyarrangers.
TrytoavoidwritingoutsidetherangemiddleCupamajortenthtoE.Incommon
withthe1sthornpart,shorttechnicallyadvancedpassagescanbeused,but

generallyspeakingoneshouldassumethatthepartwillbeplayedbyaweaker
player.
1stTrombone
The1sttromboneisaprimarysoloistpart,lesserinimportancethanthecornetand
euphonium.Whenwritingforthetrombone,thevalvebrassplayerneedstobe
familiarwiththeslidepositionsbothwithandwithoutatrigger.Atriggerissimilar
toa4thvalveonlargervalveinstruments.
Ofalltheinstrumentsinabrassband,themodernlargeboretromboneiscapable
ofthewidestrangeoftonecoloursanddynamics.Thecomposerneedstoensure
thattheplayerisclearlydirectedtothecorrectstylewhenwritingasolopart.
The1sttrombonesitswellasasolopart,asthetoppartofatrombonetrio,asthe
2ndpartofaquartetincludingsolohornorflugel,andaspartofatuttipassage
includingplayersfromthetenororbassranges.
Therangeofthe1sttrombonepartislarge.Allbuttheweakestofplayersshould
becomfortableacrossarangefromlowBbuptwooctaves.Fortheweakestplayer,
therangeshouldberestrictedtoCtoG;strongerplayerswillhavenodifficultyup
totopDandpossiblyhigher.
Thepartmayalsobeusedinanaccompanimentrole,similartothehorns.
Thepracticeofwritingthepartinconcertpitchusingthetenorclefhasceased.
2ndTrombone
Whenfirstwritingforthe2ndtromboneonemaybetemptedtotreatitlikethe2nd
cornet,or1sthorn,asthemiddlepartofatrio.Thiswouldbeincorrect:the2nd
trombonepartisnotasindependentfromthesectionleaderasthoseotherpartsare.
Ifthe1sttrombonehasasolomelodylineitisbesttorestthe2ndtrombone.Ifthe
1sthasatuttimelodyline,the2ndwilloftenplayinunisonwiththe1st.Ifthe1st
isplayinganaccompanimentline,the2ndwillplaythesamerhythmbutlowerin
thechordstructure;andfinally,ifthe1stisresting,usuallythe2ndwillrestas
well.
Technicallysimplerthanthe1sttromboneline,the2ndtromboneplayeris
neverthelessoftenmoreaccomplishedthanmaybeexpected,andthebalanceof
soundisoftenbetterbetweenthetenortrombonesthansayplayersinthehornline.
TheplayerisusuallycomfortabletoatopG,andtheoddtopAispossibledownto
C.

Veryweakplayershavedifficultyfinding5thpositionnotes.Thesenotesshould
beavoidedwhenwritingforsuchplayers.
Thepracticeofwritingthepartinconcertpitchusingthetenorclefhasceased.
BassTrombone
Thebasstromboneparthastwouniquequalitiesamongthebrassbandparts.
Firstly,itiswritteninconcertpitch:thatisthenotessoundthesameastheyare
written;andsecondly,itiswritteninbassclef.
Traditionally,thebasstrombonepartwasplayedonatruebasstrombone,an
instrumentpitchedinGwheretheslidewassolongthattoreachthefurthestshift
positionsahandlewasusedtoextendbeyondthearm'slength.Itisnowveryrare
tofindsuchaninstrumentinuse;thepartisinsteadplayedonaverylargebored
tenortrombonepitchedinBb,withasetoftriggersthatpitchtheinstrumentinF
andofteneitherEborD.Thesetriggersincreasetherangeoftheinstrumentdown
thescale,andhelpfasterpartstobeplayedinthelowerregister,whereotherwise
thedistancebetween1stand6thpositionswouldmakesuchmusicimpossibleto
playatspeed.ThisinstrumentisusedevenwhenthemusicwaswrittenfortheG
trombone,whichcanresultinaperformanceofoldermusicthatdiffersfromthe
originalexpectationofthecomposer.
Itiseasytofallintothetrapofconsideringthebasstrombonetobeanextension
ofthebassfamily.AlltoooftenthepartmerelydoublestheE bbassesinlouder
sections.Suchconsiderationoftheinstrumentshouldbeavoided.Whilstitistrue
thatbasstrombonesolosareextremelyrare,evenmoresosincethedemiseofthe
trueinstrument,theinstrumentisnotamemberofthebassfamily,itisamember
ofthetrombonefamilyandthecomposershouldbearthisinmindatalltimes.
Thatmayseemtocontradictthenextstatement:thatthepartshouldbeseentobea
basspartnotathirdtenorpart;thereisnocontradictionherehowever.The
instrumentisabasstrombone,thatistosayitisamemberofthetrombonefamily,
whichplaysinthebassregister.
Itisusefulinthebottompartoftrombonetrios,inunisonoroctaveswiththetenor
trombones,orwhenanextratonecolourisneededinadditiontothebassline(

theopening,bar14andfigureBofMission).
Ifthemusiciswrittenin6flatsfortheBbinstruments(Gbmajor/Ebminor),the
basstrombonepartcannotbewrittenin8flatssincethereareonly7notesto
flatten,sothekeychosenshouldbeEmajor/C#minor.For7flatsforthecornet
line,writethebasstrombonepartinthreesharps.

Thebasstromboneisoftenveryflatinthehandsoftheweakerplayerwhen
attemptingnotesaboveBbabovethestave.NotesdowntoEboneledgerlinebelow
thestavearesafe.ThestrongerplayercanplaydowntoB borevenAthreeledger
linesbelowtheline.However,thebestrangetochoosewhenstartingtowriteis
EbtoBb.Slidepositionsincreaseindistanceforalltrombonesasthenotesget
lowerasthewavelengthincreases.Thisbecomesamajorproblemforthelowest
notesonabasstrombone,wherepositionsareextendedsofarthatthelowB
naturalthatwouldbeplayedon7thpositionwithanFtriggerbecomesimpossible
toplay.DonotwritelowBnatural,unlessyouknowthattheplayerwillhaveaso
calleddoublepluginstrument,whichhastwotriggers:oneforFandoneusually
foreitherEborD.
Euphonium
Althoughtherearetwoeuphoniumplayersinaband,onlyinexceptional
circumstanceswilltheyplayfromdifferentparts.Splittingtheplayersisacceptable
fromtimetotimeforreasonsofbalanceorwhenaeuphoniumduetiscalledfor.
However,theplayerswillstillreadoffthesamepartandsplittingshouldbekeptto
aminimum.
Theeuphoniumpartisflexibleandforgivingtothenewwriter.Thepartisoften
comparedtothatofthe`celloinanorchestra.Itisequallyathomedoublingthe
solocornetlineanoctavedown,asamelodicorcountermelodiclead,doubling
theBbbassanoctaveuporoccasionallywiththe1sttrombone.Therangeofthe
partislarge:mostplayerswillbecomfortableovermorethantwooctaves,from
lowGtotopA,withtheoccasionalhighernote.However,rememberthattoo
manyhighernoteswillbetiring,furthermorethetone,whichalthoughvery
pleasantincapablehands,willdominateinthehigherregister.
Whenyouwantonlyoneplayermarkiteithersolooroneonly:thereisa
distinctionbetweenthetwomarkings(seetheentryonthesolocornetpartformore
information).Mark2attheendofthepassage.
Thestrengthofthepart,itsversatilityandabilitytoblendsowell,canalsoposea
difficultytothenewwriter.Whenwritingasololinethatisnotthehighestinpitch
ofallthepartsitisoftenmoredifficultfortheparttocomethroughthanthe
composermayimagine(
comparetheeaseofscoringfigureCofWhile
ShepherdsWatchedagainstthedifficultyoffigureCofWhenWe'reApart).Forsuch
passages,leaveawidegapinthetexture,ifatallpossible,bothaboveandbelow
theeuphoniumline.Itmayalsohelptogiveapointeroftheintendedbalanceto
theconductorbycarefuluseofdynamics.

Onecanexpectbothplayerstobeproficientbothtechnicallyandoverawide
range.Bearinmindthatsomenotes,notablytopF,maybealittleonthesharp
side,thoughnewerinstrumentsareequippedwithatriggertohelpflattenthenote
byextendingeitherthe1stvalveslideorthemaintuningslide.Itissafetoassume
thatalleuphoniumsnowhaveafourthvalve,whichhelpshelptuninginthelower
register.
EbBass
Inthehandsofthemostadvancedplayers,theEbbasscanhavethewidestrangeof
allinstruments.However,weshallrestrictourselvestotherangethatwillwork
bestformostplayers.Aswehavemoveddownthescore,sothetessituraofthe
partaswrittentrebleclefhasbecomelower.TheEbbasswillworkbestaround
middleC:comparethiswiththesolocornet,whichismostcomfortablearoundC
onthe3rdspace.WhenstartingtowritefortheEbbass,donotwriteaboveanEon
thetopspace.
Inallbutspecialoccasions,theEbpartwillnotsplit.Occasionally,asolo,orone
only,sectionwillappear.Thesesectionswillbecountermandedby
an2indication.
WhenwritingfortheEbbass,youwillhavetoconsiderwhichoctavetouse.When
allthreetubalinesareinuse,euphoniums,EbandBbbasses,thechoicewillbe
whethertodoubletheeuphoniumoctaveortheBbbassoctave.Itispermissibleto
switchoccasionallybetweenoctaves,butkeeptheseswitchestoaminimumsince
itwillbeprominenttothelistenerandmayexposetuningdifficultiesinlesser
bandswhentheEbplayersmaybeflatonhighernotes.Whenindoubt,choosethe
loweroctaveunlessthepartgoesbelowbottomG.Ifthelineisrelativelystaticand
liesbetweenGandDitiseffectivetosplittheE bbasspartinoctaves.Octaves
outsideGandDmaycausetuningproblemsforweakerbands.Splittingthelinein
octavesworksespeciallywellinloudersections,butyouneedtobeawareofthe
balanceissuewhenconsideringallfourbassplayers.
Exceptforadvancedlevel,steerclearoflongsectionsoffastnotes,thoughthe
occasionalphraseofsemiquaversisfine.Youmaywishtoconsidermarkingsuch
fastphrasesoneonlyeveninlouderpassages,theeffectwillbetoproduceatighter
andcleanersound.ThesecondplayercouldtheneitherrestordoubletheB bbass
lineifneeded,thoughbeawareofthetuningissuesbetweenE bandBbbasses.
Advancedsolos,suchasThere'saTavernintheTowncan,however,useextended
fastpassages.
BbBass

Thebalanceofabrassbandisbottomup.Unlikeanorchestrawhichistopheavy,
abrassband'stonecolourstartswiththebasssection.Whenwritingforthe
Bbbass,thecomposerneedstobeawarethatthisisthefoundationoftheband
soundandwhenplayingitwillshiftthebalancedownwards.Assuch,Iteach
writerstomoveawayfromthehabitofusingtheBbbasspartnearlyalways
throughapieceofmusic.Remembertheimpactthatthepartwillhaveonthe
colourofthebandandusethistooltoyouradvantage.UsetheB bbasscolourwhen
needed,andnotwhenitisnot.Thatmayseematruism,butmanycomposersdo
notappreciatethis.
ThetessituraoftheBbbassisverylow.Whenstarting,thewrittenrangeshouldbe
fromlowA,uptoaConthethirdspace.Intuttipassages,suchassocalledbass
solosinroadmarches,itissafetowriteuptoanEonthetopspace.The
occasionalverylownoteispossible,butshouldbeusedwiththesamediscretion
astopBsandCsonthesoprano.ABbbassplayerwillrelishtheopportunityto
playalowFtoendapieceofmusic(playablewiththe4thvalvewhichappearson
manyBbbasses),butaweakerplayerwillnotbehappywithaphrasewhichhasso
manylownotes.
Althoughonecanexpecttheparttobecoveredbytwoplayers,splittingthepartsis
veryrare.Whenanoteisverylow,andrequiresafourvalveinstrument,youmay
wishtoaddtheoptionoftakingitupanoctavebywritinganossialine.
Apartfrompiecesforadvancedplayers,fastpassagesshouldbeavoided.B bbass
solos,evensimpleonessuchasTubaRag,arerare.
Theinstrumentisphysicallydemanding:donotwriteverylongphrasesforthe
part.Evenveryaccomplishedplayerswillbeunlikelytosustainafortissimofor
morethanafewbeatswithoutabreath.Playersveryoftenwillevenbreathinthe
middleofafortissimolongpauseattheendofapiecetohelptosustainthechord.
Percussion
Itoftenseemstotheauthorthatbandscanfallintotwogeneralcategories:those
withonlyonedrummerplayingadrumkit;andthosewithtwoorthree
percussionists,whichhavealargearsenaltohand,includingakit.Thiscancause
difficultytothenewcomposer.Forexample,whenwritingabassdrumnote,will
itbeplayedonakitbassdrum,oraconcertbassdrum?Theinstrumentssound,
andareplayed,verydifferently.Sometimes,forexampleinrockmusic,itwillbe
obviouswhichtouse,butwithsomepieces,marchesandlowersectiontestpieces
forexample,thecomposerwillneedtobemoreawareaboutensuringwhatisused.
Toavoidanydoubtwrite"concertbassdrum"overaparttobeplayedonthat
instrument.

Inamarchonewouldnotgenerallywriteatimpanipart,eveninaconcertmarch.
Thisproblemismoredifficultwhenbearinginmindtheresourcesofbands:most
bandswillputpercussioninstrumentslowerontheirshoppinglistthancornetsand
otherbrassinstruments,sooftenevenbasicinstruments,suchastimpani,justare
notavailable.
Youshouldalsobearinmindthatmanyweakerconductorsdonotunderstandthe
percussionsection.Althoughyouwillnotlikeit,many"drummers"willtake
libertieswithrhythmsthatyouwriteandpoorerconductorswillnotbeawareof
thisorwillturnablindeye.Withmoreandmoreconductorshavingclassical
educationsinmusic,ratherthansimplybeinggoodplayersofbrassinstruments,
thistrendisthankfullydisappearing.Butthetruthremains:conductorsoftendonot
haveknowledgeoftheinstruments,andwillnottrytolearnaboutthem,even
thoughitisasectionoverwhichtheyaresupposedtobeexertingmusical
direction.
Iintendtolisteachinstrumentindetail:Ishallcoverthedrumkitandthe
choreographyofthepercussionsectionwhendiscussingsectionslater.
Broadly,percussionfallsintotwotypes:tunedanduntuned.Tunedpercussionare
thoseinstrumentswhichproduceasinglepitch,orrangeofnotes.Weshallcover
timpani,glockenspiel,tubularbells,xylophoneandvibraphone.Itissafetoassume
thatmostbandshavethefirsttwoofthese,andaccesstobells.Xylophonesand
vibraphonesarerareoutsideoftopbands.Ishallnotcoverthemarimbaortuned
cymbals,sinceitisveryraretofindtheminbands.
Untunedpercussionarethoseinstrumentswhichproducenotunednoted.Itissafe
toassumethatallbandshaveadrumkitwhichwillincludeabassdrum,snare
drum,oneortwotomtoms,ahihatcymbalandone,orboth,rideorcrash
cymbals.Mostwillalsohavetambourine,triangle,woodenblockandcowbell.
Somewillalsohavetempleblocks(alsocalledskulls),clashcymbals,tamtam,
windchimesandtenordrum.Untunedinstrumentscanbewrittenwitheithera
bassclefornoclef.
Finally,manyoftheinstrumentscanbestruckwithdifferentbeaterstoproduce
differenteffect.Onemayevenplayavibraphonewitha`cellobow.
UntunedPercussion

Snaredrum

Thesnaredrum(sometimescalledthesidedrum)iswrittenonthethirdspaceon
thestave.Itissafetoassumethatallbrassbandshaveasnaredrum.Rollsare
markedasdemisemiquavers.Usuallyplayedwithwoodensticks,theymay
sometimesbeplayedwithbrushes.Itcanbeplayedeitherwiththesnareonoroff.
Toindicatedirectionstotheplayer,thecomposershouldindicatein
Englishbrushes,snareon,sticks,orsnareoff.Moderatelyfastanddifficult
rhythmsarepossible.
Bassdrum(kit)

Thekitbassdrumiswrittenonthebottomspaceofthestave.Itissafetoassume
thatallbrassbandshaveakitbassdrum.Rollsarenotpossibleonthisinstrument
ifyouwantarollitwillneedtobeplayedonaconcertbassdrum.Veryfastnotes
ordifficultrhythmsarenotpossibleexceptforthemostaccomplishedplayers.
Whenstartingtowrite,itisbesttokeeptoasimple"onthebeat"rhythm.
Cymbal(crash)

Thecrashcymbaliswrittenonthesecondspaceofthestave.Itissafetoassume
thatallbrassbandshaveacrashcymbal,often,thoughnotalways,aspartofa
drumkit.Theinstrumentisusuallyplayedeitherasaoneoffnoteorinrolls.Rolls
aremarkedasdemisemiquavers.Thecrashcymbalisusuallyplayedwiththeedge
ofawoodenstickagainsttheedgeofthecymbal,orwithsoftstickssuchas
vibraphonesticksonthetopoftheinstrumentwhenusedinaroll.Itispossibleto
rollwithhardsticks,butItendtofindtheeffectunconvincing.Themiddle(dome)
oftheinstrumentcanbeusedoccasionallyforabelllikeeffect.
Bystoppingthevibrationoftheinstrumentwiththeotherhand,astaccatoeffect
canbemade,usuallymarkedsec.
Cymbal(ride)

Theridecymbalisabovethestavewithacrosshairnotehead.Mostbrassbands
havearidecymbal,alwaysaspartofadrumkit.Theinstrumentisusedfor
extendedpassagesofcomplexrhythms,usuallywithawoodenstick,though
sometimeswithbrushes.
Cymbals(clash)

Clashcymbalsarealsowrittenonthe2ndspaceofthestave.Manybandshave
clashedcymbals,usuallylarge,heavyinstrumentswhichareatleast20"in
diameter.Theyareplayedbyhittingthemtogether,usuallyintheverticalaxis,but
onveryloudsinglenotestheymaybeplayedinthehorizontalaxisforextraeffect.

Theyarebestusedeitherinmarches,doublingthebassdruminloudersections(
Unitynotetheuseofsinglelinestaves,betterthanallononestavewhen
manyplayersareexpected),oratsinglenotesforclimaxes.Byholdingthe
instrumentsagainstthechest,theymaybeplayedstaccato,usuallymarkedsec.
Itmayseemarbitrarywhetheraride,clashoracrashcymbalisused,buttherule
thatplayersfollowistouseacrashcymbalexceptinlongerormorecomplex
rhythmsections.Thereisadifferenceintonecolourbetweenthetwowhichis
determinedbythecrosssectionalshapeoftheinstruments,butthisneednot
concernthenewwritertobrassbandinstruments.Toavoidconfusion,Iwrotethe
ridecymbalatfigureAofMissionabovethetopstaveandmarkeditridecymbal;
thereadermayalsowishtousethistechnique.Ifclashcymbalsarerequired,
stateclashcymbals:afterwards,statecrashcymbal.
Cymbals(hihat)

Hihatcymbalsarewritteninthetopspaceofthestave.Itissafetoassumethatall
bandshaveasetofhihatcymbalsaspartoftheirkit.Theycanbeplayedeitherby
usingthepedalorwithsticks.
Thepedalcanbeusedtohitthecymbalstogetherandleavethecymbalstogether
toproduceastaccatonote,orthecymbalscanbeallowedtoseparateafterbeing
struckwhichallowsthemtoring.Theeffectissimilartoclashcymbals;indeed
thiseffectisoftenusedinmarchesbylowerbands,whenaplayerwithclashed
cymbalsisnotavailable.
Thetopcymbalcanbehitbyeitherwoodensticksorbrusheswiththetwocymbals
together("closed"),orapart("open").
Theappearanceofthenoteheadbestrelateswhichstyletouse.Usuallynoteheads
indicatethatthepedalistobeused:quaversorstaccatotoindicatethatthepedalis
pressedandkeptdepressedtoproducetheshortnote:longnotessuchasminims
showthatthepedalshouldbedepressedthenraised.Useanxnoteheadtoindicate
closedhihatusedwithastick(
LazyDays);oranxinacircletoindicatean
openhihatusedwithastick.Indicatethesticktypewiththe
wordsticksorbrushes.
Triangle

Itissafetoassumethatmostbandshaveatriangle.Althoughtheyareunpitched,
trianglesdocomeindifferentsizeswithdeeperorlightersounds.Youshouldnot,
however,expecttowritefordifferentsoundinginstrumentsorassumethataband
hasmorethanoneinstrument.

Theinstrumentcanbeusedwhenthecomposerwishestoaddbitetothecolourof
achord,eitherinquietpassageaccentuatingarhythm,oronaffwhenthe
instrumentwillbrightenthesoundofthechord.
Rollsaremarkedasdemisemiquavers.Theinstrumentshouldbeplacedabovethe
toplineofthestave,perhapswithatriangularheadtoemphasisetheinstrumentto
beused(
figureAofTheHuronCarol).
Aswithallkitwriting,rememberthatifyouanticipatetheinstrumentbeingplayed
bythekitplayer,youmustallowtheplayertimetomovetotheinstrumentand
changebeatersbeforeandafterplaying.Itisbesttothinkaboutwhichplayeris
freetochangebeatersbeforedecidingwhoshouldplaythenote.
WoodenBlock

Itissafetoassumethatmostbandshaveawoodenblock.Theinstrumentisun
pitchedandisstruckwithasnaredrumstick,mostoftenbythekitplayer.
Theinstrumentshouldbeusedsparingly,toaddbytetoasforzandonote,orwhen
itscolouriscalledforinrhythmicwriting.Fastandcomplexpassagesarepossible
byusingtwosticks,butrollsarebestavoided.
Notesforthewoodenblockshouldbeplacedinthetopspace,usingacrossed
notehead.ToavoidconfusionitisbesttoclearlymarkthepartWoodenBlock.
Tambourine

Itissafetoassumethatmostbandshaveatambourine,thoughthequalityofthe
instrumentmaybesuspect.
Theinstrumentmaybeplayedbyanyofthepercussionists,butoneshouldavoid
quickchangestoandfromtheinstrument,particularlyinquietpassages,because
ofthenoisethattheinstrumentmaymakewhenbeingpickeduporputdown.
Thereislittledynamicrangeintheinstrument.Rollsaremarkedasdemi
semiquavers.Thepartshouldbeplacedinthetopspaceusingacrossednotehead.
Toavoidconfusionwithinstrumentssuchasthewoodenblock,thepartshouldbe
clearlymarkedTambourine.
CowBell

Many,thoughnotall,bandshaveacowbell.Theinstrumentformspartofadrum
kit.

Thereislittledynamicrangeintheinstrumentanditisneverusedinaroll.Itishit
withawoodensnaredrumstickand,byusingtwosticks,complexrhythmsare
possible,thoughthebeginnershouldrestrictwritingtotheoccasionalnotefor
effectortonecolour.Thepartshouldbeplacedinthetopspaceusingacrossed
notehead.Toavoidconfusionwithinstrumentssuchasthewoodenblock,thepart
shouldbeclearlymarkedCowBell.
TempleBlocks

Fewbandshaveaccesstoasetoftempleblocks,a.k.a.skulls.Theyareasetof
fourorfivehollowblocks,that,althoughuntuned,areindifferentpitches.The
blocksareplayedwithhardsnaredrumsticksandcanbeusedtoheightentension
infaster,rhythmicpassages.Theycanalsobeusedasclipclopinstruments
mimickingthesoundofahorse.
Youshouldexpectthattheinstrumentwillbeplayedbythetimpanistorthird
percussionist,soyouwillneedtoallowtimefortheplayertomovetothe
instrumentandpossiblychangesticks.
Rollsarerarelycalledfor.Theblocksshouldappearoneachofthefivelinesofthe
stave,followingthefiveinstrumentsinaset.Thepartshouldbeclearly
markedTempleBlocks.
TamTam

Bandsmenusethewordstamtamandgongasthoughtheymeanthesame.They
donot.Strictlyspeaking,gongscomeinvarioussizes,somepitched,someun
pitched.InmodernEnglish,thewordgongisreservedforthepitchedinstruments,
whereastamtamisreservedfortheunpitchedinstruments.Sincebrassbands
nearlyalwaysrequireanunpitchedinstrument,thetermusedshouldbetamtam.
Onlyafewbandshaveaccesstoatamtam.Manyconductorsorlowerbandswill
directtheparttobeplayedonacrashcymbalwithasoftstick.Thisismistake,but
thewritershouldbeawarethatsomebandswilldothis.Irecommendputtingan
indicationinthescorestatingwhatactiontotakeifatamtam,oranyparticular
percussioninstrumentforthatmatter,isunavailable.
Thetamtamiscapablebothofaddingwarmthtoaquietnote,andofand
exhilaratingadditiontoaclimax.Thelatterbecameaclichduringthe1980sand
maybebestavoided.Thetamtamisalargeinstrumentwhichcannotbehitloud
fromstandingstill.Theplayerneedstowarmuptheinstrumentbyquietlystroking
itbeforehittingaloudnote,soavoidfftamtamnotesonthefirstnoteofapiece.
Furthermorebearinmindthattheinstrumentwillsoundforsometimeafterbeing
struck,soshortnotesarenotpractical.Aplayercandeadentheinstrumentagainst

him/herselftoshortenthelength,buttheminimumlengthissetbyphysical
factors.
Theinstrumentshouldbewrittenonthesecondspace,clearlylabelledtamtamto
avoidconfusionwithcymbalswhicharewritteninthesamespace.Rollsandshort
notesarenotpossibleontheinstrument.
WindChimes

Truewindchimesareavailabletofewbands,thoughmanyplayersimprovisewith
agentleglissandoonaglockenspiel.Thiscompromise,thoughcommon,israrely
acceptable.Windchimesshouldbeusedsparingly,thoughtheiruseinaslow,
quietcornetsolopassagecanbeeffective.Thechimesareneverstruck
individually,theyarealwaysstruckinaglissando,thelengthofwhichcanbe
extendedbyusingastickinbothhandsstrokingoneaftertheotherinawavelike
effect.Thecomposercanexpectthesoundtobeplayedfortwoorthreesecondsat
most.Theglissandoisalwaysupwardinpitch.
Thewindchimesshouldbeindicatedbyusingacrossedhairnoteinthelowest
spacemarkedbothwithanupwardglissandomark,andtheindicationwind
chimes.
TenorDrum

Fewbandsusearealtenordrum.Insteadwhenpresentedwithapartfortenor
drumtheywilleitheruseasnaredrumwiththesnaresturnedofforasmalltom
tom.Theformerwillbesharperandlouderthanthelatterwhichwillbequieterand
duller.Theinstrumentwillusuallybehitwithasnaredrumbeater,thoughitmay
bestruckwithasoftbeaterforeffect.
TheindicationofbodhrnatfigureHofOWorshipTheKingislikelytobeplayed
inthesameway.
TomToms

Nearlyallbandshaveaccesstoadrumkitwithtwoorthreetomtoms.Rollsare
rareontheseinstruments,theyusuallyonlyappearinrockstylemusicwherethe
instrumentsarestruckwithasnaredrumbeater.Theinstrumentsarewrittenonthe
threemiddlelinesofthestave,markedtomtom( bar4ofWhenWe'reApart).
TunedPercussion

Whilstitisnotincorrecttowriteakeysignatureonatunedpercussionpart,itis
moreconventionaltowritewithnokeysignatureandtouseaccidentalswhere
necessary.
Timpani

Itissafetoassumethatmostbandshaveapairoftimpani:usually26"and29".
Sadlyafewweakerbandsstilloftenonlyhavehandtunedkettledrums,soon
simplermusicthecomposershouldavoidtoomanyretunes,eachshouldbe
precededbyatleast10secondsofrestandeachretuneshouldberestrictedtoa
toneorsemitone.Strongerbandshavepedaltunedinstruments,andoftenhavea
thirdorevenfourthinstrument.Markeachretuneclearly,suchas"changeDto
E".Whenstarting,thebuddingcomposershouldwritefortwoinstrumentswithno
retuning.Theinstrumentsarewritteninconcertpitchinbassclef.Thelarger
instrumentiscapableoflowGtoCinthesecondspace,thesmallerinstrumentis
capableofBbtoFonthefourthline.Moreadvancedbandswillhaveinstruments
capableoftuningtolowEb,butwhenstartingthenewcomposershouldavoid
thosenotes.Athirddrum,whenavailable,willusuallybealargerinstrument.
Rollsaremarkedastrills.Rollsofhighernotestendtobelesspurethanthoseof
lowernoteswhichsoundclosertoonesinglelongnote.Whenarollgoesovera
barline,thenotesshouldbetied.
Fourtypesofstickareavailable,soft,medium,hardandwooden.Itisbesttouse
mediumsticksonlywhenstarting,perhapsoccasionallymarkinghardsticksfor
staccatopassages.
Itispossibleforoneplayertohittwotimpaniatthesametimeorfortwoplayers
toplaymorethanoneinstrument(
figureLofDiesIrae)butthisisrareand
shouldbekepttoanabsoluteminimum.ThewritingasinDiesIraewilltherefore
maximisetheimpact,inthiscaseofapieceaimedatbetterbandsprobablyina
massedbandconcertorentertainmentscontest.
Glockenspiel

Itissafetoassumethatmostbandshaveaccesstoaglockenspiel.Writteninthe
trebleclef,soundingtwooctaveshigherthanwritten,thewrittenrangeisfromG
belowmiddleConthetrebleclef,up2andahalfoctavestoatopC,thoughnotes
aboveatopGcanbeveryshrillonpoorerqualityinstruments.Glissandiandrolls
arebothpossible,butrollsarerarelysuitable.Glissandishouldbekepttothe
'whitenotes'.Trillsontheglockenspielareunconvincingandshouldbeavoided.

Becauseofthepiercingqualityandwiththeuseofarangeofsticks,aglockenspiel
cancutthrougheventheloudestoffortissimosaswellasplayingadelicatequiet
passage.
Theinstrumentshouldbeusedtoaddtonecolouroroccasionallytodoublethe
melody,theinstrumentshouldnotbeusedasanalternativetobrassinstruments
simplybecauseithasaccesstothehigherregistersthatareunavailableeventothe
sopranocornet(
bar4ofWhenWe'reApart).
Tubularbells

Tubularbellsarerarelyavailableinweakerbands.Writteninthetrebleclefat
concertpitch,theinstrument'srangisusuallyfrommiddleCupanoctaveanda
4thtoFonthetopline.
Bellswilladdanexcellenttonecolourtobothloudandsoftplaying.Thetubular
bellhasuniquetonalqualitythatalwaysleadsittosoundflatcloseupandinthe
rehearsalroom,yettheinstrumentwillsoundintunetotheaudience.Playersand
evensomeconductorsdonotalwaysappreciatethisandhavebeenknowntoleave
outthepartasaresult,orworsestillputitinonaglockenspielwhichisdirectly
againstacomposer'swishes.AnunusualuseappearsintheopeningbarsofWhen
We'reApart.Theycanbequitedexterousespeciallywhenusedwitharepeating
phrasethatallowstheplayertogetintoa"rhythm"toplay:semiquaversat120
crotchetbeatsisachievablewithouttoomuchdifficulty.Ifyouareatallunsure,a
singlenotewillstillbeveryeffective.

FourPartHarmony
Whenfirstlearningthetheoryofharmonyoneisintroducedtothewriting
commoninmixedvoicechoirs:SATB.ThatisSoprano,Alto,Tenor,Bass.The
firsttwoarefemale,thelattertwoaremale.Lookatanytraditionalhymntune
fromHymnsAncientandModern,andthechancesarethatitwillhavebeen
harmonisedinthisform.
Scoringsuchsimplemelodiesistheintroductionthatmostarrangersand
composershavetowritingforbands.Writinghymntunesisagoodfirstexercise
sincebyfollowingafewsimplerulesagoodresultcanbeobtained,giving
confidencetothecomposertomoveontomorechallengingworks.
Exercise1
Chooseyourfavouritefourparthymnandtranscribeitusingtheserules:

Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass

Soprano,Solocornets,repiano,flugel
2ndand3rdcornets,solohorn
1stand2ndhorns,baritones,tenortrombone
Basstrombone,EbandBbbasses

Youwillhavefoundthatyouhadmanychoicestomake,butsomebasiconesare:
WhichkeyshallIuse?Don'tstraytoofarfromtheoriginal,ifyouwanttotryyour
pieceoutatachurchserviceyou'llwantpeopletobeabletosingalongwithit.
Whataboutthesopranocornet?Sometimesdoublethesolocornetatpitch,
sometimeswriteitanoctaveabove,butfornowdon'tjumpinthemiddleofa
phrase.
Whatabouttheeuphonium?Youcaneitherdoublethesopranovoicedownan
octave,ordoublethebassvoice.Thechoiceisyours,butonceyou'vechosendon't
change.
Whataboutpercussion?Ifyouwantyoucanusethetimpaniatcadences,butfeel
freetoavoidpercussionfornow.
Shouldthebassesbeinunisonorinoctaves?Theanswertothisissimilartothe
soprano,sometimesunison,sometimesinoctaves,butfornowdon'tjumpinthe
middleofaphrase.
Whenconsideringthesopranoandbassesyouwillhavehadtoconsiderthe
problemofoctaves.ForthefirstexerciseIstipulatedthatoneshouldnotjump
octavemidphase.Thatisnotalwayspractical,however,sincethepartmayendup
outsidethetessituraoftheinstrument.Ifoneistochangeoctavesmidphrase,the
writerhastoconsidertheissueofwhentochange.Thereisnohardandfastrule
aboutthis,oneshouldmovewhenthemusicdictates,butcertainlynomorethan
onceinaphrase.Thebesttimetomoveisatthestartofthepreparationforthe
cadenceattheendofthephrase.Usuallythebassesaremoreflexibleaboutwhen
tomovethantheSoprano,sincethecasuallistenermaynotnoticethebasschange,
butthesopranochangeneedstobemorecarefullyhandled.Ifhandledwell,for
exampleanoctavejumpupatthefinalcadence,thesopranochangecanbemost
effective.
SeehowthesopranoisusedinthetranscriptionofAngelVoices.Thistranscription
isunusualinthatthe1sttrombonehelpstheAltovoiceforonephrase.
Doublecheckthatyouhavegotallofthetranspositionsandkeysignaturescorrect.
Thisisacommonmistakewhenlearningtowriteforbands.Rememberthatapart
fromthepercussion(whichyouwon'tbewritingforinthisexercise)andthebass

trombone,allpartsareinthetrebleclef.CheckthatyouhavetheEbparts
(soprano,hornsandEbbasses),inthecorrectkeycomparedtotheinstrumentsin
Bb,andcheckthatyouhaverememberedthatthebasstrombonepartiswrittenin
concertpitch.AgainacomparisonwithAngelVoiceswillhelpyou.
Ifyouwouldliketosendmeacopyofyourexerciseforcomments,feelfreetodo
so,clearlymarkingyourenvelope"exercise1".Forcopyrightreasons,please
ensurethatthehymnwaspublishedbefore1939andthatthecomposeralsodied
before1939.PleaseincludeandSAEifyouwantawrittenreplyoryourscore
back,oryouremailaddressifyouwantanemailedreply.Pleaseonlysubmit
scoresthatareinhardcopyform(handwrittenisallowable),notinelectronicform.
Exercise2
Chooseasecondhymntune,thistimethinkingcarefullyaboutwhenthesoprano
shouldjumpupanoctave,andwhentheEbbassshoulddoubletheBbbassorbean
octaveaboveit.
Ifyouaresubmittingtheexercise,pleaseclearlymarkyourenvelope"exercise2".

TheSections
Cornets
Thecornetsectionincludesboththefrontandbackrowaswellasthesoprano
cornet.Fromtimetotimetheflugelwilldoubleoneofthecornetlines,
traditionallytherepiano.WhereappropriateIshallindicatethisdoubling,butasa
ruleofthumbthecornetsectionofamodernbrassbanddoesnotincludethe
flugel.
Playerswithabackgroundinbrassbandsareverytemptedtoconsiderthecornets
astwosections,frontandbackrow.Newcomerstothemovementdonothave
whatisalmostapreconceptiontotreatthesectionastwohalves,insteadtheywrite
forthecornetsasonesection.
Itistruethatinallbutthestrongestofbands,the3rdcornetplayerswillbe
considerablyweakerthantheprincipalcornet,howeverthisshouldnotbeseenasa
barriertoconsideringthecornetsasonesection.Inimportantpartswhereafull
balanceisrequiredinallthenotesofachordorpassage,Ifinditusefultosplitthe
frontrowcornetstohelponthelowercornetparts;thiswillhelptoachievethe
evenbalanceacrossachordthatthewriterusuallywants(
FigureCofSt.
Clement;thebarbeforefigureEofWhenWe'reApart).AtfigureEofWhenWe're
Apartconsiderhowthearrangerhassplitthefourpartsacrossthecornetsection.

Nootherinstrumentsareplaying,itisimportantthateachnoteofthechordis
heardandthatnoplayerfeels"exposed".
Exercise3
Writeashortfanfareforsoprano&cornetsforyourband.
Ifyouaresubmittingtheexercise,pleaseclearlymarkyourenvelope"exercise3".
Horns
Thehornsectioncanbeconsideredtocontaindifferentorchestrationsatdifferent
times.Whenasaxhornmelodyorsoundisrequired,thearrangercanconsider
manyoptionsforthehornsection:
tenorhornsalone
flugelandhorns
hornsandbaritone(s)
flugel,hornsandbaritone(s).
Whichoptiontochoosedependsonthespreadofthevoices(howhighandlow?)
andonthenumberofvoiceswanted.
Itisimportanttoconsiderthebalanceofthegroup;whatlooksperfectlybalanced
onpaper,orsoundsbalancedonthecomputerwhenyouplaybackyour
arrangement,willnotnecessarilyworkwellwithinabandcontext,particularlyin
weakerbands.Howwouldyouorchestratefiveequalvoicesifyouwanttousea
hornsound?Clearlyifyouusethethreehornsandtwobaritones,thentheparts
playedbythe2ndhornand2ndbaritonewillbeweakerthantheotherthreeparts,
leadingtoanimbalance.InthatscenarioIwouldsuggestaddingaflugeland
doublingthe2ndhornand2ndbaritone.Thatmayintroducetuningproblemsyou
willneedtoconsider.
Isuggestconsideringthefollowingcombinationstohandlebalancingbest:
threevoices
fourvoices
fivevoices

flugel/sh/1h;sh/1h/1b
flugel/sh/1h/1b;sh/1h/1b/2h&2b
flugel/sh/1h/1b/2h&2b

Unlikefrenchhornsinanorchestra,tenorhornsdonottendtoplaywellinunison,
especiallyatfortissimo.Whenfacedwithanextendedsectionsuchasthisto

transcribefromanorchestralpieceonewilloftenfindgoodresultsbyscoringthe
linefortrombonesinunison,perhapswiththesolohorneitherinunisonorupan
octave,whicheverworksbestatthepitchofthepiece.
BaritonesandEuphoniums
Whenorchestratingasectionwithatenorvoicelead,asafebetistouseall
baritonesandeuphoniumsinunison.Thesoundsblendwellandeasilyforma
stronglead.
Iftheleadisintwovoices,Iwouldsuggestsplittingtheeuphoniumlines,one
doublingthe1stbaritone,onedoublingthesecond.Thisscenariowillnotoccur
often.
Trombones
Uniquelyinabrassband,trombonesarecylindricalintheirboreratherthan
conical,sotheirsoundwillalwayscomethroughclearly.Astraight1st/2nd/bass
triowritingwillalwaysbesuccessful.Ifyouwanttwooctavelines,doublethe
tenortrombones.
Exercise4
Extendthefanfareyouwroteinexercise3toincludepartsfortrombones.
Ifyouaresubmittingtheexercise,pleaseclearlymarkyourenvelope"exercise4".
Basses
Whencomparedwithanorchestraorwindband,abrassbandisuniqueinhavinga
"bottomup"balance,byvirtueofhaving4tubasalongwith2tenortubas,abass
trombone,timpaniandconcertbassdrum.Thisbalanceneedstobepreservedand
nurturedespeciallyduringfullensembleplaying.
Basschoirsarerare,andthetubaensemblesoundproducedatfigureCofWhile
ShepherdsWatched,addingbaritonesandeuphoniums,israrerstill.That'sashame,
sincethesoundproducedisveryconvincing,andIwouldsuggestthatthereader
experimentswiththiscombination.Thechoiceofsplittinganddoublingatthat
examplewaschosentoensurethateachofthefourvoiceshasequalweight,whilst
tuningproblemsareminimised.
Exercise5

Writeashortinterludetocontrastagainstexercise4.Thisinterludeshouldbefor
allthebrassinstrumentsexceptforcornetsandtrombones.
Ifyouaresubmittingtheexercise,pleaseclearlymarkyourenvelope"exercise5".
Percussion
Thebiggestproblemfacingthewriterforpercussionsectionsisensuringthat
playershaveenoughtimetobereadytoplay,thatistheyneedtohavetimeto
changesticks,runaround,thenpreparebeforetheyplay.Therearemanyexamples
ofpoorwriting,forexamplepartoneplayingtimpsandparttwoplayingside
drum,thenonebarlaterplayertwoplaystimpsandplayeroneplayscymbals.
Naturallythetimplineshouldbelefttooneplayerinthisexample.
Igenerallyfinditbesttoputallthepercussionlinesononepart,itisthenuptothe
playerstoworkitoutamongthemselveswhowillplaywhatsothattheycanbein
therightpositionattherighttime.Playerswillalwaysfindthebestsystemfor
themselves,composers,conductorsandarrangerswouldbebestadvisedtoallow
themtoutilisetheirownsystem.
Exercise6
Writeapieceofmusicentitled"FanfareandInterlude"inthreesections:(i)based
onthematerialinexercise4,(ii)basedonthematerialinexercise5,and(iii)a
combinationoftheabove,tuttiincludingpercussion.
Askyourlocalbandtorecorditandsubmittherecordingalongwithyourscore.
Ifyouaresubmittingtheexercise,pleaseclearlymarkyourenvelope"exercise6".

WritingForFullBand
Transcriptionfromanorchestralscore
Oneoftenfindsthatthefirstattemptatwritingforthebrassbandmediumforthe
buddingarrangeristhetranscriptionofanorchestralscore.Thereisnosimpleset
ofrulesthatalwaysworkwhentranscribingafullorchestratobrassband,allthatI
canofferherearesomeideaswhichyoucanthinkabout.Therearesome
difficultiesthatthetranscribermustbeawareofbeforeundertakingthe
transcription,thesedifficultiesstemfromthedifferencesbetweenafullsymphony
orchestraandabrassband.

Firstly,thescale.Evenamodestsymphonyorchestra(anorchestrawithdouble
windandsomebrassandtimpaniusedbyMozart)hasmanyparts.Therearenot
necessarilymorepartsthaninaband,buttheytendtobeinregisters(altoand
soprano)thatthebrassbanddoesn'thaveasmanydifferenttonecolours(tenor).A
largesymphonyorchestra(inthe20thcenturyquadrupleandevenquintuplewind
witheighthorns,andlargebrasssectionswasnotuncommon)presentsevenmore
problems.ConsidertheproblemsoftranscribingalargeworksuchastheDies
IraefromBerlioz'srequiem,whichinadditiontothelargeorchestraalsouseslarge
choralforces.
Secondly,theregister.Thebalanceofthesymphonyorchestraistowardthehigher
frequencyinstruments.Notonlycantheygomuchhigher(overtwooctaveshigher
thanasopranocornetispossibleforpiccolosandviolins;overoneoctavehigher
thanacornetispossibleformanyinstruments),butalsotherearemanydifferent
tonecoloursinthatregister.Ontheotherhandthebrassbandisweightedtoward
thebassend.Theforcesofthebrassbandinthelowregisterincludesfourtubas,a
basstrombone,timpaniandtwoeuphoniums.
Asinthebrassbandscore,theorchestralscoreincludestransposinginstruments.
Themostcommononesareclarinets(inBb,A,EborC);horns(usuallyinForEb,
buttheycanalsobefoundinD,C,lowBb,highBborA);trumpets(usuallyinBb
orC,butoccasionallyinF,D,EborAElgarwouldwriteforBbtrumpetsbutina
transposingkeyofF);doublebassesanddoublebassoons(writtenanoctavehigher
thansounding)andpiccolos(writtenanoctavelowerthansounding).
Itwasacommonpracticetowritebrassinstruments(hornsandtrumpetsmost
usually)innaturalkeywithaccidentals,butdon'tbeconfused,thesepartsarestill
transposing.
Ifyou'relookingforasetofrules,e.g.putviolinstocornets,hornstohorns,
mutingcornetsformutedviolinpartsetc.,youwillbedisappointed,since
followingthoserulesoftenleadstoaratherformulaicsoundingtranscription.
Rememberthatitisnotpossibleforabrassbandtomimicafullorchestra,sodon't
attemptitasuccessfultranscriptionisoneinwhichtheendresultconvincesthe
listenerthatthemusicwasoriginallywrittenforbrassband.Notaneasyobjective.
HavingsaidthatIhavesometipsorspecificideastoconsider:
WhenaviolinpartismarkedsulG(i.e.ontheGstring),considergivingit
tocornets(atleastsoloandrepianoparts,possiblyalsothe2ndand3rd
cornetlines),solohorn,andeuphonium(atpitch;notdownanoctave)fora
sonoroussound.

 Considergivingoboepartstoastraightmutedcornet.
Considergivingasoloflutepassagetotheflugel.
Othersuggestionsanyone??
SwingMusic
IbelievethatBarrieGott'sLightwalkprovedtobeapivotalpieceinthe
developmentoftheabilityofbrassbands,particularlythosebasedintheUK,to
swingandtoreadmusicinaswingstyle.Thesimplestexampleofsuchswing
musicistheplayingoftwosuccessivequaversasatripletcrotchetfollowedbya
tripletquaver.BeforeLightwalk,bandscould,andwould,onlyplaythemusicthat
wasputinfrontofthem,usingtheexactnotation.Twoquaversalwaysmeanttwo
quavers,neveraswungcrotchet/quaverpair.
SinceLightwalk,bandshavestartedtolearntoswingnotationandonecannow
putaswingnotatedpieceinfrontofmanybandsandexpectareasonable
performance.It'sstillearlyandthere'sstillalongwaytogo,butitisimproving.
TheAshGrovewasarrangedafterLightwalkwaspublished,neverthelessatthat

timeIstillfeltitbesttouseconventionalnotation;ifIweretowriteitnow,
however,Iprobablywouldn'tsincebrassbandplayersarenowmorelikelytobe
abletoread"swing".TheAshGroveisalsoavailableforbigbandsandwind
bands,thereisacasetobemadetorescoreallthreeorchestrations.
Thenextstepistoteachbrassbandplayershowtoimprovise!
OnDoubling
Doublingoccurswhenmorethanonepartplaysthesameline.Doublingcanoccur
atpitch,forexamplerepianoandflugel;inoctaves,forexamplesolocornetand
euphonium;or,mostrarely,intwooctaves,forexamplesopranoandE bbass
thoughthislastoptionisbestavoidedexceptwhenitisneededforaspecialeffect,
andeventhenitmustbeusedwithcare.
Doublingisausefultool,thoughitcaneasilybeusedtoexcessandithassome
pitfallsthatcanaffectscores.Ifascoreincludesnodoublingmanyinstruments
willrest,unlessthereare25independentlines,resultinginalightscoring,which
cansoundthininweakerbands,thoughstrongerbandscanexcelinthisstyle.Ifa
scorecontainstoomuchdoubling,balancebetweenthelinescaneasilybeupset.If
ascorecontainsinappropriatedoubling,forexampledifferentinstrumentsusing

differentharmonicswithdifferenttuningcharacteristics,thepartsofthelinewill
notblendwellresultinginanineffectivescore.
Anexampleoftheinappropriatedoublingproblemisthepracticeofdoublingthe
solohornandflugeloncountermelodylines.Oftenthisresultseitherinthehorn
playinghigh,resultinginapartthatismoreprominentthanacountermelodyline
shouldbe;ortheflugelplayinglow,withsomenotescausingintonationproblems
inlessexperiencedplayers.Havingsaidthat,doublingacountermelodyonthe
sopranoandrepiano,inoctaves,canbemosteffective.
Doublingthesolocornetlinewiththeeuphonium,inoctaves,tendstowork
becausetheinstrumentswillbeusingthesameharmonics,thusavoidingtuning
difficulties;and,becausetheinstrumentsareinoctaves,theeuphoniumlinetends
toaddcolouranddepthratherthanweight.Thistoolcanbesafelyused
bothtuttiandsolo.
Practicalissuescancausethecomposertodoubleparts.Theprincipalpractical
issuescomeaboutfromtheneedtowriteforthemassmarketwherethestandard
ofplayerswillbevariableandwherewemayfindthatsomepartsaremissing
becausebandsmaynotalwayshaveafullcomplementoutsidethecontestarena.
Acommonpracticetoovercomethisissueistocueonepartinanother.This
deviceallowsyoutoconveytotheconductorthatyouwouldpreferthatalineis
notdoubled,buttheconductormaychoosetheextraplayerifthepartismissingor
weak.Forexamplethe2ndhornmaybecuedinthe1stbaritone.Rememberboth
thatthisisacompromiseandthattheaboveissuesofintonationwilloccurfrom
timetotime,forexamplealowDinthehornwillbesharpcomparedwiththe
samenote,G,onthebaritone,whichwillbeintune.
Thedoublingthatoccursmostoftenisinthebass,ratherthanmelodic,lines
amongsttheeuphoniums,basstromboneandbasses.Hereadecisionoftenneedsto
bemadewiththeEbbasses:aretheytodoubletheupperoctavewiththe
euphoniums,ortheloweroctavewiththeBbbasses?Moreoftenthannotthe
answerisunclear,indeedtheEbbasswilloftenswitchfromaphraseinoneoctave
tothenextintheother,thenbackagain.Exactlywhatdotowillcomewith
experience.Oftenthelinewillswitchmidphrase,thoughcareshouldbetakento
keepthelinesmoothwhendoingthatusuallyaswitchoccursafterastrongbeat,
usuallyonthe2ndbeatofabar,orataverystrongplace,suchasmidcadence
whichwilloftenbenefitfromanoctaveleapinoneoftheparts.
Doublingcanbeusedtowarmupaplayerbeforeanimportantordifficultsolo.
Forexampleasopranoplayermaybecalledupontoplayahighimportant
partfortissimo.Bybringinginthepartabarortwoearly,inalowerregisterand

quieterdynamic,doublingthe2ndcornet,theplayerwillbewarmandfinditeasier
topitchtheentry.
AsimilarproblemexistswhendoublingbetweenEbandBbinstruments,especially
whenlargeleapsofasixthormoreareencountered.Theproblemismore
profoundinotherinstrumentsbecausebasslinesrarelycontainlargeleaps(except
foroctavejumpswhenthesolutionisclear)andbecausebassinstrumentsnearly
alwayshavea4thvalvewhichincreasesthetessiturainthelowerregister.Usually
youcanusethesamemethodofovercomingtheproblem,thoughonsome
occasionsdroppingoneofthepartsforthefewnotesinaphrasewherethelineis
outofthetessituracanbesurprisinglyeffectivebecauseitaddsunexpectedtone
colourinterest.
TheotherproblemthatexistswhendoublingEbandBbinstruments,especiallyfor
longnotes,comesfromtheuseofdifferentharmonics,withdiffering
characteristics,betweentheinstruments.Thiscaneasilybeseenifwelookatthe
harmonicseries:

Whereacornet,forexample,playsaConthe3rdspace,ahornwillplayatopG.
Theseharmonicshavedifferingcharacteristicswhichwillcausetuningand
intonationproblems.The6thharmonic,whichonopennotesisatopG,is
naturallyverysharp.Asanotherexample,thecornetplayingaGonthe2ndline
(usingthe3rdharmonic,whichisslightlysharp),willbeoutoftunewiththehorn
playingDonthe4thline(usingthe5thharmonic,whichisslightlyflat).Theseare
builtinproblemswhichallgoodconductorsandplayerswillbeawareofandwill
constantlycompensatefor,oftenbytheuseofalternativefingering,orby"lipping"
thenoteintune.Nevertheless,thegoodarrangerandcomposerneedstobearthis
probleminmind.
Giventheissuesraisedwithcrossharmonicsandintonation,theadventurous
composerwillstillfindsomeusefuldoublinginlessconventionaldoubling,such
astheflugelandsoloand1sthornsinoctaves.Trombones,however,shouldhave
fewerproblemssinceitiseasier,tomovetheslideinandoutonmostpositions,
andmanyplayersareusedtodoingsoaccordingtotheneedsoftheirinstrument's
andensemble'scharacteristics.
Transcriptionofapianoscore

InteractionbetweentheSections
ToneColour
Whilstisitofcoursetruethatthebrassbanddoesnothavetherangeoftone
coloursavailableinafullsymphonyorchestra,itwouldbeamistaketosayeither
thatbandshavenotonecolour,thattheonlytonalcolourisgivenbythe
percussionsectionorthatthereareonlytwogroupsoftonecolour:
cornet/trombonesandtherest.
Mutes
[Thissectioniscurrentlybeingwrittentodo:explainthedifferenttonecolours
available].
Themodernbrassbandscorecanallowforawidevarietyofmutes.Choosing
whentouseandwhennottouse,andwhichtypecanbedaunting.Never,ever,use
amutemerelyasadeviceformakinganinstrumentsoundsofter.Alsobearin
mindthatinsertingamutewillaffecttheintonationoftheinstrumentwhichwillbe
allthemoreimportantonmoreadvancedwritingwhichusessomeplayersopen
andsomemutedatthesametime,ordifferentcombinationsofmutesforadvanced
effects.
Youshouldallowatleast5secondsformutestoinsertedand/orremoved,longer
fortrombonesandbasses.
StraightMutes
Itcanbesafelyassumedthatallcornetandtromboneplayers(includingsoprano
andbasstrombone)willhaveastraightmute.Straightmutesforotherinstruments
areusuallyavailableinstrongerbands,thoughsomeconductorswillusea
trombonemuteforamutedpartintheflugelortenorhornsections.
Onthescore,thesimplewordmuteimpliesstraightmute,ensurethatyouthen
markopenwhenthemuteistobetakenout.
Astraightmutegivesahardedgetothetonewhichgivesitapenetratingqualityin
allbutthequietestpassages.Inffpassages,amutedblockchordonhightrombones
givesanexcitingsoundinconfuocopassages.
CupMutes

Mostcornetandsometromboneplayerswillhaveacupmute.Theyarewarmerin
colourthanstraightmutes.Forlegatoordolcepassages,especiallysolos,acup
muteisusuallypreferabletoastraightmute.
Harmon
TheHarmonmutecontainsatubewhichcanbeextendedtochangeitstonecolour.
Cornetplayersandoccasionallytromboneplayersinstrongerbandswillbe
expectedtohaveHarmonmutes.
Onthescore,theHarmonmuteshouldbemarked
eitherHarmon(ti),Harmon(te)orHarmon(to).Usetifortubein,tefortube
extended,andtofortubeout(i.e.removed).
TheHshouldbecapitalisedsinceitisanameofacompanythatsellswah
wahmutes.Onsomescoresyoumayfindthetermwahwahmutesubstitutingfor
Harmonwiththetubein.Thistermcomesfromtheuseofthehandovertheendof
themutewhenitisbeingusedwiththetubein.This"ragtime/jazz/blueseffectis
producedbythehandalternativelycoveringthetubethenbeingtakenaway.In
suchapassage,markanotewitha+whenthenoteistobeplayedwiththehand
overthetube,andowhenitisnot.Thewahwahsoundisbestproducedby
removingthehandslowlywhileanoteisstillbeingsounded.
Ensurethatyouthenmarkopenwhenthemuteistobetakenout.
Handoverbell
Vibrato

WhentoBreaktheRules
CommonMistakes
InmycapacityasadistributorofmusicandtypesetterIreceiveanumberof
unsolicitedmanuscripts.Mostofthesecontainverypromisingmaterialthatone
canlistentousingmoderncomputertechnology,howevertheyoftenfalldownin
theareaofscoringforband,usuallywithfundamentalmistakeswhichwouldmake
themdifficulttoperform.Usuallythesemistakescanbeavoidedeasilybyusing
theadviceI'veofferedhere.

Generallytheinexperiencedcomposerorarrangerwillexpecttoomuchfromthe
bandsthatheorsheisaimingfor.Unlessspecificallyaimingfortopsectionbands,
youshouldberealisticinyourexpectations.Themostcommonmistakesare:
Range
Beverycarefultogothrougheachpartcheckingthenotesarenottoolowor,more
likely,toohigh.Ifyouplayinalowersectionbandthinkofyourlearners,howwill
theyreactwhentheyseeatopAortopB?Thinkofyoursolocornetbenchand
sopranoplayer'sstamina:endlessbarsabovethestavewon'tgodownwell.Think
ofyour2ndbaritonetryingtoplayalowF#intune.
Thinkaboutlines.Forexample,imagineasectionwhichisforfourinstruments,
twocornets,ahornandaeuphonium.ThehornlineiscentredaroundEinthetop
spacethenhasafewbarsdownanoctavewhynotputthelowersectiononthe
baritone?Itwillbeeasierontheembouchureandbyinferenceontheintonation
andtherewillbeachangeoftonecolourwiththeoctavejumpsochanging
instrument,especiallybetweenverycloselyrelatedinstruments,willnotbeso
noticed.
Ihaveproducedachartwhichshowsthepossible,probablyandbestwrittenranges
foreachpart.Trytoensurethatyoukeepwithinthe"best"range,though
occasionallywanderingintothe"probable"rangeisacceptable.Onlyeveruse
"possible"ifyouarewritingforaspecificplayerandknowthathe/shecanplay
thatrange.
TechnicalDifficulties
Mostscorersareawareofwritingtoomanybarsofsemiquavers,butyoualsoneed
tobearinmindtromboneplayers.Willatenortrombonepartbeplayablewithouta
trigger?Ifyou'reunsure,checkabovewhereI'veincludedaslidepositiontable.
Alsothinkofpercussionplayers,haveyougivenenoughtimefortheplayersto
swapinstruments,orsticks,orretunethetimps?
Thinkoftheembouchurechangeneededtoplayanintervalofwelloveranoctave
withnorestwillyouexpectthenotetobeintune?
Thinkoftoomanybarsoflipslurs.Sometimestheycanbeavoidedusingsocalled
alternativefingering,butnotalways.
Thinkofrepeats,whenaplayerrepeatsisthelinesmooth(inthesametessitura
withnoawkwardjumps),arethereanytechnicalmistakes(dominant7thsnolong
fallingetc.).

Thequestionofapiecebeinghardertoperformthanthecomposer/arranger
expectsiscommonplace,especiallyamongstthoselearningtheartofwritingfor
amateurmusicians.Toooftenlowerpartsaremistakenlywrittentobeas
demandingasupperpartsbecause:
Thecomposer(rightly)wantstoensurethatlowerplayershavesomething
ofinterestintheirpart,butthenwritesomethingfartoointeresting!
Thecomposerwantstogivetheupperplayersarest(rightly)butwantsto
usethesametonecolourinanewsectionandhenceismanoeuvredintothe
cornerofputtingimportantlinesonplayersthatmaystruggle.
Therearetoomanylargejumps.It'sbesttofollowthesamerulesaswriting
forachoir:avoidjumpsmorethananoctave,andwhenjumpingmorethan
a5thputthenextnoteinbetweenthetwonotes(i.e.C>A>Bshouldbe
avoided;C>A>Fwouldbebetter).
Rememberthat,wrongthoughitis,strongerplayersareoftenputonthesame
(upper)parts,ratherthanfindthemselvesevenlyspreadacrosstheband,thisis
becauseofthemisunderstandingamongsomeconductorsthat3rdpartsaresome
howlessimportantthan1stparts.
Phrasing
Players,especiallyweakerones,tendtotakebreathsveryoftenandsometimes
whereyoudon'twantthem.Bepreparedtoexplicitlymarkphraseswhereneeded.
Itwouldbegoodifsectionleaderswentthroughallthepartsandmarkedthe
phrasesontheparts,butinpracticethisisnotdone.Beonthelookoutfor
suspensions,inlegatowritingtheywillnearlyalwaysneedtobeslurredtoensure
thattheresolutionisn'tplayedasthoughitwereanewphrase,thusbreakingthe
flowofthemusic,andsometimescausingthesuspendednotetobecutshortthus
losingtheintendeddissonance.
WritingTooThinly
It'saworthygoaltowritedelicately,howevermostpeopledon'tachievethiswhen
theystarttowrite,insteadtheywritetoothinlyandthemusicsoundsasthoughitis
beingplayingbyanensembleratherthanaband.
Toavoidyourmusicsoundingasthoughitiswrittenforagroupofsoloists,don't
beafraidtodoublesupportingparts,eveninquietanddelicatepassages.For
exampledouble2ndcornetandsolohorn,3rdcornetand1sthorn,1stbaritoneand
2ndhorn.

OnlyonrareoccasionsshouldyouwriteforBbbassonlyifyouwantalighter
soundthenwriteforEbbassdoubledwiththeeuphoniums.Later,whenyoudo
addtheBbbass,doitdownanoctave.Theeffectwillbetoaddmoredepthand
colour,oftenatapointinthemusicwhenthatiswhatismostdesired.
Balance
Whenhearinganewcompositionorarrangementforthefirsttime,youwill
quicklynoticethatwhatyouarehearingisnotwhatyouhadheardinyourmind's
ear.Oftenthereasonforthisisthatabandhasadifferencebalancefromyour
expectation
Thereareusuallyfivereasonsforthis,oracombinationofthem.Withexperience
youwilllearntoallowfortheminyourwriting.
Strongerandweakerplayers.Nearlyalwaysinbands(especiallyinweaker
bands)allthestrongerplayersplayoffthesamepart,forexamplemany
conductorsputalltheirbestplayersonthesolocornetlineandtheirlearners
on3rdcornet.Itisthereforenotsurprisingthatsuchbandsshowan
imbalancebetweentheparts.
Numbersonparts.Forexample,therearetwoeuphoniumplayers,butonly
one1stbaritoneplayer;foursolocornetplayersbutonlyrepianocornet.
Someinstrumentsareinherentlylouderthanothers.Atrombonewilltendto
playlouderthanantenorhorn,unlessboththeplayersandtheconductorare
constantlylisteningoutforthebalance.
Someplayersmaybemissing.Mostbandsdon'thaveafullcomplimentof
players,andpeoplemissrehearsalsandevenconcertsfromtimetotime.
Youcanhelpwiththisbydoublingpartsandtheintelligentuseofcues.
Partsnotintessitura.Forexampleahighsolohornpartcenteredaroundtop
GsandAsdoublingthesolocornetline(whichwillalsogiveintonation
problemsformostplayers).Inthisexamplerememberthatthehornisan
altoinstrumentnotasopranoone.Sometimesdoublingthesolohornand
solocornetlinescanbeeffective,addinganextramellownessanddepthto
thesolocornetpart,howeveritwillonlyworkwhenthehornisinthe
middleofitsrangecenteredaroundB,C,Dandshouldbereservedfor
legatopassageswhichwouldbenefitfromthisenhanceddepthofsound.
Trills

Sometrillsaremoredifficulttoplayeffectivelythanothers.It'sobviousthatyou
shouldn'twritealowEbtrill,oronlywriteatrillforatrombonistthatyouknow
canliptrillthenote,howeverit'sfarlessobviousthattrillsontopGsorlonglong
trillsonD(4thline)shouldalsobeavoided.TryplayingaDtrill,you'lloftenfind
thenoteyoutrilltoisaCnotanE.AsforthetopG,thatoftentrillstothesame
notefromtheflathighBbharmonic.
Generallyspeaking,trillsaroundthemiddleoftherangeworkbest,especiallyif
thetrilllastsforsometime.Ifit'saveryshorttrill,whichoftenshouldbemore
correctlywrittenasamordent,thisissueislessofaconcern,sincemoreoftenwhat
isreallywantedismoreofaneffectwhichdoeswork.