Orchestration

by Walter Piston

In this book Walter Piston again displays those qualities that distinguished his earlier books, Harmony and Counterpoint.

Again he draws upon his own wide knowledge and experience as composer and teacher to present all phases of the subject. No practical aspect of instrumentation for the orchestra is neglected, and comprehensive treatment is given to each significant component.

The author approaches orchestration from the premise that the principles can best be presented by analysis of music as it has been written.The essentials of instrument combination discussed here are those which can be observed operating in the scores of great composers from Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven down to our own day.

Orchestration is notable for the clarity and logic of its organization. From a consideration of the individual instruments and their technical problems the author skillfully develops his analysis of orchestration, covering his analysis of orchestration, covering instrumentation of primary and secondary melodies, part-writing, chords, and contrapuntal techniques. Finally, he discusses typical problems in orchestration together with some examples of their solutions.

Orchestration is profusely illustrated with hundreds of musical examples and with drawings of the various musical instruments that make up the modern orchestra.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

486 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1955

Reviews

[Ethan]

This is a very thorough but very antiquated read. Piston uses old and sometimes confusing language and grammar in an attempt to maintain academic voice, but it ends up taking three or four sentences, where it could have been done in one or two.

This was written in 1955, but I would love an updated version that had the musical examples available to listen two online.

[William Lauricella]

As someone just getting into orchestration, I believe this book was a good and valuable source while working on my first project of a piano concerto. This was originally written for my youth orchestra percussion ensemble, and it was now my challenge to take that material into an orchestra format. For not knowing a lot of knowledge beforehand, this was a great resource in assigning percussion parts to different instruments in the orchestra. I rate this book 5 stars for being a valuable resource to all musicians at whatever stage of working with an orchestra. This gave me a new confidence in all instruments of a concert orchestra.

[Phillip]

a good sturdy text on the subject...but i prefer kennan's text. and, there's nothing like studying scores. if you want a great lesson in orchestration, study stravinsky's rite of spring, petrouchka, agon, fireworks, etc.

[Serge Pierro]

A classic book on Orchestration that goes well with the other Piston books. I found this quite useful when working with MIDI orchestration.

[Ken]

Didn't read this cover to cover but it's an excellent reference.

[✨ Brianna Raquel ✨]

This is a great resource for beginners, but I would recommend finding a book with more scores. Reading and analyzing scores can really help someone understand orchestration better.

[x]

I found this book in the library. I am not an advanced music composer so it might not be helpful for the experienced. It honestly helped me with harmony and creating textures and colors in my music which I loved. I would try to find it in a library first before purchasing it first since it can be costly.

[David]

This has been on my to-read list for, like, a decade.

[Morgan]

Best reference for Orchestration

[Bill Forsyth]

Good basic fundamentals

[John Carroll]

My first symphony was a bit weak. This is the go-to text for anybody in need of a primer for composing for orchestra.

[Niko Durr]

This book is very informative whenever I want to write a passage for an instrument...

[Tracey Wong]

Good read. Very concise and understandable.