# Instruments ranges, doubling, "octaving", etc...book?



## jamesnnnnn

Hi, everyone again.I think that for now I did realized some basic theory for classical and orchestral music, and I can create nice melodies, with nice chord progression.
I do it on piano pretty good, even thought my melodies are stil childish sounding, or they are to mellow, whatsoever, I would like to read some book about instruments for orchestral music.

I discovered that this is the thing that breaks me now, I just openned my project, where I had trombones playing melody, than horns octave up playing melody, and again violins 1 octave up from horns playing melody.
All patches are sustain imm, as I really don't like legato mieow sound while overlaping notes.

So, yeah, I discovered if I mute violins 1, I get better sound, and it comes to my head, that I actually have no idea about doubling instruments, as you can see i doubled trombones with horns on octave up, which is good i know it, but than i put violins up from that, which for some reason destroyed overal sound and added mudiness to my track.

I also have cellos playing accents with syncopated notes, basses playing accents, violins 2 playing lower octave than violins 1, and violins 2 do play zig-zag melody. (those patches are spiccato).
And of course on all this i have percussions, and I have violas, which are playign some similar but again not the same melody as the main one, and violas are pretty silent to just add some harmonic richness into the track.

__
https://soundcloud.com/jmser%2Forc

Now, when you know my problem, what book would you recommend to me.
I don't need some to teach me how to bow on violin, or is piccolo root note F, or french horn is B, Clarinet B, not that but rather something whats about my problem of doubling and "octaving" instruments.

So, yeah, please anyone can recommend anything, and if you need more details ask me.


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## EdwardBast

Look in the references section of this Wikipedia page for texts on orchestration. I own the Piston and Kennan books and have looked at the 19thc texts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestration

Beyond that, the secret is to study scores. Choose composers whose orchestration you admire and study what they do.


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## Heck148

As a general rule - unison and octave 2bling will thicken the texture, and may make it way too muddy and unclear.
not to say that you can't do it, but do not go overboard...BTW, Schoenberg, a very fine orchestrator purposely avoided octave 2bling whenever he could - he didn't want an excessively thick texture.


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