1
February 15, 1923
MUSICAL COURIER
PRACTICAL INSTRUMENTATION
For School, Popular and Symphony Orchestras
By FRANK PATTERSON
Author of The Perfect Modernist
[Seventh Installment]
Copyrighted, 1923, by The Musical Courier Company.
out the laughing effect. A good example will be found in the Wabash Blues (Feist). The trumpet should be muted.
“Cor.,” when used in popular orchestrations, means “cornet.” In serious music it is more likely to mean “corno,” which is the Italian word for horn. Cornets were invariably used in American popular music until quite recently, and are still in frequent use, so that parts are found marked about equally “cornet” and “trumpet,” sometimes “cornet (trumpet)” or “trumpet (cornet).״ The instruments are so nearly the same that for practical writing or hearing no distinction need be made. In serious music trumpet parts are generally found written for F trumpets, but players seem to prefer the B flat instrument, and all popular music is written for trumpets or cornets in B flat, very occasionally A, in which case the player will often use the B flat instrument and transpose, just as in symphony orchestras, players will use the B flat instrument and transpose from the part written for the instrument in F.
This use of the B flat instruments, both clarinet and cornet or trumpet, becomes a necessity in the system now adopted by dance and movie orchestras. The dance orchestra nearly always plays a different piece by way of “encore,” so that obviously the player has not time to change his instrument, and in the movies there is a sudden jump from one piece to another to accompany the action on the picture, with no time for a change. In both cases the leader simply gives a sign to his players and they instantly make the jump. There is an understanding between the players and the leader which puzzles and confuses the beginner and makes him wonder how it is all managed so smoothly.
In popular music brass parts are not marked in Italian “consordino,” “senza sordino,” but simply “muted,” “open.” American writers should adopt that system for all musical (orchestra) signs and indications except the tempo signs, because players in American orchestras are of all sorts of nationalities and many of them understand Italian only to the extent of the tempo signs: Andante, Allegro, etc. To many of them such indications as, for instance, “gridato,” “cupo,” “ruvido,” “calando,” and the like, would simply mean nothing at all. Most American players, no matter what their nationality, understand English. However, there is no good English substitute for “pizz” for the strings, and “gliss” for strings, trombone and harp, the first meaning that the string is to be picked or plucked, not bowed, and the second meaning a slide. There are also no English substitutes for D. S.—“from the sign”— and D. C. “from the beginning.” Also “8va.” must be used. But popular music uses the sign “8va. lower,” or “8va. higher,” if there is any possibility of doubt (not 8va. bassa.). Indications in English also are such as “8va. for dancing,” “2nd time 8va.” In other words, the most familiar terms have acquired a special meaning and a substitution of English for them would simply cause confusion and misunderstanding, but they are supplemented by English directions.
The word “natural” is always used in all instruments to indicate a return to a normal or natural way of playing. For instance, in the strings, “with back of bow,” is followed by “natural.” Sometimes, when the passage is of short duration, a dotted line follows the indication, a sort of bracket over the notes to be affected. The special mode of playing them ends with the end of this dotted line, generally with a little hook. The term “natural” is then not needed. The same applies to the word “loco” which follows “8va,” but there is no need to make a dotted line over an entire passage which is to be played an octave higher, as is sometimes done. The player himself has intelligence enough to know what is intended, and it only annoys him and makes him play carelessly to deviate much from the accepted custom.
So the strings will read “with back of bow” followed by a dotted line and
hook, or by the word “natural,” but not by both.
Horn parts are sometimes marked “muted,” sometimes “with metal mute,” sometimes simply “closed,” which means that the hand is used for a mute, sometimes with a cross over the note + which indicates a peculiar kind of brassy accent or sforzando. At the end of a closed or muted passage the word “open” is used. After the cross no further indication is necessary, as this only applies to the note over which it is placed.
In cued-in parts it is generally best to put the name of the instrument cued and also whatever indications may apply to it, so that the substitute player may know what is expected of him. For instance, “muted trumpets,” not merely trumpets. Or “muted trumpets, laughing effect,” which can then be imitated on whatever instrument gets the cue. Sometimes, however, the cue is just marked “wind” or “strings,” which is sufficient if no special effect is intended. Only this is to be remembered: the player who is expected to play the cue does so in the absence of some other instrument. The part is, therefore, best clearly marked so that he may know whether that particular instrument is missing or not. The reason “wind” is used is because the parts will all be cued in all the wind parts, so that if there is any wind instrument present he will play the missing part, which will only be taken by other instruments in the absence of all wind. Another good reason for the use of such general terms as “wind,” “strings,” “brass,” is when they have a chord, or an entire passage in chords or double notes, where it would be both difficult and useless to indicate the details of the instrumentation in the cues. Popular orchestra parts must not be made too complex with superfluous indications, as most of such music is read more or less at sight, at least without any very careful rehearsing.
[To be continued]
Americanisms
It should certainly not be forgotten by those who desire either to write or to understand the American popular music of the day in its orchestral form that these jazz orchestrations aim chiefly at burlesque. Everything that is added to them by way of orchestral effect is in burlesque imitation of the serious. The whole thing is a joke, and the better the joke the better the orchestration. This is noticeable as well in mock sentiment as in Oriental effects, imitations of modernism with series of consecutive fifths, chromatic parallel passages (treated in the Perfect Modernist, page 18), not to speak of glissandos on the trombones, laughing effects on the trombone, trumpet or saxophone, “stop time,” actual full bar pauses (exaggerated “stop time” with the counterpoint omitted), and so on and so forth.
Arrangers have showed much ingenuity in inventing new effects, and, of course, the “ad lib” jazz players who, like the far-famed Hungarians or Magyars, make up their parts as they go along, have added their quota to the inventions, all of which have been subsequently used by the skilled and scholarly arrangers. (It may be well to remark here that, though the Magyar orchestra is “far-famed,” the American jazz player, who has the skill and musicianship (perhaps instinctive) to make his own parts, is not far-famed but ill-famed and constantly the butt and victim of the moralist.)
Orchestra parts in American popular music are marked in plain English and so carefully marked that the player knows what is expected of him and how his part is related to the whole. This is a very important point and must be observed by arrangers. For instance, one finds such notes as Solo, Melody, Obligato, Voice, Chorus, Refrain, Break, etc.
These all have a definite and important meaning. “Solo” means that the part is taken alone and therefore must be played and not interfered with by breathing space or playing other parts or cues that may impress the player as more important. It is a clear warning of responsibility. “Melody” means that the notes are the melody notes, and the player uses his own judgment as to whether or not to play them, according to whether some other instrument is playing them or not. (Except “C Melody Saxophone,” which has another meaning altogether.) “Obligato” is used in the same sense as an obligato to a song—what in the vernacular is known as a “second” or “alto,” though it is neither. Very often the melody part and the obligato part will be found on the same sheet and the player takes his choice. It also acts as a warning that this is not an inner orchestra part, but prominent, to be played with a proper amount of force and expression. “Duet” is often used in much the same way, especially when two of the same instruments, two trumpets or two saxophones, have a duet, generally consisting of melody and obligato. “Voice” simply indicates the beginning of the melody after the introduction, and is most needed where there is a soloist, so that the players may subdue their parts and also so that they may follow the soloists, especially when the soloist comes in on the wrong beat or bar, in which case all of the orchestra players instantly jump to the “voice” mark. “Chorus” and “Refrain” mean the same thing, and these words are placed at the beginning of that part of the composition, which is played with a different expression from the “Verse” part, and generally played three or four times with different printed orchestrations and numerous “ad lib” orchestrations by the players themselves. “Break” means a short final coda, generally of the slap-stick variety, noisy and fast and comic. There is also in professional copies (printed for the use of vaudeville singers) what is known as the “Patter” and used, like the “Special Chorus,” by dance players to enliven the proceedings. A section of patter and special chorus is given in Ex. 17 and 15.
As to markings on the parts, a few of them will be quoted so that the student may know what may be done. He may add as many additional effects as he can think of, only he must be sure that they will really work, are not too difficult, and are set out in plain and comprehensive language. To begin with there is “1st time,” “2nd time,” “last time”—plain enough and not to be misunderstood. Associated with these is the dynamic indication “p-f,” which means that the passage is׳ to be played first soft then loud. (It would mean something quite different in serious music.) If there is any variation in this it must be marked. For instance “both 'times p,” which refers to a single bar or phrase in an otherwise forte repeat. The point is that the marking must be clear and not ambiguous.
Here, for instance, is a “Railroad Effect.” It is so marked and followed by “Sandpaper—Choo! Choo! Choo! Choo!” with the notes written in for the tempo. Also the railroad effect includes such indications as “Train Whistle” and “Train Bell,” so that the player knows exactly what effect he is expected to produce. Then, again, the laughing effect on the cornet, trumpet or trombone must be written so as to be a real guide to players who are not thoroughly familiar with it—“Laughing Cornet—ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!”
This laughing effect may also be fairly well imitated on the saxophone, and to some extent also on the clarinet, but is best on the trumpet, cornet or trombone. It is most effective on descending chromatic passages, though also used in ascending scale passages, and it is almost always written in a rhythm opposed to the rhythm of the piece, i. e., six quarter notes in a four-quarter bar, or five notes to the beat—tempo effects that are in frequent use even with-