composing questions

[thesnareguy]

i am barely getting started into composing full band music. i have made many percussion features, but they are started but unfinished. when making music for band, do u make parts for percussion or not?

[MartinHorn]

  Quote

i am barely getting started into composing full band music. i have made many percussion features, but they are started but unfinished. when making music for band, do u make parts for percussion or not?

 

Depends if you want to or not, its really up to you. I know Key Poulan doesn't.

[davidpowell]

Depends. I tend to use percussion more as effects kind of stuff, I.E. impacts, flourishes, whatnot.

 

One guy who uses percussion really well is Daniel Montoya Jr.

 

http://www.danielmontoyajr.com

 

check it out. Danse Moods is amazing.

[Fortisimo]

Yeah, that's basically all I use it for now-a-days. But that's only because I don't have a vsti synthesizer for battery percussion, so I just do the pit.

[thesnareguy]

i have another ?. wuts an ideal score to write? brass only? or with wws?. note: i am about to write my first show. how many parts of each instrument?

[Fortisimo]

Hmmm

Well, the usual would be like

1 or 2 piccolo parts

2 or 3 flute

2 or 3 clarinet

maaaybe 1 bass clarinet, but probably not

1 or 2 alto sax parts

no double reeds.. probably no bari, maybe 1 tenor (I don't ever write one though)

3 trumpet

2 or 3 french horn

2 trombone

2 euphonium

1 or 2 tuba

battery parts

pit parts

 

I think that about covers it.

[wilson07]

also, if you want to get really into it, you could write some solos for instruments that arent usually present in a marching band, i.e. english horn, oboe, bassoon, piano/keyboard parts, etc. That usually works out okay.