Orchestration 1

Undergraduate | 2026

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Area/Catalogue
MUSI 1019
Course ID icon
Course ID
204288
Level of study
Level of study
Undergraduate
Unit value icon
Unit value
6
Course level icon
Course level
1
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Inbound study abroad and exchange
Inbound study abroad and exchange
The fee you pay will depend on the number and type of courses you study.
Yes
University-wide elective icon
University-wide elective course
Yes
Single course enrollment
Single course enrolment
Yes
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Note:
Course data is interim and subject to change

Course overview

Orchestration 1 is designed primarily with the needs of composers in mind, and is a required course for students majoring in Musical Composition. The primary focus of this Level 1 course is on matters of Instrumentation, with the subtleties of orchestration, per se, being reserved for levels 2 and 3. The characteristics and capabilities of all the instruments from the European orchestral tradition will be examined, explained and demonstrated. Attention will be given to the ways of writing idiomatically for each instrument and instrumental family.

Course learning outcomes

  • Knowledge of the standard orchestral instruments, their ranges and capabilities
  • Knowledge of the traditional types of orchestral score layout
  • Ability to incorporate idiomatic articulations (bowings, breathing, phrasing etc) for the various families of orchestral instruments
  • Ability to incorporate appropriate and necessary markings of instrumental technique (arco, pizz, divisi, a2 etc)
  • Ability to present an orchestration neatly and correctly in full score layout (whether handwritten or computer set)
  • Knowledge of the standard orchestral transposing instruments and how to handle the transpositions of pitch
  • Ability to distil the information from a full score and present it in a short score (piano) reduction
  • Ability to expand the information from a short (piano) score and present it as an orchestrated full score

Prerequisite(s)

N/A

Corequisite(s)

N/A

Antirequisite(s)

N/A