Customer Reviews
If you really want to know how to orchestrate via textbook 
2007-03-08
Every composer is aware that there are countless orchestration books- and every one will tell you basically about how to do the job. Every book will have your standard instrumentation, how they function mechanically, and ranges, or something to that effect. Of course this is important.
However, when it comes down the actual art of Orchestration, elements usually left to experience are taught through Samuel Adler's CD accompanied book. No matter how close a description of an effect, or sound is, the luxury of having a dictionary of them at hand is amazing.
Overall, this is a great concept and book- and I don't believe that there is any book out there that does what it does that well.
A good book! 2007-02-24
Great, it's got everything you need in one consise but thorough reference. An excellent reference for composer or orchestrator to have.
Very very good! 2006-11-07
I studied classical piano and composition myself for most of my life and have professional degrees in both. When I write my music, I need to look up stuff now and then, or brush up my knowledge. This book is perfect for this! I wish I had bought it years ago.
An Excellent Book 2006-09-20
I have used Adler for many years, though several editions. It is a great orchestration book for the beginner and the experienced orchestrator alike. Very easy to read and well organized, I feel it is one of if not the best orchestration text on the market to date.
helpful but out of date 
2006-05-18
I own the 3rd edition of this book and thought I'd chime in on some of the inaccuracies of the book coming from the perspective of a woodwind specialist as well as a composer.
Inaccuracies in the discussion of the Oboe family:
"The baritone oboe, sometimes called the bass oboe, has the same range and transposition as the heckelphone and a very similar sound;" Umm, well, if you're partially deaf or otherwise impaired, it might be a true statement that they sound similar. Also, the hecklephone has a range to low A, while the baritone oboe only has a range to low B... which makes the statement "All parts may be performed equally well on the bass oboe" patently inaccurate.
Inaccuracies in the discussion of the Clarinet family:
The book indicates in its diagram that E is the lowest note of the bass clarinet, with optional extended range to E-flat or D, but the text refers to extensions to E-Flat or C. However, all modern bass clarinets are constructed to have a range to E-flat, with extended instruments playing to C. Likewise, the section on the Alto Clarinet in E-flat indicates that E is the lowest note of the alto clarinet, but all modern alto clarinets are constructed to have a range to E-flat. Finally, to round out the misinformation of the clarinet family, the book indicates that the Contrabass Clarinet in Bb has a standard range to low D, but all modern BBb contrabass clarinets are constructed to have a range to E-flat, with extended instruments playing to C.
Inaccuracies in the discussion of the Saxophone family:
The book does not mention the low A extension for baritone saxophones, used on virtually all professional and even intermediate models. The book also discusses, misguidedly, the F sopranino saxophone, an instrument not available today, and frankly doubtful that it was *ever* really available or used.
The has a decent foundation of knowledge but comes off as very dated. In particular, I personally dislike the author's tendency to restrain instruments to cliched uses, for example, his admonishment: "If one elects to use an alto flute, one should certainly exploit its lower register, for the regular flute and piccolo are capable of covering the upper part of the register as adequately." Or in the case of the contrabassoon: "Even though many composers have asked contrbassoon players to play in the instrument's higher (and even in its highest) register, this takes the instrument out of it's most characteristic range and makes it just another bassoon, a little weaker and paler than its relatives". This strikes me as very old fashioned and rather simplistic. His suggestion would be like indicating that the cello covers the low range of the viola quite well and the violin covers the upper range of the viola, so you shouldn't use violas. Or perhaps: the violin covers the upper register of the cello quite adequately, so the cello should only be used on its lower three strings.
Thankfully composers have ignored that pathetic line of reasoning... we'd have much less beautiful music if that were the case.
I'd look forward to another, less dated, more accurate text. Probably from another author.
focus on playing and writing techniques for each instrument 2008-05-22
Samuel Adler's book covers all important instruments in the modern symphonic orchestra: how they look, how they are played, where they come from, how they sound, how they blend with other instruments, their practial range (both for professional and non-professional players) and the correct notation within various contexts. It also tells the orchestrator about limitations and build-in problems for each instrument and how to deal with it. This alone is worth the price tag.
This book focusses on the orchestral "tone colors" and how they are mixed. Of course the widely accepted notation is widely covered as well in many examples.
I would have loved to have an accompanying CD (which of course would be expensive to produce - but it would immensely add to the value of this work), and I also would have loved to learn more about how to build great sounding voicings and how exactly the various sections dovetail into each other (melodic and harmonic concepts and layers). From this book I know what I can do and what might sound odd. But I gained little insight on how to tackle an orchestration, how to start: the down to earth nuts and bolts.
There are some examples on how great composers broke the rules. But (as I expected) we have no clue about the ideas behind it and if it actually worked. I would love to have for once a book who doesn't make gods out of famous composers (they are, no doubt, but that's old news - true teaching should equal motivation) but let us in on their secrets, at least as much as possible. Also: we know that rules are meant to be broken, but there are even rules on how to break rules. It's just the next level. I would love to have books on that.
Otherwise: very highly recommended! Not to be left out in any orchestrator's library!
Excellent Resource 2008-03-11
All I can say is these six CDs make all the difference when taking this orchestration course, no matter if it's in a class or on your own. In fact, this whole set, including the book and workbook, was a dream come true for me. Orchestration is greatly demystified with the accompanying CDs.
Amazing book 2008-02-24
This is the first textbook I've ever had that I couldn't put down. If you love writing classical music, get this book. I have found a few errors, but nothing detrimental to your orchestration education. It cites a lot of very useful examples and contains layers of information.
Outstanding 2007-05-06
I am a complete novice but I recognize this is the required study program. You must also buy the CD/DVDs that go along with the book.
Not cheap, but an outstanding learning tool. I would recommend that you read a book on music theory and composition before buying this set to get the most out of the program.
Multi-Media companion discs to The Study of Orchestration Book (6 CDs) 2007-03-16
This 6-disc set provides audio, video and music, and some musical scores to support the examples in The Study of Orchestration Book. The videos show players playing the various orchestral instruments to illustrate performance techniques. The audio examples let the student hear the various orchestration techniques being discussed. The examples and the book in general are very detailed and absolutely worth the purchase price. I highly recommend the book and CDs to everyone studying orchestration.
The way the discs are used is there is a main menu where the user can select which instruments to view and listen to the examples. There was a strange problem with the discs I received. The digital material and menu do not match the book examples or the content printed on the CDs. Strangely, CD 4 is blank (I've tried to read it on several computers) and the main menu doesn't have any pointers that reference CD 4. Also, the other 5 discs do not contain the contents listed on the CD, many examples are missing. Both my book and the discs are listed as "3rd edition" and the cover graphics are identical. I believe this is a manufacturing problem from the publisher and therefore other sets may also exhibit this problem. Perhaps the digital content on the discs was from the 1st or 2nd edition. I'm still working with the vendor I bought the discs from to get a new set of discs and I'm hopeful the next set I receive contains the correct digital content.
