# Advice on orchestral effects notation



## mgaewsj (Apr 26, 2022)

I need to prepare an orchestral score for a piece that includes some orchestral effects.

In my mockup I am using 8dio's CAGE Brass library for effects like rips, clusters, falls, chatters, bends etc.

I have no idea about how to notate them on the score

any help would be appreciated 😀


PS not sure if this is the right forum


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## bryla (Apr 26, 2022)

The short solution: get someone experienced in notation to do it.

Slightly longer solution but results may vary: post audio clips here and get suggestions

Solution for the long run: collect notation forms from study scores (Penderecki, film scores, Takemitsu, whatever you like)


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## mgaewsj (Apr 27, 2022)

bryla said:


> The short solution: get someone experienced in notation to do it.
> 
> Slightly longer solution but results may vary: post audio clips here and get suggestions
> 
> Solution for the long run: collect notation forms from study scores (Penderecki, film scores, Takemitsu, whatever you like)


thanks for your reply

I am attaching a short audio clip, actually it represents most of the effects present in the piece.
It's just a few seconds, a really small part of a 5 minutes standard orchestral piece.

It's not experimental/advanced stuff like Penderecki


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## rudi (Apr 27, 2022)

I am no specialist in brass writing, but I found this link useful as it lists most of the special techniques used in brass writing, along with notated and audio examples. 









Big Band Arranging | 7 | Articulation — Evan Rogers | Orchestrator | Arranger | Conductor


What's the biggest tell-tale sign of a non-jazz musician arranging jazz? It has something to do with those little markings and symbols that we like to litter our scores with.




www.evanrogersmusic.com





It has a slight jazz perspective but the advice also covers standard and special effects and articulations.
The first part gives general advice, followed by standard markings and finally special markings towards the end of the article.


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## mgaewsj (Apr 27, 2022)

rudi said:


> I am no specialist in brass writing, but I found this link useful as it lists most of the special techniques used in brass writing, along with notated and audio examples.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thanks, this is really useful.

It doesn't cover all my needs, but it's a good start


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## Bollen (Apr 27, 2022)

mgaewsj said:


> PS not sure if this is the right forum


Indeed it is! Posting examples might help, but there's barely any standardisation in this field, so you might get a lot of contradictory or just simply different suggestions. The best advice I could give is keep it as simple as possible, design your own if needed and add a glossary explaining what they do.

There's also a PDF circulating the internet (although you can also buy the book which is identical) called something like Extended Notation: The Depiction of the Unconventional and perhaps Music Notation in the Twentieth Century: A Practical Guidebook are a good start.


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## mgaewsj (Apr 27, 2022)

Bollen said:


> Indeed it is! Posting examples might help, but there's barely any standardisation in this field, so you might get a lot of contradictory or just simply different suggestions. The best advice I could give is keep it as simple as possible, design your own if needed and add a glossary explaining what they do.
> 
> There's also a PDF circulating the internet (although you can also buy the book which is identical) called something like Extended Notation: The Depiction of the Unconventional and perhaps Music Notation in the Twentieth Century: A Practical Guidebook are a good start.


thanks a lot!

btw I found the first PDF here: Extended notation. The depiction of the unconventional 
the second book is not exactly cheap, at least here in Italy, but I put it on my wish list


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## Bollen (Apr 27, 2022)

mgaewsj said:


> the second book is not exactly cheap


You can also find it if you search hard for it...


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## mgaewsj (Apr 28, 2022)

indeed


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