Editing Orchestration (section)

{{Short description|Study or practice of writing music for an orchestra}}
{{about|writing music|management of computing resources|Orchestration (computing)|orchestrating a pervasive game|Orchestration (games)}}
{{distinguish|orchestrion}}

[[File:Autograph score of part of Act2 (Wolf's Glen) of 'Der Freischütz' - NGO4p1116.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A hand-written [[Sheet music|musical score]] for Act 2 of the [[opera]] ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' by [[Carl Maria von Weber]], written in the 1820s. The score contains all the parts for the singers and the [[accompaniment]] parts and melodies for the [[orchestra]].]]
'''Orchestration''' is the study or practice of writing [[music]] for an [[orchestra]] (or, more loosely, for any [[musical ensemble]], such as a [[concert band]]) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orchestration is the assignment of different instruments to play the different parts (e.g., [[melody]], [[bassline]], etc.) of a musical work.  For example, a work for solo piano could be adapted and orchestrated so that an orchestra could perform the piece, or a concert band piece could be orchestrated for a symphony orchestra.

In [[classical music]], composers have historically orchestrated their own music.  Only gradually over the course of music history did orchestration come to be regarded as a separate compositional art and profession in itself. In modern classical music, composers almost invariably orchestrate their own work. Two notable exceptions to this are [[Ravel]]'s orchestration of [[Mussorgsky]]'s solo piano work [[Pictures at an Exhibition]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Pictures at an Exhibition {{!}} work by Mussorgsky {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pictures-at-an-Exhibition |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=14 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Malcolm Arnold]]'s orchestration of [[William Walton]]'s String Quartet in A minor, producing the latter's Sonata for Strings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sonata for Strings (transcription ... {{!}} Details |url=https://www.allmusic.com/composition/sonata-for-strings-transcription-by-walton-and-marnold-of-string-quartet-in-a-minor-mc0002365514 |website=AllMusic |access-date=9 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

However, in [[musical theatre]], [[film music]] and other commercial media, it is customary to use orchestrators and arrangers to one degree or another, since time constraints and/or the level of training of composers may preclude them orchestrating the music themselves.

The precise role of the orchestrator in film music is highly variable, and depends greatly on the needs and skill set of the particular composer.

In musical theatre, the composer typically writes a piano/vocal score and then hires an [[arranger]] or orchestrator to create the instrumental score for the [[pit orchestra]] to play.

In jazz [[big band]]s, the composer or [[songwriter]] may write a [[lead sheet]], which contains the melody and the chords, and then one or more orchestrators or arrangers may "flesh out" these basic musical ideas by creating parts for the saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and the [[rhythm section]] (bass, piano/[[jazz guitar]]/[[Hammond organ]], drums). But, commonly enough, big band composers have done their own arranging, just like their classical counterparts.