The Woodwind Section

OVERVIEW

The most colorful section in the orchestra
Not a single consort
Made of several families of instruments:
- Edge blown aerophones (non reeds)
- Single reeds
- Double reeds
Woodwind tone production is accomplished by means of setting a column of air in motion within a conical or cylindrical tube.
The intensity of each instrument varies within its range.
It is generally difficult to control the extremes of the range.
Woodwinds are versatile in their technical capabilities and the types of roles they can perform.

The non-reeds

Piccolo
Flute
Alto Flute
Bass Flute

The single reeds

Clarinets

Clarinet in Eb (or D)
Clarinet in Bb
Clarinet in A
Bass Clarinet in Bb
Contrabass Clarinet in Bb

Saxophones

Soprano Saxophone in Bb
Alto Saxophone in Eb
Tenor Saxophone in Bb
Baritone Saxophone in Eb
Bass Saxophone in Bb

The Double Reeds

Oboe
English Horn in F
Bassoon
Contrabassoon

TRANSPOSING / NON-TRANSPOSING

Non-reeds

Piccolo in C — written an octave lower than it sounds.

Flute in C — non-transposing.

Alto flute in G — written a perfect fourth higher than it sounds.

Single Reeds

Clarinet in Eb — written a minor third lower than it sounds.

Clarinet in Bb — written a major second higher than it sounds.

Clarinet in A — written a minor third higher than it sounds.

Alto clarinet in Eb — written a major sixth higher than it sounds.

Bass clarinet in Bb — written a major ninth higher than it sounds.

Bass clarinet in A — written a minor tenth higher than it sounds. 1

Soprano saxophone in Bb — written a major second higher than it sounds.

Alto saxophone in Eb — written a major sixth higher than it sounds.

Tenor saxophone in Bb — written a major ninth higher than it sounds.

Baritone saxophone in Eb — written an octave plus a major sixth higher than it sounds.

Double Reeds

Oboe — non-transposing.

English horn in F — written a perfect fifth higher than it sounds.

Bassoon — non-transposing.

Contrabassoon — written an octave higher than it sounds.

TYPICAL TRANSPOSITIONS

In scoring for the contemporary symphony orchestra, the orchestrator will encounter six types of transposition. They are as follows: Bb, A, F, Eb, and two varieties of octave transposition. By applying the general rule for transposition, the intervals of transposition may be summarized by the following groupings:

All Bb instruments — written a major second higher than they sound.

All A instruments — written a minor third higher than they sound.

All F instruments — written a perfect fifth higher than they sound.

All Ebinstruments — written a major sixth higher than they sound.

All C instruments — sound as written, with a few exceptions.

The two exceptions are the piccolo in C and the contrabassoon. The piccolo in C is written an octave lower than it sounds, while the contrabassoon is written an octave higher than it sounds. In both instances, octave transposition was introduced to avoid excessive ledger lines.