Orchestration Habits & Textures

Four textures worth knowing, what each instrument pairing gives you when doubled, how to space a chord, and habits for balance and clarity.

What's inside

• Four textures worth knowing — melody & accompaniment, unison & octaves, chordal, and polyphonic
• A table of doubling pairings — flute & violin, clarinet & viola, and more — with the effect each gives and when to use it
• How to space a chord, following the overtone series from wide at the bottom to close on top
• Habits for balance in practice, letting sections rest, changing colour at structural points, and writing for the player