Instrument Ranges
Before you write for someone else, you need to know what they can actually play. Pick an instrument to see its full range on the piano, the comfortable middle where it sounds its best, the clef it reads — and whether it's one of the tricky instruments that sounds different from what you write.
Three rules worth remembering
- Stay in the comfortable middle. The extremes exist, but they're harder to play, harder to tune, and harder to play quietly. Save them for a moment that deserves them.
- Watch the transposers. If you write middle C for a B♭ trumpet, the audience hears the B♭ below it. Write a tone higher than you want to hear, and check the "Sounds" row above.
- Wind and brass need to breathe. A rest isn't wasted space — it's the reason the next phrase sounds good.