Essential Dictionary of Orchestration: The Most Practical and Comprehensive Resource for Composers, Arrangers and Orchestrators

This is a fantastic book - IF it suits your purposes. If you already have a massive textbook on the subject of orchestation (e.g., the Cecil Forsythe book) this book would potentially be redundant. However, used as what it claims to be - a concise, literally pocket-sized desk reference for the working composer or orchestrator - it is easy-to-use and informative. It contains basic information about every instrument, including ranges, transposition, tone color, tricks and special notation, impossibilities for players, and occasional scoring/arranging tips. For a novice like myself, it's very informative when read cover-to-cover; for an experienced orchestrator, it might still be handy for quick checks. Either way, highly recommended!

Falo aos meus colegas arranjadores, músicos e regentes: muito bom esse pequeno dicionário de bolso. Bom, bonito e barato... e indispensável para os alunos. Coloco como material de minhas aulas de arranjo e orquestração a partir de agora. I speak to my colleagues arrangers, musicians and regents: very good this this little pocket dictionary. Good, beautiful and cheap ... and indispensable for students. It is material for my classes of arrangement and orchestration from now.

Although many thick, expensive text books are available covering this same information, this book provides enough information to be useful, but not too much to change it from a reference to a study text. It thoroughly covers techniques of each instrument (what each instrument can do), their range, how they sound in each register, technical considerations, and how they are generally used inside of the score. As other reviewers have pointed out, this text is indespensible.

A sharp little book that is capable of quickly and concisely answering the most common questions about western instruments. The book is laid out in a simple and easy-to-navigate manner giving you quick access to ranges, timbres and dynamic contour of the most commonly used instruments. While it's not exhaustive as the authoritative Adler text, it's easier and quicker to browse through, and provides an excellent desk-reference. The book does not cover principles of orchestration, but it doesn't pretend to and even suggests seeking out other texts for information on this subject. Highly recommended.

I figured, gee it's just a few bucks, what the heck. Well, this is one book which doesn't look to spend much time on the shelf. It's not exhaustive (it tends to be focused on the basic european instruments so includes e.g., violins, brass and guitars, but omits the cuatro, ney, sitar, etc.) but seems to be error-free. It won't necessarily obviate occasional discussions of capabilities of the instrument with a player, but is quite handy nevertheless. This is exactly the book that I wish I had twenty years ago.