Reference section to accompany AtariPhile Cubase Scoring on p54/55 =========================================================================== French Horn ----------- French horn is normally in F so writing a C on the score will result in an F being sounded seven semitones below (perfect fifth). It is written on the treble clef but can go to the bass clef if a section would otherwise have many leger lines. Uniquely French horn players do not have key signatures, everything is written in C. How they cope with music written in B major (F sharp major for them) just plastered in accidentals, I'll never know, sigh! There are other problems to bear in mind. One concerns mute or hand stopping, frequently used for quiet passages (write 'stopped' on the score), where the player stuffs their hand into the bell of the horn. This raises the pitch a semitone so you need to make allowances for this in the score. Always remember the horn is very powerful, and high notes have to be blown harder. Four French horns playing 'fff' can drown out an entire orchestra. Play it safe with the dynamics. Trumpet ------- The trumpet in normal use is the B flat trumpet. It is written a whole tone above the actual sound, so if you write a C, a Bb is played. There is a D and E flat trumpet which are both smaller and produce higher notes. The D trumpet is written a tone below that which it sounds and the E flat trumpet is written a tone and a half, or three semitones (minor third) below the actual sound. Trombone -------- Trombones come in the tenor or B flat, and sometimes the bass or G. They sound as written and both on the bass clef - jump to the treble clef to avoid masses of leger lines if necessary. The trombone is quite agile but if you want very fast lines you must remember the purpose of the slide. Although it can occasionally be used for a slithery sort of glissando, the slide has seven positions. The notes in the first position (slide fully in) are (going up) Bb, F, D, F, Ab, Bb and each position gives the same series of notes but a semitone lower. Though some notes do occur in several positions it is best to avoid the player having to move very quickly from the seventh position (slide full out) to the first position (slide fully in) very rapidly. Tuba ---- The tuba is normally in F, though there are also bigger C tubas. They sound as written and on the bass clef with key signatures. The tuba is pretty agile and can get up quite high and still sounds good. Its main problem is it doesn't combine well with trombones and trumpets, being a 'wide bore' brass its sound is more akin to the 'Brass Band'. However, it's great to add power to the overall sound of the ensemble, but if it's mainly a 'brass section' the double bass trombone blends better. Drums ----- Drums have their own set of rules and it is worth using drum notation which many drummers can read to some extent. Set the Staff Settings to 'No Overlap' and just put in the first few bars of the drum pattern. Below are the main notes used by modern drummers. Cubase allows you to set up separate drum maps to re-map the midi notes to the correct score notes and types of note heads.