on 9/24/02 10:00 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Refresh my memory on this: Let's suppose that I'm called upon to make an > arrangement for small orchestra. I want to do the best I can, but I'm not a > string player. I can sort of guess at the bowings, but bottom line I don't > know enough to do a good job of it. > > In such a case, what do you recommend I do? > > 1. Take my best guess at the bowings. > > 2. Indicate general phrasing I have in mind, perhaps with a note that they > are phrasing marks not bowing. > > 3. Don't mark any slurs at all, and figure the strings will work it out > themselves.
David Bailey is right. Speaking as a long-time orchestral violinist and music librarian, the answer is definitely #2. Mark the phrasing as you want it and let the concertmaster and principal string players figure out the bowings that best achieve it. It's their job--they get paid extra to do it. Given lead time, the librarian will mark the bowings in the parts before they're distributed, or the section players (who bring pencils, after all) mark them in during rehearsal. Also speaking as a music librarian: except in passages where a specific musical effect is definitely desired, composers and copyists should NEVER insert printed bowings. What inevitably happens is concertmasters *despise* the printed bowings and change them, forcing section players (and librarians) to cross out or use white-out on the print and put in the *ideal* bowings with pencil, creating a mess on the page. Phrase the music as it should sound and let the performers find the best way to make it work. Matt Naughtin _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
