Flute & Trumpet Orchestration

In this video I show many examples of different flute and trumpet orchestrations. Enjoy listening to the different examples, and give them a try yourself.
Thanks to:
@hannahdarroch1245
@trumpetfredrik
@gabrielcassaro
You can support me by visiting my ko-fi site. ko-fi.com/alexvdbroek/shop
0:00 Intro
0:26 Flute & trumpet in octaves
4:18 Flute & trumpet in unison
6:36 With 4-part harmony
8:00 Different combinations
14:24 Voicings with 1 or 2 flutes
If you are really into harmony, you'll enjoy my Intermediate Workbook. You can get it here: ko-fi.com/s/47c236ec92
gilevansinsideout.wordpress.com/
Closed voicing, open voicing, jazz harmony, music theory, Miles Davis, big band, soli, jazz chords, orchestration, miles ahead, ravel, stravinsky, sammy nestico

[@gilevansinsideout]

Woah, I just hit 4k subs, amazing! Especially for such niche content. I think I'll do a Q&A in celebration. If you have any arranging, music theory or Gil Evans questions. Just comment them below!

[@8bitMusicTheory]

Phenomenal! Hearing all of these variations on the same phrase is so much more helpful than any orchestration textbook. Looking forward to more!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks! Yes, I’ve got some fun combinations planned

[@Jwellsuhhuh]

Bro roasted all orchestration textbooks LOL

[@Lukematt83]

Fancy seeing you here 8bitmusictheory

[@kyle-silver]

The overtones in the trumpet/flute unison passage are BANANAS

[@gilevansinsideout]

It’s a cool combination isn’t it!

[@Qermaq]

With rhythmic lines for flute and muted trumpet, adding a glockenspiel or xylophone adds a lot. Joe Raposo made great use of that color in a LOT of his work.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh I don’t know if his work, I’ll check it out

[@Qermaq]

@@gilevansinsideout He wrote the theme to Three's Company (the US version of Robin's Nest) and a lot of music for early Sesame Street, among other work.

[@tommyron]

I could listen to your 4-part close harmony in octaves ALL DAY. In my symphonic writing a favorite combination is muted trumpet with flute + picc. in UNISON at the octave. Depending on the texture you can clarify the attacks by adding some combination of celesta + vibes. Thanks as always Alex and happy 2024!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh that sounds like another magical combination Tom! Do you have a recording of that anywhere? Thanks for your comment and support, have a great holiday season.

[@gilevansinsideout]

If you are enjoying this content, check out my latest video where I've added clarinet and bass clarinet to this mix. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5-olp1tnqdld6M

[@MrLoris85]

Also Bolero: French Horn and Piccolo. The Piccolo is doubling the overtones of the french horn. It is like 'umami' for your eardrums! I think I remember Bizet doing the same in L'Arlesienne. Check it out!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Totally! Will do

[@MrLoris85]

@@gilevansinsideout Oh I checked it myself and it wasn't l'arlesienne unfortunately. But an interesting piece anyway.

[@RonaldPoe]

Trumpets and Flutes go together well. You're arrangements are also quite nice. As a Yoko Shimomura fan, I find doubling violins with the treble of the piano is another excellent combination.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thank you. Yes I agree with the piano.

[@TheExpiriment]

I sto- uh i mean was inspired by this little section, and how well they blend together and made a little seasonal piece by it

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh cool! Do share

[@nickbowd]

This is fully sick brah. Love the kiwi floating away. In all seriousness though. I wish I’d come across this channel ages ago. I got lots of big band charts to orchestrate so this will be super useful.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Much appreciated!

[@gabrielcassaro]

This is a true masterclass Alex! This is so valuable.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thank you for contributing Gabriel.

[@jansestak954]

This is great! Such a useful video. Looking forward to try some of them for myself. Thank you!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Jordu7]

Great addition to your channel. What a great variety of endless choices. Thanks Alex & friends for these detailed examples. I'm looking forward to the next illustrations of instrument voicings! When talking trumpets, another mellow timbre is often realized using a fluegelhorn. Another interesting instrument combination in my opinion is trumpet and soprano sax. I'm thinking about Steve Lacy in the album Gil Evans and Ten. It's beyond my skills to really analyze what's going on, but the beginnung of Nobody's Heart presents some very nice voicings (including minor seconds I would think).

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thank you. Yes the soprano sax is an interesting beast! Flugelhorns are always so nice.

[@epytomeproductionz7571]

This piece is beautiful

[@MassiveBridge52]

This is awesome and very inspiring!! The sounds blend so unbelievably well. Thank you so much for making these awesome videos

[@gilevansinsideout]

Glad you like them!

[@joseantoniopadillagutierre7338]

Buenísimo......

[@ChataniMusic]

Such quality content

[@jsem94]

Zero dislikes and it ought to stay that way.

[@romandegtiarev]

Oh wow! This is gold! Thank you so much for your videos!

[@gilevansinsideout]

You are so welcome!

[@shaunfinnegan6546]

Thanks for all these examples, nothing beats hearing it!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Yes I agree!

[@RotemCinamon]

Thank you! Beautiful music of yours as well

[@gilevansinsideout]

Many thanks!

[@JoshLucan]

Yes, keep going with these! I learned so much. I actually like the arrangements that expose the inner harmonies. They’re really interesting.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks Josh!

[@ZapphireWulff]

This video is perfectly timed for me, you knew 2 weeks ago, and KZbin recommended knows too!! 😄 I'm working on some big band compositions and happen to be writing some tunes that maybe should have some flute-trpt combos, so it's great to see pretty much all the combinations (octave, uni, mutes, orchestrated, etc.). Great video, thank you! 🎶

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh that’s excellent! I hope your compositions go well.

[@ZapphireWulff]

@@gilevansinsideout Thank you!

[@bashtracks]

Great stuff, as always!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@julienmarocco]

Excellent ! Thanks a lot !

[@gilevansinsideout]

You are welcome!

[@luccano]

awesome! great pleasures of life also within this one

[@gilevansinsideout]

Haha yes well spotted 😁

[@ellybargmusic]

Ooo that's such a cool idea that I haven't tried yet! Will definitely incorporate this into some of my upcoming work, thank you so much for the inspiration ♥

[@gilevansinsideout]

You're so welcome!

[@TheExpiriment]

aw man that was my idea

[@gilevansinsideout]

Haha

[@trumpetfredrik]

Great work! I'm really happy I could contribute!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Me too! Thanks Fredrik

[@tomphillpotts]

Yeah awesome I never realized I was listening to flute and trumpet there in bolero, schooled!

[@gilevansinsideout]

It’s cool aye? Thanks Tom

[@dieg0o0s]

Sublime! Great video and examples as always Alex. My favorite tpts with Harmon and 2 flutes in 6ths. Cups not bad btw 🤩 ❤

[@gilevansinsideout]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@davidalejandropina9120]

You have a a new subscriber!!!🎉🎉 I love your video

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thank you! Enjoy the content

[@martialpanyvino]

Quand on combine flûtes et trompettes, le choix le plus commun d'orchestration est de doubler la trompette une octave au dessus à la flute. C'est tout d'abord lorsqu'on attribue une mélodie à ces deux pupitres, comme c'est le cas dans Petrouchka de Stravinsky, ou dans le boléro de Ravel. Dans les extraits de ces deux pièces, la flûte double donc la mélodie de la trompette à l'octave supérieure (à noter que Ravel décide dans sa pièce d'écrire la trompette con sordino pour mieux fondre le timbre de la trompette dans celui de la flûte). Mais cela s'observe également lors de divisi à ces deux pupitres, comme c'est le cas dans l'orchestration des tableaux d'une exposition de Moussorgsky par Ravel. On y observe un divisi de trompettes à trois voix, dont les flûtes doublent à l'octave supérieure les deux voix les plus aiguës. Il s'agit plus précisément d'un tutti d'orchestre issu de La grande porte de Kiev, ce procédé d'orchestration étant extrêmement courant dans les tutti d'orchestre. On notera que sur les temps forts, la mélodie est entendue à trois voix, sur deux pupitres, mais que sur les contre-temps elle est allégée à une voix seulement sur ces deux même pupitres, afin de ne pas affaiblir les temps forts, et de ne pas alourdir le passage musical (voir 4:10). Il existe différents types de sourdines pour la trompette, chacun colorant différemment le timbre de l'instrument. Tout d'abord, le "Straight Mute" est la sourdine par défaut, utilisée dans la plupart des pièces de musique classique, et notamment dans le Boléro évoqué plus haut. Il y a ensuite le "Cup Mute" et le "Harmon Mute" qui possèdent tout deux une couleur caractéristique du jazz. Ce dernier notamment est très prisé par l'arrangeur jazz Gil Evans. Il est extrêmement courant en jazz d'écrire ces deux pupitres à quatre voix, et de doubler donc à l'octave supérieure la trompette par la flûte. Avec les différentes combinaisons de sourdine (le "Straight Mute" étant également de mise en jazz), on peut obtenir une large palette de couleurs timbrales. Il est également possible de choisir différentes combinaisons de sourdines au sein même du pupitre des trompettes, avec par exemple le choix d'une sourdine colorée comme le "Harmon Mute" pour la mélodie, et un autre type de sourdine pour les autres voix. Lorsqu'on a moins de flûtes, on peut se satisfaire de doubler les trois voix les plus aiguës si on a trois flûtes, les deux voix les plus aiguës si on en a deux, voire la mélodie seule si on a qu'une flûte. Il est également possible lorsqu'on ne dispose que d'une flûte de ne pas lui attribuer la mélodie mais plutôt de doubler une autre voix à l'octave supérieure. On prendra alors soin de vérifier la relations d'intervalles entre la mélodie à la trompette et la voix doublée par la flûte, en fonction de l'effet voulu. Enfin, il est possible de doubler de temps à autre les trompettes à l'unisson par les flûtes, dans le registre moyen-grave de ces dernières, en prenant soin de l'équilibre de nuances entre ces deux pupitres. Dans un tel registre en effet, les flûtes ne peuvent pas se projeter forte, tandis que les trompettes ont cette tendance naturelle à ressortir. C'est un paramètre sur lequel joue notamment Gil Evans, afin de faire émerger de temps à autre le timbre des flûtes de celui des trompettes.

[@RHINOPLASM]

Brilliant! The sounds are great! It makes a difference to hear real instruments playing.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks! Yes hearing the real instruments is always the best.

[@JClydeNealMusic]

Got damn that four part harmony is beautiful!!!!!!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Excellent! What orchestration of it do you like best?

[@JClydeNealMusic]

⁠@@gilevansinsideoutthe harmony with the flutes an octave higher than the open trumpet with harmon mute. The timbre that it creates gave me goosebumps.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh cool! I think you’ll like some of the combos I have coming up then 😁

[@solidsnake2259]

I’m a trumpet player. Dated a lot of flute players in college!

[@danellewilbraham]

FYI, Harmon mutes can be played with or without the stem. For clarity, it’s best to specify which you want. For more unique sounds, check out Lyric straight and Solotone mutes. 😊

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks. I’m actually a lapsed trumpet player myself! I didn’t want to get too much into the mute details on this one, otherwise the video would be quite long. I’ll probably make another video with other combinations including some other mutes in the future. Thanks for your comment

[@danellewilbraham]

@@gilevansinsideout once a trumpet player, always a trumpet player! 😁 I have actually seen a fair amount of Harmon with stem in the orchestral setting - more than in other settings, where it’s usually without stem. The two sounds might as well be two different mutes, that’s why I mentioned it for those watching who may not be familiar with all of the fun toys at our disposal.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks, yes very true

[@counterfit5]

​@@danellewilbrahamnot true! I have been cured of my trumpet playing ways!

[@counterfit5]

Also there's some Gunther Schuller work that calls for half stem Harmons in all the non-tuba brass.

[@davidriggs1555]

That trumpet player is amazing

[@davidriggs1555]

flute in unison with tpt cup mute is the greatest thing Ive heard

[@gilevansinsideout]

Yes @trumpetfredrik is awesome! Check out his channel. Yes I'm a fan of the cup mute as well.

[@trumpetfredrik]

Thanks! I'm glad you like my playing! :)

[@ABC97613]

This was amazing! Thank you, I feel inspired to use it!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh excellent!

[@pongschlap]

given the lack of music (in my experience) written for the euphonium i think you should totally make a video on orchestrating with it. 😊

[@gilevansinsideout]

Great suggestion!

[@tub-tube7686]

I bet that the player in the hay burner example is playing a harmon mute 😁

[@TacoAlligator]

people should make clash notes use vibrato and they shake back and forth

[@gilevansinsideout]

I'm not sure what you mean? You mean have the vibrato a semitone wide so it goes in and out of dissonance?

[@rmlu9767]

A combination I thought during all the video was one or two trumpets at unison playing the melody, and the flutes in mezzo piano or piano playing the harmonies above, avoiding the melody. I would even make some subtle counterpoint in the harmonies. The idea was not to compete against the sonority of the trumpet, but to take advantage of it giving them the melody, and simulate the harmonics of the harmony in the flutes, making it even more fairy. Why two trumpets? Just my obsession with the Chorus effect.

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh that sounds like a great idea. I might have to make another video one day off all the more ‘unusual’ options. I think you’ll like my next video too…

[@TheAries414]

I wonder what oboe is comboed with or goes well paired what instrument

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oboe goes well with the other winds, in unison or octaves. When its on top of a chord it adds that nice spicy edge to the sound.

[@TheAries414]

@@gilevansinsideout it really goes very well with violin it adds a lot of emotion

[@notme437]

That melody is beautiful! Is it from any particular tune or did you write it? :)

[@gilevansinsideout]

Thanks, yes I wrote it for this example. I just wanted something that spanned an octave and had long durations so we could hear the timbre clearly.

[@MBobLamy]

The 2nd flute part is missing a natural sign on the whole F, 4th measure (that's in the last examples of the videos)

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh well spotted! It’s annoying when mistakes are left in. I even talk about the minor 2nd 😂 I’ll leave a correction note

[@austinskeffington3248]

It’s an awesome sound. You better hope your musicians have their intonation locked in though 😂

[@MJWPub]

I ended up with a flute, trumpet combo on the intro of a piece I've just recorded; balance just didn't sound right any other way!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh excellent 😀

[@alexanderpapazov5441]

You should try out flute and trombone!

[@gilevansinsideout]

Yes I agree. That one will be coming up

[@lrcrabbenz]

Harmon trumpet and flute 🫠

[@sardi6464]

what is the title of this song 1:35

[@gilevansinsideout]

bolero by Ravel

[@natekaplowitz]

Nice vid but consider changing your microphone for something a little less harsh in the high frequencies! It’s quite hard to listen to because of the register of both instruments

[@SpaghettiToaster]

Although it's not a straight mixture, one of my favorite examples of a texture combining the two instruments is the amazing sparkly piano, flute and trumpet texture in the coda of the first movement of Rachmaninoff's third concerto: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4S7pYuCdruaoac

[@gilevansinsideout]

Oh thanks, I’m going to have a listen to that

[@SpaghettiToaster]

@@gilevansinsideout So what'd you think?

[@gilevansinsideout]

Yes I enjoyed it! What a nice moment. Thank you

[@aliciadalbey1201]

Northernlion?

[@Savi_I]

But trumpet isnt a c pitched instrument

[@gilevansinsideout]

Yeah this one is a Trumpet in Bb. They come in various keys.

[@Savi_I]

@gilevansinsideout I mean I know that lol but a lot they are Bb

[@syzygy2464]

Honestly just flute and whatever. Combine flute with a trash can lid and it sounds good. Doesn't really matter, if the flute is played well it's just a beautiful instrument.

[@gilevansinsideout]

😄

[@mydogisweirdg6128]

Im more of a trumpet bari sax type of guy

[@gilevansinsideout]

Well stay tuned, that combination will be featured one day

[@mydogisweirdg6128]

⁠@@gilevansinsideoutit’s more of a jazz combo band sound, but boy do I love it

[@gilevansinsideout]

Yeah sure is, I usually use it an octave down from the melody