The shorthand for the orchestration, or Orchestra Instrumentation Numerical Notation, of a classical symphony orchestra (and other similar ensembles) is used to outline which and how many instruments, especially wind instruments, are called for in a given piece of music. The shorthand is ordered in the same fashion as the parts of the individual instruments in the score, read from top to bottom.
Contents
General approach
The orchestra is divided into four groups and specified as follows:
If any soloists or a choir are called for, their parts are usually printed between the percussion/keyboards and the strings in the score. In shorthand however, they are usually omitted.
Degree of standardisation
The basic order of the instruments, as seen above, is common to all of the shorthand systems. However, there is no standardized version of this shorthand; different publishers and librarians use different systems, especially for doubling/alternate/additional instruments. David Daniels, in earlier versions of his seminal work gathering in print a catalogue of the orchestrations of some 4,000+ pieces, made use of a shorthand for doubling/alternate/additional instruments which was less clear, but in the newer online version Daniels' approach has been refined to something more explicit, akin to the Chester Novello and Boosey & Hawkes notations below.
Examples for different notations for the same orchestration:
Examples
An example of another approach, particularly useful where there may be extensive versatility required from doubling players, is given here for Phantom of the Opera for a 45 piece orchestra, taken from the Chester/Novello Hire Library:
WW1(fl,pic).WW2(fl).WW3(cl).WW4(ob,ca).WW5(cl,bcl).WW6(bn)/3hn.3tpt.3tbn.tuba/2perc/hp.2kbd/str(85443 players)
-Note the standard sequence of Woodwind, Brass, Percussion etc., and String groupings, and the sequences within these groups, and the means here of showing the doublings against each numbered member of the woodwind group.