Grade 6 Music Theory General Knowledge: The Woodwind Section

An extract from my course:

*** Grade 6 ABRSM Music Theory Complete ***

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The woodwind section is made up of four main instruments: flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. In a larger orchestra (used from the Romantic era onwards) you might also find the larger or smaller versions of these instruments, for instance the piccolo, cor Anglais, bass clarinet or double bassoon (contrabassoon).

Parts are written two to a stave in a full orchestral score. You need to be able to work out how many players are supposed to be playing, and which notes belong to who.

Words in the score such as "a 2" or "zu 2", or "solo" explain who precisely is supposed to play. You might also need to look at the stem direction of the notes on the stave - stems up are used for first player parts, and stems down for the second player.

A double semibreve (whole note) means that the note is shared by both players.

For more information about music theory exams set by the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) please see www.abrsm.org

For lots of lessons, exercises, resources and quizzes, come to http://www.mymusictheory.com

Victoria Williams