Music Instrumentation Guide
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Simple one or two instrument pieces are self explanatory, but a lot of the pieces we carry can be played on different instruments and in different combinations. If we tried to write these out it would take up too much space, so we helped build the industry standard instrumentation abbreviations you see on our music. Here is a list of those abbreviations:
| Instrumentation Guide | |||||
| N | Sopranino Recorder | V | Violin | ||
| S | Soprano/ Descant Recorder | Va | Viola | ||
| A | Alto/ Treble Recorder | Vc | Cello | ||
| T | Tenor Recorder | PdV | Pardessus de Viol | ||
| B | Bass Recorder | LyV | Lyra Viol | ||
| Gb | Great Bass Recorder | TrV | Treble Viol | ||
| Cb | Contra Bass Recorder | TeV | Tenor Viol | ||
| Pf | Piano | BsV | Bass Viol | ||
| H | Harpsichord | VdG | Viola da Gamba | ||
| Og | Organ | Db | Dbl. Bass | ||
| Bc | Basso Continuo | Str | Strings | ||
| vo | Voice | F | Flute | ||
| s | Soprano Voice | O | Oboe | ||
| a | Alto voice | Bsn | Bassoon | ||
| t | Tenor Voice | Cl | Clarinet | ||
| b | Bass Voice | Tr | Trumpet | ||
| i/instr | Any Melody Instrument | Tb | Trombone | ||
| r | Unspecified Recorder | Th | Theorbo | ||
| Orff | Orff Instruments | G | Guitar | ||
| Glock | Glockenspiel | L | Lute | ||
| Perc | Percussion Instruments | hp | Harp/ Celtic Harp | ||
| = | Equal Number (ie:2= means 2 equal instruments) | Xyl | Xylophone | ||
| Various/Var. | Various Voicing/ Instrument Combinations | Trg | Triangle | ||
| Opt. | Optional | cm | Crumhorn | ||
| Narr | Narrator | k | Shakuhachi | ||
| Brass | Brass Instruments | ||||
| ScP | Score and parts included | ||||
| Means and other composers Mozart, Couperin+ (more than what is listed) | |||||
Instrument Examples: |
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| S, (Pf) = Soprano Recorder with optional Piano. (Parenthesis are used to note optional instruments) S/A,V = Soprano or Alto Recorder and Violin, (commas are used to separate different types of instruments.) AA/BB = 2 Alto Recorders or 2 Bass. (Forward slash indicates different combinations of instrumentation.) SATB = Soprano, alto, tenor and bass recorders. |
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Level of difficulty |
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1 = easy |
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Search examples
Two of your friends and you are looking for easy dances for recorder trio. You play soprano, your friends alto and tenor.
Choose Recorder Trios from the category drop down inside the music search box at the left. Then type 'dance' in the title text box. (Don't type dances as some titles have only the word dance and will be excluded. Try to use the minimum keyword size to match what you need.) Then select 'Easy' from the drop down for Difficulty. Last, type 'SAT' in the Voicing text box, and search. You've narrowed your search from almost 12,000 to just a handful of great fun pieces.