Singapore Chinese Orchestra Instrumentation Chart 王⾠威 编辑 Version 1 Compiled by WANG Chenwei 2021-04-29 26-Musician Orchestra for SCO Composer Workshop 2022 [email protected]

Recommended
abbreviations
of
instrument
names
are
shown
Dadi
in
F Dadi
in
G Dadi
in
A Qudi
in
Bb Qudi
in
C Qudi
in
D Qudi
in
Eb Qudi
in
E Bangdi
in
F Bangdi
in
G Bangdi
in
A Xiaodi
in
Bb Xiaodi
in
C Xiaodi
in
D in
square
brackets ˙ ˙ ˙ #˙ ˙ ˙ #˙ ˙ ˙ 2
Di ‹ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ #˙ [Di] ° & ˙ (Transverse
flute) & ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ¢ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ b˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ s˙ounds 8va

-
Di
players
can
double
on
the
Xiao
in
F
or
G
(same
range
as
Dadi
in
F
or
G) -
This
chart
notates
middle
C
as
C4,
one
octave
higher
as
C5
etc. #w -
While
early
compositions
might
designate
each
player
as
Bangdi,
Qudi
or
Dadi,
-
8va
=
octave
higher,
8vb
=
octave
lower,
15ma
=
2
octaves
higher 1
Gaoyin-Sheng


composers
are
actually
free
to
change
Di
during
the
piece. -
Please
use
the
treble
clef
for
Zhonghu
part
scores [GYSh] ° -
Composers
could
write
one
staff
per
player,
e.g.
Di
1,
Di
2
and
specify
when
to
use
which
type
of
Di;
-
Please
use
the
8vb
treble
clef
for
Zhongyin-Sheng,
(Soprano
mouth
organ) &


if
the
key
of
Di
is
left
to
the
players'
discretion,
specify
at
least
whether
the
pitch
should



Zhongyin-Guan
and
Zhongruan
part
scores w


sound
as
notated
or
8va. w -
Composers
can
request
for
a
membraneless
sound
(without
dimo). 1
Zhongyin-Sheng -

While
the
Dadi
and
Qudi
can
play
another
3
semitones
above
the
stated
range,
[ZYSh]


they
can
only
be
played
forcefully
and
the
timbre
is
poor. -
For
each
key
of
Di,
the
semitone
above
the
lowest
pitch
(e.g.
Eb4
on
the
Dadi
in
G)
sounds
(Alto
mouth
organ) & w


very
muffled
due
to
the
half-hole
fingering
and
is
unsuitable
for
loud
playing. 低⼋度发⾳ ‹ -
All
instruments
do
not
use
transposed
notation
other
than
transpositions
at
the
octave. 1
Diyin-Sheng w -
Sheng
players
can
double
on
the
Traditional
Sheng.
If
required,
one
can
enquire
about
their
ranges
and
keys. [DYSh] ? (Bass
mouth
organ) ¢ w -
Suona:
the
extreme
high
registers
should
be
used
with
caution
as
they
are
very
shrill
on
the
Gaoyin-Suona
and
hoarse
on
the
Zhongyin-
to
Diyin-Suona. -
The
highest
4
semitones
(e.g.
F6
to
A6
on
the
Suona
in
C)
cannot
be
tongued.
They
can
only
be
slurred
from
a
lower
note. -
Please
enquire
in
advance
if
Suona
players
are
required
to
double
on
the
Guan. Haidi
in
F Haidi
in
G Keyed
Gaoyin-Suona Suona
in
C Suona
in
D Suona
in
Eb Suona
in
E ("Haidi"
refers
to
a
small
Suona) ˙ Y ˙ Y #˙ Y 1
Gaoyin-Suona ‹ ˙ Y #˙ #Y ˙ Y ˙ Y [GYSN] ° & ˙ ˙ & (Soprano
shawm) ˙ b˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ optimal extreme sounds 8va

Keyed
Zhongyin-Suona Big
Suona
in
F Big
Suona
in
G Suona
in
A Suona
in
Bb # Y 1
Zhongyin-Suona ˙ Y ˙ Y ˙ Y #˙ Y ˙ [ZYSN] & n˙ (Alto
shawm) ¢ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ D
pentatonic G
pentatonic C
pentatonic F
pentatonic Bb
pentatonic A
pentatonic E
pentatonic œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ #œ œ #œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ#œ #œ -
The
common
Chinese
pentatonic
tunings
are
listed
here.
Composers
may
set
other
tunings. 1
Guzheng œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ #œ œ #œ œ -
Tunings
in
pentatonic
configurations
are
easier
to
play. #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ #œ #œ [GZ] & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ #œ œ -
If
the
piece
does
not
use
the
Guzheng
at
all,
the
player
may
play
percussion
instead. (21-stringed
Zither
with œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ pitch-bend
capability) ? œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ#œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ #œ œ œ #œ #œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ #œ #œ œ#œ

{ w 2
Percussionsts 1
Yangqin -
SCO
Yangqin
have
damper
pedals
but [YQ] °?


no

F#2
Ab2
Bb2. -
The
percussion
staves
can
be
placed
above
or
below
the
plucked
strings. œ w & -
The
grand
staff
can
be
used
for
Yangqin.
(Hammered
dulcimer) œ œ œ -
If
each
player
plays
more
than
one
instrument,
please
indicate
the
allocation
(e.g.
Datanggu
+
Xiaoluo),

or
write
one
stave
for
each
player
(e.g.
Perc.
1,
Perc.
2)
and
indicate
the
instruments
used. higher is harder Open
strings -
Liuqin
frets
are
very
near
above
A6, Timpani
(standard
set
of
4) Marimba 1
Liuqin “” Y


hard
to
play
fast
passages “w” w ? w ? [LQ] w w w & (Pear-shaped
mandolin) & w bw w w w -
Pipa:
use
ledger
lines
for
w w higher is harder


occasional
low
notes. -
Use
bass
clef
for
a
passage
5th
small
timpani
available
too 1
Pipa Y Xylophone w w


in
the
lower
register. w [PP] ? w ? ww & -
Use
grand
staff
or
long
passages
w & (Pear-shaped
bowl
lute) w


alternating
between
treble
and
bass. Although
the
timpani
can
be
tuned
w sounds 8va SCO
has
two
types
of
marimba: around
a
semitone
higher
or
lower w 4⅓-octave
with
lowest
pitch
A2 higher is harder 1
Sanxian than
stated,
a
too
taut
or
too
loose
5-octave
with
lowest
pitch
C2 Y [SX] w -
Sanxian
can
also
use
the
8vb
treble
clef drumhead
results
in
a
poor
timbre. ? w w -
Sanxian
player
can
double
on
Zhongruan. SCO
has
two
types
of
Xylophone: (Fretless
long-necked w & membraned
box
lute) 3½-octave
with
lowest
pitch
F4
(written
F3) 4-octave
with
lowest
pitch
C3
(written
C3) higher is harder “” Vibraphone Glockenspiel 1
Zhongruan w Y w w [ZR] w & w & & (Tenor-ranged
box
lute) w sounds 15ma w w ‹ sounds 8vb w higher is harder ” w “Y Tubular
bells Yunluo w 1
Daruan w w ‹ [DR] ? w & & (Bass-ranged
box
lute) w ¢ w w w sounds 8va higher is weaker Extreme
register and harder use
with
caution Paigu
(set
of
5
tunable
toms) Open
strings ˙ “” -
The
optimal
range
of
each
type
of
Huqin
(Tuned
to
specific
pitches) (Tuned
to
relative
pitches) 2
Gaohu ˙ Y


lies
within
around
one
oc tave
of
the
open
string. w [GH] ° w ww w œ œ The
Paigu
can
be
either
tuned
to
& / œ specific
or
relative
pitches. (High-pitched
fiddle
) & w -
Please
enquire
in
advance
if
the
Jinghu,
w w œ œ


Banhu
or
other
types
of
Huqin
are
required. ‹ w higher is weaker Sounds 8vb and harder ˙ Y 4
Erhu ˙ [EH} & w Western
drums Other
Western
perc. Drum
family Gong
family Cymbal
family Other
Chinese
perc. (Two-stringed
fiddle) w higher is weaker -
Snare
Drum
-
Crash
Cymbals -
Xiaotanggu -
Xiaoluo -
Xiaocha -
Paiban and harder -
Bass
Drum -
Suspended
Cymbals -
Biangu -
Daluo -
Shuicha -
Zhuban
+
Jieban -
Tambourine -
Triangle -
Huapengu -
Zhangluo
/
Jiaoluo -
Naobo -
Bangzi 2
Zhonghu Y -
Drumset -
Wind
Chimes -
Datanggu -
Tam-tam
(Chaoluo) -
Chuanbo -
Nanbangzi ˙ -
Sleigh
bell -
Mangluo -
Muyu [ZH] ˙ -
Tom-toms -
Jiangu -
Guangbo
/
Dabo -
Congas -
Claves -
Xinjiang
Shougu -
Fengluo -
Pengling -
Tongqing (Mid-pitched
fiddle) & w w -
Bongos -
Maraca -
Jingju
Bangu -
Shimianluo higher is harder -
Cajon -
Bell
tree -
Djembe -
Cowbell w Y -
Rainstick South-east
Asian
perc.
1
Cello ? w & w w -
Woodblocks -
Rebana
w -
Wind
machine -
Kompang
higher is harder -
Vibraslap -
Kendang
w Y 1
Contrabass ? w & -
Please
enquire
in
advance
if
the
w w

5-stringed
bass
is
required. ¢ w