Orchestration & Composition for Organ: Exercises

1) Gyorgy Ligeti - Bagatelle for Wind Quintet — How would you handle arranging the denser
parts of this for organ on a 2-manual instrument? How would you take advantage of 3 manuals?

2) Charles Ives - The Unanswered Question

What registration would you set up for this if you were arranging it for organ? What do you notice about
the differences between winds, brass, and strings in this piece? What are some creative ways you could
emphasize those differences using the resources of the organ? What corners would you cut if you were to
arrange this for organ?

 3) Helmut Lachenmann - Ein Kinderspiel (for solo Piano)

This work really relies on the percussive resonance of the piano — something you just don’t have on the
instrument of the organ. If you had to arrange it, how would you compensate for this difference?

4) Improvisation Tools: Creeping 7th Chords, Shifting fths.

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 5) Create a 2-minute 4-part improvisation plan using at least 3 different strategies:

Section I
Length:

Pitch Center/Key/Mode:

Registration/Manuals:

Tune/Motives:

Strategy:

Section II
Length:

Pitch Center/Key/Mode:

Registration/Manuals:

Tune/Motives:

Strategy:

Section III
Length:

Pitch Center/Key/Mode:

Registration/Manuals:

Tune/Motives:

Strategy:

Section IV
Length:

Pitch Center/Key/Mode:

Registration/Manuals:

Tune/Motives:

Strategy:

6) Composition Brainstorm:

3 Minutes - Brainstorm as many ‘unifying ideas’ about the instrument of the organ as you can
5 Minutes - Pick two for a reason (coherence or contrast?) and come up with as many implications for
composition as you can (ie: what to focus on, what not to use, content possibilities, relationships to other
musical form or content, added externalities, etc)