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The art of distributing musical material among the instruments of an ensemble — choosing who plays what, when, and how.
Scoring is the practical craft of orchestration. Consider: which instrument's timbre best suits the musical idea? What register? What dynamic? How does the balance work? Distribute parts so that each section has something meaningful to play. Avoid overscoring — sometimes less is more.
Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" — a masterclass in scoring, transforming piano music into orchestral color.
Scoring is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
Browse the full dictionary →