Reducing an orchestral score to piano

[llhyperdude]

Does anyone have any tips for creating a piano reduction of an orchestral score? How do I decide which parts to bring out while leaving some behind? I know I have to keep "playability" in mind when arranging the piece. For this reason, using a software program to combine all the parts together (say, from a midi file) is out of the question. FYI, I am looking into doing the Brahms German Requiem. There is a public domain version on the net with the orchestra, but a piano reduction would be useful.

[Daevren]

It takes knowledge about music to do that. It takes alot of composing skills. You need to know how the music works and capture and retain those elements.

I don't know that piece myself but the first think you can do it cut the orchestra in the different elements. The melodies, the harmonic texture that accomponies the solo instument(s). Some melodies are played with intervals other than octaves/unison. You only need the real melody, not the actual notes. Also keep in mind that the orchestra sometimes uses things that add colour or character. These can be the hardest. If its really important you can try to invent a new way to recreate them on piano. Sometimes it is impossible.

Its also hard to recreate effects like a piece of music that is repeated but each time instruments are added. This creates a build-up effect that might be very important to the structure of the music. Its impossible to recreate this on the piano. So when the orchestra version adds instruments 4 times you can do it with one time. Or maybe use other build-up techniques, like a tremelo or something. Sometimes you have to make up new things yourself. These things are very challenging.

There can also be alot of ornamented melodies, melodic Diminutions, etc. It takes skill to see how each note functions. Some notes are part of the big musical structure and movement, while others just color or ornament the structure notes. You have terms like passing notes, neighboring notes, constant skips

If you look at Schenkers work on analysing music and figuring out how it works you will learn alot. There are also tons of other ways to analyse music. Not all of this may apply to creating piano reductions, but it can still be interesting. BTW, this gets quite complex. It takes alot of time to really get into this stuff.

If you know how the music works you can often reduce it to 3 chords, on the most simplistic level. Of course alot of music is the same on this level. But you can go from only 3 chords to the original, by slowly adding more of the original. This can be done with almost the maximum objectivity possible in music.

Looking at the Liszt transcriptions of Beethoven Symphonies can also learn you alot.

[Sketchee]

It can be tricky.  Studying what other composers with their reductions can be very helpful.  I second the Liszt Beethoven transcriptions; he's also transcribed a lot of other works.  There's Ravel's transcription of La Valse too.  Liszt could supposedly read an orchestral score and transcribe on the fly.

I'm not familiar with the specific piece you're talking about tho.

Most of the time you'll want to maintain the melody and bass at least.  You may not  even always want to keep the original octave of the music!  Since some pieces rely on a change in timbre, a change of octave can be used to duplicate this effect for example.  It also depends on the level of difficulty vs accuracy you want to achieve.  In some passages you might have to be ruthless in

what stays and what goes.  Unless there's a severe number of voices in counterpoint, you can cut a lot.  Listen to the orchestra play it and what stands out to you; if you were the conductor what would you emphasize.  Don't be afraid to rewrite a passage several times in several ways to find out what will work.  It can take a lot of practice.

[llhyperdude]

Thanks a lot for your replies. I will be setting up my keyboard infront of my computer today....(I'm engraving it on my PC.) That should make things easier.

[RachOn]

I have a copy of the Rach 3 written for two pianos, one for the acutal piano part of the concerto of and the other for orchestral accompaniment.  Schirmer's arranges a lot of concertos that way.  If you could get a hold of both the original orchestral scores and then the Shirmer's version, you could study what they did and how they did it and then emulate that with your own work, I think.  Just a thought.