Orchestration process

I spent part of the day yesterday orchestration the first forty-five to fifty measures of Night Sky.  So far the orchestration has been a fun process.  It is rewarding to see the full realization of my music.  While I have not yet finished all of the layer of this section, the big picture is coming into focus.  From time to time I do need to remind myself to be consistent in the orchestration.  Fortunately, Adam had sent me suggestions as to typical doublings/groupings in middle school band music.

Contrary to my normal (preferred) routine I am orchestrating Night Sky directly into Finale.  I usually like to have a sketch of the full score prior to entering the piece into Finale.  However, I feel as if that step would require a lot of extra time that I do not wish to spend.  One advantage of orchestrating into Finale is that I can "listen" to the piece through the MIDI playback feature.  While I do not like the quality of playback it is a useful tool for pacing and sonic issues.  I think that this type of playback only gives the listener a vague idea of what the piece will sound like.  I have already noticed one or two pacing issues that I was able to fix by listening to this playback method, so it is not without its benefits.

I am going to continue to plug away at the orchestration and I may possibly be able to send Adam the first couple of pages by the weekend.