Woodwind Instrumentation Codes

Following many of the titles in our Wind Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:

The bracketed numbers tell you the precise instrumentation of the ensemble. The first number stands for Flute, the second for Oboe, the third for Clarinet, the fourth for Bassoon, and the fifth (separated from the woodwinds by a dash) is for Horn. Any additional instruments (Piano in this example) are indicated by "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign.

This woodwind quartet is for 1 Flute, no Oboe, 1 Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 1 Horn and Piano.

Sometimes there are instruments in the ensemble other than those shown above. These are linked to their respective principal instruments with either a "d" if the same player doubles the instrument, or a "+" if an extra player is required. Whenever this occurs, we will separate the first four digits with commas for clarity. Thus a double reed quartet of 2 oboes, english horn and bassoon will look like this:

Note the "2+1" portion means "2 oboes plus english horn"

Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:

• Duo - Flute & Clarinet - or [1010-0]
• Trio - Flute, Oboe & Clarinet - or [1110-0]
• Quartet - Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon - or [1111-0]
• Quintet - Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon & Horn - [or 1111-1]

Brass Instrumentation Codes

Following many of the titles in our Brass Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of five numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:

The bracketed numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Trumpet, the second for Horn, the third for Trombone, the fourth (separated from the first three by a dot) for Euphonium and the fifth for Tuba. Any additional instruments (Tympani in this example) are indicated by a "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign. tgs editor portable

Thus, the Copland Fanfare shown above is for 3 Trumpets, 4 Horns, 3 Trombones, no Euphonium, 1 Tuba and Tympani. There is no separate number for Bass Trombone, but it can generally be assumed that if there are multiple Trombone parts, the lowest part can/should be performed on Bass Trombone. Use the function (Ctrl+F) to find a known phrase

Titles listed in our catalog without bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation: tgs editor portable

• Brass Duo - Trumpet & Trombone, or [101.00]
• Brass Trio - Trumpet, Horn & Trombone, or [111.00]
• Brass Quartet - 2 Trumpets, Horn & Trombone, or [211.00]
• Brass Quintet - 2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone & Tuba, or [211.01]
• Brass Sextet and greater - No Standard Instrumentaion

String Instrumentation Codes

Following many of the titles in our String Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of four numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:

These numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Violin, the second for Viola, the third for Cello, and the fourth for Double Bass. Thus, this string quartet is for 2 Violas and 2 Cellos, rather than the usual 2110. Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:

• String Duo - Viola & Viola - [1100]
• String Trio - Violin, Viola, Cello - [1110]
• String Quartet - 2 Violins, Viola, Cello - [2110]
• String Quintet - 2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Bass - [2111]

Use the function (Ctrl+F) to find a known phrase. For example, search for the hex sequence A3 A1 (often a space or punctuation). Alternatively, switch to the Text Viewer mode to scan through parsed dialogue.