What does "doubling" mean in music terms?

Question

I see this a lot for music and hear it used as well but I do not know what it means. I hear "...doubling a flute melody with a piccolo..." or "Double the cellos..." What does it mean? I am trying to learn more on how to orchestrate so if you could recommend books on learning how to orchestrate, I would appreciate that as well.

Answer 1

"Doubling" means playing exactly the same part as another instrument's part. Could be at an octave higher or lower or loco (unison) depending on the instrument itself.



"Doubling a flute melody with a piccolo" means the piccolo is playing exactly what the flute is playing but at an octave higher.



"Double the cellos" with, for example, double bass means the double bass is playing exactly what the cellos are playing but at an octave lower.



"Double the cellos" with, for example, bassoon means the bassoon is playing exactly what the cellos are playing at loco pitch.



Brass instruments usually double viola or cello's parts to strengthen the inner harmony.



In orchestration, doubling is usually used to:

1. strengthen an important part in terms of harmony

2. strengthen a part played by an instrument that is too weak to penetrate the full orchestra

3. create interesting timbre when 2 or more instruments play the same part at loco (eg; flute and oboe usually double each other)

Answer 2

Define Doubling

Answer 3

It means what it sounds like. The instrument or section that is carrying the melody has another instrument or section playing the same thing. It can mean the two instruments are playing in unison, or one or more octaves apart (described as something like "doubling at the octave"). This can be done for a number of reasons, including greater dynamics or interesting instrumental colour.

Answer 4

Doubling can mean two quite different things in music. The first meaning has been covered by the answers above - playing the same line of music (perhaps at a different octave) as another instrument/voice.



The second meaning (such as 'flute, doubling piccolo') means one musician playing two instruments (not at the same time, obviously). The example above would mean that the fl(a)utist in question would swap between flute and piccolo according to the instructions in the music. This is quite usual and normal in orchestral parts and the 'doubling' is usually (but not absolutely always) done by the 2nd player (eg 2nd flute of two) or 3rd player (eg 3rd flute of three). The most common 'doublings' are:



Flute = piccolo

Oboe = Cor anglais (English horn)

Clarinet = bass clarinet or E-flat clarinet

Bassoon = contrabassoon

Piano = celeste



Some less-common doublings:



Flute/piccolo = alto flute or (very rarely) bass flute

Oboe = oboe d'amore or (very rarely) bass oboe or Heckelphone

Clarinet = (very rarely) contrabass clarinet

Trombone = bass trumpet or euphonium (tenor tuba)



Percussionists 'double' all the time, playing a wide array of pitched and unpitched instruments.

Answer 5

im pretty sure it bands that copy other popular bands style and sound.