Balance

It is easy to spot a band that plays with an inappropriate balance. Assuming tone quality
is not a concern, playing with a proper balance is the most important order of business in the
band world. Balance is an issue that plagues many K-12 school bands for various reasons
including instrumentation concerns, inexperienced players, playing with an uncharacteristic tone
quality, etc. What is even more disturbing, however, is the myriad of professional and collegiate
bands who release recordings that are severely out of balance. Mainly, this has to do with the
conductor not having a clear vision or process for achieving the sonic soundscape he desires.
Too often, conductors are trained to balance a band in only one way: pyramid balance.
Pyramid balance is an idea that, by my estimation, dates back to at least the early 1970s with
the publication of Francis McBeths book, Effective Performance of Band Music: Solutions to
Specific Problems in the Performance of 20th Century Band Music. This is not to say that
Francis McBeth was way off base. Generally speaking, a pyramid balance is a good thing.
Acoustically speaking, we tend to hear higher-pitched instruments first and longer than lowerpitched instruments. From a tonal standpoint, it is therefore desirable to have those musicians
primarily responsible for the fundamental pitches slightly louder in the mix in order to solidify
ensemble cohesiveness and avoid intonation concerns. This type of balance is extremely
useful in homophonic textures where it is desirable to sound like an organ. An example of this
can be found in the first 32 measures of William Schumans Chester Overture for Band [see
Example 1]. In this opening chorale, Schuman takes advantage of the woodwind and brass
choirs by first presenting the 16-measure theme in the woodwinds (in G major), and then in the
brass 16 measures later (in Eb major). This is an excellent example for when the conductor
would want to stress pyramid balance. In the woodwind opening, the musicians would want to
listen down to the bassoons and bass clarinets in order to solidify a sense of tonality; likewise in
the re-statement of the theme by the brass choir, musicians would want to listen down to the

tubas and string bass. This pyramid balance become especially important during fermate and
at cadential points. In order to achieve the desired effect, the lower voices would want to
sustain slightly after the cut-off because, as stated above, we hear higher-pitched instruments
first and longer than we hear lower-pitched instruments.
This is where most conductors would stop. However, having the perfect pyramid
balance is not the end of music making, its just the beginning. Melody MUST be allowed to
reign supreme. The balance of melody to accompaniment should be considered of prime
importance. For our purposes, I am going to refer to this as melodic balance. As conductors,
we must be ever diligent in making sure the melody can be heard over everything else that is
going on. Otherwise, whats the point of playing if you cant hear the melody? With that said,
using our same example of the opening chorale, it would be silly to have the bassoons and bass
clarinets play louder than the flutes, oboe 1, and alto saxophone 1 who have melodic material.
They have the melody and must be the predominant color present. It is therefore necessary to
revise our idea of, or how we think of, pyramid balance. I dont think Francis McBeth was
advocating that bass instruments play louder, per se. What is more important is that, in those
first 16 measures, that the musicians can hear the lower voices to keep everything in proper
tonal balance. Therefore, pyramid balance can really be thought of as tonal balance. This idea
of players hearing each other is highly influenced by seating and I will address that issue later
in this paper.
Before we leave our Chester example, lets examine another type of balance: section
balance. This type of balance is related to pyramid (tonal) balance. In section balance, we
must think of each section as its own pyramid. For example, the same acoustical principles that
apply to the ensemble as a whole apply to individual sections which can almost be though of as
small chamber ensembles. In other words, we can hear the higher pitches (clarinet 1) more and
longer than we can hear the lower pitches (clarinet 2 and 3). Lets take a look at the clarinet

section in the just the first eight measures. Weve already established that clarinet 1 has
melodic material. They are, again, of prime importance and it is therefore advisable to have a
strong player sitting in the principal chair. Perhaps even more desirable is to have strong
players at the bottom of the section as well. While melody is of prime importance, that is not to
say that musicians providing inner harmonies are not important. Much to the contrary, those
inner harmonies sweeten and fill up the sound. Since it is easier for the ear to hear higher
pitches, we can ask the 2nd and 3rd players in any given section to play out slightly. Its a fine
line as we dont want them, of course, to overpower melodic material, but even though they may
feel like they are playing louder, our ears will not perceive it that way. Being an aural medium,
what we hear is the only thing that matters. We have to use whatever tricks we have in our bag
in order to fulfill our sonic vision for the group. With that said, there is one exception to section
balance: unison. If a section is playing in unison, it may become necessary to turn them down
a bit in the mix because, just by the nature of playing in unison, their sound will project. Careful
attention should be paid to sections that start in unison and then split into harmony. Its at that
point that section balance techniques can be utilized.
For our last two types of balance, I turn to a different example: Gustav Holsts First Suite
in Eb for Military Band. Holst had a genius way of presenting themes and combining them later
in the piece to be played simultaneously, thus creating two (or more) melodies. This type of
balance is an off-shoot of melodic balance that I am going to call thematic balance. In this type
of balance, multiple themes are presented simultaneously and its up to the conductor to decide
which melody should be heard more. Its a personal preference and the musicianship of the
conductor must be relied upon to make musical decisions. This becomes important in our Holst
example in the third movement at rehearsal D (Matthews edition). The slower moving theme
present in the low brass/bari sax and 2nd cornet and Bb trumpets. This must be balanced
against the faster moving theme present in upper woodwinds and 1st cornet. In the score, they

are both marked fortissimo. However, we must take that with a grain of salt and choose one
theme that will predominate the sound. Maybe this might be an opportunity to utilize some
classic pyramid balance and have the lower, slower moving theme predominate. Thats just one
option; again, the conductor must make an executive decision here.
This same section of music presents our final type of balance, especially useful in
marches: rhythmic balance. Not only in balancing the two themes a type of rhythmic balance in
that we are balancing faster moving rhythms against slower moving rhythms, we are also
balancing the rhythm present in non-pitched percussion. Nothing will ruin a march faster than
un-pitched percussion drowning out the winds and brass. In this case, we have to concern
ourselves with the snare drum, bass drum and crash cymbal. The metallic clashing of the crash
cymbal needs to be balanced against the low thud of the bass drum and the driving rhythm of
the snare drum. All of this is keeping the machine going, and is important for that reason.
However, it must be tamed so that the two melodies can clearly be heard. The crash cymbal
especially needs to be tamed and can be accented in those half notes where the winds and
brass have accented notes, along with the other members of the percussion family.
In brief, in addition to pyramid balance, the conductor must also be acutely aware of
melodic balance, section balance, thematic balance and rhythmic balance. Its more than,
Listen down to the tubas. The conductor is ultimately responsible for the sonic landscape of
his group. Familiarizing himself with these and other types of balance is a great way to build the
type of sounds you want to hear coming back at you on the podium.

Seating Arrangements and their Effects on Sound

Symphonic Band

In terms of large symphonic bands, Harry Begian at the University of Illinois set the
standard. Despite the massive size of the band, around 100 players, he still managed to
achieve a well-balanced sound. I have reproduced his seating chart below:

This seating arrangement works if you have the number of players to accommodate it. Take
particular note of the balanced clarinet sound that can be achieved by having the players sit in
this fashion. Instruments of similar tessitura are seated together. Take, for instance, the
clustering of the lowest instruments around the timpani. At the same time, instrument families
are kept together as well as much as possible. Of course many variations on this setup exists.
With a band this size, assuming instrumentation is balanced, moving instruments around is not
going to have a huge effect on the overall homogenous, organ-like sound that a symphonic
band is capable of producing. It should go without saying that in any seating arrangement, the
instruments that project the least (i.e. clarinets, flutes) should be sat closest to the front.
Wind Ensemble

The idea of the traditional wind ensemble, with their unique one-on-a-part
instrumentation, of course is accredited to Frederick Fennell. I have reproduced his seating
arrangement from the Eastman School of Music below:

In this setup, notice that the ensemble is set up in a series of rows. Whether you set up
in curved rows or straight lines as above, one principle must be observed: wind instruments
sound better if there is more space in between them. Each instrument has its own acoustical
properties and needs its own acoustical space. Ive seen many wind ensembles set up in
straight rows with little to no space between players and the effect on the sound is undesirable.
Sound ends up being absorbed by players clothing or the player sitting next to, in front, or
behind him. To fully maximize the musical independence of the wind ensemble, space is a
necessity.
Also of note in Frederick Fennells seating arrangement is how principal players are
seated. Notice they are all in the center and can easily hear one another. Further, this setup
also allows for the bottom of the sections to be able to hear more clearly the principal player in
order to match tone quality, dynamic level, articulations, style, etc. This rationale, to me, seems

very similar to how the lead alto, lead trombone, and lead trumpet player in a big band are set
up.

Wind Orchestra
The Wind Orchestra uses at its model the sound of a symphony orchestra and tries to
mimic a standard symphony orchestra setup. A mix of curved and straight rows is employed.
For instance, the clarinets are seated in a curved row with the principal player to the conductors
left on the outside of the row. In a curved row behind the clarinets (to the left of the conductor)
are the three flutes (principal on outside) with the piccolo on the inside. This allows for the
piccolo to not protrude from the ensemble sound. In the same row but on the right of the
conductor is the harmony clarinets. Behind them, in another curved row is the saxophone
family. Behind them in yet another curved row is the tuba and string bass (string bass on the
outside). The euphonium is also in this row, on risers to the left of the tuba (from the
conductors vantage point).
In straight rows in the center you will find double reeds, oboe and bassoon grouped
together with oboes to the left of the conductor and bassoons to the right. Behind them, on
risers, are the French horns seated in pairs. Behind them, in a straight row on higher risers you
will find trumpets seated left to right (low to high) and trombones seated left to right (high to
low), allowing for the principal trumpet and principal trombone players to be seated next to one
another. Finally, off to the conductors left you will find the percussion section, harp and piano.
This seating chart is fashioned after an orchestra and allows for the unique colors of
wind instruments to be highlighted and blended appropriately. The projectional and directional
properties of each instrument is maximized. The trumpets project their instruments straight out
to the audience, not towards the center of the group or at the conductor. They are seated far

enough back so that this does not overpower the woodwinds. The same goes for the
trombones.
In brief, three basic principles combine in this setup to combine to produce the desired
sonic landscape. One, enough space is allowed between wind instruments to allow their sound
and overtones to be fully realized and not inadvertently combined or washed away. Two, wind
bands sound better if the setup is deeper, not wider. This deep setup also allows for the space
between players I just mentioned. Lastly, rows of instruments are not facing each other,
allowing their sound to be heard.