Alexander Publishing Proudly Announces
The Spectrotone Chart -
For arranging, orchestration, recording, and mixing.
DOWNLOADABLE VERSION- LINK SENT WITHIN 1 BUSINESS DAY EASTERN TIME.
DESCRIPTION
The Spectrotone Chart is an 8MB downloadable .jpg designed to be printed out on a standard 18x24 poster sheet. You can also print out a copy on your printer for 8.5 x 11 or A4 sized paper. Comes with PDF and basic instructions for use.
BACKGROUND
The Spectrotone Chart was created by Arthur Lange, who at one time was head of the MGM Music Department.
Arthur Lange was a songwriter, composer, orchestrator and conductor who came out of Tin Pan Alley. He composed music for over 120 films. He was nominated four times for an Oscar. But he never won one. In 1929, he became head of the music department at MGM. Throughout his career, he was music director at several studios and in 1947 organized the Santa Monica Civic Symphony which he conducted. He also helped create ASMAC, the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers.
Arthur was an educator and he wrote numerous books, including, for 1926, the definitive guide to dance band arranging called Arranging For the Modern Dance Orchestra. He taught at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music which later became Cal Arts.
But Arthur also created a unique colorized chart called the Spectrotone Chart. Don’t be put off by the quaint name, because what Arthur created, which has daily practical use for both live and electronic scoring, and mixing, is nothing less than the Rosetta Stone of orchestration.
In his own words, the Spectrotone Chart is, “a colorgraphic exposition of tone-color combinations and balance as practiced in modern orchestration.”
The chart is organized by the 88 keys of the piano with each key numbered. The bottom A is 1, and the highest C is 88. Eight colors are used with the lowest pitches colored Purple and the highest, White. The simplistic view is that the chart follows the keys of the piano scale wise. But the real view is that the colors reflect not only the individual instrument’s range but also the intensity of the instrument’s sound as it’s played up the overtone series.
Below the keyboard, we added the Hz frequencies so that its full potential can also be realized in recording and mixing.
The color choices make a lot of sense enabling not only precision orchestral combinations, live and electronic, but also provides a gracious way to communicate with producers and directors in a language they’ll understand since each color has a single adjective to describe it.
White = Brilliant
Yellow = Bright
Green = Pleasant
Blue = Rich
Orange = Golden
Red = Glowing
Brown = Warm
Purple = Mellow
Grey = Dull
Black = Indefinite
Each tone color has an additional timbre description, here with multiple adjectives for greater definition.
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