By A-R's house editors

In Western ensemble music, various brackets and braces are used to distinguish groups of instruments by family, type, or both. This article gives an overview of their functions and tips for their correct use.

Group Brackets

Group brackets are used to distinguish various groupings or families of parts within an ensemble texture (woodwinds, brasses, strings, etc.):

Example 1. Etienne-Joseph Soubre, Sinfonie fantastique à grand orchestre, movement I, “Allegro molto” (mm. 1–6), from Sinfonie fantastique à grand orchestre, ed. Francesca Brittan (N070), 3.

In baroque music, the basso continuo line is given a group bracket of its own, because it is implied to be played by a group of instruments (cello/viol, harpsichord, organ, lute/theorbo, etc.):

Example 2. Francis Forcer, incidental music to Mary Pix, The Innocent Mistress, movement I (mm. 1–6), from John Eccles, Incidental Music, Part 2: Playes H–P, ed. Estelle Murphy (B220), 58.

In chamber music of the common-practice period, a single group bracket joins all the staves in a system. Note the difference between this and the previous example, even though essentially the same instruments are involved:

Example 3. Louis Spohr, String Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 29, no. 1, movement I, “Allegro” (mm. 1–5), from String Quartets, Opp. 29 and 45, ed. Nancy November (N085), 3.

Braces

Braces are most often used to connect multiple staves that belong to the same instrument, such as right-hand and left-hand staves in music for piano, keyboard instruments, or harp. The resulting combined two-staff unit is known as a grand staff:

Example 4. František Kocžwara, “The Battle of Prague” (mm. 1–4), from Descriptive Piano Fantasias, ed. Halina Goldberg and Jonathan D. Bellman (N081), 3.

In music for organ, a three-staff version of the grand staff is used, with a brace connecting either (a) the two manual staves but not the pedal staff or (b) all three staves:

Example 5. Victor Paul, “Méditation” (mm. 1–4), from Recueil de morceaux d’orgue (1863): À l’usage spécial des élèves de l’Institution Impériale des Jeunes Aveugles de Paris, ed. Harvey H. Miller (N071), 194.

A grand-staff instrument within a larger ensemble texture is given its own brace:

Example 6. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Symphonic Variantions on an African Air, op. 63 (mm. 52–55), from Symphonic Variations on an African Air, Opus 63, ed. John L. Snyder (N043), 12.

Braces can also be used to connect multiple staves of the same instrument within a larger bracketed group (see examples 1 and 6 above). However, it is not strictly necessary to use braces this way (compare the previous examples with example 2 above and example 10 below), and doing so can add clutter to large scores with several simultaneous same-instrument groups. The use or non-use of braces in orchestral textures should be applied consistently throughout the score.

Special Considerations for Solo Voices and Instruments

In an ensemble texture, staves for solo voices are generally left unbracketed to distinguish them from choral parts:

Example 7. Amy Beach, “Kyrie” (mm. 72–76), from Grand Mass in E-flat Major, Opus 5, ed. Matthew Phelps (A084), 13.

In music for keyboard and solo voice(s) or instruments, or in chamber music with piano, soloists’ staves are unbracketed and not included in the grand-staff brace.[1]

Example 8. Hamish MacCunn, “Serenade” (mm. 1–6), from Complete Songs for Solo Voice and Piano, part 1, ed. Jennifer Oates (N068), 15.

Example 9. Ferdinand Ries, piano quartet arrangement of Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony no. 3 in E-flat Major, op. 55 (Eroica), movement I (mm. 26–32), from Chamber Arrangements of Beethoven’s Symphonies, Part 1: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, and 5 Arranged for Quartet Ensembles, ed. Nancy November (N075), 65.

When only one percussion part is present in an orchestral texture (usually timpani), no bracket is used on its staff:

Example 10. Anonymous, “Ouverture” (mm. 1–4), from Ohé! les p’tits agneaux: A Parisian revue de fin d’année for 1857, part 1, ed. Richard Sherr (N082), 3.

Ambiguous cases can arise in vocal ensemble music of the baroque era, where it may be unclear whether the music would have been performed with one or more than one singer to a part throughout a given piece, or where the vocal parts alternate between choral and soloistic textures. In such cases, group brackets may be used at the editor’s discretion, though consistency is key. In example 11, note that the bracket remains on the soprano and bass staves even when the alto staff is dropped from the third system, and on the bass staff even when both the soprano and alto staves are dropped from the fourth system.

Example 11. Antonio Bertali, “Exultate et cantate” (mm. 31–48), from Motets by Ferdinand III and Other Musicians from the Habsburg Court, 1637–1657, ed. Andrew H. Weaver (Y2-018), 169.

As always, feel free to consult your house editor when ambiguities arise.