# Orchestral Music blended with Electronic Music?



## drvLock (Apr 2, 2014)

What are your thoughts about this? 

I believe it's possible to have orchestral parts blended together with drum and bass (it's my aim right now), dubstep, and even breakcore.


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

drvLock said:


> I believe it's possible to have orchestral parts blended together with drum and bass (it's my aim right now), dubstep, and even breakcore.


Like so?











I tried making something similar myself but failed miserably.


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## drvLock (Apr 2, 2014)

Schubussy said:


> Like so?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, like that. I'm trying to blend some Orchestral passages with drum and bass, to a song I'm composing for my first EP. So far, I'm heading towards "fail".


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Acoustic instruments and electronically generated sounds are both merely sound / timbre sources. The rest, like writing any music, is up to the skill of the composer, familiarity with the instruments, the electronics, and making a choice of 'instrumentation.'

In a way, the 'problem' is no different than choosing the instrumentation of a piece either solely for acoustic instruments, or solely electronic instruments. Know your sound sources, choose a registration suitable to the musical ideas (the ideas often 'dictate' exactly what instruments and sound sources you will want and need) know something, formally trained or otherwise obtained, about writing a piece, and proceed with the existential agony of making the right choices for your piece 

ADD: P.s. there are no 'orchestral instruments' any more than there are 'classical' instruments. By a long built-up convention, there are expectations of 'the usual suspects' being used in classical music for a large orchestra. But... there is a mandolin part in Mahler's _Das lied von der Erde,_ an alto saxophone in the wind section of Alban Berg's _Violin concerto,_ an Ondes Martenot in Messiaen's _Turangalila,_ etc.

There are acoustic instruments and electronic instruments -- and that is really "all of it"


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## drvLock (Apr 2, 2014)

PetrB said:


> Acoustic instruments and electronically generated sounds are both merely sound / timbre sources. The rest, like writing any music, is up to the skill of the composer, familiarity with the instruments, the electronics, and making a choice of 'instrumentation.'
> 
> In a way, the 'problem' is no different than choosing the instrumentation of a piece either solely for acoustic instruments, or solely electronic instruments. Know your sound sources, choose a registration suitable to the musical ideas (the ideas often 'dictate' exactly what instruments and sound sources you will want and need) know something, formally trained or otherwise obtained, about writing a piece, and proceed with the existential agony of making the right choices for your piece
> 
> ...


Enlighten me: Ondes Martenot?


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

drvLock said:


> Enlighten me: Ondes Martenot?


The earlier electronic instrument, which ended up used in dozens of "wooo --eee --oooo" Sci-fi and horror / suspense movie scores, is the Theremin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin

Fasil say makes extensive use of it in his _Universe Symphony,_ 





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondes_Martenot

The Fasil Say piece is recent, the others, from the 1930's. Much has happened in between, and there are for all those pieces a variety of approach, dependent upon what was available and composer choice.

Olivier Messaien:

Oraison - for Ondes Martenot




Fête des belles eaux, for sestet of Ondes Martenot





The Turangalîla-Symphonie, for very large orchestra, piano and ondes martenot





For a while now, works which use a fair mix of both sound sources (which can include prerecorded material, played and timed with live performers) has been given a genre name, Electro-acoustic. There are works of this sort in both classical contemporary, and alternative contemporary music in any number of genres.


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## drvLock (Apr 2, 2014)

PetrB said:


> The earlier electronic instrument, which ended up used in dozens of "wooo --eee --oooo" Sci-fi and horror / suspense movie scores, is the Theremin.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin
> 
> Fasil say makes extensive use of it in his _Universe Symphony,_
> ...


Impressive. I thank you for your answer, my good sir. I'll give these pieces you mentioned a listen to broaden my musical taste.

I reckon that all you've said molded what we can hear today, in terms of mixing orchestral pieces with different genres. And this is, IMO, more likely to happen with rock/heavy metal, and not so much with electronic music, in general.


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

World's End Girlfriend


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

Yuki Kajiura does masterfully at combining various acoustic and electronic timbres. Her music is incredibly beautiful


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Italian band, Banco del Mutuo Soccorsso, did it wonderfully in 1978 on their album Di Terra.

Guitar, piano and synth, drums and bass kick in at about 5:00 minutes.


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