# Instrument Combinations (for Composing Music)



## DragonautX (Jun 28, 2013)

I'm interested in composing my own orchestral pieces on my computer, but I'm not sure as to how the different instruments are mixed so fittingly. For example, are there specific note combinations between a set of strings that produce something like this:






Or is it more complicated than that? Do I have to take a specific class just for this?

Also, thanks to anyone who can tell me about instrument combinations that go beyond strings (brass, wind, etc.).

(NOTE: I'm no musical expert. I've played an instrument once, but that was only for middle school. It's just that sometimes I get tunes in my head that I'd like to "write" down before I lose them.)


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

I would suggest my good old friend Rimsky-Korsakov's book _Principles of Orchestration_, or _The Technique of Orchestration_ by Kennan and Grantham. You can find both of these books here at a reasonable price: http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Orchestration-Dover-Books-Music/dp/0486212661/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374190734&sr=1-2&keywords=orchestration
http://www.amazon.com/Technique-Orc...&qid=1374190734&sr=1-5&keywords=orchestration
Well, maybe not the Kenneth and Grantham...it's a textbook. 

I would suggest you look at these, then listen to some of your favorite composers and see what they do! I do some orchestration, and a lot of what I do is listen carefully to the instrument combinations and follow with a music score. It's a lot like painting with hundreds of different colors. Plenty to choose from, but that's what makes it so fun.

p.s. You could also find those books at your local library. Good luck!


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## DragonautX (Jun 28, 2013)

Ah, much thanks. And your first title reminded me of something familiar, so I did some research, and I actually found what I remembered: the free version of _Principles of Orchestration_! (from Project Gutenberg)

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33900/33900-h/rimsky_toc.html

Maybe after this, I'll think about the 2nd book if I'm serious about this "orchestration" thing. Thanks again!


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