# Favorite Instrument Combinations...



## Piano & Strings (Sep 16, 2013)

Since creating a new orchestral template and switching to Cubase, I've been delighted by the Folder track feature (thanks KingIdiot and ProtectedRights!) as an easy way of creating many quick instrument combo tracks.

http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33755

I thought it would be cool to start a thread where folks could chime in with suggestions of the combined tone colors that they're particularly fond of.... Not just instruments, but articulations too....

For example:

Flautando Violin and ppp Slow vibrato Flute sounds beautiful!

I love that when I make these, it feels like I just got a new instrument for free... it's not the same to copy and paste between two instruments as it is to hear them playing in unison right out of the bat. I'm addicted and it's so quick to get to the right sound and really BOOST that palette. I guess it's like going from a pack of 12 paint tubes to a pack of 24 or something..... As someone else suggested, when you start combining more than two colors, you soon end up with brown.

In the thread that got me thinking about this, KingIdiot mentioned Glock & Flute unison, one I hadn't thought of before. What are ya'lls loveliest sounding combo's in your templates? Do share, so we can all enjoy some of that symphonic magic!


----------



## mscottweber (Sep 26, 2013)

I'm fond of harp and celeste together.


----------



## mscottweber (Sep 26, 2013)

I'm fond of harp and celeste together.


----------



## Farkle (Sep 26, 2013)

Trumpet with a flute an octave above is very nice.

Strings in octaves, with flute doubling the high string line is great.

French horn and Cellos at unison... totally awesome film sound.

Bassoon and Piccolo 2 octaves apart (Bernstein uses that in To Kill a Mockingbird to excellent effect).

Trumpet chords with the french horns doubling them an octave lower.

These can get you started. 

Mike


----------



## Daniel White Music (Sep 26, 2013)

Celli and basses doubled with bass clarinet makes for a very nice dark sound.

Bassoon with solo french horn has a unique mellow tone.

Harp and flute.

These are some of my favorites but Rimsky-Korsakov provides lists of combinations in Principles of Orchestration chapters 9-10 and 16-18. Pretty handy.

http://www.northernsounds.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/77-Principles-of-Orchestration-On-line (http://www.northernsounds.com/forum/for ... on-On-line)

-D


----------



## Walid F. (Sep 26, 2013)

Inspiring thread! Keep'em coming boys. :D


----------



## Piano & Strings (Sep 26, 2013)

Great! More free DIY multis to build  Thinking about all those instruments, articulations and octaves... there must be at least hundreds of potential combinations!


----------



## Justus (Sep 27, 2013)

Pizz Basses + Bassoon Stacs
Flute + Clarinet unisono (for smooth melody lines)
High Celli + Violas + Violins spreaded in 3 octaves (for big melodies)


----------



## impressions (Sep 27, 2013)

Flute and distorted lead guitar. My favourite ninja style


----------



## Kralc (Sep 27, 2013)

impressions @ Fri Sep 27 said:


> Flute and distorted lead guitar. My favourite ninja style



With both slightly out of tune....


Beautiful. o[])


----------



## Daniel White Music (Sep 27, 2013)

Staccato celli and timpani.


----------



## impressions (Sep 27, 2013)

staccato bones and timpani


----------



## Piano & Strings (Sep 27, 2013)

Sweet! Thanks Guys!


----------



## trumpoz (Sep 27, 2013)

I like Oboe, French Horn and Trumpet with a straight mute


----------



## Arbee (Sep 28, 2013)

Distorted guitar and sax in unison or harmony.

Bassoon and horn in harmony (bassoon under).

Perhaps it's OK to digress just a little. For some reason my unfavourite instrument, and in any combination, is the clarinet. It's the one instrument that just doesn't push my buttons in any genre or in any combination. Happy for someone to open my ears (and no Gershwin with that, per..lease...)

.


----------



## reddognoyz (Sep 28, 2013)

+1 on the stac bassoon and pits bass or cellos. I use this all the time for comedy writing sometimes simplifying the pits parts if the playing gets too fast. Also stac oboe and violin pits. Add in xylophone in minor seconds for a couple of notes to either combo for that classic spit-take kind of comedy accent. Corny but effective if you are partial to corn.

I also find for doing quiet but intense ostinato's, spic cellos with a drum kit, just kick and hi hat. That can be punchy and driving, but still leave space for dialog.

Snare and trumpets for punchy 16 note blasts.

Oh and baritone guitar and everything for melodies with gravitas or mock gravitas. Cool or kitschy.


----------



## Daniel White Music (Sep 28, 2013)

Arbee, don't like the clarinet!?






Maybe I can convince you of it's glory with a few tracks.

Harry Gregson-Williams put it to good use in Narnia. Agh, love this piece.
http://youtu.be/1kUbgAmjcIA

Dvořák built some nice breaks into the fourth movement of his "New World Symphony" which feature solo clarinet. The first break comes at about 1:50 in this video:
http://youtu.be/Eo1KHr-b-CA

Thomas Newman wrote some interesting stuff for it in _Road to Perdition_. 8:15 in this video:
http://youtu.be/vMgxbChJVR4

John Powell gives it a nice moment in _How To Train Your Dragon_:
http://youtu.be/b7Y3WUrfAUg

Okay, I've digressed enough. These are just a few that came to mind for me.


----------



## Arbee (Sep 28, 2013)

Daniel White Music @ Sun Sep 29 said:


> Arbee, don't like the clarinet!?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha :lol: thanks for the reply. OK, clarinet in small doses - good examples. Apart from saxes, it seems I am still doomed to like my wind instruments with no reeds or with two reeds.

.


----------



## Saxer (Oct 4, 2013)

hi harp chords doubles with divisi tremolo violins
the classical horns/tuba bed with big string melody over is (john barry)
muted trumpets with flutes


----------



## JJP (Oct 4, 2013)

Viola and clarinet work very well together in certain registers. Guess that's true of all instrument combinations: they depend on the register.

If you really want to hear why people love the clarinet, listen to a good performance of the Copland Clarinet Concerto. The first movement will probably be enough to win you over.

I should probably add that "good performance" means skip the ones by Benny Goodman which can be found on You Tube. Go for somebody with great tone.


----------



## Piano & Strings (Oct 4, 2013)

Loving all these combo ideas, everyone is a gift to the template for those inspiration-less minutes :D... sax and distorted guitar... I dont think I would have thought of that combo in a million years, yet I hear it in my head, sexy sax man and slash in unison!


----------

