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What is instrumentation?

A cartoon of Bach playing the guitar

When you're your own music, it's important to think about the type of sound that you would like for each part of your music.

One of the great things about composing, is you can choose which instruments to use in your . There are hundreds of different types of musical instruments to choose from.

A cartoon of Bach playing the guitar
A cartoon of Beethoven pointing

Choosing one instrument for a part of your composition is called instrumentation.

Layering or putting together groups of instruments within your composition is called orchestration.

If you've composed a , think about the mood or emotion of your music and which instrumental sound best matches this.

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A key skill for composing music

A cartoon of a young girl playing the drums

A key composing skill is understanding the sounds that musical instruments make and how they can combine together to create a sound, that you want for your composition.

A very good place to start is the instruments of the .

A cartoon of a young girl playing the drums

There are four main families in the orchestra.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Violin and double bass on a blue background., String A violin is the highest pitched string instrument and a double bass is the lowest pitched string instrument found in an orchestra.

Each family has several different instruments within it, ranging from high instruments - like the violin, to low pitched instruments like the double bass.

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Watch: What do they sound like?

Each family of instruments makes their sound in different ways.

Explore these films to hear what some of the different instruments sound like and see how they are played.

Find out more about how orchestral instruments work by watching House of Sounds on 91热爆 Teach.

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Watch: Orchestration with Gerswin's Rhapsody

Orchestration is the process of combining different instruments together, within your musical composition.

There are lots of examples to listen to, but to get started, listen to this piece called Gerswin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'.

Pianist Lauren Zhang joins the 91热爆 Scottish Symphony Orchestra to perform Gershwin鈥檚 Rhapsody in Blue. This performance is from Ten Pieces Trailblazers.

A cartoon of a young girl playing the clarinet

In this performance, the clarinet plays the line accompanied by instruments from the woodwind and brass sections of the orchestra.

Gershwin chose the clarinet to represent the sound of New York City 'waking up' in the early morning.

Even though this is a classical piece of music, you can hear the influence of jazz in how the clarinet, trumpet and piano are performed.

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How can I start?

A young boy in a wheelchair playing the keyboard

You probably won't have access to a large collection of orchestral instruments at home or in school. Remember, electronic keyboards and music software often include collections of instrument sounds that you can explore.

While they may not be quite like the real thing, they are a very good place to start practicing your instrumentation and orchestration!

A young boy in a wheelchair playing the keyboard
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Activities

Quiz

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Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

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More on Creating Music

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