Do orchestras tend to have too many instruments?

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Oh okay, and you are saying that type of piano will have as good of an effect as the xylophone for a percussive effect in the piece, more so?

Also, you said it should be something that stands out sharply but wouldn't drums stand out sharply?

you could use a percussive tattoo as an ostinato, as well as this prepared piano. your choice is between chromatic and non-chromatic percussions as contrasting bits.

Oh okay. Well so far, the percussion instruments I have put into the mix are taikos, timpanies, and snares, but would neither of those work as good as a xylophone?

yes, you could use any of them in an ostinato pattern to indicate that something dramatic is coming up.

Oh okay. Would I have to use real piano or xylophone samples, or are their any synthesizers out there that can synthesize a percussive sound similar to the xylophone?

there long have been keyboard emulations of chromatic percussions such as the xylo.

Oh okay, thanks. Do you know any tunes or songs that feature this synthesized xylophone, to know what it sounds like?

Last edited by ironpony on 12 Oct 2020, 1:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

i love this instrument, i want one, if i win the lotto i'll get one. otherwise i'll vicariously enjoy.

Oh okay thanks, but is the keyboard playing real recorded samples of a real marimba, or is it completely synthesized sounds trying to mimic one?

that is a very nice if basic emulation of a mini moog of olde, digitally implemented. so that is all synthetic or made up of bits and pieces of electronically created audio waveform. it is NOT a sampler.

Oh okay thanks, I thought it was all synth but wasn't sure. Do you know of any tunes that have an all synth tune trying to mimic a xylophone rather than a marimba though, out of curiosity as to what that would sound like? I can keep looking myself.

have not been able to find any online, wendy carlos used those sounds but she is notorious for her refusal to allow public dissemination of her works, nothing on youtube. isao tomita for some reason didn't use too many percussive sounds in his work.

You definitely have a strong preference for the pure tones of single instruments! I wonder if chamber music and TV scores might be more your style than full orchestra? Orchestras are used in big-budget TV productions nowadays, but in the 20th century TV composers usually had to write for a small group of instruments as that was all the studio could afford. They were experts at choosing the right instruments for the program and stretching them as far as possible. (I once heard a composer who worked on Doctor Who in the '70s describe how he scored 6 whole episodes for just flute, clarinet, 'cello and clavichord. Think it was a storyline called "The Seeds of Doom.")

Oh okay, that Doctor story sounds interesting. Perhaps I do prefer less instruments but I am trying to get more into orchestra mode for big moments. So far I am not sure when tonight when I should use string or brass for certain parts of the orchestra.

However, there are instruments I made a list of so far, for a movie project score:

Violin, Cello, and Double Bass, electric and acoustic
Moog Synthesizer
Trumpet
Bass Trombone
French Horn
Taikos
Snare
Bass Flute or Pan Flute
Duduk or Saxophone
Acoustic Piano
Electric Guitar
Harmonica
Churchbell
maybe Xylophone

Some I am not sure on, which instruments to use for certain parts. But perhaps I could use more instruments for a good effective score?

Last edited by ironpony on 14 Oct 2020, 12:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

beauty of multitrack is you can make as many instruments as you could want.

Yep that's true . And I can make multiples of those instruments, but I wonder if those are enough instruments to make a good score still, or should I have more variety of sounds?