Do orchestras tend to have too many instruments?

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Oh okay, but orchestras still have tubas though?

symphony orchestras or philharmonics, but not string orchestras.

Oh okay, but what do you call orhestras that have both strings and brass? Is it not good to mix both?

"full" orchestras or symphony orchestras or philharmonics. they mix strings and brass all the time. imagine Holst's "the planets" without the brass, on "mars." or without the strings and reeds and flutes in "venus."

Oh okay. So it doesn't necessarily matter if tubas fill the lower range, it's just they do not sound as good as double basses? Or is there more to it than that?

"mars" from holst's "the planets" suite. this would not do without the stentorian low brass, would it? this NEEDED its tubas at full blast. on the other hand-

"venus" from The Planets- a tuba would be out of place here, like a bull in a china shop.

Oh okay thanks. Yes I agree a tuba would not work in the second one. Well there are two pieces of music that involve tubas, that inspire me to try to compose something similar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQOvCOza6Gw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yly0LYjqEyM

But would a double bass be better for those two examples?

tubas are needed for power and menace. contrabasses and contrabassoons/contrabass clarinets are needed for color and melodic accent.

Oh okay. Well so far when going from high to low range for example, there are the instruments I chose to go from high to low:

Violins
Trumpets
Violas
French Horns
Duduks
Trombones
Tubas

But do I need to go from high to low on all strings or all brass or can I mix the sounds I like and go from high to low on whatever instruments I feel sound best?

think of it like the fact of an analog clock, you gotta have all the hours and minutes and seconds to tell the time in all cases, or think of an artist painting a picture, he or she needs ALL the colors, not just a few, in many cases. but in some cases he or she can get away with just a few, same for your music. it depends on what you are trying to do, and i don't know what you are trying to do.

Oh well I guess I am just trying to come with a score for a project that is a serious crime thriller but with dark comedy here and there, if that helps?

am guessing here that you won't need the full panoply of players here.

Oh okay, well when it comes to buying instrument samples, I was thinking of with either one of these ensembles for a movie score, but does one look better than the other?


Violins, Violas, electric and steel string acoustic
Synthesizer
Trumpets
Trombones
Tubas
French Horns
Duduks
Taiko
Timpani
Snare
Bass Flute
Acoustic Piano
Classical Guitar
Electric Guitar
Harmonica
Churchbell

or this one:

Violins, Violas, Cellos, and Double Basses
Synthesizer
Trumpets
Trombones
Tuba
Taiko
Timpani
Snare
Acoustic Piano
Classsical guitar
Electric guitar
Harmonica
Churchbell
Xylophone

Does one seem better than the other for a crime thriller movie project?

Last edited by ironpony on 30 Oct 2020, 1:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

the synth in the first one can cover lots of holes.

Oh I meant to put the synth in the second one as well. Yes, that's right on covering the holes. What if the synth was in the second one as well? Would the first one still be better?

2nd better only because there are more things in there.