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So I was just thinking about how important it is to me to explore new and unique instrumental combinations in my music and I thought to ask the forum at large about this. How do you pick the instruments that will play your musical material? Are you less concerned with that than you are with the musical material itself or are unique instrumental combinations really important to you? Are you satisfied with writing for the 'standard' groups? Also, do you sometimes feel like a piece you composed would have been better suited for a different ensemble? And would you then arrange said piece for that ensemble? Do you find writing for new and infrequently used instruments challenging and have you been satisfied or dissatisfied with such attempts? Do you find it difficult to write idiomatically for an instrument without having had the opportunity to play it yourself? Do you think that certain ensembles are overrated (the orchestra) or underrated? Which ensembles do you find most or least challenging to work with? Also, do you tend to default to a certain ensemble or instrument as your go-to? My current challenge is learning to write well for the guitar. I want to be able to write pieces for a solo instrument and acoustic guitar accompaniment as fluently and idiomatically as for a soloist with piano. I've been getting accustomed to what the guitar can and can't do by learning to play it myself a bit but then there's always virtuoso techniques such as finger style that I haven't even started to conceptualize.

idk how to even classify this, jazz-folk? I’m probably gonna make an album of a similar substance to this

Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you liked the piece 🙂 Regarding the duplets, they are indeed equivalent to dotted eight notes, but I wasn't sure which notation to use!

An interesting subject and I doubt I'm atypical. Guidelines exist for bog-standard orchestration particularly when faced with a full orchestral tutti - what to double with what and whether at unison or one or two octaves which of course differs according to the dynamics of the tutti. Anyone seriously composing will almost certainly face that sooner of later. However, on other occasions: To me, timbre is part of the musical material. From quite some practice I usually conceive the effect I hope for during the initial sketching. Perhaps that's why some of my work seems disjointed. Perhaps it is disjointed. It's also why I think "arranging" is part of composing. i) Sometimes it's necessary if it's hoped to be played by one or at least sound like one. (My light music is like this.) b) Not often but I've rearranged things for practical reasons If it doesn't subtract too much from the original idea. This started at secondary school when, from the school orchestra a small group of superb players could be distilled. Unusual instruments have idiom as well as technique. It has been challenging but careful listening can reduce a challenge (like with winds, how much breathing space to allow; how articulate is the instrument itself) before getting to samples and the daw: 'how authentic does one want it to sound' (as it would in an orchestra - or inauthentic because the composer has found it can yield some super sound)? Most new acoustic instruments are derived from earlier or standard ones and I've found that talking to players of the standard ones can be helpful. Once more, score study comes to the rescue if you can access any that use the instrument in question. Electronic ones? Again it's idiom and scope. Since these can be more predictably manipulated they can be understood more easily. The earlier analogue synthesisers came with problems (they're still about by the way. I constructed one myself from the Project 80 circuits with CEM chips) but modern 'digital' ones seem about predictably adjustable presets). = = = I look on all instruments as equal, all having their time and place in context. I can't agree with AngelCityOutlaw about the orchestra/concert band being overrated as it was and is there for a purpose. I think of it as a machine rather than an ensemble usually comprising one instrument per staff, where individual expression counts - and in concert, performance gestures are important. Personal view is that ensembles can be difficult and may need conducting. Professional ones probably don't. As with orchestras dynamics below forte rarely incur balance issues but at the loudest levels might just. I've found a wind ensemble the most difficult to write for. As for guitar writing I can't play the thing! But I'll test out combinations of notes and if they involve big stretches, check to see what the next combination demands. I've the sheet music for work by Manuel Ponce, Freddy Moreno-Torroba and listened to accomplished performers doing them so I get an idea of what's possible. Morreno Torroba must have huge hands! So....some thoughts, anyway.

I typically have all the instruments, or at least the main ones, decided before I ever start "writing". My main setup these days is my own custom "keyboard" patches, bass, various ethnic drums to create a "kit" and on top of that, you can find basically anything. How I choose the sounds is dependent on what the piece is meant to represent. I always see something in my mind. A picture, story, person or place that the tune is supposed to fit with, and that's how I choose what instruments to use. It's summer and I was thinking of Romantic beaches, and so that's why I'm using classical guitar and violin on this tune I'm currently working on. This is a fantastic question and I was actually considering making a thread about it, but you've asked here. The orchestra is easily the most-overrated ensemble there is. It is essentially born of this infantile obsession with making everything bigger and "more", but music written for it can effectively be realized with much smaller ensembles. There is also the issue that you lose so much soloist detail in such a large ensemble. Most of the time, I'd rather hear a nice, expressive solo violin than 18 violins playing. The other issue with the orchestra is the time investment and effectively utilizing all of the players. I think this is why the orchestra has fallen out of favor even though everyone can write for it today. I was having this discussion on VI-C last week with someone who was feeling burnt out with composing with orchestral samples. I really encourage people to write for smaller ensembles and bands more often. It frees up a lot of time — no need to record tons of different lines playing the same thing or whatever — it's more affordable, and having fewer instruments to work with will also help breed creativity, as limitations are known to do.

Ok, good for you

Ok, good for you