Using instruments in my music

When you're composing 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 composition. There are hundreds of different types of musical instruments to choose from.

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 melody, think about the mood or emotion of your music and which instrumental sound best matches this.

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 orchestra.

Each family has several different instruments within it, ranging from highpitched instruments - like the violin, to lowpitched instruments like the double bass.

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 BBC Bitesize for Teachers.

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'.

In this performance, the clarinet plays the solo 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.

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!