Timbre

Timbre is defined as the color or tone quality of something. A guitar, flute and trumpet can all play the same note, but the timbre will sound very different. How does this relate to arranging? Well, not only is arranging about not making things sound disjointed and horrible, it is also about making things sound good and evoking moods. Different instruments can help you do that.

 Now I'm sure you're wondering how can I use this. One effective way this is used is by having melodies(or harmonies) doubled by different instruments. These instruments should have different qualities, so that the overall sound is enhanced.

As an example think of a kick drum and a guitar. The kick drum has a loud, percussive, powerful attack, but not tone to speak of and no sustain. A guitar has sustain and tone, but it's hard to get a lot of power out of a guitar. However when they are playing in unison they create a powerful attack that can rip your head off.

Another common example is doubling a tuba with a bass trombone. The tuba has a kind of "farting" sound that, although it is low doesn't contain a lot of power. The bass trombone has power, but it doesn't have the same low fullness. Combined together however the amount of brown notes will have audiences rushing the toilets. A good example of this recently was "The battle at the wall" during season 4 of game of thrones.

(Great low horn blast at 0:35)

Another common thing to do is to double a sustaining instrument without much attack with something percussive. The percussive insturment helps give the line punch and definition while the other insturment give it tone.

 (Check out the middle section where the guitar, synth, drums and xylophone double the same line)



One final example is the use of talk boxes. The earliest example I know of is Frampton cones alive . However don't be fooled into thinking that this is an old technique that nobody uses anymore. Grammy winners Daft Punk used it all over their last album.

One of the great things abound living in the year 2014 is the fact that you have cheap software synths everywhere and you can experiment endlessly with different timbres. Try combining different types of oscillators and even shifting their octaves until you find a sound that suits you. You can also mix acoustic with electronic elements to come up with all new sounds.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations of instruments. They often lead to new and interesting textures and other times they can be great problem solvers. Often times of you want you melody to be more powerful, doubling it with something more percussive will work. The opposite also holds true. Doubling something with a flute(or another woodwind) will lighten it up. There is a whole world of sound out there for you to experiment with, so play around with different combinations and have fun.

Check out some of my songs and arrangements on the side of this page or at productiontrax and leave a comment below.

Part 1 - Thoughts on Arranging
Part 3 - Rhythmic clarity
Part 4 - Harmonic clarity
Part 5 - Seeing the big picture