A Brief Note on Instrumentation

The instrumentation is one of the most important parts in defining the genre. In fantasy music, usually revolving around renaissance and medieval themes and settings, the instrumentation follows suit. One would generally classify any instrumentation used during those times in the respective area as acceptable fantasy music instrumentation. And that is true for any kind of music. What is native to a setting, and/ or what is stereotypically used for a setting or in a general area or culture is what is accepted by society as proper instrumentation. So when composing for a picture, game, or any specific theme, that will probably be your main focus, and the task at hand is to do research, and figure out what instruments generally belong to the [intended feel of the] time and setting you’re writing for. But if you’re really unsure and in a hurry, classical orchestra instrumentation is almost always if not always acceptable. So to make this process easiest, do a few things:

• Create or find an image, setting, or some sort of relation or picture to use as a reference for your style. Your instrumentation should match that or be that of an orchestra. This will also help guide you melodically, as you can take emotions you feel from that image and capture them in the moods, progressions, and modes you use.
• Find another few pieces in the style you want to recreate. Finding 3 or more pieces [especially by different composers] in the same style that you want to make will really help for ideas. You can see what they do similarly for instrumentation, and also orchestration: how they use the instruments. You generally wouldn’t want to steal anything directly from a piece, but you could use what you hear in common amongst all of the pieces or many (if you have a large number) and use that as a guide for making your music. This includes instrumentation, articulation, and many other aspects of orchestration.
• Do research and/ or use your knowledge of instruments to choose the sounds that you want

Note: Choosing 'incorrect' instrumentation isn't necessarily a bad thing; it leaves room for and interesting blend of styles and creates ambiguity; but the point of this guide isn't to show the beauty of ambiguity, but to aid in the process of creating a sort of genuine fantasy sound

← Previous ✥ Next →