Tagging Featured Instruments
Tagging instruments can sometimes be trickier than you think. In this blog, I offer some tips for identifying instrumentation that stand out in a song.
I have chosen 3 different general styles of music that often come up when tagging production music: Orchestral, Electronic, Indie. When extracting the instruments that the dominant factor in a composition, there are some guidelines to follow:
- Identify the instrument carrying the melody.
- Identify the instruments that stand out in the mix or heavily weighted within a song.
- Identify any solo instruments.
- Featured instrument selection should be limited to 3 instruments and a 4th as an absolute limit.
ORCHESTRAL
Within the Orchestral genre, I have chosen 2 different types of sub-genres: Orchestral Epic and Orchestral Hybrid.
A. Orchestral Epic
When tagging epic styles with large instrumentation, it is sometimes best to use a general tag for some instruments, for example, if there are sections of flute, clarinet and oboe that come in and out of the mix, it is best to use the “woodwind” tag or “brass” tag for trumpets, trombones, etc.
This example features heavy percussion, dramatic strings, and melodic choir. Percussion is a dominant force, the string section carries the tension and melody. Choral textures are more dominant than brass and carry the melody as well.
The top 3 featured instruments in this selection are:
1. Percussion
2. Strings
3. Choir
What to listen for:
Melody: represented by the string section and choir.
Heavy in the mix: Percussion is a driving force and carries compositional dominance.
Example of Orchestral Epic
B. Orchestral Hybrid
This selection features dramatic string melodies with an interwoven brass melody, however the strings are more involved in the composition than brass which is not as dominant as the distorted guitar (which enters at 1:06) and heavy percussion.
The top 3 featured instruments in this selection are:
1. Strings
2. Percussion
3. Distorted Guitar
What to listen for:
Melody: represented by the string section
Heavy in the mix: Gritty Percussion and Distorted guitar.
Example of Orchestral Hybrid
ELECTRONIC
Within the Electronic genre, I have chosen 2 different types of sub-genres based from Dance – Trap and Ambient – Chillout.
A. Electronic Dance: Trap
It helps to be familiar with stylistic traits of Trap when tagging instrumentation.
Most Trap songs involve heavy beats, synth brass, 808 bass, bright snare hits, laid-back tempos and big builds.
This selection features heavy synth brass, beats, synth melody, and bright snare hits.
Since the compositional dominant features of this song are related to groove, tagging “beats and/or loops” is a defining element along with melodic synthesizer and synth brass.
What to listen for:
Melody: Synth riff or melody is repetitive
Heavy in mix: beats, snare and 808 bass
The top 3 featured instruments in this selection are:
1. Synthesizer
2. Beats
3. 808 Bass (heavy thuds)
Example of Trap
B. Electronic Ambient: Chill Out, Downtempo, Chillwave
This track has a laid-back Downtempo groove and thick synth textures with male lead vocals. The introduction features piano, however this is not a dominant trait in the song. Synth textures and male vocals override the mention of piano.
What to listen for:
Melody: Male lead vocal melody is the focal point of the track that floats above all of the textures and groove.
Heavy in the mix: Synthesizer, Hand Claps
Top 3 featured instruments:
1. Male Lead Vocals
2. Synthesizer
3. Hand Claps
Example of Chillout/Chillwave
INDIE
Within the Indie genre, I have chosen 3 different types of sub-genres: Indie Folk, Indie Pop, and Indie Rock
A. Indie Folk
Most Folk contains bright and breezy textures and acoustic instruments. Most dominant instruments are acoustic guitar, mandolin, and ukulele.
This selection emphasizes a violin melody with an accompanying acoustic guitar and a hint of electric slide guitar. Even though the electric slide guitar is not a dominant element, it still adds to the overall texture of the song and should be mentioned as a featured instrument.
What to listen for:
Melody: Violin
Heavy in the mix: Acoustic Guitar
Top 3 featured instruments:
1. Violin
2. Acoustic Guitar
3. Electric Slide Guitar
Example of Indie Folk
B. Indie Pop
The first song in this selection combines acoustic and electric sonorities with the use of acoustic and electric guitars and a driving Pop Rock feel. The melody lies with the electric guitar and is evident in the intro. There are other warm textures such as flute that attribute to the warmth of the song but do not need to be mentioned as featured instruments as it lies low in the mix.
What to listen for:
Melody: Electric Guitar
Heavy in the mix: Acoustic Guitar and Electric Guitar
Top 2 Instruments Featured:
1. Electric Guitar
2. Acoustic Guitar
Example of Indie Pop
C. Indie Rock
Indie Rock features more electric sonorities than that of Indie Pop. compositional dominance lies with the electric guitar and drums.
This selection emphasizes a repetitive electric guitar melody and heavy drums. Warm piano is an accompanying instrument.
Drums should only be tagged as a featured instrument is they play a rhythmic roll to the melody or are solo featured. In this example, the song starts solely with drum kit and adds a dominant push to the melody. The song would definitely be altered in its sound and shape without the drums.
What to listen for:
Melody: Electric Guitar
Heavy in the mix: Piano and Drum Kit
Top 3 Instruments Featured:
1. Electric Guitar
2. Piano
3. Drum Kit
Drums are rarely tagged as a featured instrument and should only be considered a featured instrument when soloed or a dominant factor of the song.
Example of Indie Rock
Here are some other examples of tracks that should have drums as a featured instrument:
Cinematic/Trailer:
Pop Punk:
Pop Rock:
