Quick Orchestral Combos You Can Use INSTANTLY

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— ABOUT THE CHANNEL —

👋 Hey, I’m Zach — a lifelong composer drawn to introspective music, dark textures, and honest storytelling.

I believe art is more vital than ever — and I hope these behind-the-scenes glimpses into my composing rituals, breakdowns, and breakthroughs remind you why you started making music in the first place.

[ZachHeyde]

Want to know all of the VSTs, plugins, and hardware I'm using? Check out my FREE Gear List below 🤓

[Giorgi.Japiashvili]

Muted brass + Pizzicato 0:35 (Snappy, Punchy)
Flutes short + Pizzicato 1:37
Bassoon short + Pizzicato Low 2:06 (Very common)
Celesta + Flutes 2:39 (John Williams, Christmas)
Celesta (octave up) + Flutes 3:22 (John Williams, MORE Christmas)
Xylophone + Trumpets 3:43 (John Williams, percussive, aggressive)
Snare + Trumpets 5:01
Flutes low + Muted Trumpets [harmon mutes] 5:57 (Jazzy, Noir, Mysterious)
Alto Flute + Vibraphone 6:27, 7:18 (Jazzy, Mysterious, Bernard Herrmann)
French Horns + Chimes 7:39 (Climax, Powerful)
English Horn + Muted Viola 8:48
Cello + Bassoon 10:15

[AlbertKimMusic]

Do you think you can do another similar video, but you picking out different orchestral combinations from preexisting compositions? Maybe movie scores that use different orchestral colors to help depict different environments or moods?

[MarsziParszi]

Crazy feeling when I hear the examples, because I heard these combos probably a million times since childhood, but never defined them. Thank you :)

[BatikanIscan]

Me: decides to start working on an orchestral project
Zach, sensing a disturbance in the force: uploads this video

Learned bunch from this video! Have a good one!

[RobertRodriguezMusic]

Some seriously simple yet effective doubling tips here! Thanks Zach 🙌🏽🔥

[yadinmichaeli]

Wow I didn’t know it actually call chimes I’ve always searched those kind of sounds with bell word and didn’t found the exact sound I’ve been looking for, thank for this little information 🙏😅😊

[johan_r]

Nice! Thanks for making this type of knowledge accesible

[benny-itfc]

Awesome video Zach. Thanks so much, getting some James Bond vibes at 6:30

[cacauceluque]

Thank you for your great tutorial tips on doubling orchestral instruments! Bravo!

[bethansheridan-jones]

Beautiful video! So many wonderful pairings and sounds...

A question for you: what is the breathing mouthpiece that you're using and what does it do? I've never seen one of those before and don't know how to Google it!

[noitsnotmo]

I've been looking for a video like this! Straight to the point and chockfull of important stuff. The muted brass w/ flute really blew me away. Can't wait to try it out.

[halivudestevez]

flutes with pizzicato sounds ... like a stronger harps session (for me)

[msld_sound]

This hits my dopamine receptors in just the right way! I'm feeling motivated to do some orchestral music now. 😁

[edwardserfontein]

Great doubling tips! Thank you, kind sir.

[ChristianSandviknes]

CSS is Cinematic Studio Strings, EW is East West, OT is Orchestral Tools, Afflatus is ...well, afflatus. PSam is Project Sam, 8Dio is 8Dio, NI is Native Instruments.
I assume that CB is CineBrass - but what is ZH and TS?

[rafaelhernandez]

Following your video and setting it up on Vienna Ensemble Pro. Thank you very much.

[mikescofield]

I find your videos well done and informative. This one, in particular, is very interesting and very helpful for me. Thanks!

[sprkymrt]

This was great! Have been planning on doing some spy and film noir music and some of these combinations will help accent the scenes and give tension to them. Thanks.

[brettclarinmusic]

Brilliant video! Such a simple concept with huge outcomes! I’m so busy doing layers on layers that sometimes it’s best just to put 2 together. Thanks for the reminder.