What are some instruments that you use in your music composing and what moods do you use them for. For example, French horn - i use it to set the mood of a hero. Sometimes i use it as a triumphant lead with trumpets backing it up. Piano - Universal; any mood you want is perfect on the piano. Trumpet - great for intense action. I use it to highten the mood of the song. Violins - great for passion/mornful type moods. So this is a few examples of what i use myself. Please pitch in so that we all can learn and get new ideas from eachother on this road to our dreams. Feel free to post as much as you want. it's all very well appreciated. i'm gonna try to put the same post on the propellerheads users forum and copy and paste back and forth so that both communities can converse.

Propellerhead user update 1

user: EditEd4TV

There's as few that I use on a regular basis, and some that I always fall back on now and then, so here are a few of those, in no particular order:

Rhodes: with substantial chorus and reverb, for a very lonely and melancholy feel. Dang I just realized a song I wanted to show you is not on my SoundClick page... I'll make an MP3 of it and post it there within a few minutes... look for "Were You The One" (see link below) - it's a decent example of how I love to hear a Rhodes make your heart spin.

Hammond A3/B3 with distortion is powerful, but you gotta know how to play it right, from choppy funky percussive slap fills with your left hand as your right hand does the chords, to fat chromatic rushes up the keys prior to the downbeat, and mushy dives down the keys after a big powerful section. Go back to the late 70's / early 80's work of Eddie Jobson with "UK" to hear who I considered the best at this, especially the "Danger Money" album, the last song called "Carrying No Cross"... LOVE that song.

Accordian: wacky fun, bouncy polka on A minor, love it.

Glockenspiel: add's a bit of clarity to a melody line lost on a soft pad, just to accentuate the notes and bring them forward.

Analog strings: a nice warm pad sound hidden behind an NNXT with authentic strings can add the warmth that digital samples sometimes lack.

You know, I'm realizing that I'm talking more technical use than mood use. Perhaps I lean more towards using any instrument for any mood, but modify it to fit the mood I need. For example, a flute can be a jazzy sort of thing, but it can be soft as well, but soft in different ways. I have two songs that use flute in different ways... "Lunch at the Salton Sea" uses a flute, and so does "The Moon Behind the Clouds", but they both convey different moods. Different flutes, but still a flute, and different moods. Both on my SoundClick page if you wanna hear.

user: MRMRKELLY

My music is usually more drum orientated than melodic, so i tend get a "Im gonna kick your butt" type feel in most of my songs.

I do find that synth (pad) sounds normally create a very "open minded-ness" and lonely/cold type of feel.

I could go on, but there are endless amounts of sounds which set off certain feelings and emotion in me.

Generally, i just think that a lot of care and attention should be paid when selecting more than 1 instrument for a song.

For orchestral, I use Strings often to display both a sad or determined feel. Trumpets usually reserved for quick action, while lower brass is usually for carrying rythms etc in a slow fight-type mood. Clarinets & oboes generally for a loneliness type feel, and flutes for a flightiness and quick sort of approach. Of course, mix & match and everyone wins!