Piccolo:

blends best with flute (same family)

blends well with all woodwinds (especially high woodwinds)

doubles an octave above flute (or other high woodwinds) to reinforce and add brightness

doubles flute in unison to reinforce (does not really add color)

doubles violin in unison or an octave higher to color and reinforce

middle register blends best with other instruments (the high register will stand out)

often used in combination with percussion; staccato piccolo with cymbal crash (very piercing);
piccolo plus snare drum (or bass drum) used for military effect

Flute:

blends extremely well with almost any instrument (especially other woodwinds or strings)

doubles violin in unison or an octave higher to color and reinforce

doubles oboe or clarinet an octave higher or in unison to add warmth

doubles with bassoon at one or two octaves apart for exotic effect

Oboe:

doubles violins or violas in unison to add color

doubles other woodwinds in unison or at octave to add intensity

doubles nicely an octave above the cello

doubles very well in unison with the trumpet because of the large number of overtones; adds bite
but does not detract from trumpets’ quality

English Horn:

blends well with oboes (same family); doubles an octave lower than oboe or as the lower note in a
chord

doubles other woodwinds at the octave (also unison with clarinet)

doubles well with trumpets and especially horns for a mellower, fuller sound

blends well with strings (especially in unison with violas which share its darker quality)
Clarinet:

blends well with most instruments because of its unobtrusive quality

doubles flute and oboe at octave or in unison

doubles bassoon mostly at the octave; adds prominence when played in unison with bassoon in its
lower register

unison doubling with trumpet creates a bright effect

unison doubling with horns creates a mellow sound (the sound turns brighter the higher the clarinet
plays)

blends well with strings; doubles at unison or an octave higher than violins; doubles extremely well
in unison with cello

Bass Clarinet:

blends well with clarinets (same family); doubles an octave lower than clarinet or as the lower note in
a chord

blends well with lower woodwinds such as English horn, bassoon and contrabassoon (either in
chords or in octave doublings)

of all the brass instruments, blends best with horns

blends well in unison with cellos or even with double bass

nice blend with harp possible at quiet dynamic levels

Bassoon:

doubles with flute at one or two octaves below for exotic effect

doubles with oboe for a more powerful sound (not very homogenous and oboe will dominate)

blends well with horns (a powerful unison and also very homogenous chords)

doubles in unison or octaves with trombone to color and soften

doubles in unison or octaves with tuba to color and reinforce

doubles in unison or octaves with cellos and/or double basses to color and reinforce

staccato blends well with string pizzicato

blends well with bassoons (same family); doubles an octave lower than bassoon or as the lower note
in a chord

doubles nicely with bass clarinet playing an octave higher (full and mellow)

blends well with horns and provided a nice bass to chords played with horns

doubles with tuba playing an octave higher for a powerful sound

doubles in unison with trombones for added color

doubles nicely with cellos playing an octave higher

doubles in unison with double bass for a powerful sound

Trumpet:

doubled with oboe will lessen the metallic sound of the trumpet

doubled with clarinet creates the brightest combination with a woodwind

doubled with horns playing an octave lower makes the trumpet sound softer but still dominant

doubled in unison with horns creates a massive sound

of all the brass instruments, blends best with the trombones; creates very homogeneous sounding
chords with them

doubled with trombones playing an octave lower intensifies the sound of the trumpet and makes it
fuller

sound more brilliant than normal when doubled with strings (due to the contrast of color)

no good blends with strings; closest working blend is with viola

in unison with xylophone very effective at loud dynamics

Horn:

blends very well with most instruments and is considered the bridge between the woodwind section
and the brass section

homogeneous with oboe when horn is muted

blends very well in unison with clarinet and bassoon

doubles nicely with bassoon playing an octave lower

loses some of its mellowness and takes on a more metallic sound when combined with trumpet
masks the metallic sound of the trombone (except in the higher registers where the horn sounds
brighter with trombones)

blends very well with tuba (both are more mellow in nature than trumpets and trombones)

blends well with all strings

especially effective in unison with cellos (combination increases the intensity of each instruments’
sound)

Trombone:

not very homogeneous with woodwinds

metallic quality is slightly masked when combined with bassoon

sounds brighter when doubled with trumpets

not very homogeneous with strings

doubles with cellos or double basses in unison or octaves to reinforce and color the bass part

Tuba:

blends well with the woodwind section as a whole when used as the bass part to the woodwind
section

doubles in octaves or unison with bassoon or contrabassoon

blends well with horns (similar timbres)

good bass to the trombone section

doubles in octaves or unison with double basses to reinforce and color the bass part

Timpani:

doubles in unison with bassoon

doubles the root of brass chords

rolls doubled in unison with sustained trombones

rolls doubled with string tremolos (thrilling sound and perfect for diminuendos and crescendos)

doubles bass notes played by the cellos or double basses

unique resonance with harp, and pizzicato strings played softly

pairs well with cymbal crashes

doubles in unison or one, two or three octave above the melody to add brightness to the timbre
(most often with piccolo, flute, celesta or harp; sometimes with violin, oboe or clarinet)

Xylophone:

doubles in unison and octaves with higher woodwinds like flute, oboe and clarinet (xylophone
dominates the sound); becomes like a bright harmonic partial in one and two octave doublings

doubles in unison and octaves with higher strings like violin and viola (xylophone dominates the
sound)

doubles with string pizzicato to reinforce and accentuate

doubles in unison or octaves with the harp (xylophone dominates the sound)

doubles in unison or octaves with trumpet (very penetrating sound)

may double in one or two octaves with horn and lower brass for bright harmonic partial effect

doubles in unison or octaves with celesta or glockenspiel (xylophone dominates the sound)

Vibraphone:

blends well with woodwinds (especially clarinets)

blends well with piano

Marimba:

doubles in unison or octaves with woodwinds for a sonorous blend (especially deep clarinets)

doubles in unison or octaves with low strings (the strings will dominant and the result is contrasting
rather than composite sounding)

doubles in unison or octaves with celesta or glockenspiel

Tubular Bells:

blends well with metal idiophones of definite pitch (such as glockenspiel and vibraphone)

blends well with instruments that have a big attack followed by long resonance (such as cymbals,
tam-tam, timpani, piano and harp)
works well with large brass chords to create a festive or majestic atmosphere

(Note: Percussion instruments of indefinite pitch cannot technically “double” other

Cymbals:

blends well with other bright penetrating percussion sounds such as triangle and tambourine

crashes pair well with timpani or bass drum hits

excellent combination with brass (especially trumpets and trombones)

Tam-tam:

blends well with bassoons, horns, cello, or double bass (when played piano)

excellent combination with brass (especially trumpets and trombones); color becomes more metallic
and penetrating

blends well with deeper percussion such as timpani and bass drum

adds bass to higher metallic percussion such as triangle, tambourine, and cymbals

Tambourine:

rolls are a good combination with woodwinds or strings playing trills or tremolos

combines well with any type of drum and with any metallic sounding instrument

Snare Drum:

accentuates the woodwinds staccato playing

emphasizes the metallic sound of the brass

accentuates the strings’ staccato, marcato and pizzicato playing

single strokes add resonance to the sound of single notes on tuba, bassoon, contrabassoon and
double bass

rolls combine well with tremolos on double bass

used in conjunction with cymbals to create military marching effect

can replace or reinforce the lowest notes on the timpani (low timpani notes sound dull because of
the very loosened drum head)

Celesta:

blends well with harp, high strings and high woodwinds (particularly with flute); doubles in unison, an
octave, or two octaves to add color

Piano:

doubles very well with woodwinds, brass or strings (the extreme registers are most frequently used
in doublings and not the middle register)

reinforces timpani or bass drum with its lower notes

good contrast with colors of xylophone, marimba or vibraphone

Violin:

blends well with woodwinds (mostly used with higher woodwinds); doubled in octaves or unison with
woodwinds reinforces and adds color (In general the woodwinds strengthen the strings and the
strings make the woodwinds more mellow, especially in unison.)

blends well with horn or muted brass (does not blend well with trumpet, trombone or tuba); may
double trumpet for contrast

blends well with all strings

1st violins often double 2nd violins an octave higher in melodic material

1st and 2nd violins may play in unison in the middle register to strengthen sound

doubled in octaves with viola creates a full but mellower sound

may even double with cello for expansive effect in the tenor register

pizzicato blends well with harp

blends well with all woodwinds (high notes on the A string blend especially well with oboe)

blends better with the brass than the violin does; may double trumpets, horns and trombones

doubles the violin an octave lower to reinforce (but is dominated by the violins)

doubles the cello an octave higher to reinforce (but is dominated by the cello); will mellow out
brightness of the cello in upper registers

reinforces the harmonic partials of the double bass when doubled two octaves above the double
bass

pizzicato blends well with harp

Cello:

blends well with most instruments of the orchestra

doubles with oboe (the oboe accentuates the cellos’ brightness in the higher register)

doubles with clarinet (the clarinet makes the cello sound mellower)

doubles with bassoon (the bassoon accentuates the cellos’ sonority in the lower register)

doubles the lower brass (especially good blend with horns played piano)

doubles with violins playing an octave higher for expansive sound in the tenor region (sound
dominated by the cellos)

doubled an octave lower than viola creates a full sound (dominated by the cellos); viola will mellow
the upper register of the cello (in the very highest registers the brightness of the two instruments will
reinforce one another)

very frequently doubles an octave higher than double basses (bowed or plucked)

pizzicato blends well with harp

Double Bass:

able to blend with any instrument as fundamental bass and foundation for the orchestra

doubles in octaves or unison with bass clarinet for mellower full sound

doubles in unison with contrabassoon to thicken and color

doubles an octave lower than trombones for a more defined sound

doubles in unison with tuba to thicken and color

fortissimo tremolo doubles with roll on the timpani (creates a tremendous rumbling sound great for
tutti passages)
very frequently doubles an octave lower than cellos (often plays pizzicato an octave lower than
bowed cello)

pizzicato blends well with harp

Harp:

doubles very well with flute (harp harmonics in unison are especially effective)

doubles above high woodwinds (will sound like harmonic partials to the woodwinds)

doubles in unison or octaves with low woodwinds to add color to a bass line (works especially well in
piano passages)

blends well with horns or trombones (the brass must be played a few dynamic levels quieter
otherwise they will easily cover up the harp)

blends well with any string instrument since they belong to the same family (especially with pizzicato)

doubled in unison or octaves with xylophone gives more resonance to the xylophones’ much shorter
sounding tones

doubled in unison with timpani played piano or pianissimo creates a very unique timbre

doubled in unison or octaves with celesta and/or glockenspiel creates an ethereal effect