Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with instrumental

Tiersen-esque recommendations, please

dorgla — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:51:34 -0800

Love Yann Tiersen's earlier instrumental music. Recently discovered Sweden's "Detektivbyran," which gives me much of what I used to get from Tiersen before he moved on, without being derivative. Tried last.fm and pandora to no avail - looking for other artists mining similar territory. Bonus points for inclusion of accordion. Does not necessarily have to be done on acoustic instruments. Don't want huge sweeping orchestral statements...prefer smaller ensembles who get the point across with fewer instruments or tracks.

"I got all five senses and I slept last night..."

Inspector.Gadget — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:06:35 -0800

Soundtrackfilter: Please recommend to me mostly-instrumental, sometimes dark, contemplative soundtrack albums (or even compilations or regular albums) in the vein of Michael Andrews' work for Donnie Darko or Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd's soundtrack for Mysterious Skin. As you might imagine from me citing Donnie Darko, I'm also open to soundtracks with a considerable 80s synth cheese element - even better if the songs are tweaked a bit a la M83 to not be so cheesy. Anything on the brooding <> inspired spectrum is especially welcome. As a point of reference, I very much enjoyed the recent movie Brick and would like to find soundtrack or ambient songs that capture that sort of "pieces fall into place, and it's awesome/terrible" feeling.

Thanks in advance, hivemind! My guess is that anyone with broad exposure to ambient, modern classical, guitar-based instrumental, electronic shoegaze, post-rock, etc. albums is sitting on at least a few recommendations.

Gershwin karaoke

DeucesHigh — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:31:51 -0800

I'm singing in an outdoor wedding and am desperately looking for a karaoke version of Gershwin's "For You, For Me, For Evermore." I would prefer a version that starts at the refrain (right on "For you, for me..."). Any suggestions? I've looked on iTunes and Google and have only found karaoke versions of Gershwin's more popular songs.

Music to kidnap to?

fake — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:20:41 -0800

I am looking for heavy, noisy, vocal-free music like Billy Corgan and Matt Walker did for the Ransom soundtrack. Samples (these will only be up for a short time):01||02||03

Please do not recommend:

1. Anything with vocals.
2. Anything "softer" than this unless it is substantially "darker"
3. Anything with vocals!!

I have the Pumpkins' back catalogue as well as the usual instrumental groups recommended here (GYBE, Explosions in the Sky, etc) so those recommendations are also unnecessary.

What is your favorite instrumental music?

bigtex — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:01:28 -0800

Can you name some modern instrumental bands/albums that are interesting, lively, and unpretentious with a bit of a dark edge? I'm looking for some music that like Tortoise, but darker and maybe less... perfect.
Or like Godspeed You! Black Emperor but less dramatic and epic.
Or like Dirty Three but without quite so much scratchy violin and a little more variety in song structure.

Yeah, I know. Picky, picky.

No more tinny synthesizers!

StrikeTheViol — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:54:20 -0800

I'm for looking non-karaoke instrumentals to sing over, preferably free. Ideally someone just playing an acoustic guitar or piano with no vocals, limited frills and high recording quality, either jazzy standards or pop. It's actually pretty hard to find all three at once on youtube and other such sites, so I thought I'd give Mefi a shot. Somebody must have a collection...any ideas?

Where's a good source for instrumental, edgy, creative commons licensed music?

wflanagan — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:29:47 -0800

I'm looking for good sources of creative-commons licensed, edgy rock instrumental music. A really good example of this is www.saviumsaliva.com. The music there just seems to work for the podcast that I'm working on. I've tried Jamendo, and one other "search engine" for creative commons licensed music, but slow going. I keep hoping for the motherlode.. So far, not so much. Anyone have any other suggestions for places to look? Thanks!

Music creation help

mphuie — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:49:08 -0800

Recommendations for inexpensive software/hardware for making those instrumental/karaoke versions of songs. I'd like to make music, similar to those cheesy karaoke "tribute" albums, which are pretty much instrumental knockoffs. I'm not really looking to compose and I'm not really concerned about instrument/sound quality.

Any recommended software/hardware? This is for fun, so hopefully nothing with a huge learning curve or a high price (<$400).

I have both Mac and PC.

I've played with Garageband, but it seems more for recording. However if anyone recommends it, I will play around with it more.

Music Suggestions for TV Promo?

oldkentucky — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:41:20 -0800

I am working on a series of promos for a national cable network and looking for some suggestions regarding music. They love the song from the Michael Mann's Miami Vice trailer: Numb/Encore by Linkin Park and Jay-Z. I'm looking for instrumental tracks with that feeling: serious, inspiring, melancholy, uplifting, energetic, modern, slick, etc. The promos involve beautiful slow-motion visuals with voiceover underneath. Thought I would turn to my favorite hive mind. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Anyone know the name of that mid 1990s Cracker instrumental guitar rave up jam?

psmealey — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:15:45 -0800

Looking for an instrumental Cracker tune from about 10-12 years ago? It was on a promotional CD for Yahoo's music offering "Launch" that I got when I bought a Sony Vaio computer back in 1996 or so. I don't know if it was a cover of an old surf tune, but had a great guitar hook in it. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Can you recommend some piano music?

Quidam — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:58:32 -0800

Recently I've realized that I enjoy listening to piano music, but I'm not really familiar with it. Can you recommend CDs/compilations/pieces that I might like? My school has a lounge with a piano in it where students go and play whenever they feel like it, and I love to sit in there and listen and relax if I have a few minutes between classes. It's so soothing. I'd like to replicate it at home.

I don't have much of a knowledge of classical or otherwise instrumental music. I think I'm talking mostly about slower stuff - ballads or what have you, something I can listen to when I want to unwind.

Sorry if this is a bit vague/unclear. Any suggestions?

Just let me hear some of that lonely violin music! Any old way you choose it!

(bb|[^b]{2}) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:58:01 -0800

I'm looking for more instrumental music that sounds similar to the violin-heavy themes in FARGO, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, and LoTR: THE TWO TOWERS. As you may have guessed, I'm a fan of movie scores, and especially those that feature a solo, lonely-sounding violin. There's a certain quality about them that evokes a very productive element in me. Other good examples would be the love theme from THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, the main theme from SCHINDLER'S LIST, or the theme from Ken Burn's CIVIL WAR documentary (Ashokan Farewell).

Most people would call this "funeral music," I guess, but I don't view it as such. It's just very calming and inspirational to me. I favor the Civil War-esque sounding tunes, ala JESSE JAMES and CIVIL WAR, but I'm not picky.

Any other suggestions? They don't have to be soundtracks, btw.

Unknown Song

Bill Shinji — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:23:30 -0800

Any clue about this song? Since the last question of On Golden Pond (thanks jeanmari), I have been working on another mystery yet unidentified music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bMY-j9pziU

After some investigations, I learned that it could be categorized as newage instrumental, and that harp is played in the middle of the song, along with drum or percussion, synthesizer, and apparently male humming.

I also learned that there are websites in which one can find a song by humming or manually playing virtual piano keyboard on page. I tested them by myself with Greenday's Basket Ball. Some of the online music finders showed their results correctly. Okay they did work at least for well-known music. But none of them could detect mine, which was well expected, though...

It was recorded at least ten years ago. Now I almost give up hope. But it will be bugging me. So much desire of identifying. Things have to be identified. Obsession one might call it.

Anyone please give me any clue about the song. Like artists who would likely perform this kind of music. Just name one and I'll go on searching.

What should I (not) listen to?

serazin — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:58:39 -0800

What's your background music? I like to listen to music while I work, but a lot of my work is writing or reading, and music, especially with vocals, can be pretty distracting. I've tried jazz, Cocteau Twins, Sigur Ros, and other non-word singing, songs in languages I don't know, and some minimalist stuff, all with some success. I think the ideal background music for me is not super complex, because even a lot of tonal variety can throw me off reading. Unfortunately, a lot of contemporary 'ambient' music makes me want to barf. I guess I'm looking for simple rather than bland. Any suggestions?

Bonus points if you can suggest what I should plug into Pandora to create a station that would meet my needs.

Thanks!

What is this instrumental music?

night kitchen — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:08:36 -0800

Can you help me identify the artist and name of this instrumental music [1 minute excerpt, 374k mp3]? (I really thought it was Penguin Cafe Orchestra but couldn't find it in their discography.)

Sweet Sounds for the Stressed and Cloistered

palmcorder_yajna — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 18:29:28 -0800

Music-for-studying-for-the-@#%#-bar-exam-filter: Please help me balm the pain of preparing for this miserable test by recommending excellent music that's either wholely instrumental or not in English. For the next week I will be doing nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, except studying for the Washington State Bar Exam. Music helps relieve the monotony, but English vocals are too distracting. I've dumped pretty much every track my husband and I own without same into a huge playlist, but I'd love to add to it. Any recommendations?

My tastes are pretty catholic, but to guide your recommendations, here are some random things I like:

* Rachind Taha
* Charlie Parker
* Warsaw Village Band
* The soundrack to Raumpatrouille (I like this to an insane degree, actually)
* Yma Sumac
* Serge Gainsbourg
* My Friend the Chocolate Cake
* Django Reinhardt
* Apocalyptica
* Dirty Three
* The kind of stuff they used to play on Kalvos and Damian's New Music Bazaar.

Here are some things I don't like or can't use right now:

* Joe Satriani
* Kid Koala (Actually I love Kid Koala, but alas, its choppiness tends to shock me out of what I'm doing)
* Sun Ra (Same deal as Kid Koala-- I love it, but it takes too much focus to listen to it right now.)
* Kenny G
* Any classical piece that sounds like it could be the score for an animated film about a small woodland animal who by turns frolicks, is frightened by storms, flees, and then is safely recovered by his adoring mum. (Yes, this makes me a bad person. I keep trying to change. It keeps failing to work.)

Mad bonus points for anything I can download from e-music. Slightly less-mad bonus points for stuff I can download from Itunes.

Thanks much!

I'm looking for suggestions for instrumental music to be used in the background of a radio piece.

erikcore — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:45:16 -0800

I am working on a documentary radio piece and I'm looking for some instrumental music to use in the background. I've stumbled across some great instrumental stuff, but most of it is incredibly sappy. The problem with this is that my story is not. I'm looking for relatively upbeat music, not music to break up to. Can anyone suggest some interesting instrumental artists or collections? Maybe a movie soundtrack?

Recommend me some sparse moody instrumental music

p3t3 — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 08:07:47 -0800

Recommend me some nice melancholic instrumental music with sparse arrangements. Maybe classical music (?), of which I know very little, but I'm thinking specifically of "Music For Egon Schiele" by Rachel's. I know someone will bring up Erik Satie - he's okay, nice minimal classical, but sometimes too many hints of muzak and not emotional enough. I'm also practically wetting myself over the Arthur Russell instrumentals slated for release next week if that helps any.

But really I'm just tired of listening to the same Rachel's albums over and over. I would like something very similar; I love the piano/cello combination. Thanks!

music heard in a tv documentary

funambulist — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 06:03:55 -0800

Can you help me identify an instrumental piece of music heard in a tv science documentary? The documentary was "The Day The Oceans Boiled", made by Channel 4 in the UK and also broadcast on National Geographic channels. There's a torrent of it on the net but it's not active. I also found a Google Video link from a blog but that only gives me an error page. It's not on sale or anything. So, I have no way of watching it again (I saw it a while back on tv).

The music bit that stuck in my mind played during the part where they showed a stunning rock desert/mountain formation in the US (from this article on the documentary I guess it was the badlands in Wyoming?).

It was an instrumental piece, only acoustic guitars, a little Pink-Floyd-ish. I'd love to know what it was. I'm hoping among those who saw it there's someone here who may remember! Thanks in advance.

Name That Tune :: PBS ThirteenHD Promo

Jhaus — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 23:18:32 -0800

Name that tune please :: PBS is great, and the songs in their promos are actually just as good. Currently running is a promo that ends with the words; "Be More ~ ThirteenHD" (this is PBS Thirteen's High-Def channel which they broadcast in NYC & possibly elsewhere?). The music which accompanies it is a piece that I'd classify as sort of a Blues/Rock/Jazz instrumental. My Question: Name that tune!?! If someone knows where to get this song online, that would be great too! I haven't had any luck, but I did find these sites containing some different PBS promos:
- http://www.kqed.org/help/tv/music.jsp#bemore

- http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/international/us_pbs.html

- http://www.fallon.com

Some additional info:
The promo in question has some scenes of an old guy in a hat jamming on an electric guitar...he looks like your typical blues musician. The clip runs about 30 seconds, or so, long. Sorry for the limited info, but thanks so much for any help you can provide!

You look like you've been losing sleep said a stranger on a train.

signal — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 08:33:57 -0800

I have developed an unhealthy obsession with Juno, Swervedriver, The Appleseed Cast, Compound Red and Art of Fighting. What other bands would you suggest in the same vein?

subliminally cool

evilbeck — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 22:55:03 -0800

What is your favorite mellow instrumental music? I'm going to be managing a student-run restaurant for a few weeks and I'm allowed to bring in music to play during business hours. It can't have vocals and needs to be mellow and subtle enough to not distract customers too much. I'd really like something better than the normal Kenny G/soft modern jazz stuff that is in the cd player unless I bring something else in. I'm thinking some Miles Davis, Dirty Three, Mogwai type things, but specific album ideas from them and others are very welcome. And yes, I know there have been a bunch of "sleep music" threads, but most responses in those threads don't specify whether or not the recommendations are instrumental or not.

Name that (classical) tune

nakedcodemonkey — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 22:33:44 -0800

Name that tune! In "Unfaithfully Yours", Rex Harrison cracks a joke around 00:16:30 about blah blah "pizzacato con motto vibratto" ("...like a dentist chipping out an old filling!"), then his orchestra launches into a classical piece. What is he having them play? Googling does not suggest that's its title.

Greatest rock instrumentals?

jjg — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 09:52:38 -0800

What are the greatest rock instrumentals of all time? (i.e., not jazz, electronica, funk, etc.)

Name that '80s soundtrack

pmbuko — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 23:53:32 -0800

80s instrumental syth-rock filter: The soundtrack of a commercial I saw on TV yesterday tickled my memory. I remembered liking the song as a kid, but I do not know its name or the name of the band. (Heck, I can't even remember what the commercial was.)

I threw together a midi file of a the choru, which should be instantly recognizable to anyone who knows it (despite my poor attempt at reprocucing it): What is this song?