Following my previous question about new instruments in orchestras, I was listening to a few concerts and well, some write the instruments being used throughout the concert, others don't. Most don't. While listening, now and then I can hear different sounds and effects I cannot recognise. I can't understand what instrument is playing that, in what octave and how.
How can I understand what instrument is playing, in what range and what is the technique being used to develop this sound?
As an example suppose you have a viola and a violin or a trumpet and a trombone. At some point they really start sounding alike, but there are also different ways of extracting sound and sometimes instruments blend and it's hard to tell one from the other in a mix. I'm not having much problem dividing a rock or a pop song into voices but with classical instruments it's really difficult, especially saxophones. I can never tell how they extract some effect and if one is playing in the range of another I confuse them.