You can test the BBC's new orchestra app

BBC Research & Development have joined up with BBC Philharmonic to launch Pick a Part: an app which connects your devices together and allows you to specify which instruments play.

This enables you to get a taste of what it’s like to conduct an orchestra, sit in the middle of the BBS Philharmonic, or just to listen to what each musician is playing.

It’s something BBC Philharmonic have been working on for a while, with lots of challenges along the way: mainly that orchestral music is normally recorded with all of the musicians playing together at the same time, whereas Pick a Part requires access to all of the individual parts of a composition that make up the piece.

When the country went into lockdown in March, BBC Philharmonic musicians had to adapt to working from home. This included making individual recordings, which has worked perfectly for putting this great app together.

There are so many potential applications for Pick A Part; this is the BBC at its very best, collaborating, innovating and sharing. Whether in an educational setting exploring the inner workings of a string quartet, exploring different audio mixes of a recording, or playing along with professional musicians in your own home, this is a brilliant piece of kit. - Simon Webb, director of the BBC Philharmonic

Pick A Part is the first orchestrated music experience that the BBC has released.

Find out about how it works and give it a go here.