store string byte

is "wurli" an electric keyboard, in this context?

Hmmm I'm getting the feeling that marimba would be earth, it just feels right

Harp I associate with water, the sounds it can make just flows out of it so easily

Wurli I'd stick with fire just because it's probably the spiciest thing there, and xelesta with air because of its really breathy quality

And I might be biased here but I think piano works with major arcana, it's such a foundational instrument for a lot of musicians that I think the symbolism there works the best

piano should probably be the major arcana given it's more of a common musical backbone, I can easily imagine it either going first and then being ornamented by the elements or the elements going first and then the music getting more solid when the majors come in. don't know much about the deckbuilding that will be involved ofc so if it functions more as a fifth element in gameplay as opposed to wild cards that pair with any element that might not be so applicable. i dont know anything about tarot

harp will forever be water for me thanks to animusic

seconding the existing idea in the comments about the electric piano being appropriate for fire

if i recall celesta correctly it is absolutely air, twinkling stars and the like

and marimba's not just pair the spares, it feels really right for earth. them low notes

• wurli: wands - the slight electrical "frying" of the air is fire
• piano: major - flexible, reliable, and significant
• harp: cups - harp music has that flow, like water filling the vessel it is put in, and the plucking are like water droplets
• marimba: pentacles, the jingling of a marimba is like the jingling of coins, and the impact has a woodiness to it like earth
• celesta: swords - it's got that cold metallic air feel! cutting the air with a sword

wurli - fire
piano - water
marimba - earth
celesta - air
harp - major arcana

to me ^-^ its a very subjective question and it really depends on the kind of music u make with them, as the instruments themselves sound pretty similar

The piano kind of slots naturally into the role of a lead or melody voice here so that seems appropriate for the majors.

The metallic sound of the marimba seems right for pentacles, with the idea of solidity or earth as an element.

For me I think those two are the most obvious and solid ones, the rest is harder to pin down.

The celesta has that 'cold' trope going on with it, which is maybe a circuitous way to get to the element of air, but I think it makes some sense. But similarly that 'ice' idea could mean water.

The harp also feels like an 'airy' or 'celestial' instrument that could suggest air, but it also has that water-droplet sound when being plucked, it's easy to imagine harp as the voice used for Cups.

The wurlitzer is kind of a wild card in this set... sticking it with Wands feels like it works, but I could also see it being the air instrument (electricity = lightning = air).

wurli, cups (warbly, whirly, unstable)
harp, major arcana (the primitive/idealized form of all other instruments here)
marimba, wands (passionate, active, played with literal wands)
celesta, swords (sharp, ephemeral, high)
piano, pentacles (grounded, heavy, foundational)

Celesta is definitely major arcana imo (space is beyond the elements)

Harp is swords/air (the sound is floaty)
Marimba is pentacles/earth (it's percussive like rocks)
Piano is cups/water (it's like a river -- see Clair de Lune, Danse Arabesque, etc)
Wurli is wands/fire (it's like water it is fluidity, but it is electronic in a way that gives fire)

I think I'd go-

wurli: fire (it's electric! it's got spark and energy to it!)

celesta: water (it's so smooth and just has this... almost "pouring" quality to it, like cool water out of a glass)

marimba: earth (it's got a strong, solid sound. plus you play it with sticks, almost like you're mining something. strike the earth!)

harp: air (it flows like the celesta, but it's got a less weighty quality to it, like it could drift to you on a breeze)

and definitely piano for the major arcana - piano being the most versatile and recognizable, I think that's a good choice if you want to emphasize importance but also have distinctive qualities for the different majarc cards!

(this sounds like an awesome project, hope we get to hear it at the end!)