The orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble and really one of the traditional forms

of Western music. The traditional orchestra has five sections of instruments: the woodwinds,
brass, percussion, strings, and keyboards. The strings section is usually the largest and
generally carries the melody.
Western orchestra. The instruments of the orchestra are organised into four families: Strings,
Woodwinds, Brass and Percussion.

What are the 4 sections of Western orchestra?

The typical orchestra is divided into four groups of instruments: strings, woodwinds,
brass, and percussion. The typical Western marching band, school band, or wind
ensemble (woodwinds and brass together are winds) leaves out the strings, but
otherwise uses most of the same instruments as the orchestra.

The Orchestra
Music is often defined by the instruments used to play it. Rock n' roll features electric guitars.
Traditional African folk music is defined by the use of drums. Modern pop music is defined by auto-
tuning. The instruments used to create music have a major impact on defining that genre. This is
true of rock and traditional African folk songs and pop, but also true of orchestral music.
An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble, and it is one of the traditional forms of Western
music. For centuries, Western ideas about music have been defined by the elements and
instruments of the orchestra, and, no, the auto-tuner was not one of them.

Instruments of the Orchestra

Like I said, an orchestra is defined as being a large ensemble of instruments. So, what are these
instruments? Well, the traditional orchestra contains 5 different sections of instruments, each with
their own roles and functions. First is the woodwinds. This section generally has flutes, oboes,
clarinets, and bassoon. Next is the brass section, featuring French horns, trumpets, trombones, and
tubas. The percussion section is in back, with instruments often including the timpani, snare drum,
triangle, xylophone, and bass drum.
The strings section contains harps, violins, violas, cellos, and basses. Traditionally, this is the
largest section of the orchestra, often double or even triple the size of the other sections, so this is
also the section that generally carries the melody. Most of the others provide various harmonies.
The fifth section is the keyboards, generally meaning a piano or organ. This section is not part of
all orchestras, but it's becoming more and more common.
This is what a traditional orchestra generally looks like. However, this has changed several times
throughout history as the orchestra grew in size. A standard orchestra will only have 2-4 players for
each of the brass and woodwind instruments, but many more string instruments, a practice started
in the 19th century by Beethoven.
Modern orchestras often include other instruments in order to create a specific sound. Saxophones
and guitars are now pretty common, and sometimes modern orchestras also bring in non-Western
instruments like Chinese strings or Amerindian flutes. Even electronic instruments ranging from
electric violins to harps to guitars are making more of an entrance in the modern orchestra.

What is the core section of the orchestra?

There are 4 main sections of the orchestra: Strings, Woodwind, Brass and
Percussion. The String section is the biggest in terms of number of players and often
considered to be the core of an orchestra. It is the most homogeneous group because
the tone of the different members of the string orchestra is similar.