THE ORCHESTRA AND

ITS INSTRUMENTS
Ms M Borg
Year 9 2020/2021
Sections of the Orchestra

■ Strings
■ Percussion
■ Brass
■ Woodwind
 Violin & Viola
Harp

Strings

Double Bass

Cello

Acoustic Guitar
 Xylophone

Percussion Gong

Tambourine

Bongos

Timpani

Cymbals
Brass
Trumpet

Trombone

Tuba

French Horn
 Woodwind
Clarinet Oboe

Saxophone
Piccolo

Bassoon

Flute
The Layout
of Orchestra
THE
ORCHESTR
A LAYOUT
The String
Section

■ The Strings section is

made up of:
■ 1st Violins
■ 2nd Violins
■ Violas
■ Cellos
■ Double Basses
What do the strings do?

■ Musically, the strings usually play a big role in most pieces

■ The 1st violins often carry the main melody, while the 2nd violins
support them usually by playing the melody an interval lower
■ The 2nd violins sometimes carry a counter melody, or can provide
rhythmic support too
■ Examples of the violins taking the lead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHo9o-qmz8I (from The Village)
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jquJLs0wdFk&list=PL263677A4
D1B673E4&index=9
(from Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl)
Strings

■ The cellos and double basses are often used for rhythmic motifs or harmonic support
■ They sometimes move in parallel with the rest of the string section and create a bigger
sound
■ An example of the lower ranges of the strings section taking the lead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xq5RPOr74I&list=PLDisKgcnAC4SnFEUod_x8
68Oq_qgGCVEE&index=22
(from The Joker)
■ Cello & Double Bass used as harmonic/rhythmic support:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ta-8SilgVs
Strings (cont.)

■ The string section in the orchestra is among the most versatile

■ They are heavily included in most orchestral pieces
■ They make the piece feel much bigger and fuller with simple
techniques, but can also serve as harmonic or rhythmic support for
the piece
■ String section being the rhythmic support:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2ZRwMgtR0A (from
Spiderman 3)
The Range of the Strings

■ The ranges are below, starting from highest to lowest:

– Violin
– Viola
– Cello
– Double Bass
The Ranges of the String Section
GO HOME AND FIND YOUR
FAVOURITE SOUNDTRACK
FEATURING VIOLINS!
The Percussion Section
■ The percussion section in the orchestra is usually made up
of:
■ Bass drum
■ Snare Drum
■ Timpani
■ Xylophone
■ Triangle
■ Celesta
■ Piano
■ ‘Extras’ can include: Castanets, gong, maracas, chimes,
tambourine etc
The Percussion Section

■ The percussion section is usually present in

every orchestral piece in some way
■ Percussion instruments add colour and
excitement to orchestral pieces
■ They might not be as evident in atmospheric
pieces, and would probably be less rhythmic
in this case
■ An example of percussion used mostly for
atmosphere, not rhythm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgSNgz
A37To&ab_channel=EuroArtsChannel
La Mer, by C. Debussy
Percussion ■ The percussion family is the largest and
most varied of the orchestra and includes
several different instruments
■ 1 percussionist usually learns to play an
array of different percussion instruments
Percussion Examples

■ An orchestral piece involving a lot of percussion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrVH7qaRsZo&ab_channel=AllegroOrchestraLanc
aster
(Carter Pann: Slalom – Allegro)
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQX4bQ40jwI&ab_channel=hr-Sinfonieorchester%
E2%80%93FrankfurtRadioSymphony
An example with use of chimes (Carmen Suite by Rodion Shchedrin) and lots of
percussion
■ Use of percussion more rhythmically and more varied instruments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ6HkyVkX0s&list=PLqqbIIJ0YzpTATxxyfdOlzl
u4O9UG9dGL&index=6&ab_channel=AlexandreDesplat-Topic
Ranges of the Percussion Section
 WHICH PERCUSSION
INSTRUMENT DO YOU FIND THE
MOST INTERESTING AND WHY?
The Brass Section

■ The brass section includes instruments

made of brass, as the name implies
■ They are very loud instruments and
project a lot, so can be heard from far
away
■ Brass instruments include anything that
is uses air to create sound but without
reeds and usually including valves
(except the trombone)
■ They are also made of brass, hence the
name
The Brass Section

■ Brass players blow into a metal cup-shaped mouthpiece and buzzing their lips, rather
than blowing into a reed, like woodwind.
■ The mouthpiece helps to amplify the buzzing of the lips, which then creates the sound
■ The pitch changes by pressing down different valves and which closes different parts of
the pipe in the instrument, and by buzzing their lips harder or softer.
The Brass Section

■ The most commonly used instruments of the brass section in the orchestra are:
– Trumpet
– French Horn
– Trombone
– Tuba
■ Here, we can see all the ranges of the instruments:
http://www.orchestralibrary.com/reftables/rang.html
■ The range is important to know when you are composing for the instrument, so that
your music is playable.
The Brass Section
Listening to Orchestral Pieces
■ Ravel’s Orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky,
What is a Symphony?

■ A symphony is a musical composition for the full

orchestra, in three or more movements, similar to
sonata form.
https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/understan
ding-music/sonata-form/

■ A symphony orchestra is a large classical

orchestra, including all the sections: strings, brass,
woodwind and percussion.
Listening to Orchestral Pieces

■ Symphony No. 2 by Gustav Mahler, known as the Resurrection Symphony.

Listening to Orchestral Pieces

■ This is What I’ve Trained For, from the game Star Wars JEDI: Fallen Order, by Stephen
Barton and Gordy Haab, https://youtu.be/HQr7ndxxz_o?t=6172
■ Main Theme, from the movie Mission Impossible, by Black Dyke Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n9WIZCy08c&ab_channel=BlackDykeBand-Topi
c
■ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4BREb1TMen5DOsd9xMHgM7, You’ve Got a Friend
in Me, from Toy Story originally by Randy Newman
 AT HOME: FIND AN
ORCHESTRAL PIECE
HEAVY WITH THE
BRASS INSTRUMENTS
THAT YOU REALLY
LIKE!
The Woodwind Section

■ Woodwind instruments used to all be made of wood;

nowadays, they are made of wood, metal, plastic or some
combination.
■ Like brass instruments, they also have a mouthpiece at
the top with a pipe from where the air comes from.
■ Woodwind players play by blowing air through the
mouthpiece, while closing the holes on their instrument
with their fingers to change the pitch.
■ The mouthpiece for woodwind instruments is called a
reed. The clarinet uses a single reed while the oboe and
bassoon use a double reed.
The Woodwind Section
■ Double reeds have a reed folded, tied together at the base, and clipped open, revealing
two reeds nestled against each other. Hence,“double reeds.”
■ The woodwind section often includes:
■ Piccolo
■ Flute
■ Oboe
■ English Horn
■ Clarinet
■ Bass Clarinet
■ Bassoon
■ Contrabassoon
The Woodwind Section

■ In an orchestra, the following phrases can be used to describe the amounts of each
instruments:
■ Double woodwind means: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons
■ Triple Woodwind means: 2 flutes + piccolo, 2 oboes + English horn, 2 clarinets + bass
clarinet, 2 bassoons + contrabassoon
■ Quadruple Woodwind means: 3 flutes + piccolo, 3 oboes + English horn, 3 clarinets +
bass clarinet, 3 bassoons + contrabassoon
The Woodwind Section

■ What do the woodwind sound like? From Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 in D major
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpyGmCQbdgA&ab_channel=PhilharmoniaOrche
stra%28London%2CUK%29
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-s-q8sRPS8&ab_channel=EvanJudson Dvorak,
Serenade for Winds Op. 44
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_WQKUZn9OA&ab_channel=MusicChannel0406
Chronicles of Narnia, Only the Beginning of the Adventure by Harry-Gregson Williams
Listening Exercise: What Instrument is
Playing?