At its most basic, an orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The orchestra grew throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but then changed very little in composition during the course of the 20th century. A smaller-sized orchestra forty to fifty musicians or fewer is called a chamber orchestra. A full-size orchestra eighty to one hundred musicians or more may be called a symphony orchestra.
A philharmonic orchestra does not indicate any difference from a symphony orchestra, but can be useful to distinguish different ensembles based in the same city for instance, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The performer strikes the top of the instrument with wooden sticks or mallets to produce the note. The larger the drum, the lower or deeper the sound. The snare drum is a widely used unpitched percussion instrument, though the sound can be changed slightly by tightening the drum head.
Snare drums may be made from various wood, metal, or acrylic materials, and come in a variety of sizes. Most modern drum heads are made of mylar plastic. The snare drum is almost always double-headed, with rattles called snares of gut, metal wire or synthetics stretched across one or both heads. The snare drum is played by hitting with drum sticks.
The bass drum has a deep or low sound. The bass drum is mounted on a stand because of its size, and the player strikes either side with felt-covered mallets.
The triangle, named because of its shape, is made from a small cylindrical piece of steel that is suspended from a loop and played by striking with a steel beater. While it looks easy to play, getting the volume and rhythm correct can be challenging! The gong is a brass disc-shaped instrument that is hit with a large, soft mallet. Gongs can range in size from very small, producing a high-pitched sound, to larger than a person!
Cymbals are made of thin, round plates of metal alloys. Most cymbals are of indefinite pitch. The size of the cymbal affects its sound — larger cymbals are louder and can sustain their note longer. The unique sound of the cymbals allows them to project above a full orchestra, but they can also be played very softly, and offer a wide variety of options for making different sounds.
Orchestral cymbals are traditionally used in pairs, each one having a strap by which they are held. Sound is created by rubbing their edges together in a sliding movement, striking them against each other, and several other techniques. Another use of cymbals is to hang a cymbal by its strap, which allows the cymbal to vibrate freely when struck by mallets or drum sticks, making a very different sound than two cymbals hitting each other.
There are several percussion instruments that are played by striking them with mallets. The Arapahoe Phil uses the xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel and chimes depending on the works being performed. All are tuned to specific notes in the musical scale, and all are played standing up. The xylophone photo is made of consistently-sized wooden bars that are played with hard mallets.
The marimba is also made of wooden bars, but it has a more mellow tone than the xylophone due to the bars being wider and thinner, and it is played with softer mallets.
Vibraphones have bars made of aluminum, so a note can sound longer. A damper pedal much like that on a piano can also extend the sound of the notes.
Lower bars are wider and higher bars are narrower, and softer mallets are generally used. The Glockenspiel is similar to the xylophone in layout, but has metal bars and is smaller, lacking the resonators.
Using a hard mallet gives a clear bell-like tone. Chimes are made up of hanging tubes of metal, with the length determining their pitch. Chimes are struck on the top edge of the tube. Since they are quite tall, it can be a challenge to find the right chime, read the music, AND watch the conductor! The piano is probably one of the most familiar musical instruments.
Not only is it used for solo performances, but it often appears in ensembles and chamber music, and is frequently used to accompany, rehearse, and compose. The piano has figured prominently in all kinds of music from classical to music halls to ragtime to jazz to rock and roll. It is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when the player presses the keys with her or his fingers, causing small padded hammers to strike the strings.
The sound is stopped by a damper when the key is released, though pedals can sustain the note a bit longer. The piano can produce a great variety of dynamics soft to loud , based on how hard or softly the pianist hits the keys. There are 88 keys 52 white and 36 black on a standard piano! Special thanks to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for granting us permission to use some of their instrument images on our website.
Instruments of the Orchestra. Below you will find some basic information about each of the main types of instruments used most frequently in a full-sized orchestra: The Strings The four most commonly used instruments in the string family are the violin , the viola , the cello and the double string bass.
Every musician only sees the notes that he or she plays. The conductor stands in front of the orchestra and directs the musicians. An orchestra can have up to 20 kinds of different instruments. Large symphony orchestras can have a hundred musicians. Smaller ones like chamber orchestras have between 5 and 40 players. They originally were small enough to play in a chamber or hall.
A modern orchestra consists of four sections or families of instruments. The string section is the most important part of a symphony orchestra. It has more than half of the musicians and consists of violins, violas , cellos and string basses. The violinists play high sounds and are divided into two groups. The first violins and the second violins usually play different parts. The leading first violinist is the concertmaster of the orchestra.
The origins of orchestras date back to Ancient Egypt. However, only during the last years have musicians begun to form groups that are known today as orchestras. Composers, for the first time, began writing for specific combinations of instruments. During this period, the concertmaster or first chair violinist would lead the performance from their chair. As orchestras grew, musicians could no longer see the concertmaster and conductors were introduced.
Conductors stand and still do, on a podium in the middle of the orchestra so they can be seen by all the musicians. Among the instrument families and within each group of instruments, there is an accepted hierarchy.
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