Transcript Orchestra

The Orchestra
“Hello…I’m the conductor.
I’ll be your guide as you explore the orchestra.”
What is an orchestra?
The orchestra is made of four
families of instruments:
•Strings
•Brass
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•Woodwinds
•Percussion
Members of the brass section include:
•French horn
•Tuba
•trumpet or cornet
•trombone
All brass instruments are made of long
pieces of coiled tubes or brass or other
metals. Their sound comes from the
musician's lips as they make a buzzing
noise. The sound coming out of a brass
instrument can be changed when the
player changes his lip tension.
French horns are the leaders of the brass
section in the orchestra.
They don't have valves.
Instead they have keys.
The trombone is another member of the brass
family. It is made of a long brass tube
that is folded back on itself sort of like a
paper clip. You play the trombone by sliding
tubing back and forth to make the tube longer
or shorter. This changes the sound.
The trumpet and cornet also belong to the brass
Family. Long ago trumpets and cornets were
used during battles. The soldiers would listen
for their special trumpet calls and they would
know what to do on the battlefield. Kings like
trumpets to play at their royal celebrations
because they sound so important and special.
Tubas are the largest brass instruments.
The first tuba was made in Germany by a
composer named Richard Wagner.
This is a sousaphone. It is in the tuba
family.
The percussion section has many
different instruments in it. It is usually
in the back of the orchestra. The
percussion section is made up of
instruments that use a hammer, or other
device, to strike the instrument and
make the sound.
The bass drum is the lowest keyed drum
in the orchestra. It does not have a
definite pitch like the kettle drum.
Even though snare drums have different
types and sizes they all have one feature
in common. All of them have two heads.
The upper head is played and the head
underneath has little strips of gut or
metal stretched across it. These vibrate
to make a dry rattling sound.
People in the Middle East used to put
drums on either side of their camels.
The drummer sat on top and played
them.
These percussion instruments are
smaller, hand held instruments.Some
people call this group of instruments
the "kitchen sink department" because
of the wide variety of things it includes.
Even though they are very different from
other percussion instruments and even
from each other, you still play them by
hitting them with a sounder or against
each other.
The xylophone and glockenspiel are
tuned percussion instruments. They
hold their tune better that any of the
other percussion instruments.
The marimba is a larger, deeper, more
mellow-sounding type of xylophone.
The string section has been a major part of
the orchestra for 200 years; the "glue" that
holds the orchestra together. There are two
types of stringed instruments, bowed and
plucked. Bowed strings are played with a
bow, and are the violin, viola, cello and bass.
Plucked strings include the harp, guitar, lute,
mandolin, banjo, and others.
The harpsichord also has strings that
are plucked. The piano has strings that
are actually hit by small mallets, so it is
considered a percussion instrument.
The strings were
originally made out
of cat gut, just as
tennis racket
strings used to be
made.
The bigger the stringed
instrument the lower the
sound. That’s the case with
bass. Large orchestras have
8 to 10 basses, and some
chamber groups will also
include a bass. The bass
makes an important rhythm
instrument, too.
The cello is the second
largest of the string section.
Of all the strings, the rich,
singing sound of the cello
make it sound the most like a
human voice. Some people
believe it is the most
expressive instrument in the
orchestra. In string quartets
the cello usually plays the
lowest notes.
The plucked strings
include the harp,
guitar, lute,
mandolin and banjo.
The strings are
plucked to make
sweet, delicate
music that is softer
than most other
instruments.
Viola
This instrument is bigger than the violin,
though it is hard to tell it from the audience’s
view. Its sound is warm, deep and powerful.
If instruments represented human voices,
the viola would rank as an alto. It is not
often used in a solo role, but it could not
be removed from the orchestra because
of its value in playing harmony. It is more
difficult to play, due to violists having to
stretch their fingers further between
notes.
Violin
The violin plays an
extremely
important part in
the orchestra, but
is the smallest of
the string family. It
plays the main
melody in most
orchestral music.
A woodwind is an instrument that you blow
into or over. The squad of the woodwinds is
made up of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons,
and saxophones. They are called woodwinds,
it's because they used to be made of wood,
though saxophones are included because
they have a reed.
The highest is the smaller cousin of the
flute, the piccolo, and the lowest is the
contrabassoon. Today they can be made
of wood, metal or plastic. Opening and
closing holes in the body of the
instrument controls the pitch of the
tones.
The bassoon is
the lowest and
largest of the
woodwinds. Its
sound has a lot
of variety,
depending on
if low, medium
or high notes
are used.
The clarinet is the
most important
woodwind in the
orchestra, and has
a very wide range.
It has 18 holes, six
of which are
covered by fingers
and the remainder
by keys.
Flutes descended from the
recorder, and were once
made of wood (most
piccolos today are still
made of wood). They can be
made of all types of metal,
including silver, gold or
platinum, or a combination.
Blowing over an empty Coke
bottle is the same principle
as blowing a flute.
The oboe is the soprano of the doublereed woodwinds. The sound is produced
the same way as the flute, which is by
forcing a column of air to vibrate (though
it certainly doesn’t sound like a flute!).
The saxophone is considered a
woodwind because the way it is
played is very similar to the
clarinet. It is made of brass, and is
the only woodwind that has never
been made of wood. It has a single
reed mouthpiece. It is made of a
long, bent tube with holes in it,
which are covered by pads called
keys. The saxophone has three
parts: the body, the neck and the
mouthpiece.
To learn more about instruments of
the orchestra, visit:
String Orchestra
Symphony Orchestra
Cool Composers
Play Music
Music Education
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