Musical Instruments of the Orchestra
in the Western Tradition
1 of 26
What is an Orchestra ?
•
•
•
Orchestra is an old Greek word
which means ‘a dancing place’.
In Greece, during the 5th century
B.C., orchestra was the name given
to the space in front of the main
acting area which was used by the
chorus, who danced as well as sang,
and by the instrumentalists of open
air theatres.
Today we use the word orchestra to
mean a reasonably large clooection
of instruments playing together as a
group.
2 of 26
Greek Theatre
The Orchestra
The orchestra has grown up gradually from early 17th
century and is now a very wonderful and varied
combination of instruments, which falls into four group.
Percussion
With Definite
Without Definite
Pitch
Pitch
Woodwind
Brass
Strings
Flute
Trumpet
Violin
Timpani
Tambourine
Oboe
French Horn
Viola
Xylophone
Castanets
Clarinet
Trombone
Cello
Bassoon
Tuba
Double Bass
3 of 26
Woodwind Instruments
• As the name ‘woodwind’ suggests, the instruments of this section of
the orchestra are mostly made of wood, though flutes are now often
made of metal istead.
• In each woodwind instruments there is a series of holes bored along
the length of the tube. When alll the holes are covered, the instrument
sounds its lowest note. But if the player uncovers the bottom hole, a
higer note is sounded.
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
4 of 26
Bassoon
Woodwind Instrument
Flute
•
Nowadays, it is made of metal.
•
It is easy to recognize the flute
among the intruments of the
woodwind section, as it is held
sideways rather than straight in
front of the player.
•
The low notes are soft and mellow,
but higher notes become brighter
and more brillant.
5 of 26
Woodwind Instrument
Oboe
•
It is a double-reed instrument.
•
It has reedy sound and can express
pastoral feeling.
6 of 26
Woodwind Instrument
Clarinet
•
Of the four main woodwind
instruments, the clarinet was last to
join the orchestra.
•
The clarinet has a single reed -- a
flat piece of cane.
•
The lastest part of its range has a
hollow but rich sound. The middle
part of the range is smooth. High
up, the clarinet sounds rather sharp.
7 of 26
Woodwind Instrument
Bassoon
•
It is a double-reed instrument with
a conical tube 9 feet long.
•
The low notes are very reddy. The
higher notes are more flute-like and
sound lovely.
8 of 26
Brass Instruments
• The sounds of the brass section, like those of the woodwind, are made
by blowing.
• Brass instruments are long, hollow brass tubes blown from one end.
They are curred or bent into various shapes.
Trumpet
French Horn
Trombone
9 of 26
Tuba
Brass Instrument
Trumpet
•
Of the instruments in the brass
section, the trumpet is the most
ancient.
•
It is one of the most powerful and
colorful musical instruments in the
orchestra.
•
The tone quality is really brilliant.
10 of 26
Brass Instrument
French Horn
•
It is a long conical tube coiled into
a circular shape and ends in a large
bell shape.
•
It has a beautiful mellow tone of
pure and lofty character.
11 of 26
Brass Instrument
Trombone
•
The Italian name means ‘big
trumpet’, and the trombone is in
fact a long, folded trumpet with a
more deeply cupped mouth-piece.
•
It has a rich, noble tone.
12 of 26
Brass Instrument
Trombone
•
The Italian name means ‘big
trumpet’, and the trombone is in
fact a long, folded trumpet with a
more deeply cupped mouth-piece.
•
It has a rich, noble tone.
12 of 26
String Instruments
• The strings are the ‘backbone’ of the orchestra. More than half the
members of an orchestra play string instruments.
• The sound is produced by bowing, plucking or striking the string.
• Violin, viola, cello and double bass are similar in shape and each has
four strings, but in different sizes; all tuned in fifth except the double
bass that is fourth.
Violin
Viola
Cello
14 of 26
Double Bass
String Instrument
Violin
•
It is about 23.5 inches long.
•
The violins of the orchestra are
divided into two groups: first vioins
and second violins. The difference
is not in the music they play -- the
first vilins usually playing higher
notes than the seconds.
15 of 26
String Instrument
Viola
•
It is about 25 inches long and is
pitched a fifth lower than violin.
16 of 26
String Instrument
Cello
•
The correct name for this
instrument is really, as in Italian,
violoncello -- but it is always called
cello for short.
•
It is around 5 feet in height and is
pitched one octave lower than the
viola.
17 of 26
String Instrument
Double Bass
•
The double bass, sometimes just
called bass for short.
•
It is the largest in size (around 6.5
feet in height) and has the deepest
tone (one octave below the cello) in
the string family.
18 of 26
Percussion Instruments
• Percussion instruments are those which are struck or shaken.
• Percussion instruments can be divided into two groups. They are
‘tuned’ and ‘non-tuned’.
Tuned:
Timpani
Non-tuned:
Xylophone
Tambourine
19 of 26
Castanets
Percussion Instrument
Timpani
•
It can also be called kettle drum.
•
These are often used in sets of two,
three, or four each tuned to a
different note.
•
The instrument is played with two
sticks.
•
The player can tighten or loosen
the parchment with pedals for
tuning.
20 of 26
Percussion Instrument
Xylophone
•
It consists of blocks of hard wood,
each tuned to a note.
•
The player strikes the wooden
blocks with wooden beaters to
produce a bright, dry, hard sound.
21 of 26
Percussion Instrument
Tambourine
•
Small metal plates are loosely
inserted around the shell.
•
When the player hits or shakes it
with his hand, the mental plates
give a jingling effect.
22 of 26
Percussion Instrument
Castanets
•
These consist of little wooden
clappers moved by the thumb and
forefinger of the player.
•
In the orchestra, they are placed on
a stick.
23 of 26
Seating Plan
Because of their family likenesses, the instruments of
each section are grouped together. The platform is
usually terraced, and the sections are positioned in
such instrumental sounds and tone-colors.
24 of 26
Orchestra
Instruments
Woodwind
Flute Oboe Clarinet Bassoon
Brass
Strings
Trumpet French Trombone Tuba Violin Viola Cello Double
Horn
Bass
Percussion
With
pitch
Without
pitch
Timpani Xylophone Tambourine Castanets
25 of 26
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Education
EDD5161S
Educational Communication & Technology
Lecturer: Dr. Lee Fong Lok
Students:
Lee Chui Ling (97029520)
Cheung Kwan Fu (96077630)
26 of 26