A
Young Person’s
Guide to the
Orchestra
(and the instruments in it!)
Presented by
CityMusic Cleveland
Compiled by
David Barach & Adam Spektor
Violin
The violin is a string instrument,
usually with four strings. It is the
smallest, highest-pitched member of
the string family. It is often informally
called a fiddle. This instrument often
has the melody in the orchestra.
Examples
In classical: Watch this clip of
CityMusic Cleveland playing with
stunning soloist Dylana Jenson. The piece is Pytor Ilyich
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, one of the favorites of the
repertoire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vn0jP67N6-k#t=54s
Outside of classical: The fiddle has been at the center of
the “Gypsy Jazz” movement since the 1930s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXp-x_QCKvs
Solo performance: Bach’s Chaconne in D Minor, written
after the death of his first wife, stands alone in the
repertoire in beauty, complexity, and feeling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5vfMADWKFsM -­‐ t=42s Fun fact!
The smallest violin in the world is less than one cm long,
and small enough to fit inside a matchbox.
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument that is
slightly larger than the violin in size, and has
a deeper sound. The register (how high the
pitch is) is between that of the lower-pitched
cello and the higher-pitched violin.
Examples
In classical: German Baroque composer
Georg Philipp Telemann’s Viola Concerto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PtB28i6ypFw#t=18s
Outside of classical: Here is a fantastic jazz viola version
of “My Favorite Things” from beloved Richard Rogers
and Oscar Hammerstein II musical, The Sound of Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpQPi7c_YEM
Solo Viola: 19th century Belgian composer Henri
Vieuxtemps’ Viola Sonata is absolutely gorgeous:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cd-­‐gSlAOR4 Fun fact!
Jimi Hendrix began his rock career on viola.
Cello
The cello is the second-largest string
instrument in the orchestra. It has been
described as the closest instrument to the
male human voice.
Examples
In classical: Brace yourselves for the
thrilling Dmitri Shostakovich Cello
Sonata:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q350N0Y9KyE Outside of classical: Apocalyptica is a well-known cello
rock band. Watch them shred away at the cello here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FzKqA9n-mo
Solo performance: The Bach Cello Suites are meditative,
sublime, and among the most famous solo pieces for an
instrument ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6yuR8efotI
Fun fact!
The cello is the only orchestral string instrument that is
ALWAYS played sitting down, even during solos.
Double Bass
Standing at an awe-inspiring six feet
tall, the double bass, commonly
referred to as a "bass," is the largest
and lowest-pitched string instrument
in the orchestra. A person that plays
the bass is a bassist. Bassists must
stand at all times, or else sit on a
very high stool.
Examples
In classical: It is unusual to hear a
prominent bass part because its low pitch makes the sound
carry poorly over other instruments. It typically plays a
supporting role. However, Camille Saint-Saëns makes
great use of it to represent “The Elephants” in his Carnival
of the Animals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug8hCAyBaqg
Outside of classical: The double bass can be jazzy and
cool, like in Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther theme:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYNHn_6w3bw
Solo performance: Watch jazz Pioneer Stanley Clarke
play a characteristic solo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py3jT0uaZw0
Fun fact!
Basses are commonly the only string-family members of
brass bands. The low-string sound makes the brass
instruments sound richer.
Flute
The flute is a member of the woodwind family of instruments, although flutes used
in classical performances are typically made of silver. Earlier flutes however, were made
of other materials, including wood
and bone. The earliest flutes, made
out of bone, are estimated to be tens
of thousands of years old! The flute
most commonly used in Western
music today was developed by
flautist Theobald Boehm in 1847.
The piccolo, a smaller and more
highly pitched flute, is frequently used as well – to a lesser extent, alto and bass flutes,
which are larger and deeper, are also occasionally used in performance. The high-pitched
sound of a flute, often described as sounding like bird calls, are created by blowing across
the top of a hole at the head of the instrument. Have you ever made a sound by blowing
across the hole in a jug or bottle? It’s the same sort of idea, except the holes across the
instrument can change the instrument’s pitch as well! Examples
- In classical: French composer Claude Debussy opened his ballet piece, Prelude to
the Afternoon of a Faun with a solo flute, conjuring up a dream-like, mystical
atmosphere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR5OWN_ydIY
- Outside of classical: British progressive rock and roll band Jethro Tull were famous
for their singer, Ian Anderson’s extensive use of the flute. Here’s a jazz-rock
rendition of a Johann Sebastian Bach Bouree that became an unlikely hit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWJgJkVL0xM
- Solo performance: French composer Arthur Honegger’s Danse de la chevre
(Dance of the Goat), is a playful and lively work for solo flute. Try to imagine a
young goat running and jumping across a mountainside during the quick flurries of
notes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLJ6FM5tXYA
Fun Fact!
In 2007, composer Roberto Fabbriciani invested the hyperbass flute, the largest and
deepest flute in the world. Listen for the almost otherworldly sounds it creates!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaNFGhY5x9g
Oboe
The oboe is another member of the woodwind family, typically made
of rosewood with nickel-silver keys. It produces a unique, reedy high-pitched
sound, created by blowing air in between two small pieces of wood at the
head of the instrument. These pieces of wood, together called a double reed,
vibrate and produce sound. The pitches are altered by the keyholes across the
cone-like body of the instrument. The oboe developed from the Renaissance
instrument the shawm, which frequently served the same loud, triumphant
purpose that the trumpet serves in today’s orchestra. Another variation of the
oboe is the English horn or cor anglais which is larger than the oboe and has
a deeper sound.
Examples
- In classical: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto for Oboe in C
major is still one of the most widely performed works for oboe, even
though it was written in 1777 – 236 years ago! For years, musicians
believed the piece was originally written for flute, until scholars
discovered original documents from hundreds of years ago, noting that it
was indeed first written for oboe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhygJyCvYeA
- Outside of classical: British art rock band Roxy Music helped redefine a musician’s
role in a rock and roll group, with band member Andy Mackay exclusively playing
oboe and saxophone, which is very unusual for a rock band! Here they are playing
their hit “Virginia Plain” on Top of the Pops in 1972
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEalg62F8Zg - Solo performance: British composer Benjamin Britten composed Six
Metamorphoses After Ovid in 1951, a set of six solo oboe movements inspired by a
2,000 year old Roman epic poem. Here is the freeform first movement; be sure to
listen for the instrument’s distinct timbre, or sound!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh96omI0bYE Fun Fact!
In order to maintain a quality sound, oboists need to take care of their reeds, and spend
years learning how to whittle and shape their reeds. Great oboists are also great
carpenters!
Clarinet
The clarinet is a woodwind instrument that looks a lot like the oboe, although it is
really very different! While the oboe has two reeds, the clarinet has only one, and the
vibration that results after air is blown past it creates a different sound. As air travels
through the cylindrical instrument, the tone it produces ranges from deep and warm to
high and light. The B-flat clarinet is most frequently used, although the lower bass
clarinet and higher E-flat clarinet are also common in orchestras. Less common are the
E-flat alto clarinet, which sits in the middle range of the clarinet family, and then
contrabass clarinet, which produces a very deep sound. The modern clarinet is derived
from the baroque instrument, the chalumeau, which had a more limited range. Today’s
commonly used Western clarinet was developed in 1839 by Hyacinthe Klosé, although
he was so inspired by Boehm’s improvements to the flute, that he named the new design
after Boehm.
Examples
- In classical: Here’s a performance of German romantic composer Felix
Mendelssohn’s clarinet concertpiece for two clarinets and piano, as performed by
local musicians Daniel Gilbert, Vera Holczer, and Jenny Hublin, just south of
Cleveland, in Aurora, OH. It just goes to show that great music is always being made
right in our backyard! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mScx8Z-roFA
- Outside of classical: The clarinet is one of the most commonly used instruments in
klezmer, a traditional Jewish folk music centered around lively, energetic dancing.
Here are three clarinetists from the Jacksonville Symphony performing klezmer
pieces – be sure to listen for the bass clarinet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQTWUaM78oc
- Solo performance: 13-year old clarinet Han Kim performs Russian modernist
composer Igor Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet here – maybe if you start
out young enough you can catch up to him!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tNWjh4s2qQ
Fun Fact!
The legendary bent note at the start of American jazz-popular-classical composer George
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue started out as a joke during rehearsals – Gershwin loved it
so much that he left it in the piece! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmUHI2yTtVY
Bassoon
Much like the oboe, the bassoon is a double-reed
woodwind instrument that produces its sound through
vibrations between the two reeds. Unlike the oboe, however,
the bassoon is significantly larger and follows a much longer
path through the instrument’s body. Its sound is reedy, yet
deep and warm, and can be frequently used for comic effect.
The bassoon that we know today was derived from the
baroque fagotto, and was perfected by instrument maker
Johann Adam Heckel in the mid-1800s. One common
variant of the bassoon is the contrabassoon, which if you
think the bassoon is large and deep, wait until you hear one of
those!
Examples
- In – In classical: Russian modernist composer Igor
Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring opens with a bassoon being
played in its upper register, an unusual scoring the instrument. This scoring was so
unusual, as was the loud and cacophonous nature of the work, that a riot broke out in
the concert hall when it was first performed, 100 years ago!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewyqXI21vp0
- Outside of classical: Classic Detroit R&B group, and mainstays of the famed
Motown record label, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles utilized the bassoon in
their hit single “The Tears of A Clown”. It’s one of the few pop hits to feature the
instrument – be sure to listen for it playing a different melody at the same time the
flute plays its melody at the start of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxj1hP3dxdg
- Solo performance: Modern composer Luciano Berio composed solo works for a
variety of instruments, including voice, in his series of pieces, entitled Sequenza,
designed to demonstrate the full range of the instrument. Here is Sequenza XII for
bassoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1mwOaW8Dc
Fun Fact!
Here’s that contrabassoon, performing Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the
Bumblebee – this sure sounds like one large bee!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP6jkCpp2_Y
Saxophone
While not typically in a symphony orchestra, the
saxophone has still become an important woodwind
instrument over the last 150 years. Like the clarinet, it is a
single reed instrument, but unlike the clarinet, it is
typically made of brass, like a trumpet or trombone, which
gives it a louder, brasher sound. There are a number of
different types of saxophones, which range from high
pitched and small-sized to deeply pitched and enormously
sized – soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, and
the rarely used bass sax. The instrument has become
increasingly common in classical works, and has almost
always been a crucial part of jazz and rock and roll. The
saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s.
Examples
- In classical: Russian romantic composer Alexander
Glasunov wrote his Concerto for Saxophone in 1934,
when the instrument was still considered unfit for the
orchestra. Glasunov saw an opportunity to write a
piece for a unique new sound, and went with it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9jdN3Q1bpQ
- Outside of classical: The saxophone is one of the most widely used instruments in
jazz. One of its most innovative players was Charlie “Bird” Parker, who helped
develop bebop, a fast-paced style of jazz built around complicated melodies and
virtuosic musicianship. Here he is with fellow bebop pioneer, trumpeter Dizzy
Gillespie playing “Hot House” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clp9AeBdgL0
- Solo performance: Solo classical works for saxophone are few and far between –
here’s a piece, Scaramouche by French composer Darius Milhaud, a work inspired
by Brazilian dances and folk music, for saxophone and piano.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyOb2V7j6OE
Fun Fact!
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton played the saxophone! Who knows – if you play the
sax, maybe you’ll become President too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTkUeb6zQFA
Trumpet
The trumpet is the smallest and highest-pitched brass
instrument. Like all instruments in the brass family, the
sounds a trumpet makes are produced by the buzzing lips of
the musician! The 3 valves or pistons you see on top of the
instrument are used to determine the pitch.
Examples
In classical: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg
Concerto #2, Movement 3 is one of the most difficult
works for an orchestral trumpeter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIX_XVji9UA
Outside of classical: Watch Louis Armstrong, one of the
most famous jazz musicians of all time, lead his band in
When The Saints Go Marching In:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA
Solo Performance: Franz Josef Haydn Trumpet Concerto
with Wynton Marsalis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEoHI9W4Ejw
Fun fact!
Trumpets were famously used as signaling devices for
armies, from medieval times to the US Civil War.
Trombone
The trombone is a middle-low-range member of the brass
family where pitch is directed by a moving slide rather than
by valves. Trombones have many uses, able to sound
meditative or savage, mournful or bright.
Examples
In Classical: One of the most
awe-inspiring moments in the
trombone literature occurs in the
choral from Johannes Brahms’
first symphony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX1em5cYHFc
Out of classical: Here is Jazz Great Wycliffe Gordon
playing “Sweet Georgia Brown”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RWqMhXbW-­‐B8#t=56s Solo performance: Christian Lindberg performs Romeo
and Juliet on the trombone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFOu78UVCps
Fun fact!
The trombone makes some of your favorite cartoon sound
effects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC75aU47GRk
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched instrument in the
brass family. Imagine how much air it needs to make a
sound!
Examples
In classical: The tuba can
be dark and frightening, as
in Modest Mussorgsky’s
Night on Bald Mountain:
http://youtu.be/nYSbxRiUgOo?t=1m20s
Out of classical: Tuba’s are
ideal for hip-hop style beats.
Here is Youngblood Brass
Band in Brooklyn:
http://youtu.be/9QKeXWEYCSI Solo performance: Ralph
Vaughn Williams has
written one of the most
exciting tuba concerti in the
repertoire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yfu1EKnTmo Fun fact!
In marching band, an adaptation of the tuba called a
sousaphone is used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08g0VroT2MA
French Horn
A french horn is the most versatile instrument in the brass
family in terms of pitch, going nearly as high as a trumpet
can, but nearly as low as a trombone can. Its airy tone
makes it sound otherworldly.
Examples
In classical: Richard Wagner uses the French Horn for
exciting horn calls representing an opera lead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=I6DjQ1-T3z8#t=43s
Out of classical: Similarly to Wagner, John Williams uses
it to renowned effect in Harry Potter (horn enters at :50):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCNHVMIYqiA
Solo performance: Mozart’s Horn Concertos are classics
in the brass literature:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otkovXD1HBQ Fun fact!
The French Horn is actually German in origin!
Timpani
The timpani or kettledrums are
large drums, made of copper, with large
skins stretched over the top of them. The
skins can be stretched or loosened, usually
with a pedal, to change the pitch the drums
make when they’re hit. The typical
orchestra contains anywhere from two to
four different timpani, each one a different
size to produce a different range of notes.
Timpani developed from large military
drums, and became a regular part of the
symphony orchestra by the end of the 1700s. The sound these drums create is
thunderous, booming, and dramatic – a well-performed timpani roll can have an audience
at the edge of their seats in anticipation!
Examples
- In classical: American minimalist composer Philip Glass composed his Concerto
Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra in 2000, in which two musicians play a
combined total of 14 timpani!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QvIuzUF1fWs - t=179s
- Outside of classical: Doo-wop group The Drifters’ 1959 hit “There Goes My Baby”
features insistent timpani keeping rhythm in the background. The song, written and
produced by songwriting legends Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, was the first pop
single to feature a string orchestra, a technique that has been copied countless times
since. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3HXy9mGPpI
- Solo performance: Here is one of eight pieces for solo timpani written by 20th
century American composer Elliott Carter in 1950. These pieces demonstrate a
number of techniques – watch as the timpanist uses both ends of the mallets to
produce different sounds! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKmK-nFdMXM
Fun Fact!
The world’s largest kettledrum, known as The Moon of Pejeng is located in Indonesia, is
over six feet tall, over 2,000 years old, and is considered by some locals to be sacred.
Xylophone
A xylophone is a set of wooden rectangular bars, of different sizes, arranged in
size, with the largest bars on the left to the smallest bars on the right. When the bars are
hit with a mallet, they each produce a
different pitch. Think of it as like a piano, but
if it were strictly a percussion instrument!
There are numerous instruments like the
xylophone that are frequently used. There’s
the marimba, which like the xylophone, has
bars made of wood, but is much larger, and
features columns beneath the bars called
resonators, which allows the sound to last
longer. There’s the glockenspiel, which is
smaller than a xylophone, and has bars made
of medal. And yet even further, there’s the
vibraphone, which is large like a marimba, and like the glockenspiel, has bars made of
metal. That’s a lot of instruments to keep track of, but if you can play one, you can
generally play all of them!
Examples
- In classical: French composer Darius Milhaud composed his playful Concerto for
Marimba, Vibraphone, and Orchestra in 1947, which was a fairly early example of
solo orchestral work for these instruments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ4_U2eRue0
- Outside of classical: British rock and roll legends The Rolling Stones brought the
marimba to rock music in 1966 with their hit “Under My Thumb”. Guitarist Brian
Jones played the marimba on the song, and was responsible for bringing many
unorthodox instruments into the group’s sound before his untimely death at the age of
27. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcgZIz0Fd-w - Solo performance: Not quite a solo performance per se, but here’s a unique
performance by Reg Kehoe and His Marimba Queens from the 1940s. Not only is
there a lot of pitched percussion going on, but there’s also a very quirky and
enthusiastic bassist! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc4yoIwGqOc Fun Fact!
One unique way in which vibraphonists can get a different sound from their instrument is
to run a violin bow across the ends of the instrument’s bars! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqVWUbRZP8E
Drums
There are many types of drums that are a
part of the typical drum kit, and they all serve a
different purpose. The bass drum, the largest
drum in a kit, can either be played with a foot
pedal, in a kit, or with mallets in an orchestra. It
can create a huge, booming sound if struck hard
enough! Then there’s the snare drum, a smaller
drum with metal rattles underneath it that
resonate when the drum is hit. This is the sort of
drum you hear prominently in military marches
and in drumrolls. Then you have the tom-toms,
which range in size and generally have plastic
stretched over the top for a deep, resonant sound.
Finally, there are the cymbals, sheets of metal in
different sizes that can be crashed together or hit with sticks – they often punctuate a
phrase in percussion, much like you’d use an exclamation mark at the end of an exciting
sentence! Examples
- In classical: Few classical works utilize a drum kit as pictured above, but British
composer Gustav Holst’s Mars, one of the sections of his Planets suite, features
brash percussion, and a constant militaristic snare drum keeping rhythm through the
piece http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu0x-a1VCAg
- Outside of classical: “The Godfather of Soul” James Brown’s drummer during
much of his career, Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most influential drummers in
soul, R&B, funk, and hip-hop. The drum break in the song “Funky Drummer” has
been sampled in countless other songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3xSXc1vy5I
- Solo performance: Canadian progressive rock drummer Neil Peart, of the band
Rush, has a simply massive drum kit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWyABiUpihs
Fun Fact!
Even though drums don’t produce traditional pitches as we might notate them, they still
need to be tuned with a special key in order to get just the right sound!
Other percussion
There is a wide range of percussion instruments, each of
which produce different sounds and serve different purposes; here
are just a few of them.
The tambourine is a wooden or metal circular frame, around
which, a sets of two small cymbals rest in a position where they are
around allowed to resonate against each other when shaken or hit.
Many tambourines also have a drumskin across the top of the frame.
Tambourines can be hit or shaken, and are often used in dances, or
to conjure up an exotic atmosphere, as in Pytor Ilyich
Tchaikovsky’s Arabian Dance from The Nutcracker Suite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ywMOMedVVZs#t=55s (jump to 55 seconds into video)
Tubular bells or chimes are large metal tubes, each a different size
and different pitch, arranged much like a xylophone. They are struck by a
hammer from the top and produce a deep, stately ringing sound. 19-year old
British musician Mike Oldfield recorded a hit symphonic rock album in
1973 called Tubular Bells. To hear the triumphant bells in action, we skip to
about 22:50 in the recording as in this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=p7VHRyQDMTM#t=1369s Congas and bongos are types of drums made
of wood, with open bottoms that allow sounds to
resonate, with skins stretched over the top. They are
most frequently struck with the hand, but can also
be played with sticks. Congos are much larger than
bongos, and because they have a much longer
wooden body, they produce deeper sounds. These
instruments originated in Cuba and are extremely
common in Latin American, Afro-Cuban, and
Caribbean music, such as salsa, merengue, and
rumba. Listen for the congas on “The King of Latin
Music” Tito Puente’s lively smash, “Oye Como
Va”, which translates to “Listen to How It Goes”!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj_XxBKG53g
The triangle is a pitched percussion instrument, a
tubular piece of metal in the shape of a triangle. The
instrument is struck with a small metal stick – if struck in
certain places, it can resonate for seconds. The player can
rotate the stick around the inside of the triangle, to create a
rapid, “dinner bell” effect, or simply strike it once. If the
cymbal crash is like an exclamation point at the end of a
sentence, a triangle can serve as a period. The third
movement of Hungarian classical composer Franz Liszt’s
Piano Concerto No. 1 gives the triangle a prominent role in
the piece http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFSV8LFHJxY
The gong is an enormous sheet of bronze,
struck with a large mallet to make a booming,
dramatic, deeply resonant sound. It is usually held
from a string from a square frame, so as to keep
anything from preventing the gong to resonate. The
standard orchestral gong, known as a tam-tam has
been used in Western orchestras since the late
1700s, but gongs have been used throughout Asia
for thousands of years! Here’s modern Oklahoman
psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips playing
the gong ecstatically on their 2009 song “Watching
the Planets”. http://vimeo.com/15955026
The tabla is a traditional Indian
percussion instrument; fairly similar to the
bongo or conga in that it’s a set of two hollow
drums with skins stretched over the top, and
is played with the hands. However, it’s
different because pressure can be applied to
the body of the larger drum that can help
change its pitch slightly. While it is not used
in Western symphonic music very often, it
has been appropriated into Western music on
occasion. The Beatles, most specifically
guitarist George Harrison, incorporated the
tabla into a number of songs, including “Within you, Without you”, which also features
Indian stringed instrument, the sitar. http://youtu.be/dEAyE0PH-­‐sU