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the instruments of the orchestraString instrumentsThe largest family of instruments in the orchestra, and they sit at the front too! We have 60 in the CBSO, and theyre alleither violins or slightly larger violins (invented in Italy in the early 16th century), except for the double basses (more of that shortly). Theyre all made of wood, and they make their sound when a bow made of wood and the hair from ahorses tail is drawn across one of four strings, originally made of a sheeps gut. But nowadays theyre made of nylonor wire (and dont worry, the horses tail grows back eventually too). The strings can be plucked as well, like a guitar this is called pizzicato in Italian.

Violins

Violas

The top instruments in anyorchestra, the violins play thetunes, give the lead to the other instruments, and are so important

that theyre even divided into twoseparate sections: first violins andsecond violins (though the secondviolins are really just as importantas the firsts!).

The violins bigger, quieter sister.Unless you look carefully, it looks

just like the violin, and its evenheld under the chin in the sameway. It plays the middle notes inthe orchestra, and tends to getignored. Some musicians eventell cruel jokes about the viola but theyre just jealous of itsgorgeous, velvety sound. After all, Mozart was a viola player!

Double Basses

or to give them their full name Violoncellos, are the largest of the violin family in the orchestra so big that they have to beheld between the players knees, with a metal spike to stopthem from slipping. Cello players feel that theyre just asimportant as violinists and its true that composers often givethem some of their very best tunes!

You cant miss them theyrethe biggest instruments in thestring section. The musiciansperch on stools to play them.

Theyre not just big violinsthough; theyre the last of avanished breed, the Viol family,and if you look closely, youll seethat theyre a slightly differentshape from the others. Theyrethe foundation of the orchestra,playing so low that sometimesyou can hardly hear them butyoull feel their rumbling soundwobbling in your chest!

The harps not usually classed as part of the string section,becausewell look at it! With 47 strings to tune instead of 4,its not surprising that the harpist is usually the first player onstage. Nothing says heavenly like the harpist running hisfingers quickly down all those strings, and even the word for that sounds extraordinary: Glissando.

Cellos

Harp

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Woodwind instrumentsSitting behind the strings, in the very middle of the orchestra, the woodwind instruments are the paintbox of theorchestra they give the sound its different colours. And theyre all played by blowing into a type of tube! There are four basic woodwind instruments, and an orchestra usually has at least two of each, but each instrument has lots of cousins,sisters and distant relatives, all of whom make an appearance from time to time so there may be up to 20 players.

Flutes

Oboes

Played sideways and made of wood or shiny metal, the flutesare the brightest and most brilliant instruments in theorchestra. They can play even higher than the violins andtheir miniature cousin, the Piccolo , can play even higher thanthat even though its not much bigger than a pencil!

Imagine a thick broom-handle with holes drilled in it, andyoure half-way there - the lowest, and biggest of the

woodwind instruments is the only one that really looks like itsmade of wood! Its also probably the best instrument in theorchestra for making rude noises. And its big brother, thecontrabassoon (basically a double-sized bassoon folded inhalf) can sound like either the scariest thing youve ever heard,or a hippo with a tummy bug.

Bassoons

They might look like oboes in need of a diet (musicians callthem licorice sticks), but theyre very different and theywere only invented in the 18th century. Theyve got around abit, though theyre great for jazz and the clarinet players inan orchestra also play the deep, chocolatey-sounding BassClarinet , the squealing Piccolo Clarinet , or the brassySaxophone (which doesnt even look like a clarinet!).

These thin black tubes are amongst the oldest of woodwindinstruments, and theyre played by blowing through two verythin pieces of wood, the reed. Their sound is so pure andpiercing that, at the very beginning of the concert, an oboeplayer gives the note to which all the other instruments tune.Its closest relative is the Cor Anglais or English Horn whichis neither a horn, nor English, but a slightly larger oboe with awonderful, smoky sound.

Clarinets

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Brass instrumentsThe clues in the name. Theyre metal, theyre shiny, and they sit all along the back row of the orchestra. In Mozartsday, they were rarely more than a pair of horns and trumpets but since then, composers have embraced the thrills of heavy metal, and a great 20th-century symphony or movie score might have up to 25 brass instruments. And youlldefinitely be able to hear them!

Horns

Trumpets

Sitting on the left hand side of the orchestra, these medium-sized, circular instruments can be both thrillingly loud andwonderfully gentle and romantic. But a lot of the time, theyreplaying in the background gluing the sound of the orchestratogether and making the sound glow; theyre the orchestrascentral heating! An orchestra usually has four, but since playingthe horn is incredibly difficult and tiring, theres often a fifth

player the bumper who takes turns to give the others a break.

Thats right, just the one! The tuba does for the brass what thedouble basses do for the strings, and like them, even whenyou cant hear the tuba, you can feel it! It looks quite funny one person hugging such a huge piece of brass but thebrass section wouldnt have half the power it does without thetubas powerful support from the bottom.

Tuba

The heavy brigade! The trombones make a deep, rich andpowerful sound though when they let rip with their famousslides, the result can be outrageous. Whenever a piece of music needs some serious welly, the trombones can deliver.

And although the orchestra usually needs only three of them,thats more than enough. They can fill Symphony Hall withsound without even trying.

Theres no mistaking the sound of the trumpet, and everygood orchestra has at least two - sitting in the middle of thebrass section, and providing some of the biggest thrills in allmusic. You cant have a fanfare without them but when theyplay softly, it can be terribly sad. Its not just about noise,though: trumpet players have incredibly nimble tongues and lips.

Trombones

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Percussion sectionOr as its sometimes known, the kitchen sink department.

Anything that you hit to make a noise (and quite a fewthings that you blow through, wave, shake or drop) is inthe percussion section. An orchestral percussionist mayhave to play hundreds of different instruments includingbird whistles, coffee mugs, bits of broken glass, babies

rattles, buckets of water and gas cylinders!

Here are a few of the most important:

TimpaniBig, copper bowls on legs, with a plastic skin stretched tightlyover the top - take the lid off and you could boil soup in them!(Thats why theyre sometimes called kettledrums). As the onlydrums upon which you can actually play a tune, theyre essentialin any symphony orchestra; youll see at least two at the back,sometimes as many as 10, all tuned to play a different note.

DrumsListen out for the huge, booming bass drum (usually seen onits side, its so big!) and the snare drum, which has a littlemetal snare fixed against it to make a furious rattling sound.

CymbalsWhen you see a percussionist lifting up the two shimmering metaldiscs of the Clash Cymbals , get ready for an ear-splitting climax!

TriangleWell, its a metaler triangle , basically! And although people

joke about it, its one of the easiest instruments with which tomake a disastrous mistake. Percussionists are experts at theart of counting, and theyll often sit silently throughout anentire piece of music before playing a single, perfectly-placednote. But just imagine getting that note wrong!

Tuned percussionThere are xylophones with keys made of wood, glockenspiels

(with keys made of metal), marimbas , vibraphones and manymore. These are the percussion instruments that can play tunes(rather than just make a loud noise), and they can look verysimilar. But they all sound very different (the xylophone is theone that composers use when they want to portray dancingskeletons!) and a percussionist has to be able to play them all.

Keyboard instrumentsThey arent in every concert, but every orchestra uses themfrom time to time. The piano is exactly the same as the pianoat school or home, but the same player can also be asked toplay the electric keyboard and the wonderful, magical celeste :

a little piano made of chime bars, best known for its starringrole as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker.

Sketches by Philip McCulloch-Downswww.philipdownsart.co.uk