Meet the Orchestra
An orchestra is a group of musicians who play together. There are about 100 musicians in a symphony orchestra. A symphony orchestra usually plays classical music.
The instruments in an orchestra can be divided into four families: strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion.
This week, The Mini Page finds out more about these instruments.
Strings
These instruments are made of wood, with four strings of sheep gut, nylon or wire. They are tuned by turning pegs at the top and stroked by bows made of wood and strung with horsehair. Strings include:
Violin: Smallest of the strings … higher pitch than other strings … has a warm, singing sound … held under the chin.
Viola: Slightly larger than violin
… has thicker strings and a lower, deeper pitch … held under the chin.
Cello: Has rich, mellow tones that are thought to be closest to the sound of the human voice … so large that the player sits with the instrument tucked between his or her knees.
Brass
These instruments are made of metal tubing curled in different shapes and lengths. The longer the tube, the lower the tone.
Trumpet: Has a bold, high-pitched tone … three valves can be pushed to change the length of the tube and give a wider range of sounds.
Tuba: Has powerful, deep sounds that can be funny or scary … the largest of the brasses, it has the lowest tone … 18 to 35 feet of tubing ends in a flaring bell.
Trombone: Has a grand and lovely tone that can be soft or loud … is the loudest instrument in the orchestra … has no valves but a slide that is moved back and forth to give different pitches.
Percussion
Percussion instruments are made of a variety of materials. They are played by tapping, striking, shaking or beating to keep rhythm and add tone color. These include:
Bass drum: Like a huge toy drum … has calfskin stretched over both ends … makes a deep, booming sound.
Piano: Has 88 keys that are connected to tiny felt hammers that strike metal strings … both a percussion and a string instrument.
Xylophone: A double row of small wooden bars of different lengths that sound notes when struck … has a bright, sharp sound.