A symphony orchestra is a fairly large team of musicians performing various musical works. As a rule, the repertoire includes music of the West European tradition. What is the composition of the symphony orchestra? What is the difference between him and other musical groups? About it further.
The composition of the symphony orchestra in groups
The modern team involved four categories of music artists. Where should one begin to consider the composition of a symphony orchestra? The instruments played by musicians are distinguished by their diversity, dynamic properties, rhythmic and sound features.
The foundation of the collective are musicians playing the strings. Their number is about 2/3 of the total number of performers. The symphony orchestra includes double bass players, cellists, violinists, violists. As a rule, strings act as the main carriers of the melodic beginning.
The next group is woodwinds. These include bassoons, clarinets, oboes, flutes. Each instrument has its own batch. Compared to bowed ones, woodwinds do not have such breadth and diversity in the methods of performance. However, they have greater strength, brightness of shades with compact sound.
The symphony orchestra also includes brass instruments. These include pipes, trombones, tubes, horns. Thanks to their presence, the performance of musical works becomes more powerful, as they act as rhythmic and bass support.
String
The violin is considered to be the highest in sound. This instrument is characterized by rich technical and expressive capabilities. The violin is often entrusted with difficult and quick passages, different trills, melodic and wide jumps, and tremolo.
Another stringed instrument is the viola. The way to play it is similar to the treble clef. It is generally accepted that viola is somewhat inferior to the violin in brightness and brilliance of the timbre. But along with this, this instrument perfectly conveys music of a dreamy-romantic, elegant character.
The cello is twice as large as the viola, but its bow is shorter than the viola and violin. This tool belongs to the category of "foot": it is installed between the knees, resting on the floor with a metal spire.
The double bass is much larger in size - you have to play it while sitting on a high stool or standing. This instrument is great for performing fairly quick passages. Double bass forms the foundation for the sound of strings, performing parts of the bass voice. Quite often, he is a member of a jazz orchestra.
Woodwind
One of the oldest instruments in the world is considered a flute. The first mention of it can be found in the scrolls of Egypt, Rome, Greece. Of all the woodwinds, the flute is considered the most mobile instrument, and in its virtuosity it is significantly superior to the rest.
Oboe is considered no less ancient. This tool is unique in that, thanks to the features of its design, it does not lose its tuning. Therefore, all other "participants" are configured according to it.
Another fairly popular instrument is the clarinet. Only a fairly flexible change in sound power is available to him. Due to this and other properties, the clarinet is considered one of the most expressive "voices" that make up the brass band.
Drums. general information
Considering the composition of the symphony orchestra in groups, percussion instruments should be noted. Their function is rhythmic. Along with this, they form a rich sound and noise background, decorate and complement the palette of tunes with various effects. According to the nature of the sound, percussion instruments can be divided into two types. The first includes those that have a certain pitch. These are timpani, bells, xylophone and others. The second type includes instruments devoid of precise pitch. These include, in particular, cymbals, drums, a tambourine, a triangle.
Description
Fairly ancient, like some of the above, the instrument is timpani. They were quite common in many countries: Greece, Africa, among the Scythians. Unlike other instruments with leather, timpani have a sound of a certain height.
Plates are large metal round plates. In the center they are slightly convex - in this place belts are fixed so that the performer can hold them in his hands. They play them standing up - this is how sound is best spread in the air. A symphony orchestra usually consists of one pair of cymbals.
Xylophone is a fairly original device. As a sounding body, wooden blocks of different sizes are used. It should be said that the xylophone is often part of the Russian folk orchestra. The sound made by wooden blocks is sharp, snapping, "dry." Sometimes they inspire a gloomy mood, creating grotesque, bizarre images. An orchestra of folk instruments, the composition of which may include not only a xylophone, most often appears in musical works with a special story line - usually in fairy tales or epic episodes.
Brass
The trumpet was the first to enter the opera orchestra. Her timbre is not characteristic of lyricism. As a rule, pipes are considered exclusively fanfare tools.
The most poetic in the "collective" is the horn. In the low register, its timbre is somewhat gloomy, and in the upper case it is quite tense.
The saxophone is in some way an intermediate position between wood and brass. The strength of his sound is much higher than that of the clarinet. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the saxophone has become one of the main “voices” that make up jazz ensembles.
Tuba refers to the "bass." It is able to cover the lowest portion of the copper band range.
Single tools. Harp
The basic composition of the symphony orchestra is described above. Tools can be introduced and optional. For example, a harp. This instrument is considered one of the oldest in the musical history of mankind. It came from a bow with a bowstring, which, when fired, sounded quite melodic. Harp refers to plucked string instruments. Its beauty and appearance surpass all other "participants".
The harp has a rather peculiar virtuosity. It perfectly produces arpeggio passages, wide chords, glissandos, and flagolets. The role of the harp is not so much emotional as to a certain extent colorful. The instrument often accompanies others. In addition, the harp give spectacular solos.
The piano
The sound source of this instrument is metal strings. Wooden mallets covered with felt begin to knock on them when you press the keys with your fingers. As a result, a different sound appears. Piano gained wide popularity as a solo instrument. But in some cases, he may also act as an “ordinary participant”. Some composers use the piano as a decorating element, bringing new colors and sonority to the sound of the entire orchestra.
Organ
This wind keyboard was known as far back as antiquity. At that time, air was forced by bellows manually. Subsequently, the design of the tool was improved. In ancient Europe, the organ was used in church services. This is a gigantic instrument featuring a wide variety of tones. The range of the organ is greater than all the instruments of the orchestra taken together. The design includes furs forcing air, a system of pipes of various sizes and devices, keyboards - foot and several hand.
A single tone pipe in one set is called a “register”. Large cathedral bodies have about a hundred registers. The coloring of sounds in some of them resembles the sound of a flute, oboe, clarinet, cello and other orchestral instruments. The more diverse and "richer" registers, the more opportunities the performer has. The art of playing the organ is based on the ability to skillfully "register", that is, use all the technical potential.
When using the organ in modern music, theatrical in particular, composers primarily pursued a sound-visual purpose, especially in those moments where it was necessary to reproduce the church atmosphere. So, for example, Liszt in the Battle of the Huns (symphonic poem) contrasted the Christian world with barbarians using an organ.