Musical Instruments of the Orchestra in the Western Tradition

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Musical Instruments of the Orchestrain the
Western Tradition
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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.

Greek Theatre
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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.
The Orchestra
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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
Bassoon
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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.

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Woodwind Instrument
Oboe

• It is a double-reed instrument.
• It has reedy sound and can express pastoral
  feeling.

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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.

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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.

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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
Tuba
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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
Double Bass
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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.

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String Instrument
Viola

• It is about 25 inches long and is pitched a fifth
  lower than violin.

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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.

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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.

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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
Non-tuned
Timpani
Xylophone
Tambourine
Castanets
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Orchestra
Instruments
Brass
Strings
Percussion
Woodwind
With pitch
Without pitch
French Horn
Double Bass
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
Trumpet
Trombone
Tuba
Violin
Viola
Cello
Timpani
Xylophone
Tambourine
Castanets
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Education
EDD5161S
Educational Communication Technology
Lecturer Dr. Lee Fong Lok
Lee Chui Ling (97029520)
Students
Cheung Kwan Fu (96077630)