It is also known as the contrabass, upright bass, bull fiddle, bass fiddle, bass violin, or just bass. It is the largest member of the string family. In our modern orchestra it is common to see eight string basses. It plays the lowest notes of any instrument in the string family and an octave lower than the cello.
The trombone plays the important role of balancing the high sounds of the trumpet with the rest of the musicians in modern orchestras, concert band, and brass ensembles. Their mellow tenor voice also helps add a lower intonation without the boom of the tubas.
The Horn, often called the French Horn, is thought by many to be the most beautiful sounding instrument in the orchestra.
Perhaps the most common use of the horn is simply as harmonic filling – somewhere between the bass line and the melody. Horns are perfect for holding long, sustained notes discretely in the background above which melodies can float, around which accompaniments weave and beneath which bass lines wander. This use of the horn is one of the key orchestral techniques that composers learn early on. This is not simply because it’s one of the great ways of tying the orchestra together to create a unified sound, but because it’s very easy to do and sounds fantastic.
The tuba is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibration, or a buzz, into a large mouthpiece. Standard tubas have about 16 feet of tubing.
There is generally only one tuba in an orchestra and it usually plays harmony. You play the tuba sitting down with the instrument on your lap and the bell facing up.
The harp is a spectacular instrument. It’s part of the string family, but instead of using a bow, the notes are plucked.
Harps consist of a neck, resonator and strings. The harp can be found in early orchestral solo pieces in concerti by many baroque and classical compossers. It is also used regularly in opera and nowadays in Jazz and popular music.
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys.
Timpani is the Italian word for kettle-drums, which are tuneable drums used in the symphony orchestra.
The tension of the skin membrane can be adjusted by the player, to tune each drum to a particular bass note.
There are usually three kettle drums in the orchestra, tuned to the tonic, dominant and sub-dominant notes for the key of the music being played.
There are 4 main sizes of kettle-drum, but the middle two (26 inch and 29 inch) are the most used.
As one of the most popular and diverse musical instruments in the world the violin can be found in a variety of different styles and sizes.
The violin is the smallest and highest-pitched of the string instrument family.
Most violins have a hollow wooden body.
Conductor, in music, a person who conducts an orchestra, chorus, opera company, ballet, or other musical group in the performance and interpretation of ensemble works.
At the most fundamental level, a conductor must stress the musical pulse so that all the performers can follow the same metrical rhythm.
They choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make certain adjustments (such as in tempo, articulation, phrasing, repetitions of sections), work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to the performers.
Pencil, Pen & Pencil on Paper
Music by : Ludwig van Beethoven
Minuetto – Trio – Allegro molto e vivace
