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 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 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.