STRING SECTION

Violin

Violins are divided into two groups: first and second. First violins often
play the melody, while second violins alternate between melody and
harmony. A typical-sized violin is around 24 inches (two feet) long, with a
slightly longer bow. You play the violin by resting it between your chin and
left shoulder. Your left hand holds the neck of the violin and presses down
on the strings to change the pitch, while your right hand moves the bow or
plucks the strings.

Viola
The viola is the older sister or brother of the violin. It is slightly larger, just
over two feet long, and has thicker strings, which produce a richer, warmer
sound than the violin. There are usually 10 to 14 violas in an orchestra and
they almost always play the harmony.

Cello
The cello looks like the violin and viola but is much larger (around 4 feet
long), and has thicker strings than either the violin or viola. Of all the
string instruments, the cello sounds most like a human voice, and it can
make a wide variety of tones, from warm low pitches to bright higher notes.

String bass
This is the grandfather of the string family. At over 6 feet long, the double
bass is the biggest member of the string family, with the longest strings,
which allow it to play very low notes. The 6 to 8 double basses of the
orchestra are almost always playing the harmony.
Harp
The harp is different from the other stringed instruments. It's tall, about
six feet, shaped a little like the number 7, and has 47 strings of varying
lengths, which are tuned to the notes of the white keys of the piano. There
are usually one or two harps in an orchestra and they play both melody and
harmony. You play the harp sitting down with your legs on either side, with
the neck of the harp leaning on your right shoulder.

WOODWIND SECTION
Flute

The flute is the oldest of all instruments that produce pitched sounds (not
just rhythms), and was originally made from wood, stone, clay or hollow
reeds like bamboo. Modern flutes are made of silver, gold or platinum;
there are generally 2 to 4 flutes in an orchestra.

Piccolo

A shorter version of the flute is called the piccolo, which means small in
Italian. At half the size of a standard flute, piccolos play the highest notes of
all the woodwinds; in the orchestra one of the flute players will also play
piccolo if that instrument is required. The high piping sound of the piccolo
is also heard in traditional drum corps and marching band music.

Oboe

The oboe is a 2 foot long black cylinder with metal keys covering its holes,
and its mouthpiece uses a double reed, which vibrates when you blow
through it. This vibration of the reed makes the air inside the oboe move,
and thus creates sound. To play it, hold the oboe upright, blow through the
double reed in your mouth, and use both hands to press down on the keys
to open and close the holes and change the pitch.

Saxophone
The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical
body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is
produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave
inside the instrument's body.

English Horn
Despite its name, it isn't English and it isn't a horn. The English horn is
actually closely related to the oboe, also uses a double reed, and is played in
the same manner. It's longer than an oboe and its tube is a bit wider. At the
bottom end of the English horn it opens out into a rounded bell shape,
which gives it a warmer, fuller sound.

Clarinet

The clarinet could easily be mistaken for an oboe, except for the
mouthpiece, which uses a single reed. Clarinets come in a number of
different sizes, and the standard B-flat clarinet is just over 2 feet long.
Some musical works require the clarinetist to play several types of clarinets
in the same piece.
Bassoon

The bassoon is a long pipe, doubled in half, made of wood, with many keys.
The bend in the pipe makes it possible for musicians to play it comfortably.
If it were straight, the bassoon would be around 9 feet long! Like the oboe,
the bassoon uses a double reed, which is fitted into a curved metal
mouthpiece. There are 2 to 4 bassoons in an orchestra and they have a
similar range to that of the cello.

Contrabassoon
Imagine a longer bassoon with a wider pipe. The contrabassoon is the
grandfather of the wind section and is so much larger than a regular
bassoon that its tube is doubled over twice to allow the player to hold it. It
takes a lot of breath to make sound come out of such a long pipe! The lone
contrabassoon plays the lowest notes in the entire orchestra.

BRASS SECTION
Trumpet
The ancestors of the modern trumpet have been a part of human culture
for a very long time. Old trumpet-like instruments played by ancient
peoples were made of conch-shell, animal horn, wood or metal. Throughout
history the trumpet has been used to sound alarms, gather people together,
as a call to war, and to add luster to parade music.
French Horn

Unlike the English horn, which is neither English nor a horn, the French
horn does originally come from France and is unquestionably a horn. It
comes from the French hunting horn of the 1600s, and produces a wide
variety of sound ranging from very loud to very soft, and from harsh and
blaring to mellow and smooth. The French horn's 18 feet of tubing is rolled
up into a circular shape, with a large bell at its end.

Trombone

The trombone is the only instrument in the brass family that uses a slide
instead of valves to change pitch. A standard trombone is made of long thin
brass pipes. Two U-shaped pipes are linked at opposite ends to form an
"S." One pipe slides into the other so the total length of the pipe can be
extended or shortened.

Tuba
This is the grandfather of the brass family. The tuba is the largest and
lowest brass instrument and anchors the harmony not only of the brass
family but the whole orchestra with its deep rich sound. Like the other
brasses, the tuba is a long metal tube, curved into an oblong shape, with a
huge bell at the end.

PERCUSSION SECTION
Timpani
Timpani look like big polished bowls or upside-down teakettles, which is
why they're also called kettledrums. They are big copper pots with
drumheads made of calfskin or plastic stretched over their tops. Timpani
are tuned instruments, which means they can play different notes. The
timpanist changes the pitch by stretching or loosening the drumheads,
which are attached to a foot pedal.

Chimes
Chimes are metal tubes of different lengths that are hung from a metal
frame. When you strike the tubes with a mallet, they sound like the ringing
bells of a church. Each chime sounds a different pitch.

Cymbals
Cymbals are the biggest noisemakers of the orchestra. They are two large
metal discs, usually made of spun bronze. Cymbals, which are untuned,
come in a range of sizes, from quite small to very large. The larger the
cymbal, the lower the sound they make. Cymbals can be used for drama
and excitement, to accent the rhythm or create delicate sound effects.

Xylophone
The xylophone originally came from Africa and Asia, but has a Greek name
that means "wood sound." The modern xylophone has wooden bars or keys
arranged like the keys of the piano, which the player hits with a mallet. You
can change the quality of the pitch by using different kinds of mallets (hard
or soft), and by hitting the wooden bars in different ways.

Snare Drum
The snare drum is a smallish drum made of wood or brass with drumheads
made of calfskin or plastic stretched over both ends of a hollow cylinder. It
has a set of wire-wrapped strings stretched across the bottom head (the
snare), which give the snare drum its unique "rattling" sound when the
drum is hit. A small switch on the side of the drum allows the player to turn
the snare on or off depending on the requirements of the piece.

Bass Drum

The bass drum, like the double bass, is the biggest member of the
percussion family and therefore makes the lowest sounds. The bass drum is
built like a very large snare drum, although without the snare; it is also an
untuned instrument. You play the bass drum by hitting either drumhead
with sticks that have large soft heads, often covered with sheepskin or felt.
It can produce a lot of different sounds from roaring thunder to the softest
whispers

Triangle

You've probably played a triangle yourself at one time or another. It's a