Orchestra Sections Trivia Quiz

You may not consider the orchestra's conductor to be an instrumentalist, but (a) they are almost always proficient performers on at least one instrument, as part of their early training and, before the middle of the 19th century were usually performing as they led; (b) they are definitely instrumental in helping the orchestra produce the best possible performance.

The quiz's subtitle refers to the place where each instrumentalist sits, but the conductor (along with others such as the double bass) actually stands. He or (increasingly commonly) she faces the instrumentalists, and is responsible for providing the cues that help them all start a section together, join in or leave at the right moment, play at the same tempo, modulate their volume appropriately, and in other ways perform as a cohesive group, not just a collection of talented musicians. The conductor is also responsible, in most cases, for making creative decisions about the works to be performed, including possible adjusting the arrangements.

Smaller groups, such as a string quartet, do not have a separate conductor, but there is usually one designated member who takes on that responsibility. Marching bands are usually led by a drum major, whose instructions may be verbal or gestural - they often care a mace that allows for gestures to be seen by those marching well arrears.

The violins are actually split into two sections, with the first violins on the left as you look at the diagram, and the second violins on the right. The general flow in pitch arrangement in the orchestra is from higher pitch on the left to lower pitch on the right. For the strings, this is not exactly followed, in order to separate the two violin parts, but the lower one is on the right.

There are usually about fifteen violins in each section, but that varies. The violins in each section are identical, but the music they are playing is different. The first violins are allocated the melody, which is typically set slightly higher than the harmony played by the second violins. It is also generally more technically demanding, and first violinists in many orchestras consider themselves the star of the show, as they often are in Classical and Baroque music. (Aside: hence the phrase playing second fiddle, suggesting a less significant role.) The second violins may also play the same melody as the first violins, but an octave lower, helping to support the sound projection.

Violas are slightly larger than violins, so they have a somewhat lower and richer tone. A viola is tuned a fifth lower than a violin, so produces mid-range notes in the harmonic structure of the strings section. Its top three strings match the lowest three strings on a violin. Viola music is often written using an alto clef (for notes between the more familiar soprano and bass clefs).

Violas were, for many years, relegated to producing the notes that filled in the middle of the harmonies, so their music was not very interesting in itself. Brahms was one of the first composers to feature the viola, taking advantage of its pitch and tone in his works. During the 20th century more composers explored the viola's potential, and violists have gained increased opportunities to explore the capacity of their instrument.

Cellos are larger than violins and violas, so large that they are played with the instrument balanced on a peg (called the endpin) that rests on the ground, rather than being held between the player's chin and shoulder. They are tuned an octave below the viola (making it really easy to play each other's parts an octave apart). In an orchestra, they usually play the bass part (with or without the addition of the double bass), and have their music written using a bass clef.

The rich, full tone of cellos has made them popular for use as a solo instrument or in concerti (pieces written for a solo instrument and orchestra). Johann Sebastian Bach, for instance, wrote six suites for unaccompanied cello. Joseph Hayden wrote several concerti for cello and orchestra, and Ludwig van Beethoven included five sonatas for cello and piano in his catalogue.

The double bass, the largest and lowest-pitched member of the strings in a modern orchestra (barring the extremely rare octobase, which is even larger and has only three strings), is played with its tail resting on the floor, using an endpin on which it is balanced. They are large enough that they are usually played while standing, although some performers perch themselves on a stool. That is more common in jazz bands and other more casual performance settings than in an orchestra. In either case, the top of the instrument will usually be above the player's head, and the instrument is leaned against the body. An acoustic bass finds its place in many genres of music - but an electric bass rather than an acoustic one may be preferred when amplification is involved.

The bass is the only member of the orchestral strings which is regularly played with the fingers (pizzicato) rather than a bow (arco), although both techniques may be used at different times. It is also the only one that is tuned in fourths rather than in fifths. This means their fingering patterns are different, and it is more difficult to move from playing one of the other stringed instruments to playing the bass. (Violas and cellos, by contrast, are tuned to use the same notes for each string, an octave apart. Moving from one to the other only requires adjustment for the scale (distance between adjacent notes on each string), not on moving between strings at the right time when changing notes.)

Due to the low pitch of the bass (its lowest note is within an octave of the lowest note perceived as having a recognisable pitch by the human ear), their sound is not perceived as being very loud. Most orchestras will therefore have multiple basses all playing exactly the same notes in order to pump out sufficient volume to balance that produced by the higher instruments.

Behind the first violins and violas you may find a keyboard instrument (piano or celeste, for example) or a harp. Or even a combination! These instruments require more space than the smaller stringed instruments, so are placed at the back where they won't obscure things. If they are being featured in a particular piece, such as a piano concerto, there may be an interval so the audience can stretch their legs while the stage is rearranged to place the solo instrument at the front.

The concert harp (think Harpo Marx, if you haven't been to the symphony lately) has around 50 strings arranged in pitch order, so that it covers around seven octaves. It is diatonic (tuned so that the strings form the successive notes of a scale), but has foot pedals that allow the player to adjust the strings and tune it to a different key. For example, one pedal adjusts all the F strings, so can raise them to F#, and instead of playing in the key of C major, it is now playing in the key of G major. The strings are in two rows, one played by each hand as the harpist plucks them.

The piano is properly called a pianoforte, because it pays both piano (softly) and forte (loudly), and the player can control the volume by the way they hit the keys. An orchestra will usually use a concert piano, in which the strings lie horizontally, rather than the more compact upright that fits more easily into a home, as the sound quality is superior.

This back left corner of the stage can also house other instruments which don't quite fit anywhere else, such as the celeste. This is a keyboard instrument that produces sound by having hammers hit metal strips - so it plays like a piano, but sounds like a glockenspiel or xylophone.

To get this down to ten sections, it was necessary to indicate that the woodwinds, which are placed behind the strings, are arranged with the higher-pitched instruments on the left, and the lower-pitched instruments on the right. There are so many of them that it seemed unfair to name one or two as the label for each section.

Woodwind instruments are not all made of wood (the flute, for example, is usually metal) but they are all played by blowing into them. Many, but not all, use a thin piece of cane or plastic that vibrates as the player blows into the instrument to produce the sound which the body of the instrument amplifies. Again, the flute is different - the player must blow across the edge of the opening so as to set the air column vibrating in resonance. Flutes, which include the smaller and higher pitched piccolo, are usually near the left end of the woodwind section. If there are any alto or bass flutes, they will be towards the centre.

Also in the left group of woodwinds are the clarinets, which come in a range of sizes and are almost always included, and sometimes a selection of other high-pitched wind instruments required for a particular piece.

The lower woodwinds include oboes and the English horn (which is also called the cor anglais, and is a woodwind, unlike most of the other instruments called horns). These are double-reed instruments, usually made of wood (but less expensive models are now often plastic), which use keys to adjust the length of the air column to alter the pitch of the notes being produced. The soprano oboe, which is the one usually meant when one just says oboe, has a distinctly bright and penetrating tone. The English horn is pitched a fifth lower than the oboe.

Even larger and lower, we have the bassoon family. They are also double-reed instruments, but much larger. The player of a bassoon (which is about 4.5 feet in length) usually wears a strap to help them bear its weight and remain free to use their hands on the keys. The contrabassoon is even larger, with a bore twice as long as that of the bassoon, but curled up on itself enough that its overall length is not much more. It is heavy enough that it is played resting on an endpin on the ground - and even then some players add a strap to help them support it!

There are many more woodwind instruments, such as the saxophone and the hecklephone to name only two, which are not members of the classical orchestra, but which may well be used for a particular piece. Their locating in the woodwind section is flexible, depending on what else is being included.

Percussion instruments, also called idiophones, make a noise when you hit them. Well, almost anything will make a noise when it is hit - these produce musical notes. Many percussionists are versatile, and can play a range of instruments, because there are a lot of them that are used, but not all the time.

Timpani, or kettle drums, are a common inclusion in an orchestra. They look like a large bowl with a membrane stretched across the top, and the note produced when it is hit can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the membrane. They are played by hitting them with a drumstick - and these come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials, allowing the timpanist to produce a range of sounds from their instrument. Timpani are typically played in sets of three or four, tuned to different notes. Each of them then produces a small range of notes, depending on exactly where on the drumhead it is struck.

Other percussion instruments often seen in an orchestra include other drums (snare drum, bass drum), cymbals, triangle, and glockenspiel. There are many more that are used for special effect in a specific piece. Did you immediately think of the tambourine and the marimba? What about a set of jingle bells? Or the instrument I was assigned in a sixth-grade orchestra, the wooden blocks?

This is the loudest section, so placing them at the back helps the orchestra produce a balanced sound as the music reaches the audience. Like the woodwinds, they use blown air to produce their sound as the air inside a metal tube vibrates in resonance. What sets them apart is that the player uses a buzzing of their lips to initiate the vibrations (sort of humming into the mouthpiece) - and, of course, that they are almost always made of brass or a similar metal.

The different members of the brass section have different ranges, as well as varying structural techniques for producing different notes. Trumpets have valves that are depressed to make more or less of the metal tube be included; slide trombones have a moving slide that does the same thing. French horns, which also use valves, have their tube shaped into a convoluted coil, with a bell at the end from which the sound is emitted. The tuba is the largest (and lowest-pitched) member of the brass family, with a coil that is elongated into an ellipse. Most orchestras have a single tuba, which may sometimes be replaced by a euphonium, which is in the baritone range rather than bass.