Instrument Parts PDF
Instrument Parts PDF
Instrument Parts PDF
Instruments of
the Orchestra
Photocopiable Factsheets & Worksheets
on the String Section
In a symphony orchestra the instruments are divided up into four main sections or groups.
Strings Woodwind Brass Percussion
The size of an orchestra can vary enormously from a small chamber orchestra which has between
15 and 40 players and a full symphony orchestra which can have as many as 100 people.
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Here are several instruments. Can Question Time! Answer the questions
you match them up with their correct below on a separate sheet.
section?
1. What is the main difference
Violin Woodwind
between an orchestra and a band?
Tuba Strings 2. What is the largest section of the
orchestra?
Double Bass Percussion
3. What is a full score?
Piccolo Brass 4. What are dynamics?
5. Who uses a full score and why?
Clarinet Strings
6. Where would you find the leader
Marimba Woodwind of the orchestra?
7. Why did orchestras begin to be
Timpani Brass
directed by a conductor?
Trombone Percussion 8. What does the word tempo relate to?
Tailpiece
The most famous makers of the violin were
Stradivari and Guarneri and their instruments
command very high prices today. Chinrest
Button
Famous works for violin: Nut
Six Solo Partitas J.S.Bach
Four Seasons Concertos Vivaldi Screw
Haffner Serenade Mozart In a string quartet there are
Violin Concerto in D Major Beethoven usually two violins. The folk
Sonata in G Major Brahms violin is sometimes known as
the fiddle.
Niccolo Paganini
Yehudi Menuhin
Vanessa Mae
Nigel Kennedy
Orchestral position
S T R A D I V A R I Y B P
B E M N A G A B J Z S R I Bridge
Neck
D C M E N U H I N F G I Z Four Seasons
E M I C W E L M K W N D Z Mute
Stradivari
H D M K C V I U M J I G I
Pizzicato
A P E R J H N T U C R E C Bow
T U N I N G P E G S T E A Menuhin
Strings
F O U R S E A S O N S I T Tuning Pegs
S B O W T S E B A S S T O
2000 Keynotes Education Crossgate Cornwall PL15 9SX
This sheet may be printed from a personal computer and/or photocopied for educational use within the purchasing establisment
Name: _______________________ Instruments of the Orchestra 3
Tailpiece
Orchestral position
Here are ten statements about the viola. Answer true or false.
1. Yehudi Menuhin and Vanessa Mae are famous viola players? __________
2. The viola has four strings? __________
3. The viola is the highest member of the string family? __________
4. The violas are usually divided up into 1st violas and 2nd violas in the orchestra? __________
5. The viola was developed from the viola da gamba? __________
6. In a string quartet there is usually one viola? __________
7. The viola is sometimes called the fiddle? __________
8. Glinka wrote a Sonata in D Minor for the viola? __________
9. Music for the viola is mainly written in the alto clef? __________
10. The lowest note that can be played on the viola is the C below middle C? __________
Soundboard
The cello uses a shorter and thicker bow than
the violin or viola and is fitted with a
retractable spike on the base of the
instrument so that it can rest on the floor.
Pablo Casals
Jacqueline DuPre
and Mstislav
Rostropovich
Orchestral position
_________________.
4. The cello was developed in the
_________________.
4 1500s Elgar
Bass Lowest Mute
Spike Cellist Bow
Violoncello
Strings
There are two types of bow used with the
double bass; a French bow which is held
overhand like a violin bow and the Simandl
bow which was named after its inventor and
is held with the palm of the hand facing up.
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F G H
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BUANTTX RUNDERUXDR P K
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J L M N O W
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T A D F
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1. The double bass is the _______________ member of the string section in an orchestra.
3. Double bass players usually _______________ to play although sometimes they sit on a stool.
4 The double bass usually has _______________ strings although sometimes it can have 5.
6. The double bass developed from the older instrument the _______________.
7. The double bass can be played using either a _______________ bow or a _______________ bow.
9. The double bass usually uses the _______________ clef although it can sometimes use the tenor
clef and even occasionally the treble clef.
10. The double bass is the _______________ sounding member of the string section.
Pedals
Famous works for harp:
Base
Carmen Bizet
Introduction et allegro Ravel Feet
Sonata for harp Hindemith
Concerto for flute, The harp may be known as the instrument of
harp and orchestra Mozart the angels but with all its strings and pedals
it can be a devil to play!
Marcel Grandjany
Alfonse Hasselmans
Henriette Renie
Carlos Salzedo
Orchestral position
1. The pedals on a harp are used to change the pitch of the instrument? _________
2. When a harpist plays a rippling scale it is called a glissando? _________
3. The strings on a harp are usually just one colour? _________
4. The harp can have as many as seven pedals? _________
5. The harpist usually leads the string section of an orchestra? _________
6. Mozart wrote a concerto for flute, harp and orchestra? _________
7. The harpist usually plays using a bow? _________
8. The harp became a regular member of the orchestra in the 19th century? _________
9. There are 57 strings on a modern harp? _________
10. Harp music is written on two staves? _________
The orchestra has steadily grown in size Violin pitch range Harp pitch range
Violas Double
Bass
1st Violins Cellos
Harp
Orchestral positions of the string section
Instruments of
the Orchestra
Photocopiable Factsheets & Worksheets
on the Woodwind Section
Blow hole
The Hotteterre family from France were the first to
really alter the design of the flute. The design of
the Hotteterre flute had three sections and one key
rather than just holes. Theobold Boehm added more
keys and his flutes which were developed in the Head joint
nineteenth century, have become the basis for
modern flute design. This is called the Boehm
System.
The alto flute or flute in G is larger than the Famous works for flute:
standard flute and is not used very often in the Peter & the Wolf (Bird) Prokoviev
orchestra. The alto flute is what is called a Suite in A Minor Telemann
transposing instrument. This means that the notes Orchestral suite 2 J.S.Bach
sound a fourth higher than written. If for example, Concerto in D Major Mozart
you see the written note C, the note actually played Famous works for piccolo:
and heard is an F which is four notes higher. There Overture to The Thieving
are also many different types of wooden flutes used Magpie Rossini
in world music. Flute
James Galway
Jeanne Baxtresser
Sebastian Bell
Johann Quantz
The flute sounds as written
and the piccolo sounds one Jean-Pierre Rampal
octave higher.
Orchestral position
Piccolo
6. When was the flute first introduced into
Europe? __________________________
Acker Bilk
Jack Brymer
Gervase de Payer
Emma Johnson
Orchestral position
Reed Chalumeau
Denner Boehm
Contrabass Transposing
Acker Bilk Jazz
Basset Horn Woodwind
T B S U T K X D F B C
A R E E D C M E Y A O
C T A S U E V N A S N
H R R N A W L N C S T
A O D Q S Z V E K E R
L P Q V E P B R E T A
U F J P N Z O G R H B
M P A O G M E S B O A
E H Z B I A H L I R S
A K Z N H J M K L N S
U D G E C M S F K J G
W O O D W I N D L I K
1. The clarinet developed from the earlier instrument the chalumeau? ________
2. The basset horn was most often found in the orchestra during the
Romantic period? ________
3. The B flat clarinet is becoming a popular instrument for young musicians
to start learning on? ________
4. The clarinet is a single reed instrument? ________
5. The B flat and A clarinet are transposing instruments? ________
Georges Gillet
Robert Bloom
Lady Evelyn Barbirolli
Myrtile Morel
Orchestral position
period? ___________________________
8. How many sections does an oboe have?
___________________________
___________________________
Archie Camden
Milan Turkovich
Maurice Alard
Daniel Smith
Orchestral position
________
9. The bassoon was not found in the orchestra until
the Romantic period? ________
________
13. The crook is attached to the butt joint? ________
14. The bassoon is used in the Rite of Spring by
Shostakovich? ________
15. Archie London is a famous bassoonist? ________
Bassoons
Flutes &
Piccolos Flute & Piccolo pitch range
Here is a list of some woodwind instruments. Place them in the table below according to
what kind of mouthpiece they use.
Answer the following questions on the woodwind section. Use a notebook or the back of
the paper to write on.
1. Which is the highest member of the woodwind section found in the orchestra?
2. Which is the lowest instrument of the woodwind family commonly found in the
orchestra today?
3. Which instruments would you find in a Romantic period orchestra in the woodwind
section that you would not find in a Baroque period orchestra?
4. Is the oboe damore higher or lower in pitch than the orchestral oboe?
5. Which instrument more often used in jazz is sometimes found in the modern orchestra?
Instruments of
the Orchestra
Photocopiable Factsheets & Worksheets
on the Brass Section
Water release
Finger ring
The modern trumpet developed from the If you blow down a trumpet without a valve
natural trumpet which was an instrument with pressed down then the air can pass straight
a very limited range as it had no valves or keys through the instrument. By pressing down one
and could only play high notes. or more valves the air passes through extra
sections of tubing and different notes can be
The natural trumpet was extremely difficult to played. Most trumpets have three valves.
play and in the eighteenth century instrument
makers began to try to find a solution to this Like the clarinet the trumpet is a transposing
problem. It wasnt until the nineteenth century instrument and the modern B flat trumpet,
however that Stlzel and Blhmel produced the which is most commonly found in the
first valve trumpet. The addition of valves made orchestra, sounds one tone lower than written.
the trumpet both easier to play and increased Using a mute, a cup or a wow-wow can vary
its range. the sound of a trumpet! These all fit into the
flared bell and alter the tone of the instrument.
Famous works for trumpet:
Trumpet Concerto Haydn
Trumpet Voluntary Clarke
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 Bach
The Messiah (The trumpet shall sound)
Handel
Natural Trumpet
Miles Davis
Hakan Hardenberger
Wynton Marsalis
Clifford Brown
Louis Armstrong
Orchestral position
______________________________________________________________________________________
3. What was the name of the company that developed the valved trumpet in the 19th century?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
9. What can be placed into the end of a trumpet to alter the sound? _________________________
10. Why did the addition of valves to the trumpet have such an impact on the development of
______________________________________________________________________________________
Slide
Mouthpiece
The trombone generally found in orchestras The trombone is developed from the earlier
today is the slide tenor trombone although in instrument the sackbutt, which was popular
the twentieth century a three-valve trombone during the 1400s and 1500s. Originally used
was successfully developed. There are usually mostly in church music, it wasnt until the
three or four trombones in a symphony orchestra. nineteenth century that the trombone became
a regular member of the orchestra.
As with other brass instruments the vibrations
of the performers lips produce and vary the There are several different sizes of trombone
sound. The slide trombone uses a slide to extend the tenor, bass and tenor bass trombones.
the length of tubing. There are seven playing Unlike many brass instruments the tenor
positions, which combined with the players trombone which is the most popular in
breath pressure change the pitch of the notes. orchestral music is not a transposing
instrument, so its music sounds as written. A
Famous works for trombone: strange fact is that if the same instrument is
Ride of the Valkyries Wagner used in brass bands its music is written a ninth
Symphony No.5 Beethoven higher than played and written in the treble
William Tell Overture Rossini
clef and not the tenor or bass clef. The tenor
Requiem (Tuba Mirum) Mozart
Tannhuser Overture Wagner trombone usually uses the bass clef or
tenor clef.
Simon Hogg
Christian Lindberg
Bill Watrous
Don Lusher
Orchestral position
1. The trombone was developed from the earlier instrument the sackbutt? ________
7. The tenor trombone when used in the orchestra is a transposing instrument? ________
Bell
Mouthpiece
Natural Horn
Dennis Brain
Michael Thompson
Hermann Baumann
Anthony Halstead
Orchestral position
The tuba is the largest member of the brass The marching tuba is used in military bands
family commonly found in the orchestra. For and rests on the players shoulder with a
a large instrument it is surprisingly versatile. lighter fibreglass bell pointing forwards.
Tubes
John Fletcher
Arnold Jacobs
John Griffiths
Mark Nelson
Orchestral position
1. The name of the men who patented the tuba in the 1830s? Wagner
3. What does the word tuba literally mean? Moritz and Wieprecht
5. The bell of tubas used in military bands are made of this? Three
6. What is the other name for the E Flat bass tuba? Germany
7. What clef does the orchestral tuba usually play in? Bombardon
Trumpets
Horns
Trombones
& Tubas
Tuba
3. Which brass instrument is the lowest commonly found in the orchestra? ________________
4. Which instrument that looks as though it should belong to the brass family is actually a
5. Is the orchestral trumpet a transposing instrument (one that plays a different pitched
8. Which is the highest brass instrument commonly found in the orchestra? ______________
Instruments of
the Orchestra
Photocopiable Factsheets & Worksheets
on the Percussion Section
Glockenspiel
The orchestral xylophone has two rows of
wooden bars with a range of between 3 1/2
and 4 octaves. The sound is made louder and
clearer by resonating tubes which hang
underneath the instrument. The wooden bars
can be struck with different kinds of beaters to
produce a different sound but performers most The layout of the bars on all these instruments
often use wooden beaters. is very similar to the arrangement of the keys
on the piano. However as the pitch of the notes
becomes higher the metal or wooden bars
Famous works for percussion: shorten in length and so the longer the bar
1812 Overture Tchaikovsky
the deeper the pitch.
(Tubular Bells, Vibraphone & Wind Machine)
Danse Macabre (Xylophone) Saint-Saens
Sorcerers Apprentice Dukas The layout of the tubular bells is different to
(Glockenspiel)
that of the glockenspiel, xylophone and
marimba. A series of 18 brass or steel tubes
are hung from a frame ranging from longer,
lower pitched tubes to shorter tubes which
produce a higher sound. To play the tubular
bells the tubes
Famous percussionists are struck with a
hammer. Sometimes
Evelyn Glennie the tubular bells have
James Blades
Dave Hassel a mechanism that is
Orchestral position Jimmy Holland operated by the foot
to stop the sound.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. The layout of the bars on the glockenpiel, marimba,xylophone,celeste and vibraphone is
_____________________________________________________________________________________
9. What are the tubes on tubular bells usually hit with? _________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
10. What is sometimes used to stop the sound on tubular bells? __________________________
Unscramble the words below and draw a line across to the instrument that they should spell.
onphexloy glockenspiel
llebs ubutlra xylophone
bammira vibraphone
llokgneciesp celeste
eteselc tubular bells
onpherabvi marimba
Untuned percussion instruments cannot play The cymbals are often used to create grand
a melody as they do not produce a pitched note crashes of lightning or a dramatic flourish in
or sound. They are usually used to create effects a piece. They can be clashed together or
in a piece of music or to play a rhythm. Untuned sometimes a single cymbal is hit with a beater.
percussion instruments are usually hit or
shaken. The triangle has been used for around two
hundred years in the orchestra. It is made
The type of percussion instruments used in an from a steel bar which is bent into a triangle
orchestra can vary greatly depending on the shape. The triangle is then suspended from
period that the piece was written and the effect one corner so that when hit by a metal beater
that the composer is trying to create. it produces a bright clear sound.
I A L R V J S A N N S Snare Drum
Gong
M T U E S L X C A E S Claves
Cow Bell
E V O S S Z D L R U D Chimes
Wood Block
S C F C B T F A E N R Bass Drum
Cymbals
A G O N G N E V D I U Bongos
B O N G O S R E R M M Which instrument is
O C Y M B A L S U I O the odd one out
because it is NOT
V L N O Y X E S M D Z untuned percussion?
W O O D B L O C K H F ____________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Name the two ways in which a percussionist can play cymbals in an orchestra. _______
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. How many years has the triangle been used in the orchestra? _______________________
Drum head
Shell
Pedal
3. If a timpani player tightens the drumhead it makes the pitch of the notes lower?
___________
4. In older timpani drums a series of keys was used to tighten the drumhead? ___________
6. A famous piece which uses the timpani drums is The Swan by Saint-Saens? ___________
The percussion section of the orchestra varies Untuned percussion instruments can include:
enormously depending on which piece of music Wood Blocks Triangles
is being performed and in which period it was Cymbals Castanets
written. Up until the Romantic period the Whips Claves
percussion section of the orchestra consisted Gongs Sleigh Bells
only of the timpani or kettledrums. It was in Cow Bells Maracas
the nineteenth century that composers really Snare Drum Bass Drum
began to explore the possibilities of percussion
instruments although in the eighteenth century Sometimes composers ask for sounds like
some composers began to add cymbals and thunder, horses hooves or train whistles and
triangles to pieces. so the percussion section has to be very
versatile and inventive!
Percussion instruments fall into two types -
tuned and untuned. Tuned percussion
instruments are capable of playing a tune or Glockenspiel
Orchestral position
Gong Timpani Drum
TUNED UNTUNED
3.
1.
4.
5.
2.
Here is a diagram of the layout of an
orchestra. Shade in where the
percussion section would sit.