Types of instruments in an orchestra. Information about typical compositions of symphony orchestras

Composition of a modern symphony orchestra

A modern symphony orchestra consists of 4 main groups. The foundation of the orchestra is a string group (violins, violas, cellos, double basses). In most cases, strings are the main carriers of the melodic principle in the orchestra. The number of musicians playing strings is approximately 2/3 of the entire ensemble. The group of woodwind instruments includes flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. Each of them usually has an independent party. Inferior to bow instruments in timbre richness, dynamic properties and variety of playing techniques, wind instruments have great strength, compact sound, and bright colorful shades. The third group of orchestra instruments is brass (horn, trumpet, trombone, trumpet). They bring new bright colors to the orchestra, enriching its dynamic capabilities, adding power and brilliance to the sound, and also serving as bass and rhythmic support. Percussion instruments are becoming increasingly important in a symphony orchestra. Their main function is rhythmic. In addition, they create a special sound and noise background, complement and decorate the orchestral palette with color effects. According to the nature of their sound, drums are divided into 2 types: some have a certain pitch (timpani, bells, xylophone, bells, etc.), others do not have a precise pitch (triangle, tambourine, snare and bass drum, cymbals). Of the instruments not included in the main groups, the role of the harp is most significant. Occasionally, composers include celesta, piano, saxophone, organ and other instruments in the orchestra. Woodwinds

FLUTE is one of the oldest instruments in the world, known in ancient times - in Egypt, Greece and Rome. Since ancient times, people have learned to extract musical sounds from cut reeds closed at one end. This primitive musical instrument was, apparently, a distant ancestor of the flute. In Europe in the Middle Ages, two types of flutes became widespread: straight and transverse. The straight flute, or "tipped flute", was held straight in front of you, like an oboe or clarinet; oblique, or transverse - at an angle. The transverse flute turned out to be more viable, as it was easy to improve. In the middle of the 18th century, it finally replaced the direct flute from the symphony orchestra. At the same time, the flute, along with the harp and harpsichord, became one of the most favorite instruments for home music playing. The flute, for example, was played by the Russian artist Fedotov and the Prussian king Frederick II. The flute is the most agile instrument of the woodwind group: in terms of virtuosity, it surpasses all other wind instruments. An example of this is the ballet suite “Daphnis and Chloe” by Ravel, where the flute actually acts as a solo instrument. The flute is a cylindrical tube, wooden or metal, closed on one side - at the head. There is also a side hole for air injection. Playing the flute requires a lot of air consumption: when blowing in, some of it breaks on the sharp edge of the hole and escapes. This gives rise to a characteristic hissing sound, especially in the low register. For the same reason, sustained notes and broad melodies are difficult to play on the flute. Rimsky-Korsakov described the flute’s sonority as follows: “The timbre is cold, most suitable for melodies of a graceful and frivolous nature in major, and with a touch of superficial sadness in minor.” Often composers use an ensemble of three flutes. An example is the dance of the shepherdesses from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker".

The OBOE rivals the flute in the antiquity of its origin: it traces its ancestry to the primitive pipe. Of the ancestors of the oboe, the most widespread was the Greek aulos, without which the ancient Hellenes could not imagine either a feast or a theatrical performance. The ancestors of the oboe came to Europe from the Middle East. In the 17th century, the oboe was created from the bombarda, a pipe-type instrument, which immediately became popular in the orchestra. Soon it became a concert instrument. For almost a century, the oboe has been the idol of musicians and music lovers. The best composers of the 17th-18th centuries - Lully, Rameau, Bach, Handel - paid tribute to this hobby: Handel, for example, wrote concertos for oboe, the difficulty of which can confuse even modern oboists. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, the “cult” of the oboe in the orchestra faded somewhat, and the leading role in the woodwind group passed to the clarinet. In its structure, the oboe is a conical tube; at one end there is a small funnel-shaped bell, at the other there is a cane, which the performer holds in his mouth. Thanks to some design features, the oboe never loses tuning. Therefore, it has become a tradition to tune the entire orchestra to it. Before a symphony orchestra, when the musicians gather on the stage, you can often hear the oboist playing A of the first octave, while other performers tune their instruments. The oboe has a flexible technique, although it is inferior in this regard to the flute. It is more of a singing instrument than a virtuoso one: its area, as a rule, is sadness and elegance. This is how it sounds in the theme of swans from the intermission to the second act of Swan Lake and in the simple melancholic melody of the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s IV Symphony. Occasionally, the oboe is assigned “comic roles”: in Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty,” for example, in the variation “The Cat and the Pussycat,” the oboe amusingly imitates the meowing of a cat.

A CLARNET is a cylindrical wooden tube with a whisk-shaped bell at one end and a reed tip at the other. Of all the woodwinds, only the clarinet can flexibly change the sound strength. This and many other qualities of the clarinet made its sound one of the most expressive voices in the orchestra. It is curious that two Russian composers, dealing with the same plot, acted in exactly the same way: in both “The Snow Maidens” - by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky - Lel’s shepherd tunes are entrusted to the clarinet. The clarinet's timbre is often associated with dark, dramatic situations. This area of expressiveness was “discovered” by Weber. In the "Wolf Valley" scene from "The Magic Shooter" he first guessed what tragic effects were hidden in the low register of the instrument. Tchaikovsky later used the eerie sound of low clarinets in The Queen of Spades when the ghost of the Countess appears. Small clarinet. The small clarinet came to the symphony orchestra from the military brass orchestra. Berlioz first used it, entrusting him with the distorted “beloved theme” in the last movement of the Symphony Fantastique. Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, and R. Strauss often turned to the small clarinet. Shostakovich. Bassethorn. At the end of the 18th century, the clarinet family was enriched with one more member: the basset horn, an ancient type of alto clarinet, appeared in the orchestra. It was larger than the main instrument, and its timbre - calm, solemn and matte - occupied an intermediate position between a regular and bass clarinet. He stayed in the orchestra for only a few decades and owed his heyday to Mozart. It was for two basset horns with bassoons that the beginning of the “Requiem” was written (now the basset horns are replaced by clarinets). An attempt to revive this instrument under the name of alto clarinet was made by R. Strauss, but since then it seems to have not been repeated. Nowadays, basset horns are included in military bands. Bass clarinet. The bass clarinet is the most “impressive” representative of the family. Built at the end of the 18th century, it has gained a strong position in the symphony orchestra. The shape of this instrument is quite unusual: its bell is bent upward, like a smoking pipe, and the mouthpiece is mounted on a curved rod - all this in order to reduce the exorbitant length of the instrument and make it easier to use. Meyerbeer was the first to “discover” the enormous dramatic power of this instrument. Wagner, starting with Lohengrin, makes him the permanent bass of the woodwinds. Russian composers often used the bass clarinet in their work. Thus, the gloomy sounds of the bass clarinet are heard in the Vth scene of “The Queen of Spades” while Herman reads Lisa’s letter. Now the bass clarinet is a permanent member of a large symphony orchestra, and its functions are very diverse.

The ancestor of the BASSON is considered to be an ancient bass pipe - bombarda. The bassoon that replaced it was built by Canon Afranio degli Albonesi in the first half of the 16th century. The large wooden tube, bent in half, resembled a bundle of firewood, which is reflected in the name of the instrument (the Italian word fagotto means “faggot”). The bassoon captivated his contemporaries with the euphony of timbre, who, in contrast to the hoarse voice of the bombards, began to call him “dolcino” - sweet. Subsequently, while maintaining its external outline, the bassoon underwent serious improvements. From the 17th century he joined the symphony orchestra, and from the 18th century - to the military orchestra. The conical wooden barrel of the bassoon is very large, so it is “folded” in half. A curved metal tube is attached to the top of the instrument, onto which a cane is placed. While playing, the bassoon is suspended on a cord from the performer's neck. In the 18th century, the instrument enjoyed great love among its contemporaries: some called it “proud,” others called it “gentle, melancholic, religious.” Rimsky-Korsakov defined the color of the bassoon in a very unique way: “The timbre is senilely mocking in major and painfully sad in minor.” Playing the bassoon requires a lot of breathing, and forte in a low register can cause extreme fatigue for the performer. The functions of the tool are very diverse. True, in the 18th century they were often limited to supporting string basses. But in the 19th century, with Beethoven and Weber, the bassoon became the individual voice of the orchestra, and each of the subsequent masters found new properties in it. Meyerbeer in “Robert the Devil” made the bassoons depict “deathly laughter, from which frost creeps down the skin” (Berlioz’s words). Rimsky-Korsakov in “Scheherazade” (the story of Kalender the Tsarevich) discovered a poetic narrator in the bassoon. The bassoon performs especially often in this last role - which is probably why Thomas Mann called the bassoon a “mockingbird.” Examples can be found in the Humorous Scherzo for four bassoons and in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, where the bassoon is assigned the "role" of the Grandfather, or at the beginning of the finale of Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony. The varieties of bassoon are limited in our time to just one representative - the counterbassoon. This is the lowest instrument in the orchestra. Only the pedal bass of the organ sounds lower than the extreme sounds of the counterbassoon. The idea of continuing the bassoon scale downward appeared a very long time ago - the first counterbassoon was built in 1620. But it was so imperfect that until the end of the 19th century, when the instrument was improved, it was used very little: occasionally by Haydn, Beethoven, Glinka. A modern contrabassoon is an instrument curved three times: its length when unfolded is 5 m 93 cm (!); in technique it resembles a bassoon, but is less agile and has a thick, almost organ-like timbre. Composers of the 19th century - Rimsky-Korsakov, Brahms - usually turned to the contrabassoon to enhance the bass. But sometimes interesting solos are written for him. Ravel, for example, in “Conversation between Beauty and the Beast” (ballet “My Mother Goose”) entrusted him with the voice of the monster. Strings

VIOLIN is a bowed string instrument, the highest in sound, the richest in expressive and technical capabilities among the instruments of the violin family. It is believed that the immediate predecessor of the violin was the so-called lyre de braccio, which originated from ancient viols; like a violin, this instrument was held at the shoulder (Italian braccio - shoulder), the playing techniques were also similar to violin ones. From the middle of the 16th century. The violin is established in musical practice as a solo and ensemble instrument. Many generations of craftsmen worked to improve the design and improve the sound qualities of the violin. History has preserved the names of A. and N. Amati, A. and D. Guarneri, A. Stradivari - outstanding Italian masters of the late 16th - early 18th centuries, who created examples of violins that are still considered unsurpassed. The body of the violin has a characteristic oval shape with notches on the sides. The shell connects the two soundboards of the instrument (special holes are cut on the top - f-holes). There are 4 strings stretched over the neck, tuned in fifths. The violin's range covers 4 octaves; however, harmonics can also be used to produce a number of higher sounds. The violin is a predominantly single-voice instrument. However, it can produce harmonious intervals and even 4-note chords. The timbre of the violin is melodious, rich in sound and dynamic shades, and its expressiveness is close to the human voice. To change the timbre during playing, a mute is sometimes used. The violin, which has exceptional technical agility, is often entrusted with the performance of difficult and fast passages, wide and melodic leaps, various kinds of trills, and tremolos.

The viola and the way it is played are very reminiscent of the violin, so if you do not notice the difference in size (and this is very difficult to do: the viola is noticeably larger than the violin), then they can easily be confused. It is believed that the timbre of the viola is inferior to the violin in brilliance and brightness. However, this instrument also has its own unique advantages: it is indispensable in music of an elegiac, dreamy-romantic nature. In terms of virtuosity, the viola is almost as perfect as the violin, but the large size of the viola requires the performer to have appropriate finger stretching and physical strength. The viola did not immediately receive its rightful role among the instruments of the orchestra. After the heyday of the polyphonic school of Bach and Handel, when the viola was an equal member of the string group, he began to be assigned a subordinate harmonic voice. In those days, violists usually became unsuccessful violinists. In the works of Gluck, Haydn and partly Mozart, the viola is used only as the middle or lower voice of the orchestra. Only in the works of Beethoven and romantic composers does the viola acquire the significance of a melodic instrument. The viola owes its recognition largely to the outstanding violinists of the last century, especially Paganini, who played the viola in a quartet and performed in a recital. Later, Berlioz introduces the solo viola part into his symphony “Harold in Italy”, entrusting him with the characterization of Harold. After this, the attitude of composers and performers towards the viola began to change. Wagner in "Tannhäuser", in the scene called "Grotto of Venus", writes for the viola an incredibly difficult part for that time. R. Strauss interprets the solo viola even more masterfully in the symphonic film “Don Quixote”. Violas are often assigned the melodic voice together with cellos, violins, or completely independently, as, for example, in the second act of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Golden Cockerel” during the dance of the Shemakhan Queen.

The cello entered musical life in the second half of the 16th century. It owes its creation to the art of such outstanding instrumental masters as Magini, Gasparo de Salo, and later Amati and Stradivari. Like the viola, the cello has long been considered a secondary instrument in the orchestra. Until the end of the 18th century, composers used it mainly as a bass voice, and at the very beginning of the century before last, in connection with this, the cello and double bass parts were written in the score on one line. The cello is twice the size of the viola, its bow is shorter than the violin and viola, and the strings are much longer. The cello is one of the “foot” instruments: the performer places it between his knees, resting the metal spike on the floor. Beethoven was the first to “discover” the beauty of cello timbre. Following him, composers turned her sound into the singing voice of an orchestra - remember the second movement of Tchaikovsky's VI Symphony. Often in operas, ballets and symphonic works the cello is assigned a solo - as, for example, in R. Strauss' Don Quixote. In the number of concert works written for her, the cello is second only to the violin. Like the violin and viola, the cello has four strings tuned in fifths, but an octave lower than the viola strings. In terms of technical capabilities, the cello is not inferior to the violin, and in some cases even surpasses it. For example, due to the longer strings of a cello, it can be used to produce a richer series of harmonics.

DOUBLE BASS is much superior to its counterparts both in size and in the volume of the low register: the double bass is twice the size of a cello, which is twice the size of a viola. Most likely, the double bass, a descendant of the ancient viol, appeared in the orchestra in the 17th century. The shape of the double bass has retained the features of an ancient viol to this day: a body pointed at the top, sloping sides - thanks to this, the performer can lean over the upper part of the body and “reach” the bottom of the neck to extract the highest sounds. The instrument is so large that the performer plays it standing or sitting on a high stool. In terms of virtuosity, the modern double bass is quite agile: often, together with cellos, fairly fast passages are performed on it. But “thanks to” its size, it requires a huge stretch of the fingers, and its bow is very heavy. All this makes the instrument's technique heavier: passages that require lightness sound somewhat ponderous on it. Nevertheless, his role in the orchestra is enormous: invariably performing the bass voice parts, he creates the foundation for the sound of the string group, and together with the bassoon and tuba or third trombone, the entire orchestra. In addition, the double basses sound perfectly in octave with the cellos in the melodies. In an orchestra, double basses are very rarely divided into several parts or performed solos on them. Brass

The TRUMPET has been part of the opera orchestra since its inception; Monteverdi's Orpheus already featured five trumpets. In the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries, very virtuoso and high tessitura parts were written for trumpets, the prototype of which were the soprano parts in the vocal and instrumental works of that time. To perform these most difficult parts, musicians from the times of Purcell, Bach and Handel used natural instruments common in that era with a long tube and a special mouthpiece that made it possible to easily extract the highest overtones. A trumpet with such a mouthpiece was called “clarino”; the writing style for it received the same name in the history of music. In the second half of the 18th century, with changes in orchestral writing, the clarino style was forgotten, and the trumpet became primarily a fanfare instrument. It was limited in its capabilities like the horn, and found itself in an even worse position, since “closed sounds” that expand the scale were not used on it because of their bad timbre. But in the thirties of the 19th century, with the invention of the valve mechanism, a new era began in the history of the pipe. It became a chromatic instrument and after a few decades replaced the natural trumpet from the orchestra. The timbre of the trumpet is not typical for lyricism, but it succeeds in heroics in the best possible way. Among the Viennese classics, trumpets were a purely fanfare instrument. They often performed the same functions in the music of the 19th century, announcing the beginning of processions, marches, solemn festivals and hunts. Wagner used pipes more than others and in a new way. Their timbre is almost always associated in his operas with knightly romance and heroism. The trumpet is famous not only for its power of sound, but also for its outstanding virtuoso qualities.

TROMBONE gets its name from the Italian name for trumpet - tromba - with the magnifying suffix "one": trombone literally means "trumpet". And indeed: the trombone tube is twice as long as the trumpet. Already in the 16th century, the trombone received its modern form and from the moment of its inception was a chromatic instrument. The full chromatic scale is achieved on it not through a valve mechanism, but using the so-called backstage. The link is a long additional tube, shaped like the Latin letter U. It is inserted into the main tube and extended if desired. In this case, the pitch of the instrument decreases accordingly. The performer pushes the slide down with his right hand and supports the instrument with his left. Trombones have long been a “family” of instruments of various sizes. Not so long ago, the trombone family consisted of three instruments; each of them corresponded to one of the three voices of the choir and received its name: alto trombone, tenor trombone, bass trombone. Playing the trombone requires a huge amount of air, as moving the slide takes longer than pressing the valves on a horn or trumpet. Technically, the trombone is less agile than its neighbors in the group: its scale is not so fast and clear, the forte is a bit heavy, the legato is difficult. Cantilena on the trombone requires a lot of effort from the performer. However, this instrument has qualities that make it indispensable in an orchestra: the sound of the trombone is more powerful and masculine. Monteverdi, in the opera "Orpheus", perhaps for the first time felt the tragic character inherent in the sound of the trombone ensemble. And starting with Gluck, three trombones became mandatory in the opera orchestra; they often appear at the climax of the drama. The trombone trio is good at oratorical phrases. Since the second half of the 19th century, the trombone group has been supplemented by a bass instrument - the tuba. Together, three trombones and a tuba form a “heavy brass” quartet. A very unique effect is possible on the trombone - glissando. It is achieved by sliding the backstage at one position of the performer's lips. This technique was already known to Haydn, who in his oratorio “The Seasons” used it to imitate the barking of dogs. In modern music, glissando is used quite widely. The deliberately howling and rough glissando of the trombone in the “Sabre Dance” from the ballet “Gayane” by Khachaturian is curious. Also interesting is the effect of a trombone with a mute, which gives the instrument an ominous, bizarre sound.

The ancestor of the modern French Horn was the horn. Since ancient times, the horn signal announced the beginning of a battle; in the Middle Ages and later, until the beginning of the 18th century, it was heard during hunting, competitions and solemn court ceremonies. In the 17th century, the hunting horn began to be occasionally introduced into opera, but only in the next century did it become a permanent member of the orchestra. And the very name of the instrument - horn - recalls its past role: this word comes from the German "Waldhorn" - "forest horn". In Czech this instrument is still called a forest horn. The metal tube of the ancient horn was very long: when unfolded, some of them reached 5m 90cm. It was impossible to hold such an instrument straight in your hands; Therefore, the horn tube was bent and given a graceful shape, similar to a shell. The sound of the ancient horn was very beautiful, but the instrument turned out to be limited in its sound capabilities: it could only produce the so-called natural scale, that is, those sounds that arise from dividing a column of air enclosed in a tube into 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. parts. According to legend, in 1753 the Dresden horn player Gampel accidentally put his hand into the bell and discovered that the horn's tuning had dropped. Since then, this technique has been widely used. Sounds obtained in this way were called “closed”. But they were dull and very different from the bright open ones. Not all composers risked turning to them often, usually being satisfied with short, good-sounding fanfare motifs built on open sounds. In 1830, the valve mechanism was invented - a permanent system of additional tubes that allows the horn to produce a full, good-sounding chromatic scale. After several decades, the improved horn finally replaced the old natural one, which was last used by Rimsky-Korsakov in the opera “May Night” in 1878. The horn is considered the most poetic instrument in the brass group. In the low register the horn timbre is somewhat gloomy, in the upper register it is very tense. The horn can sing or slowly narrate. The horn quartet sounds very softly - you can hear it in the "Waltz of the Flowers" from the ballet "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky.

TUBA is a fairly young instrument. It was built in the second quarter of the 19th century in Germany. The first tubas were imperfect and were initially used only in military and garden orchestras. Only when it came to France, into the hands of instrumental master Adolphe Sax, did the tuba begin to meet the high demands of the symphony orchestra. The tuba is a bass instrument that can cover the lowest range of the brass band. In the past, its functions were performed by the serpent, a bizarrely shaped instrument that owes its name to it (in all Romance languages, serpent means “snake”), then the bass and contrabass trombones and the ophicleide with its barbaric timbre. But the sound qualities of all these instruments were such that they did not give the brass band a good, stable bass. Until the tuba appeared, the masters persistently searched for a new instrument. The dimensions of the tuba are very large, its tube is twice as long as the trombone tube. While playing, the performer holds the instrument in front of him with the bell facing upward. Tuba is a chromatic instrument. The air consumption on the tube is enormous; sometimes, especially in forte in the low register, the performer is forced to change his breathing on each sound. Therefore, solos on this instrument are usually quite short. Technically, the tube is movable, although it is heavy. In an orchestra, she usually serves as bass in a trombone trio. But sometimes the tuba acts as a solo instrument, so to speak, in character roles. Thus, when orchestrating Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” in the play “Cattle”, Ravel assigned the bass tuba to a humorous image of a rattling cart dragging along the road. The tuba part wrote here in a very high register.

The creator of the SAXOPHONE is the outstanding French-Belgian instrumental master Adolphe Sax. Sax proceeded from a theoretical assumption: is it possible to build a musical instrument that would occupy an intermediate position between woodwind and brass? Such an instrument, capable of combining the timbres of copper and wood, was greatly needed by the imperfect military brass bands of France. To implement his plan, A. Sachs used a new construction principle: he connected a conical tube with a clarinet reed and an oboe valve mechanism. The body of the instrument was made of metal, the external outlines resembled a bass clarinet; a tube flared at the end, strongly bent upward, to which a cane is attached to a metal tip bent in the shape of an “S”. Sax's idea was a brilliant success: the new instrument truly became a link between the brass and woodwinds in military bands. Moreover, its timbre turned out to be so interesting that it attracted the attention of many musicians. The color of the saxophone's sound is reminiscent of the English horn, clarinet and cello at the same time, but the power of the saxophone's sound is much greater than the power of the clarinet's sound. Having begun its existence in the military brass bands of France, the saxophone was soon introduced into the opera and symphony orchestras. For a very long time - several decades - only French composers turned to him: Thomas ("Hamlet"), Massenet ("Werther"), Bizet ("Arlesienne"), Ravel (instrumentation of "Katrinok at an Exhibition" by Mussorgsky). Then composers from other countries also believed in him: Rachmaninov, for example, entrusted the saxophone with one of his best melodies in the first part of the Symphonic Dances. It is curious that on its unusual path the saxophone also had to face obscurantism: in Germany during the years of fascism it was banned as an instrument of non-Aryan origin. In the tenth years of the 20th century, musicians from jazz ensembles drew attention to the saxophone, and soon the saxophone became the “king of jazz.” Many composers of the 20th century appreciated this interesting instrument. Debussy wrote a Rhapsody for saxophone and orchestra, Glazunov wrote a Concerto for saxophone and orchestra, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Khachaturian repeatedly addressed him in their works. Drums

A modern symphony orchestra consists of 4 main groups. The foundation of the orchestra is a string group (violins, violas, cellos, double basses). In most cases, strings are the main carriers of the melodic principle in the orchestra. The number of musicians playing strings is approximately 2/3 of the entire ensemble. The group of woodwind instruments includes flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. Each of them usually has an independent party. Inferior to bow instruments in timbre richness, dynamic properties and variety of playing techniques, wind instruments have great strength, compact sound, and bright colorful shades. The third group of orchestra instruments is brass (horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba). They bring new bright colors to the orchestra, enriching its dynamic capabilities, adding power and brilliance to the sound, and also serving as bass and rhythmic support.
Percussion instruments are becoming increasingly important in a symphony orchestra. Their main function is rhythmic. In addition, they create a special sound and noise background, complement and decorate the orchestral palette with color effects. According to the nature of their sound, drums are divided into 2 types: some have a certain pitch (timpani, bells, xylophone, bells, etc.), others do not have a precise pitch (triangle, tambourine, snare and bass drum, cymbals). Of the instruments not included in the main groups, the role of the harp is most significant. Occasionally, composers include celesta, piano, saxophone, organ and other instruments in the orchestra.

Woodwinds

FLUTE

One of the oldest instruments in the world, known in ancient times - in Egypt, Greece and Rome. Since ancient times, people have learned to extract musical sounds from cut reeds closed at one end. This primitive musical instrument was, apparently, a distant ancestor of the flute.

In Europe in the Middle Ages, two types of flutes became widespread: straight and transverse. The straight flute, or "tipped flute", was held straight in front of you, like an oboe or clarinet; oblique, or transverse - at an angle. The transverse flute turned out to be more viable, as it was easy to improve. In the middle of the 18th century, it finally replaced the direct flute from the symphony orchestra. At the same time, the flute, along with the harp and harpsichord, became one of the most favorite instruments for home music playing. The flute, for example, was played by the Russian artist Fedotov and the Prussian king Frederick II.

The flute is the most agile instrument of the woodwind group: in terms of virtuosity, it surpasses all other wind instruments. An example of this is the ballet suite “Daphnis and Chloe” by Ravel, where the flute actually acts as a solo instrument.

The flute is a cylindrical tube, wooden or metal, closed on one side - at the head. There is also a side hole for air injection. Playing the flute requires a lot of air consumption: when blowing in, some of it breaks on the sharp edge of the hole and escapes. This gives rise to a characteristic hissing sound, especially in the low register. For the same reason, sustained notes and broad melodies are difficult to play on the flute.

Rimsky-Korsakov described the flute’s sonority as follows: “The timbre is cold, most suitable for melodies of a graceful and frivolous nature in major, and with a touch of superficial sadness in minor.”

Often composers use an ensemble of three flutes. An example is the dance of the shepherdesses from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker".

OBOE

rivals the flute in the antiquity of its origin: it traces its ancestry to the primitive pipe. Of the ancestors of the oboe, the most widespread was the Greek aulos, without which the ancient Hellenes could not imagine either a feast or a theatrical performance. The ancestors of the oboe came to Europe from the Middle East.

In the 17th century, the oboe was created from the bombarda, a pipe-type instrument, which immediately became popular in the orchestra. Soon it became a concert instrument. For almost a century, the oboe has been the idol of musicians and music lovers. The best composers of the 17th-18th centuries - Lully, Rameau, Bach, Handel - paid tribute to this hobby: Handel, for example, wrote concertos for oboe, the difficulty of which can confuse even modern oboists. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, the “cult” of the oboe in the orchestra faded somewhat, and the leading role in the woodwind group passed to the clarinet.

In its structure, the oboe is a conical tube; at one end there is a small funnel-shaped bell, at the other there is a cane, which the performer holds in his mouth.

Thanks to some design features, the oboe never loses tuning. Therefore, it has become a tradition to tune the entire orchestra to it. Before a symphony orchestra, when the musicians gather on the stage, you can often hear the oboist playing A of the first octave, while other performers tune their instruments.

The oboe has a flexible technique, although it is inferior in this regard to the flute. It is more of a singing instrument than a virtuoso one: its area, as a rule, is sadness and elegance. This is how it sounds in the theme of swans from the intermission to the second act of Swan Lake and in the simple melancholic melody of the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s IV Symphony. Occasionally, the oboe is assigned “comic roles”: in Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty,” for example, in the variation “The Cat and the Pussycat,” the oboe amusingly imitates the meowing of a cat.

CLARINET

It is a cylindrical wooden tube with a corolla-shaped bell at one end and a cane-tip at the other.

Of all the woodwinds, only the clarinet can flexibly change the sound strength. This and many other qualities of the clarinet made its sound one of the most expressive voices in the orchestra. It is curious that two Russian composers, dealing with the same plot, acted in exactly the same way: in both “The Snow Maidens” - by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky - Lel’s shepherd tunes are entrusted to the clarinet.

The clarinet's timbre is often associated with dark, dramatic situations. This area of expressiveness was “discovered” by Weber. In the "Wolf Valley" scene from "The Magic Shooter" he first guessed what tragic effects were hidden in the low register of the instrument. Tchaikovsky later used the eerie sound of low clarinets in The Queen of Spades when the ghost of the Countess appears.

Small clarinet.
The small clarinet came to the symphony orchestra from the military brass orchestra. Berlioz first used it, entrusting him with the distorted “beloved theme” in the last movement of the Symphony Fantastique. Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, and R. Strauss often turned to the small clarinet. Shostakovich.

Bassethorn.
At the end of the 18th century, the clarinet family was enriched with one more member: the basset horn, an ancient type of alto clarinet, appeared in the orchestra. It was larger than the main instrument, and its timbre - calm, solemn and matte - occupied an intermediate position between a regular and bass clarinet. He stayed in the orchestra for only a few decades and owed his heyday to Mozart. It was for two basset horns with bassoons that the beginning of the “Requiem” was written (now the basset horns are replaced by clarinets).

An attempt to revive this instrument under the name of alto clarinet was made by R. Strauss, but since then it seems to have not been repeated. Nowadays, basset horns are included in military bands.

Bass clarinet.
The bass clarinet is the most “impressive” representative of the family. Built at the end of the 18th century, it has gained a strong position in the symphony orchestra. The shape of this instrument is quite unusual: its bell is bent upward, like a smoking pipe, and the mouthpiece is mounted on a curved rod - all this in order to reduce the exorbitant length of the instrument and make it easier to use. Meyerbeer was the first to “discover” the enormous dramatic power of this instrument. Wagner, starting with Lohengrin, makes him the permanent bass of the woodwinds.

Russian composers often used the bass clarinet in their work. Thus, the gloomy sounds of the bass clarinet are heard in the Vth scene of “The Queen of Spades” while Herman reads Lisa’s letter. Now the bass clarinet is a permanent member of a large symphony orchestra, and its functions are very diverse.

BASSOON

Subsequently, while maintaining its external outline, the bassoon underwent serious improvements. From the 17th century he joined the symphony orchestra, and from the 18th century - to the military orchestra. The conical wooden barrel of the bassoon is very large, so it is “folded” in half. A curved metal tube is attached to the top of the instrument, onto which a cane is placed. While playing, the bassoon is suspended on a cord from the performer's neck.

In the 18th century, the instrument enjoyed great love among its contemporaries: some called it “proud,” others called it “gentle, melancholic, religious.” Rimsky-Korsakov defined the color of the bassoon in a very unique way: “The timbre is senilely mocking in major and painfully sad in minor.” Playing the bassoon requires a lot of breathing, and forte in a low register can cause extreme fatigue for the performer. The functions of the tool are very diverse. True, in the 18th century they were often limited to supporting string basses. But in the 19th century, with Beethoven and Weber, the bassoon became the individual voice of the orchestra, and each of the subsequent masters found new properties in it. Meyerbeer in “Robert the Devil” made the bassoons depict “deathly laughter, from which frost creeps down the skin” (Berlioz’s words). Rimsky-Korsakov in “Scheherazade” (the story of Kalender the Tsarevich) discovered a poetic narrator in the bassoon. The bassoon performs especially often in this last role - which is probably why Thomas Mann called the bassoon a “mockingbird.” Examples can be found in the Humorous Scherzo for four bassoons and in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, where the bassoon is assigned the "role" of the Grandfather, or at the beginning of the finale of Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony.

The varieties of bassoon are limited in our time to just one representative - the counterbassoon. This is the lowest instrument in the orchestra. Only the pedal bass of the organ sounds lower than the extreme sounds of the counterbassoon.

The idea of continuing the bassoon scale downward appeared a very long time ago - the first counterbassoon was built in 1620. But it was so imperfect that until the end of the 19th century, when the instrument was improved, it was used very little: occasionally by Haydn, Beethoven, Glinka.

A modern contrabassoon is an instrument curved three times: its length when unfolded is 5 m 93 cm (!); in technique it resembles a bassoon, but is less agile and has a thick, almost organ-like timbre. Composers of the 19th century - Rimsky-Korsakov, Brahms - usually turned to the contrabassoon to enhance the bass. But sometimes interesting solos are written for him. Ravel, for example, in “Conversation between Beauty and the Beast” (ballet “My Mother Goose”) entrusted him with the voice of the monster.

Strings

VIOLIN

A bowed string instrument, the highest in sound, the richest in expressive and technical capabilities among the instruments of the violin family. It is believed that the immediate predecessor of the violin was the so-called lyre de braccio, which originated from ancient viols; like a violin, this instrument was held at the shoulder (Italian braccio - shoulder), the playing techniques were also similar to violin ones.

From the middle of the 16th century. The violin is established in musical practice as a solo and ensemble instrument. Many generations of craftsmen worked to improve the design and improve the sound qualities of the violin. History has preserved the names of A. and N. Amati, A. and D. Guarneri, A. Stradivari - outstanding Italian masters of the late 16th - early 18th centuries, who created examples of violins that are still considered unsurpassed.

The body of the violin has a characteristic oval shape with notches on the sides. The shell connects the two soundboards of the instrument (special holes are cut on the top - f-holes). There are 4 strings stretched over the neck, tuned in fifths.

The violin's range covers 4 octaves; however, harmonics can also be used to produce a number of higher sounds.

The violin is a predominantly single-voice instrument. However, it can produce harmonious intervals and even 4-note chords.

The timbre of the violin is melodious, rich in sound and dynamic shades, and its expressiveness is close to the human voice. To change the timbre during playing, a mute is sometimes used. The violin, which has exceptional technical agility, is often entrusted with the performance of difficult and fast passages, wide and melodic leaps, various kinds of trills, and tremolos.

ALTO

and the way it is played is very reminiscent of a violin, so if you do not notice the difference in size (and this is very difficult to do: the viola is noticeably larger than the violin), then they can easily be confused. It is believed that the timbre of the viola is inferior to the violin in brilliance and brightness. However, this instrument also has its own unique advantages: it is indispensable in music of an elegiac, dreamy-romantic nature. In terms of virtuosity, the viola is almost as perfect as the violin, but the large size of the viola requires the performer to have appropriate finger stretching and physical strength.

The viola did not immediately receive its rightful role among the instruments of the orchestra. After the heyday of the polyphonic school of Bach and Handel, when the viola was an equal member of the string group, he began to be assigned a subordinate harmonic voice. In those days, violists usually became unsuccessful violinists. In the works of Gluck, Haydn and partly Mozart, the viola is used only as the middle or lower voice of the orchestra. Only in the works of Beethoven and romantic composers does the viola acquire the significance of a melodic instrument.

The viola owes its recognition largely to the outstanding violinists of the last century, especially Paganini, who played the viola in a quartet and performed in a recital. Later, Berlioz introduces the solo viola part into his symphony “Harold in Italy”, entrusting him with the characterization of Harold. After this, the attitude of composers and performers towards the viola began to change. Wagner in "Tannhäuser", in the scene called "Grotto of Venus", writes for the viola an incredibly difficult part for that time. R. Strauss interprets the solo viola even more masterfully in the symphonic film “Don Quixote”. Violas are often assigned the melodic voice together with cellos, violins, or completely independently, as, for example, in the second act of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Golden Cockerel” during the dance of the Shemakhan Queen.

CELLO

entered musical life in the second half of the 16th century. It owes its creation to the art of such outstanding instrumental masters as Magini, Gasparo de Salo, and later Amati and Stradivari. Like the viola, the cello has long been considered a secondary instrument in the orchestra. Until the end of the 18th century, composers used it mainly as a bass voice, and at the very beginning of the century before last, in connection with this, the cello and double bass parts were written in the score on one line.

The cello is twice the size of the viola, its bow is shorter than the violin and viola, and the strings are much longer. The cello is one of the “foot” instruments: the performer places it between his knees, resting the metal spike on the floor.

Beethoven was the first to “discover” the beauty of cello timbre. Following him, composers turned her sound into the singing voice of an orchestra - remember the second movement of Tchaikovsky's VI Symphony.

Often in operas, ballets and symphonic works the cello is assigned a solo - as, for example, in R. Strauss' Don Quixote. In the number of concert works written for her, the cello is second only to the violin.

Like the violin and viola, the cello has four strings tuned in fifths, but an octave lower than the viola strings. In terms of technical capabilities, the cello is not inferior to the violin, and in some cases even surpasses it. For example, due to the longer strings of a cello, it can be used to produce a richer series of harmonics.

DOUBLE BASS

is much superior to its counterparts both in size and in the volume of the low register: the double bass is twice the size of the cello, which is twice the size of the viola.

Most likely, the double bass, a descendant of the ancient viol, appeared in the orchestra in the 17th century. The shape of the double bass has retained the features of an ancient viol to this day: a body pointed at the top, sloping sides - thanks to this, the performer can lean over the upper part of the body and “reach” the bottom of the neck to extract the highest sounds. The instrument is so large that the performer plays it standing or sitting on a high stool.

In terms of virtuosity, the modern double bass is quite agile: often, together with cellos, fairly fast passages are performed on it. But “thanks to” its size, it requires a huge stretch of the fingers, and its bow is very heavy. All this makes the instrument's technique heavier: passages that require lightness sound somewhat ponderous on it. Nevertheless, his role in the orchestra is enormous: invariably performing the bass voice parts, he creates the foundation for the sound of the string group, and together with the bassoon and tuba or third trombone, the entire orchestra. In addition, the double basses sound perfectly in octave with the cellos in the melodies.

In an orchestra, double basses are very rarely divided into several parts or performed solos on them.

Brass

PIPE

joined the opera orchestra from its inception; Monteverdi's Orpheus already featured five trumpets.

In the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries, very virtuoso and high tessitura parts were written for trumpets, the prototype of which were the soprano parts in the vocal and instrumental works of that time. To perform these most difficult parts, musicians from the times of Purcell, Bach and Handel used natural instruments common in that era with a long tube and a special mouthpiece that made it possible to easily extract the highest overtones. A trumpet with such a mouthpiece was called “clarino”; the writing style for it received the same name in the history of music.

In the second half of the 18th century, with changes in orchestral writing, the clarino style was forgotten, and the trumpet became primarily a fanfare instrument. It was limited in its capabilities like the horn, and found itself in an even worse position, since “closed sounds” that expand the scale were not used on it because of their bad timbre. But in the thirties of the 19th century, with the invention of the valve mechanism, a new era began in the history of the pipe. It became a chromatic instrument and after a few decades replaced the natural trumpet from the orchestra.

The timbre of the trumpet is not typical for lyricism, but it succeeds in heroics in the best possible way. Among the Viennese classics, trumpets were a purely fanfare instrument. They often performed the same functions in the music of the 19th century, announcing the beginning of processions, marches, solemn festivals and hunts. Wagner used pipes more than others and in a new way. Their timbre is almost always associated in his operas with knightly romance and heroism.

The trumpet is famous not only for its power of sound, but also for its outstanding virtuoso qualities.

TROMBONE

takes its name from the Italian name for trumpet - tromba - with the magnifying suffix "one": trombone literally means "trumpet". And indeed: the trombone tube is twice as long as the trumpet. Already in the 16th century, the trombone received its modern form and from the moment of its inception was a chromatic instrument. The full chromatic scale is achieved on it not through a valve mechanism, but using the so-called backstage. The link is a long additional tube, shaped like the Latin letter U. It is inserted into the main tube and extended if desired. In this case, the pitch of the instrument decreases accordingly. The performer pushes the slide down with his right hand and supports the instrument with his left.

Trombones have long been a “family” of instruments of various sizes. Not so long ago, the trombone family consisted of three instruments; each of them corresponded to one of the three voices of the choir and received its name: alto trombone, tenor trombone, bass trombone.

Playing the trombone requires a huge amount of air, as moving the slide takes longer than pressing the valves on a horn or trumpet. Technically, the trombone is less agile than its neighbors in the group: its scale is not so fast and clear, the forte is a bit heavy, the legato is difficult. Cantilena on the trombone requires a lot of effort from the performer. However, this instrument has qualities that make it indispensable in an orchestra: the sound of the trombone is more powerful and masculine. Monteverdi, in the opera "Orpheus", perhaps for the first time felt the tragic character inherent in the sound of the trombone ensemble. And starting with Gluck, three trombones became mandatory in the opera orchestra; they often appear at the climax of the drama.

The trombone trio is good at oratorical phrases. Since the second half of the 19th century, the trombone group has been supplemented by a bass instrument - the tuba. Together, three trombones and a tuba form a “heavy brass” quartet.

A very unique effect is possible on the trombone - glissando. It is achieved by sliding the backstage at one position of the performer's lips. This technique was already known to Haydn, who in his oratorio “The Seasons” used it to imitate the barking of dogs. In modern music, glissando is used quite widely. The deliberately howling and rough glissando of the trombone in the “Sabre Dance” from the ballet “Gayane” by Khachaturian is curious. Also interesting is the effect of a trombone with a mute, which gives the instrument an ominous, bizarre sound.

FRENCH HORN

The metal tube of the ancient horn was very long: when unfolded, some of them reached 5m 90cm. It was impossible to hold such an instrument straight in your hands; Therefore, the horn tube was bent and given a graceful shape, similar to a shell.

The sound of the ancient horn was very beautiful, but the instrument turned out to be limited in its sound capabilities: it could only produce the so-called natural scale, that is, those sounds that arise from dividing a column of air enclosed in a tube into 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. parts. According to legend, in 1753 the Dresden horn player Gampel accidentally put his hand into the bell and discovered that the horn's tuning had dropped. Since then, this technique has been widely used. Sounds obtained in this way were called “closed”. But they were dull and very different from the bright open ones. Not all composers risked turning to them often, usually being satisfied with short, good-sounding fanfare motifs built on open sounds.

In 1830, the valve mechanism was invented - a permanent system of additional tubes that allows the horn to produce a full, good-sounding chromatic scale. After several decades, the improved horn finally replaced the old natural one, which was last used by Rimsky-Korsakov in the opera “May Night” in 1878.

The horn is considered the most poetic instrument in the brass group. In the low register the horn timbre is somewhat gloomy, in the upper register it is very tense. The horn can sing or slowly narrate. The horn quartet sounds very softly - you can hear it in the "Waltz of the Flowers" from the ballet "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky.

TUBA

Quite a young instrument. It was built in the second quarter of the 19th century in Germany. The first tubas were imperfect and were initially used only in military and garden orchestras. Only when it came to France, into the hands of instrumental master Adolphe Sax, did the tuba begin to meet the high demands of the symphony orchestra.

The tuba is a bass instrument that can cover the lowest range of the brass band. In the past, its functions were performed by the serpent, a bizarrely shaped instrument that owes its name to it (in all Romance languages, serpent means “snake”), then the bass and contrabass trombones and the ophicleide with its barbaric timbre. But the sound qualities of all these instruments were such that they did not give the brass band a good, stable bass. Until the tuba appeared, the masters persistently searched for a new instrument.

The dimensions of the tuba are very large, its tube is twice as long as the trombone tube. While playing, the performer holds the instrument in front of him with the bell facing upward.

Tuba is a chromatic instrument. The air consumption on the tube is enormous; sometimes, especially in forte in the low register, the performer is forced to change his breathing on each sound. Therefore, solos on this instrument are usually quite short. Technically, the tube is movable, although it is heavy. In an orchestra, she usually serves as bass in a trombone trio. But sometimes the tuba acts as a solo instrument, so to speak, in character roles. Thus, when orchestrating Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” in the play “Cattle”, Ravel assigned the bass tuba to a humorous image of a rattling cart dragging along the road. The tuba part wrote here in a very high register.

SAXOPHONE

Having begun its existence in the military brass bands of France, the saxophone was soon introduced into the opera and symphony orchestras. For a very long time - several decades - only French composers turned to him: Thomas ("Hamlet"), Massenet ("Werther"), Bizet ("Arlesienne"), Ravel (instrumentation of "Katrinok at an Exhibition" by Mussorgsky). Then composers from other countries also believed in him: Rachmaninov, for example, entrusted the saxophone with one of his best melodies in the first part of the Symphonic Dances.

It is curious that on its unusual path the saxophone also had to face obscurantism: in Germany during the years of fascism it was banned as an instrument of non-Aryan origin.

In the tenth years of the 20th century, musicians from jazz ensembles drew attention to the saxophone, and soon the saxophone became the “king of jazz.”

Many composers of the 20th century appreciated this interesting instrument. Debussy wrote a Rhapsody for saxophone and orchestra, Glazunov wrote a Concerto for saxophone and orchestra, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Khachaturian repeatedly addressed him in their works.

Drums

Timpani

One of the most ancient instruments in the world. Since ancient times, they were widespread in many countries: in the East and Africa, in Greece, in Rome and among the Scythians. People played the timpani to accompany important events in their lives: holidays and wars.

Small, hand-held timpani have long been used in Europe. Medieval knights used them while riding a horse. Large timpani entered Europe only in the 15th century - through Turkey and Hungary. In the 17th century, timpani entered the orchestra.

Modern timpani look like large copper cauldrons on a stand, covered with leather. The skin is pulled tightly onto the boiler using several screws. They hit the skin with two sticks with soft round felt tips.

Unlike other percussion instruments with leather, timpani produce a sound of a certain pitch. Each timpani is tuned to a specific tone, so in order to get two sounds, orchestras began to use a pair of timpani in the 17th century. The timpani can be rebuilt: to do this, the performer must tighten or loosen the skin with screws: the greater the tension, the higher the tone. However, this operation is time-consuming and risky during execution. Therefore, in the 19th century, masters invented mechanical timpani that could be quickly adjusted using levers or pedals.

The role of timpani in an orchestra is quite varied. Their beats emphasize the rhythm of other instruments, forming either simple or intricate rhythmic figures. Rapid alternation of strokes of both sticks (tremolo) produces an effective increase in sound or reproduction of thunder. Haydn also depicted thunderclaps using timpani in The Four Seasons. Shostakovich in the Ninth Symphony makes the timpani imitate cannonade. Sometimes the timpani are assigned small melodic solos, as, for example, in the first movement of Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony.

DISHES

were already known to the ancient world and the ancient East, but the Turks were famous for their special love and exceptional art of making them. In Europe, plates became popular in the 18th century, after the war with the Ottomans.

Plates are large metal dishes made from copper alloys. The cymbals are slightly convex in the center - leather straps are attached here so that the performer can hold the instrument in his hands. Cymbals are played standing up so that nothing interferes with their vibration and so that the sound travels freely in the air. The usual way of playing this instrument is an oblique, sliding blow of one cymbal against another - after this there is a ringing metallic splash that hangs in the air for a long time. If the performer wants to stop the vibration of the cymbals, he brings them to his chest and the vibrations cease. Often composers accompany the crash of the cymbals with the thunder of a bass drum; these instruments often sound together, as, for example, in the first bars of the finale of Tchaikovsky’s IV Symphony. In addition to the oblique blow, there are several other ways of playing cymbals: when, for example, a freely hanging cymbal is struck either with a timpani stick or with wooden snare drum sticks.

A symphony orchestra usually uses one pair of cymbals. In rare cases - as, for example, in Berlioz's "Funeral-Triumphal Symphony", three pairs of plates are used.

XYLOPHONE,

apparently born at the moment when primitive man hit a dry wooden block with a stick and heard the sound of a certain tone. Many such primitive wooden xylophones have been found in South America, Africa and Asia. In Europe, from the 15th century, this instrument fell into the hands of traveling musicians and only at the beginning of the 19th century it became a concert instrument. He owes his improvement to the Mogilev musician, self-taught dulcimer player Mikhail Iosifovich Guzikov.

The sounding body in a xylophone is wooden blocks of different sizes (xylon means “wood” in Greek, phone means “sound”). They are arranged in four rows on strands of matting. The performer can roll them up and lay them out on a special table during the game; They play the xylophone with two wooden sticks - “goat legs”. The xylophone sound is dry, clicking and sharp. It is very characteristic in color, so its appearance in a piece of music is usually associated with a special plot situation or a special mood. Rimsky-Korsakov in “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” entrusts the xylophone with the song “Whether in the garden or in the vegetable garden” at the moment when a squirrel is gnawing on golden nuts. Lyadov uses the sounds of a xylophone to depict the flight of Baba Yaga in a mortar, trying to convey the crackling of broken branches. Often the timbre of a xylophone evokes a gloomy mood and creates bizarre, grotesque images. The short phrases of the xylophone in the “invasion episode” from Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony sound melancholic.

The xylophone is a very virtuoso instrument. It allows for greater fluency in fast passages, tremolo and a special effect - glissando: rapid movement of the stick along the bars.

SNARE DRUM

It is basically a military tool. It is a flat cylinder covered with leather on both sides. Strings are stretched under the skin on the underside; responding to the blows of the sticks, they give the sound of the drum a characteristic crackling sound. The drum roll sounds very interesting - a tremolo with two sticks, which can be brought to extreme speed. The strength of the sound in such a tremolo varies from a rustle to a thunderous crack. The overture to Rossini's "The Thieving Magpie" begins with the roll of two snare drums; the dull beat of the snare drum is heard at the moment of the execution of Till Eulenspiegel in the symphonic poem by Richard Strauss.

Sometimes the strings under the bottom skin of the drum are lowered and they stop responding to the blows of the sticks. This effect is equivalent to introducing a mute: the snare drum loses the power of sound. This is how it sounds in the dance section “Tsarevich and Princess” in “Scheherazade” by Rimsky-Korsakov.

The snare drum first appeared in small opera in the 19th century, and at first it was introduced only in military episodes. Meyerbeer was the first to introduce the snare drum beyond military episodes in the operas “The Huguenots” and “The Prophet.”

In some cases, the snare drum becomes the “main character” not only in large symphonic episodes, but also in the whole work. Examples include the “invasion episode” from Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony and Ravel’s “Bolero,” where one and then two snare drums hold the entire rhythmic pulse of the music.

Big drum (Italian gran casso).

Nowadays there are two types of bass drum. One of them is a metal cylinder of large diameter - up to 72 cm - covered with leather on both sides. This type of bass drum is common in military bands, jazz bands, and symphony orchestras in America. Another type of drum is a hoop with skin on one side. It originated in France and quickly spread to symphony orchestras in Europe. To strike the skin of the bass drum, a wooden stick with a soft mallet covered with felt or cork is used.

Very often the beats of the bass drum are accompanied by the ringing of cymbals or alternate with it, as in the rapid dance “In the Cave of the Mountain King” from Grieg’s “Peer Gynt.” On a bass drum, rapid alternation of strokes - tremolo - is also possible. To do this, use a stick with two mallets at both ends or timpani sticks. The bass drum tremolo was very successfully used by Rimksy-Korsakov in the instrumentation of Mussorgsky's symphonic film "Night on Bald Mountain".

At first, the big drum appeared only in “Turkish music,” but from the beginning of the 19th century it was often used for sound-representative purposes: to imitate cannonades and thunderclaps. Beethoven included three large drums in the “Battle of Vittoria” to depict cannon shots. For the same purpose, Rimsky-Korsakov used this instrument in “The Tale of Tsar Saltan,” Shostakovich in the Eleventh Symphony, and Prokofiev in the eighth scene of the opera “War and Peace” (the beginning of the Battle of Borodino). At the same time, the big drum also sounds where there is no onomatopoeia and especially often in noisy, solemn episodes of music.

TRIANGLE

one of the smallest instruments in a symphony orchestra. It is a steel rod bent in the shape of a triangle. They hang it on a gut string and hit it with a small metal stick - a ringing, very clear sound is heard.

The ways to play the triangle are not very diverse. Sometimes only one sound is produced on it, sometimes simple rhythmic patterns are produced. Sounds good on a tremolo triangle.

The triangle was first mentioned in the 15th century. In the 18th century it was used in opera by the composer Grétry. Then the triangle became an invariable participant in the “Turkish”, i.e. exotic music, appearing along with a bass drum and cymbals. This group of percussion was used by Mozart in “The Abduction from the Seraglio”, Beethoven in the “Turkish March” from “The Ruins of Athens” and some other composers who sought to reproduce the musical image of the East. The triangle is also interesting in elegant dance pieces: in “Anitra’s Dance” from Grieg’s “Peer Gynt”, Glinka’s “Waltz-Fantasy”.

BELLS,

probably the most poetic instrument from the group of drums. Its name comes from its ancient variety, where the sounding body was small bells tuned to a certain pitch. Later they were replaced by a set of metal plates of different sizes. They are arranged in two rows, like piano keys, and mounted in a wooden box. The bells are played with two metal mallets. There is another variety of this instrument: keyboard bells. They have a piano keyboard and hammers that transmit vibrations from the keys to metal plates. However, this chain of mechanisms does not reflect very well on their sound: it is not as bright and ringing as on ordinary bells. However, while inferior to hammer bells in the beauty of sound, keyboards are technically superior. Thanks to the piano keyboard, fairly fast passages and polyphonic chords are possible on them. The timbre of the bells is silvery, gentle and ringing. They sound in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" during Papageno's entrance, in the aria with bells in Delibes' "Lakmé", in Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Snow Maiden", when Mizgir, pursuing the Snow Maiden, sees the lights of fireflies, in "The Golden Cockerel" when the Astrologer enters.

BELLS

Since ancient times, the ringing of bells has called people to religious ceremonies and holidays, and also announced misfortunes. With the development of opera, with the appearance of historical and patriotic subjects in it, composers began to introduce bells into the opera house. The sounds of bells in Russian opera are especially richly represented: the solemn ringing in “Ivan Susanin”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “The Woman of Pskov” and “Boris Godunov” (in the coronation scene), the alarming alarm bell in “Prince Igor”, the funeral chime in “ Boris Godunov." All of these operas featured real church bells, which are placed behind the stage in large opera houses. However, not every opera house could afford to have its own belfry, so composers only occasionally introduced small bells into the orchestra - as Tchaikovsky did in the 1812 Overture. Meanwhile, with the development of program music, the need increasingly arose to imitate the ringing of bells in a symphony orchestra - so, after a while, orchestral bells were created - a set of steel pipes suspended from a frame. In Russia these bells are called Italian. Each of the pipes is tuned to a specific tone; hit them with a metal hammer with a rubber gasket.

Orchestral bells were used by Puccini in the opera “Tosca”, Rachmaninov in the vocal-symphonic poem “The Bells”. Prokofiev in "Alexander Nevsky" replaced the pipes with long metal bars.

Tambourine (tambourine)

One of the oldest instruments in the world, the tambourine, appeared in the symphony orchestra in the 19th century. The design of this instrument is very simple: as a rule, it is a wooden hoop with leather stretched over one side. Metal trinkets are attached to the slot of the hoop (on the side), and small bells are strung inside, on a star-shaped string. All this rings at the slightest shaking of the tambourine.

The part of the tambourine, as well as other drums that do not have a certain pitch, is usually written not on a staff, but on a separate ruler, which is called a “thread”.

The techniques for playing the tambourine are very diverse. First of all, these are sharp blows on the skin and beating complex rhythmic patterns on it. In these cases, both the skin and the bells make sound. When struck strongly, the tambourine rings sharply; when touched lightly, a slight tinkling of bells is heard. There are many ways when the performer makes only one bell sound. This is a rapid shaking of the tambourine - it gives a piercing tremolo; this is a gentle shaking; and finally, a spectacular trill is heard when the performer runs a wet thumb over the skin: this technique causes the lively ringing of bells.

The tambourine is a characteristic instrument, so it is not used in every work. Usually he appears where the East or Spain should come to life in music: in “Scheherazade” and in “Capriccio Espagnol” by Rimsky-Korsakov, in the dance of Arab boys in the ballet “Raymonda” by Glazunov, in the temperamental dances of the Polovtsians in “Prince Igor” by Borodin, in "Carmen" by Bizet.

CASTANETS

The name "CASTANETS" means "little chestnuts" in Spanish. Spain, most likely, was their homeland; there castanets turned into a real national instrument. Castanets are made from hard wood: ebony or boxwood; castanets are shaped like shells.

In Spain, two pairs of castanets were used to accompany dancing and singing; each pair was held together by a cord that was tightened around the thumb. The remaining fingers, remaining free, tapped intricate rhythms on the wooden shells. Each hand required its own size of castanets: in the left hand the performer held shells of large volume, they emitted a lower tone and had to tap out the main rhythm. Castanets for the right hand were smaller; their tone was higher. Spanish dancers and dancers were fluent in this complex art, which they had been taught since childhood. The dry, perky clicking of castanets always accompanied the temperamental Spanish dances: bolero, seguidillo, fandango.

When composers wanted to introduce castanets into symphonic music, a simplified version of this instrument was designed - orchestral castanets. These are two pairs of shells mounted on the ends of a wooden handle. When they are shaken, a clicking sound is heard - a weak copy of real Spanish castanets.

In the orchestra, castanets began to be used primarily in music of a Spanish nature: in Glinka's Spanish overtures "The Aragonese Hunt" and "Night in Madrid", in Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol", in Spanish dances from Tchaikovsky's ballets, and in Western music - in " Carmen" by Bizet, in the symphonic works "Iberia" by Debussy, "Alborada del Gracioso" by Ravel. Some composers took castanets beyond the scope of Spanish music: Saint-Saëns used them in the opera Samson and Dalida, Prokofiev - in the third piano concerto.

FRUSTA

consists of two wooden planks, one of which has a handle, and the second is fixed at the lower end above the handle on a hinge - when swung sharply or with the help of a tight spring, it makes a clap with its free end against the other. As a rule, only individual forte, fortissimo pops, not too often following one after another, are extracted from frust.

Frusta is a percussion instrument that does not have a specific pitch, so its part, like the tambourine part, is not written on a stave, but on a “string”.

Frusta is quite common in modern scores. The third movement of “Lorelei” from Shostakovich’s Fourteenth Symphony begins with two claps on this instrument.

WOOD BLOCK

Percussion instrument of Chinese origin. Before its appearance in the percussion section of a symphony orchestra, the wood block was very popular in jazz.

A wood block is a small rectangular block of hard wood with a deep, narrow cutout on the front side. The technique of playing the wood block is drumming: the sound is produced by hitting the upper plane of the instrument with snare drum sticks, wooden mallets, and sticks with rubber heads. The resulting sound is sharp, high-pitched, characteristically clicking, and indefinite in pitch.

As a percussion instrument of indefinite pitch, the wood block is notated on a “string” or a combination of rulers.

TEMPLE BLOCK

An instrument of Korean or North Chinese origin, an attribute of the Buddhist cult. The instrument has a round shape, is hollow inside, with a deep cut in the middle (like a laughing mouth), and is made of hard wood.

Like most other “exotic” percussion instruments, the temple block first spread in jazz, from where it entered the symphony orchestra.

The sound of the temple block is darker and deeper than that of the wood block, which is closely related to it, and has a fairly definite pitch, so that, using a set of temple blocks, you can get melodic phrases - for example, S. Slonimsky used these instruments in the “Concert” -buff".

They play temple blocks by hitting the top cover with sticks with rubber heads, wooden mallets and snare drum sticks.

GUIRO, reco-reco

These instruments are of Latin American origin; they are similar both in their design principle and in the way they are played.

They are made from a segment of bamboo (reco-reco), from a dried pumpkin (guiro), or from another hollow object that serves as a resonator. A series of notches or notches are made on one side of the tool. In some cases, a plate with a corrugated surface is mounted. A special wooden stick is passed along these notches, resulting in a high, sharp sound with a characteristic crackling sound. The most common variety of these related instruments is the guiro. I. Stravinsky was the first to introduce this instrument into the symphony orchestra - in The Rite of Spring. Reco-reco is found in Slonimsky's Concert-Buff.

MARACA

is a round or egg-shaped wooden rattle with a handle and filled with shot, grains, pebbles or other bulk materials. These folk instruments are usually made from a coconut or a hollow dried gourd with a natural handle. Maracas are very popular in dance music orchestras and jazz. S. Prokofiev was the first to use this instrument as part of a symphony orchestra ("Dance of the Antillean Girls" from the ballet "Romeo and Juliet", cantata "Alexander Nevsky"). Nowadays, a pair of instruments is usually used - the performer holds them in both hands and, shaking them, produces a sound. Like other percussion instruments without a specific pitch, the maracas is notated on a "string". According to the principle of sound production, maracas are close to chocalos and camezos. These are metal - chekalo - or wooden - cameso cylinders, filled, like maracas, with some kind of granular substance. Some models have a side wall covered with a leather membrane. Both cecala and camezo sound louder and sharper than maracas. They are also held with both hands, shaken vertically or horizontally, or rotated.

KABATSA

Initially, this instrument of Afro-Brazilian origin was popular in Latin American music orchestras, from where it received its further distribution. Externally, the kabatsa resembles a twice enlarged maracas, covered with a mesh with large beads strung on it. The performer holds the instrument in one hand and either simply hits it with the fingers of the other hand, or with a tangential movement of the palm he scrolls through a grid of beads. In the latter case, a rustling, longer sound appears, reminiscent of the sound of maracas. Slonimsky was one of the first to use kabatsu in the Concert Buff.

CONGES

This instrument is of Cuban origin. After modernization, congas began to be widely used in dance music orchestras, jazz, and even in works of serious music. Kongs have the following structure: leather is stretched over a wooden cylindrical body (17 to 22 cm high) and secured with a metal hoop (its tension is adjusted from the inside with screws). The metal rim does not rise above the level of the skin: this is what determines such a characteristic conga playing with the palms - con le mani or the fingers - con le dita. Two congas with different diameters are usually connected to each other by a common holder. The smaller conga sounds about a third higher than the wider one. The conga sound is high, specifically “empty” and changes depending on the place and method of impact.

Singles

HARP

One of the oldest musical instruments of mankind. It came from a bow with a stretched string, which sounded melodiously when fired. Later, the sound of the bowstring began to be used as a signal. The man who first pulled three or four strings onto a bow, which, due to their unequal length, produced sounds of different pitches, became the creator of the first harp. Even on Egyptian frescoes of the 15th century BC, harps still resemble a bow. And these harps are not the most ancient: archaeologists found the oldest during excavations of the Sumerian city of Ur in Mesopotamia - it was made four and a half thousand years ago, in the 26th century BC.

In ancient times in the East, Greece and Rome, the harp remained one of the most common and favorite instruments. It was often used to accompany singing or playing other instruments. The harp also appeared early in medieval Europe: here Ireland was famous for its special art of playing it, where folk singers - bards - sang their sagas to its accompaniment.

Harp is a plucked string instrument. It is believed that she surpasses all her neighbors in the orchestra in the beauty of her appearance. Its graceful outlines hide the shape of a triangle, and the metal frame is decorated with carvings. Strings (47-48) of different lengths and thicknesses are pulled onto the frame, which form a transparent mesh. At the beginning of the 19th century, the ancient harp was improved by the famous piano maker Erard. He found a way to quickly change the length of the strings and thereby the pitch of the harp.

The virtuoso capabilities of the harp are quite unique: it perfectly manages wide chords, passages of arpeggias, glissando - sliding the hand along all the strings tuned to some chord, harmonics.

The role of the harp in the orchestra is not so much emotional as it is colorful. The harp often accompanies the various instruments of the orchestra; other times she is given spectacular solos. There are many of them in the ballets of Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and in the works of Rimsky-Korsakov. Of the Western European composers of the 19th century, the harp was most widely used by Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Wagner and Liszt. The famous part of two harps in the "Waltz" from Berlioz's "Symphony Fantastique" laid the foundation for the virtuoso style that has become leading in the last three centuries. Previously, from its appearance in the symphony orchestra of the 18th century until Berlioz, the harp imitated the sound of a lute, guitar (like Glinka’s in “The Aragonese Hunt”) or harpsichord. The harp was also used in cases where it was necessary to evoke an association with antiquity. Examples include Gluck's Orpheus or Beethoven's Prometheus.

An orchestra usually uses one or two harps, but in some cases their number increases. Thus, in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Mlada” there are three harps, and in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” there are six.

PIANO

The source of sound in a PIANO is metal strings, which begin to sound when struck by felt-covered wooden hammers, and the hammers are activated by pressing the fingers on the keys.

The first keyboard instruments, known already at the beginning of the 15th century, were the harpsichord and clavichord (clavicembalo in Italian). On the clavichord, the strings were vibrated by metal levers - tangents, on the harpsichord - by crow feathers, and later - by metal hooks. The sound of these instruments was dynamically monotonous and faded quickly.

The first hammer piano, so named because it played both forte and piano sounds, was most likely built by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1709. This new instrument quickly gained recognition and, after many improvements, became the modern concert grand piano. A piano was built for home music playing in 1826.

The piano is widely known as a solo concert instrument. But sometimes it also performs as an ordinary orchestra instrument. Russian composers, starting with Glinka, began to introduce a grand piano (piano part) into the orchestra, sometimes together with a harp, in order to recreate the sonority of the gusli. This is how it is used in Bayan’s songs in Glinka’s “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, in “Sadko” and in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “May Night”. Sometimes the piano reproduces the sound of a bell, as in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov. But it doesn’t always just imitate other timbres. Some composers use it in the orchestra as a decorative instrument, capable of introducing sonority and new colors into the orchestra. Thus, Debussy wrote a piano part for four hands in the symphonic suite “Spring”. Finally, it is sometimes seen as a kind of percussion instrument with a strong, dry tone. The poignant, grotesque scherzo in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 exemplifies this.

ORGAN

The keyboard wind instrument - ORGAN - was known back in ancient times. In ancient organs, air was pumped manually using bellows. In medieval Europe, the organ became an instrument of church worship. It was in the spiritual environment of the 17th century that organ polyphonic art arose, the best representatives of which were Frescobaldi, Bach and Handel.

The organ is a gigantic instrument with many different tones.

“This is a whole orchestra, which in skillful hands can convey everything, express everything,” Balzac wrote about him. Indeed, the range of the organ exceeds the range of all orchestra instruments combined. The organ includes bellows for supplying air, a system of pipes of various designs and sizes (in modern organs the number of pipes reaches 30,000), several manual keyboards and a foot pedal. The largest pipes reach a height of 10 meters or more, the height of the smallest is 8 millimeters. This or that sound color depends on their device.

A set of pipes of a single timbre is called a register. Large cathedral organs have more than a hundred registers: in the organ of Notre Dame Cathedral their number reaches 110. The color of the sounds of individual registers resembles the timbre of a flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, and cello. The richer and more varied the registers, the greater the opportunities the performer receives, because the art of organ playing is the art of good registration, i.e. skillful use of all technical resources of the instrument.

In modern orchestral music (especially theatrical music), the organ was primarily used for sound-visual purposes - where it was necessary to reproduce the church atmosphere. Liszt, for example, in the symphonic poem “The Battle of the Huns,” used the organ to contrast the Christian world with the barbarians.

The composition of the symphony orchestra was formed in the era of the Viennese classics.

This was the second half of the 18th - first quarter of the 19th centuries, when the great composers Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven were working. They created that high type of instrumental music in which all the richness of content was embodied in a perfect artistic form - it was a symphony.

Bolshoi Theater Symphony Orchestra
An orchestra is a large group of instrumental musicians. But how big? A large symphony orchestra can have up to 110 musicians, and a small orchestra no more than 50.

Ludwig van Beethoven
The composition of the symphony orchestra evolved gradually from the 16th century. The “classical” composition of the symphony orchestra was formed in the scores of L. van Beethoven (according to modern concepts, it was a small symphony orchestra). But to perform his Ninth Symphony, written in 1824, Beethoven needed an expanded orchestra with some additional instruments - and now it was a large orchestra, with a small flute, contrabassoon, trombones, triangle, cymbals and a bass drum. Some composers include even more instruments to perform their compositions.
The basis of a symphony orchestra is made up of 4 groups of instruments: bowed strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. If necessary, the orchestra also includes other instruments: harp, piano, organ, celesta, harpsichord.
Bowed string instruments: violins, violas, cellos, double basses.
Woodwinds: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone with all their varieties, as well as a number of folk instruments - balaban, duduk, zhaleika, flute, zurna.
Brass: horn, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, trombone, tuba.

Drums(including noise): timpani, xylophone, vibraphone, bells, drums, triangle, cymbals, tambourine, castanets, tam-tam and others.

Symphony orchestra musicians' seating arrangement

The conductor decides how to seat the orchestra. He also owns the artistic interpretation of the work.
On the console in front of the conductor lies score(full musical notation of all parts of orchestral instruments).
Parts of instruments in each group are recorded one after another, starting with the highest sounding instruments and ending with the lowest.

The arrangement of performers in a modern symphony orchestra is aimed at achieving a coherent sonority. In 50-70 years. XX century most widespread "American seating": the first and second violins are placed to the left of the conductor; on the right are violas and cellos; in the depths there are woodwinds and brass winds, double basses; on the left are drums.
There is also "German seating". Its difference from the “American” one is that the cellos change places with the second violins, and the double basses are on the left. The brass instruments are to the right, at the back of the stage, and the horns move to the left. The drums are closer to the right wing.

Appendix 2. Musical instruments of a symphony orchestra

The basis of a symphony orchestra is stringed musical instruments. Sometimes this group is also called a string-bow group, since the sound is produced by a bow, which the performer moves along the strings. All instruments of the string group - violin, viola, cello and double bass - have such remarkable qualities as length of sound, softness and evenness of timbre. The violin “sings” in a high voice, the double bass in the lowest, while the viola and cello touch the listeners with their voices in the middle registers.

AND . Strings

All over the world, the violin is considered the queen of music, because it is the most common bowed instrument. Italy became famous for its best violins. Outstanding masters Dmati, Guarneri, and Stradivari worked here. They passed on the secrets of making this musical instrument to their family members from generation to generation.

The violin has an elegant body. There are cutouts on the top soundboard - f-holes, which are called so for their resemblance to the Latin letter f. A neck with a curl at the end is attached to the body. Inside the body there is a stand on two legs, through which four strings are stretched (E, A, D and G). During performance, the violinist changes the pitch of the sound by pressing the string to the fingerboard with the fingers of his left hand, and holds the bow in his right hand, which he moves along the strings.

Many different works have been written for the violin by outstanding composers: A. Vivaldi, L. van Beethoven, P. Tchaikovsky, N. Pokoricom and others. The Italian violinist Niccolo Paganini gained fame as an unsurpassed virtuoso.

ALT is a string-bowed musical instrument of the same structure as a violin, but larger in size. Thanks to this, the viola has a lower register, and the sound is more rich, velvety. Typically a large symphony orchestra has 10 violas.

CELLO is a string-bowed musical instrument of the bass register. It has significantly larger sizes from the violin and viola (total height - up to 1.5 m). The sound of the cello is rich and thick, like a male baritone. Singing melodies most clearly reveal the noble timbre of the cello.

Unlike the violin and viola, which are held horizontally on the shoulder, the cello is placed vertically. In ancient times, this instrument was placed on a chair, and the musician had to play while standing. Subsequently, when a metal spire was invented that rests on the floor, cellists began to perform works while sitting, which was much more convenient.

Many works have been written for the cello, as an independent instrument, in particular, the famous suites by J.-S. Bach, variations by P. Tchaikovsky, concerts for orchestra by A. Dvorak, D. Shostakovich and others.

DOUBLE BASS is the largest string-bowed instrument with a low sound. Double bassists play standing with a bow or pizzicato (plucking the strings with their fingers). This stringed and bowed instrument is used in a variety of genres, in particular, in many types of folk and academic music, jazz, blues, and rock and roll.

HARP - a plucked string instrument The concert harp, which can be seen as part of a large symphony orchestra, is of considerable size. 47 strings of different thicknesses and lengths stretched on a triangular wooden frame 1 m high. Using 7 pedals, the performer (harpist or harpist) changes the pitch of the sound.

The harp has been known in Ukraine since ancient times. On one of the frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv you can see this musical instrument.

The importance of the harp in the orchestra lies primarily in the brightness of its sound. She often accompanies other instruments of the orchestra, sometimes she is “entrusted” with solo parts. There are many of these in the ballets of P. Tchaikovsky, the operas of M. Rimsky-Korsakov and G. Wagner, the symphonic works of G. Berlioz and f. Liszt. The harp concerto was written by the Ukrainian composer A. Kos-Anatolsky.

II. Woodwinds

FLUTE is one of the oldest instruments, as well as a common name for some wind instruments. A symphony orchestra usually uses a transverse flute, sometimes a piccolo flute. The performer - a flutist or flutist - holds the instrument horizontally. The nature of the sound of the flute is quite high, elegant, melodic, poetic, but somewhat cold; flutes are now made of a silver-zinc alloy, less often - of precious metal (silver, gold and platinum), and even less often - of wood or glass.

OBOE - a woodwind instrument, is a straight conical tube made of ebony or tukwood (about 60 cm). Has 25 holes, 22-24 of which are closed with valves

The oboe is sometimes used as a solo instrument. A symphony orchestra usually plays two or three oboes. One of the first concert pieces for oboe was created by f. Couperin (Royal Concerts). Concertos and pieces for oboe were written by A. Vivaldi, G.-f. Handel, J. Haydn, V. -A. Mozart, C. Saint-Saens and others.

CLANET is an instrument made from noble wood, such as black. It has a wide range, warm and soft timbre. The body of the instrument is a cylindrical tube (about 66 cm), while the oboe has a conical body. The clarinet is used in a wide variety of musical genres and compositions: as a solo instrument, in chamber ensembles, symphony and brass orchestras, folk music, on stage and in jazz. In chamber music the clarinet was used by V. -A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven, f. Schubert, N. Glinka.

BASSON is an instrument made primarily from maple. It has the largest range in its woodwind family (more than 3 octaves). When disassembled, the bassoon resembles a bundle of firewood, which is why it got its name. There are holes on the body of the instrument (about 25-30) that the musician opens and closes to change the pitch of the sound. Only 5-6 holes are controlled by fingers; the rest use a complex valve mechanism.

Typically, a simphonic orchestra uses 2 bassoons; they mainly double as cellos and double basses. Thanks to the bassoon, the melodic line acquires density and coherence. When playing in a high register, mournful intonations are often heard.

Composers of past centuries (I. Haydn, W.-A. Mozart) often gave bassoons solo roles in symphonies. Several concertos were written for two bassoons and orchestra.

III. Brass

The TUBE is an instrument with significant technical agility, performing staccato (intermittent sounds) brightly and quickly. It is a long curved tube that tapers slightly at the mouthpiece and widens near the bell. The basic principle of playing the trumpet is to produce harmonic sounds by changing the position of the lips and changing the length of the air column in the instrument using the valve mechanism (they are pressed with the right hand).

Concertos for trumpet were written by S. Vasilenko, J.-S. Bach, J. Haydn, J. Brahms, B. Bartok, et al.

FRN - an instrument in the form of a twisted copper tube of a ribbed shape (in C m), which ends with a wide bell on one side and a mouthpiece on the other. Among brass instruments it has a soft timbre. The sound can be muffled using a mute (special device).

TROMBONE - an instrument consisting of a double-bent cylindrical pipe (total length about 3 m, diameter 1.5 cm), which ends in a bell. A mouthpiece is installed on the top of the pipe, through which the trombonist blows air. The middle part - the drawstring - is sliding, with its help the musician increases the volume of vibrating air and, accordingly, reduces the sound of the instrument.

TUBA is a rare wind instrument, the lowest in sound. The first tubas were used in military bands, then in symphony orchestras. The first significant symphonic work where the tuba was used was G. Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique. A symphony orchestra uses only one tuba, while a wind orchestra uses two. Tuba performers usually play while sitting, hanging it on suspenders.

Quite a few original solo works have been written for tuba; a significant part of the repertoire consists of adaptations.

IV. Drums

Timpani - an instrument with a certain frequency of sound, which is of Asian origin.

Timpani are a system of two or more copper cauldrons, the open side of which is covered with leather. The main tone of the instrument is determined by the size of the body (varies from 30 to 84 cm). A higher tone is obtained with a smaller instrument. Sticks for playing timpani are made of wood, reed or metal, and tips are made of leather, wood and other materials. Thanks to this, the timpanist can obtain different timbres and sound effects.

In a symphony orchestra, as a rule, instruments of three sizes are used - large, medium and small timpani.

BIG AND SNARE DRUMS The big drum (bass drum) is the largest percussion instrument with a very low and often strong sound of indefinite pitch. It looks like a metal or wooden cylinder covered with leather on both sides (diameter about 1 m). It is played with a wooden stick with a soft tip. A special playing technique, tremolo, is achieved by quickly playing with two sticks. This creates effects ranging from a distant hum to a powerful roar.

A snare drum, or simply a drum, is an instrument with two leather membranes stretched over a low cylinder. Strings are stretched along the lower membrane (in concert - 4-10 strings), which give the sound a dry, roaring tone.

The drum is played with two wooden sticks. A characteristic method of playing is drumming (quick alternation of blows with sticks). The symphony orchestra was introduced in the 19th century; used in war scenes.

TRIANGLE - a tool in the form of a steel rod bent into a triangle (8-10 mm in diameter), which is hung freely and struck with a metal stick. The sound of a triangle is of indefinite height, ringing, brilliant and at the same time gentle.

The triangle can be used to perform both individual rhythmic strokes and tremolo strokes. Initially, the triangle was used primarily in military music, and later in symphonic music.

CASTANETS - an instrument without a specified pitch in the form of two shell plates connected at the top with a rope. The plates have traditionally been made from hardwood, although glass-plastic has recently been used.

Castanets are most often associated with Spanish music, especially the flamenco style. Therefore, this instrument is often used in classical music to create a “Spanish flavor” (for example, in G. Bizet’s opera “Carmen”, “Capriccio Espagnol” by Rimsky-Korsakov and others).

cymbals - an instrument with an indefinite pitch of sound in the form of two disks made of a special alloy (copper, brass, bronze). Plates have been known since the times of Ancient Egypt, India, and China. In a symphony orchestra, paired cymbals are played by striking one with the other in a counter-sliding motion. There is an open blow, in which the cymbals continue to sound freely, and a closed blow, when the performer presses the edges of the cymbals to his shoulders.

The tambourine is a common instrument among many peoples of the world with an indefinite pitch of sound. It looks like a wooden hoop with leather stretched on one side. On the opposite side, strings or wires are pulled on which the bells are hung. Metal rattles are installed in special openings, which are shaped like drum cymbals, only in miniature. Sometimes there are buboes without rattles. The main task in the orchestra is to maintain the tempo and provide a certain color to the music. Playing techniques: palm strikes on the hoop or leather, tremolo. Used mainly in dances and marches.

ORCHESTRA BELLS - an instrument that is a set of 12-18 cylindrical metal tubes (diameter 25-38 mm, suspended in a special frame (height 2 m). The tubes are struck with a hammer, the head of which is covered with leather.

In an orchestra, the instrument is most often used to imitate the ringing of a bell.

BELLS - an instrument that has a certain pitch and consists of a number of metal plates loosely attached to bars in two rows. The arrangement of the records on them is similar to the arrangement of white and black piano keys. They play using special metal hammers or a keyboard mechanism or wooden sticks.

TAM-TAM is an ancient instrument with an indefinite pitch of eastern origin. He joined the symphony orchestra at the end of the 19th century. It looks like a forged metal disk made of a copper alloy. The diameter of a large tam-tam reaches 100-120 cm, and its thickness is 8-10 cm.

The instrument is suspended on a thick string or straps from the hooks of a stable wooden or metal frame. It is played with a wooden drum (sometimes for special effects - with sticks from a snare drum or a triangle). The sound of a tam-tam is low, rich, deep, with a wide sound wave that grows after the impact and then gradually subsides.

V. Keyboards

ORGAN - a keyboard-wind instrument, usually located in Catholic churches, concert halls, and music schools.

Organ sound is created by forcing air into pipes of various diameters, lengths, and materials (metal or wood). The organ is controlled from the gaming table, the control panel, which contains the gaming mechanisms (keys, pedal) and the mechanisms for turning on and off the registers. The organ is played with the participation of both hands and feet of the organist, with (or without) an assistant. The organist has at his disposal one or more manuals (keyboards for the hands) and a pedal (keyboard for the feet).

The organ is used not only as a solo and ensemble instrument, because it combines perfectly with other timbres, with an orchestra and choir. Many famous composers of different times wrote works for the organ. The unsurpassed genius of organ music was J.-S. Bach.

The harpsichord is an ancient keyboard-stringed musical instrument. Its metal strings are snapped into place by a feather or leather plectrum. There are two types of harpsichords: large wing-shaped (vertical or horizontal) and smaller ones - square, rectangular or pentagonal. Instruments of the first type are usually called a harpsichord, and the second - a spinet.

While inferior to the piano in dynamics, the harpsichord had its advantages - it combines perfectly with other instruments and voices, which is important in chamber ensembles.

PIANO (PIANO, GRAND) is a keyboard and percussion instrument common in the world. A grand piano has a frame with strings and a soundboard located horizontally, while a piano has a vertical soundboard. As a result, the grand piano has a wing-like shape and is more bulky than an upright piano. However, the sound of a grand piano is more spacious, fuller, and noisier than that of a piano. As a rule, modern grand pianos have three pedals; they are designed to change the volume, timbre or lengthen the sound (in a piano there are usually two pedals).

The pianists' repertoire is very diverse in genres and styles. “The soul of the piano” was f. Chopin, an outstanding virtuoso pianist - f. Sheet.

An orchestra is a group of musicians playing various instruments. But it should not be confused with an ensemble. This article will tell you what types of orchestras there are. And their compositions of musical instruments will also be sanctified.

Types of orchestras

An orchestra differs from an ensemble in that in the first case, identical instruments are combined into groups that play in unison, that is, one common melody. And in the second case, each musician is a soloist - he plays his own part. "Orchestra" is a Greek word and is translated as "dance floor." It was located between the stage and the audience. The choir was located on this platform. Then it became similar to modern orchestra pits. And over time, musicians began to settle there. And the name “orchestra” went to groups of instrumental performers.

Types of orchestras:

Symphonic.
String.
Wind.
Jazz.
Pop.
Orchestra of folk instruments.
Military.
School.

The composition of the instruments of different types of orchestra is strictly defined. Symphonic consists of a group of strings, percussion and winds. String and brass bands consist of instruments corresponding to their names. Jazz bands can have different compositions. The pop orchestra consists of winds, strings, percussion, keyboards and

Types of choirs

A choir is a large ensemble consisting of singers. There must be at least 12 artists. In most cases, choirs perform accompanied by orchestras. The types of orchestras and choirs differ. There are several classifications. First of all, choirs are divided into types according to their composition of voices. These can be: women's, men's, mixed, children's, and boys' choirs. Based on the manner of performance, they distinguish between folk and academic.

Choirs are also classified according to the number of performers:

12-20 people - vocal and choral ensemble.
20-50 artists - chamber choir.
40-70 singers - average.
70-120 participants - a large choir.
Up to 1000 artists - consolidated (from several groups).

According to their status, choirs are divided into: educational, professional, amateur, church.

Symphony Orchestra

Not all types of orchestras include this group: violins, cellos, violas, double basses. One of the orchestras, which includes a string-bow family, is a symphony. It will consist of several different groups of musical instruments. Today there are two types of symphony orchestras: small and large. The first of them has a classic composition: 2 flutes, the same number of bassoons, clarinets, oboes, trumpets and horns, no more than 20 strings, and occasionally timpani.

It can be of any composition. It can include 60 or more string instruments, tubas, up to 5 trombones of different timbres and 5 trumpets, up to 8 horns, up to 5 flutes, as well as oboes, clarinets and bassoons. It can also include such varieties from the wind group as oboe d'amour, piccolo flute, contrabassoon, English horn, saxophones of all types. It can include a huge number of percussion instruments. Often a large symphony orchestra includes organ, piano, harpsichord and harp.

Brass band

Almost all types of orchestras include a family. This group includes two varieties: copper and wooden. Some types of orchestras consist only of wind and percussion instruments, such as brass and military. In the first variety, the main role belongs to cornets, bugles of various types, tubas, and baritone euphoniums. Secondary instruments: trombones, trumpets, horns, flutes, saxophones, clarinets, oboes, bassoons. If the brass band is large, then, as a rule, all the instruments in it increase in number. Very rarely harps and keyboards may be added.

The repertoire of brass bands includes:

Marches.
European ballroom dancing.
Opera arias.
Symphonies.
Concerts.

Brass bands most often perform in open street areas or accompany the procession, as they sound very powerful and bright.

Folk Instruments Orchestra

Their repertoire includes mainly folk compositions. What is their instrumental composition? Each nation has its own. For example, the Russian orchestra includes: balalaikas, gusli, domras, zhaleikas, whistles, button accordions, rattles, and so on.

Military band

The types of orchestras consisting of wind and percussion instruments have already been listed above. There is another variety that includes these two groups. These are military bands. They are used to voice ceremonies, as well as to participate in concerts. There are two types of military bands. Some also consist of brass instruments. They are called homogeneous. The second type is mixed military bands; they, among other things, include a group of woodwinds.