What is good orchestration?

Answer:

Good orchestration must: Make formal sense: Changes of orchestration must arrive at appropriate places, with appropriate degrees of contrast. Supply sufficient variety and freshness of color to maintain interest. Enhance the phrasing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the oldest orchestra instrument?

Neanderthal Flute

Who was the famed conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra?

Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart will mark his 24th year at the helm of the orchestra. It all began in 1885, thanks to the vision of Civil War veteran Henry Lee Higginson.

What instruments are in a chamber orchestra?

Here are some suggestions of more traditional instruments used for chamber music:String - violin, viola, cello, double bass, classical guitar. Woodwind - flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, recorder. Brass - trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, euphonium.

What H is the only instrument in the orchestral string family with more than four strings?

The double bass is generally tuned in fourths, in contrast to other members of the orchestral string family, which are tuned in fifths (for example, the violin's four strings are, from lowest-pitched to highest-pitched: G–D–A–E).

What does the violin do in an orchestra?

If the string section is the most defining of the orchestra, the violins are generally the most defining members of the string family (don't tell the cellists). The violins carry the melody, particularly the first violins. The second violins will often support the first violins' harmony by playing it in a lower pitch.

What a do European orchestras tune to?

That's because across the world, most orchestras tune to the same A note, using a standard pitch of 440 hertz.

What's the difference between marching band and orchestra?

An orchestra is a large group of musicians which can include even 100 or more members. A band is a small group of musicians which generally includes a lesser number of members than orchestras. Orchestras use four main families of instruments – strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.

19 Related Question Answers Found:

Is a glockenspiel in an orchestra?

Glockenspiel, (German: “set of bells”) (German: “set of bells”) percussion instrument, originally a set of graduated bells, later a set of tuned steel bars (i.e., a metallophone) struck with wood, ebonite, or, sometimes, metal hammers. ... The glockenspiel became part of the orchestra in the 18th century.

What does the flutes do in the orchestra?

As well as being capable of extreme virtuosity the flute can create beautiful sustained melodies. It also blends perfectly with all instruments and spends much of its time providing background colour to foreground activity elsewhere in the orchestra. The flute is the highest pitched instrument of the woodwind section.

How many instruments are in the orchestra?

A modern full-scale symphony orchestra consists of approximately one hundred permanent musicians, most often distributed as follows: 16–18 1st violins, 16 2nd violins, 12 violas, 12 cellos, 8 double basses, 4 flutes (one with piccolo as a specialty), 4 oboes (one with English horn as a specialty), 4 clarinets (one with ...

Does Andre Rieu's wife travel with the orchestra?

The 68-year-old Dutch violinist and conductor juggles spending quality time with his wife, children and grandchildren with his hectic schedule travelling the world with his orchestra – and he has now revealed exactly how he does it and his secret to his blissful happiness with Marjorie, four decades on.

Is there a set layout for an orchestra?

When we think of the 'traditional' layout of an orchestra, we think of the violins directly to the left of the conductor and the violas in the centre, with the woodwind and then the percussion behind them. ... In fact, the second violins used to be seated opposite the first violins, where the cellos normally are.

Are recorders used in orchestras?

In time, the recorder was replaced in the orchestra by woodwind instruments that were newer or being enhanced, such as the oboe and flute. Our contemporary interest in historically informed performance has returned the recorder to the concert stage.

What is the oboe's special role in the orchestra?

In the orchestra, the oboist plays a very important role. The oboe section sits in the center of the orchestra next to the flute section. ... The other key role of the oboe is that it usually carries the melody with its lyrical and mournful color, often heard as the solo instrument in the most emotional sections of music.

How do I get into an orchestra?

The path to obtaining a job in an orchestra is somewhat straightforward. First, you nearly always have to attend a great music school, at least at the Master's degree level. ... Secondly, study with a teacher who either has experience playing in an orchestra OR has had students get placed in an orchestra.Ещё

How old is the orchestra?

People have been putting instruments together in various combinations for millennia, but it wasn't un- til about 400 years ago that musicians started forming combinations that would eventually turn into the modern orchestra. Around 1600 in Italy, the composer Claudio Monteverdi changed that.