Orchestras

Sometimes orchestras are heard but not seen. That's the case when an orchestra is accompanying an opera or a stage play. The orchestra is seated in front of the stage, but below the eye level of the audience, in what's called the "orchestra pit."

Sometimes, though, orchestras are the featured entertainment. They aren't seated in the orchestra pit. They are front and center on the stage. The orchestra itself is the main entertainment attraction.

A full-size orchestra consists of about 100 musicians. An orchestra is sometimes called a "symphony orchestra" or "philharmonic orchestra." The terms don't really designate any musical differences in the groups. The terms are usually used only to distinguish between different musical groups. For example, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra both play essential the same pieces of music. The names simply distinguish between the organizations.

Chamber orchestras might consist of 50 or fewer musicians.

The music played by orchestras is usually classical symphonies and concertos written by composers like Beethoven, Bache, and others.

The typical orchestra is composed equally of four types of musical instruments: woodwinds, brass (horns), percussion, and strings.

The woodwind section is made up of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, and a double bassoon. The brass section is made up of 2 to 8 horns, 2 to 5 trumpets, 2 trombones, 1 bass trombone, and 1 to 2 tubas. The percussion section is made up of varying combinations of a snare drum, a tenor drum, a bass drum, cymbals, triangles, wood blocks, tambourines, marimbas, vibraphones, xylophones, glockenspiels, gongs, tubular bells, and others. The strings section is made up of 1 or more harps, 16 to 30 violins, 8 to 12 violas, 8 to 12 cellos, and 5 to 8 double basses.