Musical journeys: Discovering the orchestra

What is an orchestra?

Cartoon girl thinking hard and scratching her chin as she thinks.

An is a large musical that includes instruments from four families of instruments.

They are:

the string section
the woodwind section
the brass section
the percussion section

An orchestra can have up to 100 players or more. They're led by one person, called a , who makes sure they all play at the correct time.

What are the families of the orchestra?

Each instrument in an orchestral family are related to each other and played in a similar way.

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Image caption,
String family
The string family includes the violin, viola, cello and double bass. These instruments are all played the same way, by bowing across the strings or plucking. The bigger ones create a lower sound.
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Woodwind family
The woodwind family includes the flute, clarinet, oboe and saxophone. All these instruments are blown in slightly different ways. You blow the flute across the top of the instrument and you blow air down the clarinet, saxophone and oboe.
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Brass family
The brass family includes the trumpet, French horn, trombone and tuba. These are all played in the same way by buzzing into the mouthpiece. The bigger instruments create a lower sound.
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Percussion family
The percussion family includes the timpani drums, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, xylophone and many others. These are all played by hitting, tapping or scraping the instruments.

Watch: What do they sound like?

Watch musicians from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra play and talk about their different instruments.

What is a conductor?

A cartoon boy in a wheelchair has a conductor's baton and is trying conducting.

The conductor stands at the front of the orchestra and directs the players how to play the music.

The notes the players should play are written down on the music, but it's the conductor who tells them in what way to play it.

The conductor decides how fast or slow, loud or soft, spiky or smooth the music will be played.

The conductor holds a baton and moves it up and down to direct the speed of the music. The players should be watching the conductor to know exactly when to play. The baton helps all of the players to be able to see the conductor.

What music does the orchestra play?

A cartoon of composer Leonard Bernstein as he is conducting with his arms raised and eyes closed.

The orchestra can play very soft music and very loud music.

Have a listen to these two pieces of orchestral music, to discover how the orchestra can play in very different ways.

Watch: Earth by Hans Zimmer

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The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus perform Earth by Hans Zimmer. From Ten Pieces Trailblazers.

Watch: Mambo by Leonard Bernstein