Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson entitled "The Orchestra." My name is Mr. Norris.

Today we're gonna be taking a deep dive into the orchestra, exploring its history, how it developed, and how it's been used by different composers over the course of the Western Classical Tradition.

Let's get started.

Our outcome is that I can identify the instruments of the orchestra and can explain how the orchestra developed through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods.

Here are our keywords.

Firstly, orchestra, which is a large ensemble that is central to the Western Classical Tradition, consisting of strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments.

Strings.

These are instruments with strings that are normally played with a bow, including the violin, viola, cello, and double bass.

Woodwind.

These are instruments that produce sound through blown air, including the flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon.

We've got brass, which are metal instruments with valves or slides that produce sound with air, including the trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba.

And finally, percussion, which are instruments to produce sound by being struck or hit, including drums, cymbals, xylophones, and many others.

The first part of today's lesson is looking at the instruments of the orchestra.

An orchestra is a group of musicians led by a conductor.

They come in many different sizes, including really large orchestras, like symphony or philharmonic orchestras, which can often have up to and more than 100 musicians on stage.

You can see a picture of one there.

And down to much smaller chamber orchestras, which often have only up to 50 musicians, sometimes as few as 20 musicians.

So there's a huge variety of different orchestras with different sizes and different combinations of instruments used in them.

The orchestra is made up of the four different instrumental families, creating a range of timbres.

That's why it's such a useful ensemble for a composer, because you've got all these different sounds you can explore.

This is a typical orchestra layout.

We've got the strings at the front of the stage, and they're the biggest family of the orchestra.

Then we've got woodwind sat behind, and then brass and percussion towards the back.

Now, the string section includes violin, viola, cello, and double bass.

Those are the four typical instruments of the string section, and that's going from highest to lowest pitch.

If you look at those images there, you'll see that the highest pitch, which is the violin, is by far the smallest, and the lowest pitch, which is the double bass, is by far the largest.

So the pitch range corresponds to how big the instrument is.

And they produce sound through vibration of strings.

So there are different techniques but all of them rely on creating vibrations in the strings that produce different pitches and different sounds.

The string section is the largest in the orchestra and it sits towards the front of the stage.

Normally, it would be divided up like this.

You've got two sections of violins, called the first violins and the second violins, that take slightly different roles in the music.

You've got a section of violas in the middle, which are slightly lower pitched than violins.

And then you've got a large section of cellos with double basses behind on the other side.

Now, orchestras are not always laid out like this, but this is a typical layout.

Sometimes, particularly in the Romantic period, you'd also have a harp involved in the string section as well.

Now, the most typical techniques on string instruments are arco, which is where we play with a bow, and pizzicato, which is plucking the strings with the finger.

Let's listen to these two examples here.

How would you describe the different timbres created by these techniques? Let's listen first to arco.

(bright orchestral music) And now let's listen to pizzicato.

How would you describe the difference in timbre? (lively orchestral music) There are many different words we could use to describe those two timbres.

You might describe arco as a smoother, more mellow timbre, and maybe pizzicato as a more percussive or sort of woody timbre.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of these instruments is not typically included in the string section of an orchestra? Viola, cello, guitar, or double bass.

I'll give you a few seconds.

And the answer is guitar.

That's rarely included in the string section of an orchestra.

Woodwind instruments are the second section we're gonna look at, and these produce sound with blown air.

A typical woodwind section includes flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons.

And again, they're going from highest pitch to the lowest pitch there with the bassoon, the largest instrument, being the lowest pitch, and the flute being the highest pitch, although the oboe also has a very high range as well.

Now, the woodwind section is smaller than the string section and it sits further back, usually in the center of the stage, so with the strings at the front and then the woodwinds sit just behind there.

The flutes and oboes in the front row and the clarinets and bassoons, the low-pitched instruments, just behind them.

The woodwind section can also be extended to include the piccolo, which is a very high-pitched flute and it's normally played by one of the flute players.

Let's hear what a piccolo sounds like.

(bright piccolo music) And composers might choose to use that because it's got quite a distinct timbre and a very high range, so it adds a bit more versatility to the woodwind section.

A bass clarinet is another instrument that's often added as well.

This is a low-pitched clarinet with quite a distinct timbre and again it's normally played by one of the clarinet players in the orchestra.

This is what it sounds like.

(bright bass clarinet music) And then thirdly, the cor anglais, which translates in French as English horn.

And this is a low-pitched oboe that has quite a different and distinct timbre to the oboe as well.

I'd like to compare these oboe and cor anglais.

Can you hear that subtle difference in timbre? How would you identify the difference between the two? Let's hear the oboe first.

(gentle oboe music) And now compare that with the cor anglais.

How would you describe the difference in timbre? (gentle cor anglais music) There are many different words we could use to describe that difference.

You might describe the oboe as slightly more bright and shrill, with the cor anglais having a more round, warmer timbre.

I'd like you to name the four typical instruments of the woodwind section.

Pause my video and see if you can name all four.

And the four answers here are the flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon.

Well done if you named all four of those.

Brass instruments also produce sound through blown air, but they use valves or a slide to change pitch, so the way they change notes is very different and the way the sound is produced in the mouthpiece is also different to woodwind.

A typical brass section includes the trumpet, trombone, which you can see has a slide there that moves as they play, the French horn and then the tuba.

And again, these are going from highest pitch to the lowest pitch, with tuba, the largest instrument, being the lowest pitch, and the trumpet, which is the smallest of the four, being the highest pitch.

The brass section sits behind the woodwind section and this is sometimes how it is laid out, although in different orchestras the brass section can be laid out in slightly different ways, sometimes with the French horns off to the side.

Brass instruments each have a distinct timbre, although distinguishing between trombones and French horns is often more difficult 'cause they have quite a similar range.

How would you describe the difference in timbre between these two? Let's listen first to a trombone.

(gentle trombone music) And compare that to a French horn.

What's the difference in timbre? (gentle French horn music) And here we might say that the French horn has a rounder or warmer timbre, while the trombone is slightly brighter and punchier, and it takes some practice to get used to identifying the difference between those two.

Let's check your understanding.

Which brass instrument is playing here? Pause my video and have a listen.

And the correct answer is that was a trombone, well done if you managed to identify that.

The final orchestral family, percussion family, can encompass many different instruments and all of them produce sound by being hit.

The most common are timpani, which are the large kettle drums, tune percussion, so things like the xylophone or the glockenspiel, the bass drum and the snare drum, cymbals, the triangle, and the tambourine.

And there are many other percussion instruments that will be used.

Composers will choose the instruments they want to use based on the effects they want to create in their music.

Keyboard instruments are also sometimes included as part of the orchestra.

Most often you might hear a harpsichord, but occasionally other instruments such as the piano are used as well.

Pause my video and have a listen to this.

Which keyboard instrument is playing in this piece of Baroque music? Well done if you identified that that was a harpsichord, and remember that's a really typical instrument of Baroque music.

Let's check your understanding.

What common orchestral percussion instrument is playing here? Pause my video and have a listen.

And the correct answer is that was timpani playing.

Those are the large kettle drums. Task A, we're gonna test your understanding of the instruments of the orchestra.

Question one, which is the largest section of the orchestra? Question two, name three typical orchestral brass instruments.

For question three, which section of the orchestra produces sound by being hit? Question four, which string technique involves plucking a string? And then for questions five, six, and seven you're gonna listen to this excerpt.

Answer which two sections are playing throughout the whole clip, and can you name the specific instruments? Which instrument joins in with the melody, and which section of the orchestra is that a part of? And finally, which section doesn't feature in this clip at all? So pause my video and put your knowledge of the instruments of the orchestra to the test.

Let's review this task.

Which is the largest section of the orchestra? It's the string section.

That's by far the largest in all orchestras.

Name three typical orchestral brass instrument.

You could've mentioned trumpet, trombone, French horn, or tuba.

Which section of the orchestra produces sound by being hit? That is the percussion section.

Which string technique involves plucking a string? That's pizzocato, well done if you got that one.

And then for the extract, well, question five, the two sections playing throughout the clip were percussion and strings, and the specific instruments were the snare drum and the double bass and cello.

Well done if you managed to get some of those correct.

Question six, the instrument that joins in with the melody is the flute, which is part of the woodwind section.

And then the section that doesn't feature at all in this clip was the brass section.

So well done if you started to get your ear in for those different sections and instruments from the orchestra.

Now we're gonna move on to look at the development of the orchestra from 1600 to 1910.

The orchestra changed significantly during the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods.

This was a result of instrumental developments and improvements, but composers also wanted different things from the orchestra.

In the Baroque period, which is between 1600 and 1750, the orchestra was often a fairly small ensemble, with as few as 20 performers in many cases.

This varied enormously between pieces and would be determined by lots of different factors.

The string section was by far the most important in the Baroque orchestra, with typically no more than a few woodwind and brass instruments.

Composers occasionally included timpani, although this was quite rare.

Which instruments can you hear in this clip that aren't part of the string section? Pause my video and have a listen.

Well done if you managed to identify there were French horns, which are a brass instrument, and oboes, bassoons, and flutes, which are all woodwind instruments.

The orchestra in the Baroque period typically used a basso continuo.

This is the accompanying section of the orchestra consisting of the harpsichord with a bass string instrument, usually cello or double bass.

And the basso continuo supported the rest of the orchestra harmonically by playing chords and the baseline that provided the foundation for the rest of the orchestra.

I'd like you to listen to this clip.

Can you pick out the harpsichord and the cello playing the basso continuo? You'll have to listen closely to try and pick out those two instruments.

Pause my video now.

The layout of the Baroque orchestra also varied.

It depends on the size of the orchestra and the combination of instruments, but a typical layout might look like this.

We've got the violins at one side, the rest of the strings at the other side, and then the woodwind and brass if there are any in the middle.

But remember, there's a huge variety of different ways that Baroque orchestras are laid out, this is just one example.

Let's check your understanding.

Which section was rarely used in the Baroque orchestra? Was it strings, woodwind, bras, or percussion? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here was percussion.

Well done if you picked that one.

Basso continuo was usually played by a bass string instrument and what other instrument? Was it violin, harpsichord, piano, or timpani? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here was harpsichord.

Basso continuo is usually a harpsichord with either cello or the double bass.

Let's move on to the Classical period, which is 1750 to 1820.

In this period, the orchestra grew in size, so generally orchestras were larger.

More woodwind and brass instruments were used as the technology had developed.

Woodwind could play louder and the clarinet had been invented by this point, and brass could now play more notes as well.

The string section also grew in size.

Percussion was more regularly used in the Classical orchestra.

And basso continuo was not used, with the harpsichord rarely heard.

That was phased out by this period, really, and that's because composers were using different parts of the orchestra to take its role playing the chords and the bass.

This would be a typical layout for a Classical orchestra where we've got the strings still at the front, with a larger woodwind brass and percussion section tucked in behind in the center of the stage.

The conductor directs the orchestra from the front, so they would stand in the middle, and that's because that's the best place for everyone in the orchestra to see them.

I'd like you to listen to this Classical piece.

In particular, I'd like you to notice the typical features of this period.

The strings are still the dominant section, playing most of the melodies, but woodwind and brass sections play the melody occasionally.

There's no harpsichord, no basso continuo at all, that's been phased out.

The woodwind and brass sections are larger and more powerful than they were in the Baroque period.

And the percussion is a fairly small section with a timpani and usually only one or two other instruments.

So pause my video, listen to this piece, and see if you can hear some of these key aspects of the Classical orchestra.

Let's check your understanding.

Identify two ways that the Classical orchestra was different from the Baroque orchestra.

Pause my video while you think of these.

And you might have come up with some of the following points.

The orchestra in the Classical period became larger, it had more woodwind instruments, more brass instruments, more consistent use of percussion, and it did not feature the basso continuo or harpsichord.

Well done if you picked up on some of those points.

Now let's have a look at the orchestra in the Romantic period, which is from 1820 to 1910.

In this period, the orchestra continued to grow and in some cases it doubled in size from the Classical orchestra.

In some Romantic music, the orchestra will have more than 100 performers on stage, so it really grew to a huge extent.

The range of instruments also continued to expand, with a larger brass and percussion sections and a large woodwind section, which would often feature those extended instruments of the section such as the piccolo, the bass clarinet, and the cor anglais.

So it's becoming more diverse as an orchestra, as well as larger.

The piano and the harp were also sometimes part of the orchestra, but you wouldn't always see those.

Composers wanted to create dramatic, powerful, and emotive music in the Romantic period.

Remember, one of the key aspects of Romantic music is this expression and emotion that they were trying to create.

The large orchestra with diverse timbres enabled them to do this.

As a composer, having all these tools, these different sounds and instruments at your disposal are fantastic for trying to create real dramatic, powerful and emotive music.

In this iconic piece by the German composer Richard Wagner, who was a very famous Romantic composer, the whole range of timbres across the orchestra is used, and this creates an intense, powerful musical experience.

The strings are not as dominant as they would typically be in a Classical composition.

Have a listen to this and see if you can identify some of the different ways that the composer's using all this range of timbres from across the orchestra.

You can pause my video now.

This is a typical layout of a Romantic orchestra, which is not totally dissimilar from a Classical orchestra.

The main two differences are it is much larger as a whole, and the percussion, brass, and woodwind sections are much larger than in the previous periods as well.

Have a look at this photo of a Romantic orchestra.

Can you identify each section of the orchestra in the image? Pause my video and have a look.

So hopefully there you managed to spot the string section.

That's that large section at the front.

We've got the woodwind tucked in just behind them.

Then we've got the brass.

The French horns are out of sight in this image, they're across to the left-hand side.

And then at the back we've got the percussion section with a range of different instruments we can see there.

Okay, it's time for Task B.

To start with, I'd like you to describe three ways that the orchestra changed between the Baroque and Romantic periods.

Once you've done that, you're gonna listen to Extract A, and here I'd like you to identify what percussion instruments play in this extract, what period is this orchestra most typical of, and give one reason for your answer to question three.

Then you'll listen to Extract B and answer these two questions.

What period is this orchestra most typical of? And give two reasons for that as well.

So you can pause my video now and give this task your best shot.

Okay, let's review Task B.

So, three ways that the orchestra changed between the Baroque and the Romantic periods.

You could have said it became much larger, the variety in number of woodwind instruments grew, the variety in number of brass instruments grew, the variety in number of percussion instruments grew, the strings became less dominant in the music, and the harpsichord and with that the basso continuo was phased out.

For Extract A, the percussion instruments playing were timpani, cymbals, and the bass drum.

Well done if you got some of those.

This is most typical of the Romantic period, and we'd say that because it's a very large, powerful orchestra.

It has a large brass section and an extended percussion section, so those are giveaways that this is almost certainly a Romantic orchestra.

For Extract B, this is more typical of the Classical period, and some evidence for that is that the strings are dominant with the other sections playing mostly an accompanying role.

There's no harpsichord or basso continuo, and that would indicate that it would be in the Baroque period, so we know that it's not that.

And the percussion section is not heard, so it's probably quite small, and we know that's a typical feature of the Classical orchestra.

Well done if you managed to identify some of those points and you're starting to get a feel for the different orchestras and how they evolved through the periods.

Let's review today's lesson then.

Between 1600 and 1910, the number of players and the variety of instruments in the orchestra increased dramatically.

The Baroque orchestra was mostly strings with a few woodwind or brass instruments and a harpsichord.

The Classical orchestra was larger, with more woodwind, brass, and percussion, and no harpsichord.

And then the huge Romantic orchestra had large woodwind, brass, and percussion sections, and this gave composes many different timbres to exploit in their music.

Finally, as the orchestra increased in size, woodwind, brass, and percussion took on more important roles, so increasingly they played more crucial roles in the music.

That's the end of today's lesson then.

I hope you feel now that you've got a real good understanding of the orchestra and how it evolved over the different periods.

And now when you hear music with an orchestra playing, see if you can use some of this knowledge to help you identify what's going on a bit more closely.

Maybe you'll be able to identify whether it's a typical Romantic or Classical orchestra, or maybe you'll be able to pick out more effectively some of the different instruments and timbres that are being used.

That's the end of today's lesson then, thanks for taking part, and I'll see you in another one.