Use the tabs below to find out about each section of the orchestra, watch video clips, and read interviews with musicians. There are more strings in the orchestra than all the other instruments put ...

The word “symphony” is ultimately from Greek “symphonia,” concord of sounds, harmony, a meld of “syn-,” together (as in synchronize, synthesis) and “phōnẽ,” sound (as in phonetics, telephone). The ...

Of the four instruments represented in a modern symphony orchestra string section — violin, viola, cello and contrabass — the cello is the most versatile. In a traditional ensemble context, whether ...

Part of How To Classical. Why does the oboe tune the orchestra? Why does the orchestra sit the way it does? What does rosin actually do to a violin bow? If you find the traditions of the classical ...

Orchestras began tuning to the oboe, in part, because its sound was more penetrating in a performance setting than gut strings. There were also fewer oboes than violins, and in the earliest orchestras ...