Tuning Up...learning about orchestras and what they do.

How does a professional orchestra work & what's that guy doing waving a baton?
The orchestra is a team with a leader and, and as in any team, certain players have specific duties. The conductor selects the music the orchestra will play and leads the rehearsals and the performances. The orchestral musicians are divided into sections based on the kind of instrument they play.

The largest number of players in a symphony orchestra play stringed instruments: violins (usually divided into 2 sections), violas, cellos and basses. Each of these instruments is played in the same way: by drawing a bow across strings or plucking the string (called pizzicato). However, the four members of the string family differ greatly in the range and tone of the sound they produce. Violins have the brightest tone and the highest range, and basses the lowest range and darkest tone. In general each section of the strings plays in unison, so for instance all the first violins for instance play the same part at the same time. This is easy to see during a performance. As you watch the string section during an Evening at Pops broadcast watch the bows as the players draw them across the strings--everyone's bow should be moving in the same pattern.

The woodwinds are seated just behind the strings. These instruments include the piccolo, the flute, the oboe, the clarinet, the English horn and the bassoon. Most of these instruments are made of wood (one, the flute and piccolo were originally made of wood but are now often made of metal). As their name indicates, woodwinds sound when air travels through a hollow tube and comes out holes at the end and on the sides of the instrument. Most of the woodwinds (besides the flute and piccolo) have reeds, small pieces of plant fiber, through which the players blow air. If you have ever folded over a piece of grass and blown through the end to make a sound, you understand how the basics of a reed instrument works. Just imagine this connected to a long wooden tube with many holes and buttons.

Unlike the string musicians, woodwind players are more likely to have a specific part which takes advantage of the distinct sounds these instruments can make. The oboe, for instance, has a very different voice from the flute, and neither sounds anything like a bassoon. However, sometimes wind instruments, like strings, will play together in unison with other winds or with the full orchestra. Watch and listen during the Evening at Pops broadcasts, and see how many different woodwind voices you can pick out.

The brass section sits behind the woodwinds. These instruments include the trumpet, the French horn, the trombone and the tuba. Like the woodwinds, they depend on air blown through a tube, but in this case the tube is metal and bent into a circle (for the horns) or a rounded rectangle (for the trombones and trumpets). As the player blows through the instruments, she may depress keys or move slides to adjust the pitch of the sound. Unlike woodwinds, there are no reeds on brass instruments; musicians blow into metal mouthpieces instead. The brass section of an orchestra is loud! In the Boston Pops Orchestra there are only 17 brass players (5 French horns, 8 trumpets, 3 trombones, and 1 tuba,) but together these instruments can much as much sound as all 49 string players combined!

Like the wind players, each brass player may perform a separate part, and each brings a particular color and range, from bright and high for the trumpets to dark, low and profound for the tuba. They also add a lot to orchestra tuttis--when the entire group is playing the same music together. Many students are familiar with brass instruments from their school band--a band is just an orchestra without strings.

The final section of the orchestra is the small but tremendously important percussion section. In every other section of the orchestra, the general rule is for one player to play one instrument (although sometimes one player will switch from one closely related instrument to another, for instance from flute to piccolo). In the percussion section, the players are usually masters of a range of instruments, including bass drum, timpani (or kettle drum), cymbals, xylophone, snare drum, bells, and even wind machines. In the Boston Pops Orchestra there are five percussionists and one timpani player, and although their number may be small, just one cymbal crash or snare drum roll can demonstrate how vital percussion is to the orchestra.

Orchestras often include additional instruments: harps are frequently added as are pianos, organs, or saxophones or other popular instruments including guitars. These instruments also fit into the categories above, strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion adding more character to the sound.

What's a rehearsal and what's it for?
After the music is selected, the conductor and orchestra meet for a rehearsal. They usually wear casual clothes and often meet on stage in the concert hall, although sometimes rehearsal rooms may be used. Unlike a student band or orchestra, professional orchestras have very limited rehearsal time--and they must use this time well.

During the rehearsal the conductor talks to the musicians, and the ensemble plays through some or all of each piece. The conductor sets the tempo (the rate at which a piece is played) and alerts the musicians about practical matters, such as whether a section of a work will be repeated or not. He or she is also responsible for determining the volume level of the performance and the overall interpretation of the pieces. These are just the beginning of the conductor's duties; maintaining balance between the orchestra sections is also a key task.

How does an orchestra stay in tune?
If you've ever heard an out-of-tune piano, you know a familiar melody played on it can sound quite odd. Orchestras must solve this problem as well; a note played on one instrument must sound at the same pitch as the corresponding note played on another instrument.

Orchestras solve this problem several ways. If you go to a live concert you'll notice that before the conductor comes to the podium the first player in the violin section (called the concert master) will rise and ask the principal oboe player to sound a note. This is a `tuning A' and it's a note which the oboe plays exactly the same each time because of the way the instrument is made. The other players on hearing this note will tune their own instruments adjusting up or down until they hear that their corresponding note is at the same pitch as the oboe's note.

As part of their long training, professional musicians become sensitive to pitch and tuning and very skilled at making minor adjustments to their tuning if it is necessary during a performance--when this is possible. Sometimes the music moves too quickly or the pitch changes too drastically for instrumentalists to adjust their instruments in time. For the most part, however, musicians make sure their tuning is correct at the beginning and then listen closely as they are playing.

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