A full symphony orchestra may include over 100 musicians.
It is a very powerful and versatile ensemble, capable of expressing an enormous
variety of tone-colours, dynamics and textures.
The orchestra has 4 main sections, Strings, Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion.
The layout of the modern orchestra is fairly standardized, although some
conductors may decide to change it around to suit their individual ideas. In the
conventional layout, the strings are at the front, because they are not as loud
as the woodwind or especially, as the brass. The first violins are at far left,
they usually play the top line of the strings score. The second violins are next
to the first violins, going to the right. Then come the violas, either at the
centre, or just to right of centre. The cellos are on the right, and lastly, the
double-basses are at the extreme right side of the stage. The woodwind consists
of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, arranged in the centre, behind the
strings. The brass are behind the woodwind, with the French Horns at left,
trumpets at centre, then trombones and a tuba on the right. The percussion
section is right at the back.
A diagram of the layout of the orchestra, with clickable areas for each
instrument, is shown on the page entitled Orchestral Layout. To go to this
please click the button titled Layout.
Early orchestras were led by the most senior (or most talented) first violinist, who would give occasional directions to the rest of the orchestra with his bow. This player is still called the leader of the orchestra today. However, most modern large orchestras today have a conductor, who stands in front of the orchestra using his hand and a baton to show the tempo, and to give entry cues to some players, and to indicate the dynamics.