Instrument families 

The instruments of the orchestra are split into four families: 

• Strings 
• Woodwind 
• Brass 
• Percussion 

These are grouped by sound and characteristics. Strings instruments are played by plucking and bowing strings. Woodwinds require you to blow through reeds to make sounds (the flute and piccolo are exceptions to this). Brass instruments, apart from the trombone, have long, coiled brass pipes with valves to alter the notes. Percussion is any instrument that involves hitting something.   

What are the instruments of the orchestra?

Strings 

The string section is the biggest part of the orchestra. Large symphony orchestras can have over 40 players in their string sections!

Generally, apart from the harp, they’re played with a bow, a technique known as arco, and sometimes they’re plucked, known as pizzicato. 

Within the string family, there are:  

• Violin
• Viola
• Cello
• Double bass
• Harp

Let’s go over some of these individual instruments in a bit more detail. 

Violin

The violin is the highest-pitched instrument in the string section. It’s also the smallest string instrument. Violins have four strings, tuned G-D-A-E (from low to high).  

Violinists often play the lead melodies and upper notes in harmonies in pieces of music. There are so many of them that they’re split into two sections: first violins (violin 1) and second violins (violin 2).  

A very famous violin piece is Paganini’s “Violin Caprice No. 24”, and if this inspires you and you fancy picking up the violin, check out the Stentor Student 2. Stentor are a very popular brand for great quality beginners’ instruments. 

 Viola

The viola looks almost identical to the violin with the only differences being that it’s slightly larger and has different strings. A viola’s strings are C-G-D-A (from high to low). This is exactly one octave higher than a cello’s strings.   

Viola players often play the middle notes in harmonies or lower-pitched alto melodies. In fact, violas don’t generally use the treble clef like violins, they use the alto clef. This clef better suits the range of the viola and is easier to read when playing the instrument.

A great piece that features the viola is Handel’s “Passacaglia in G minor” arranged for violin and viola. 

Stentor also make violas! Their Messina viola is a great instrument that features a handmade construction.  

Cello

The cello, short for violoncello, is the first instrument in the string section to be played upright, rather than on the shoulder like the violin and viola.

Cellists sit on a chair with the cello sat in between their legs, and the strings are tuned to C-G-D-A – an octave lower than the viola. 

Cellos tend to play in the upper bass range of music, known as the tenor. They also usually play in bass clef, but cellos have an impressive range which can go up into violin territory! One of the most famous cello pieces is Bach’s “1st Cello Suite”.

If you want to see a great quality cello then the Eastman Master is a brilliant example.  

Double bass 

The double bass, often simply known as the bass, is the largest and deepest of the string family. It is played in an upright position much like the cello, but bassists will often stand or sit on a high stool.

A brilliant piece featuring the bass is “The Elephant” from Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns, and if this has inspired you, we sell our own double bass that’s ideal for students.

Harp 

The harp is a less common instrument in the orchestra but is still often called for. Concert harps are massive, with a huge number of strings and a complex series of pedals that allow the harpist to access any note they need.

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Woodwind 

Woodwind instruments get their name from their traditional wooden construction. Some instruments, such as clarinets and the occasional flute, are still constructed from wood. However, modern materials, such as brass, silver/nickel, and even ABS plastic are more commonly used.  

Woodwind players can often play other instruments that are sometimes needed, but not all the time. For example, flautists may also play the piccolo, clarinettists may double on the bass clarinet, oboe players may be proficient on the cor anglais, and bassoonists may be able to play the contrabassoon. 

Within the woodwind family, there are: 

• Flute 
• Piccolo 
• Clarinet 
• Bass clarinet 
• Saxophone 
• Oboe 
• Cor anglais 
• Bassoon 
• Contrabassoon 

Flute and piccolo

The first two instruments, which are slightly different to the rest, are the flute and piccolo.

The flute is a primarily melodic instrument in the woodwind family. It has a soft, airy sound and is played by blowing air across its mouthpiece. You then press down the keys to alter the pitches of notes.  

A famous solo featuring the flute is the opening to “Bolero” by Ravel, and the Pearl 525E Quantz is a great example of a typical orchestral flute.  

The piccolo is very similar to the flute,  however, it’s much smaller and plays an octave higher. Piccolos are usually called for very high passages of music. 

Beyond the flute and piccolo, the rest of the instruments are reed instruments. These can be split into single reeds and double reeds, which are similar in that they both produce sound from the vibration of reeds.  

Single reeds

Single reed instruments have a mouthpiece to which a reed is attached. Air is then forced between the reed and the mouthpiece.   

The clarinet is a popular instrument with one reed. It’s played in a vertical position and you change notes by pressing keys down, like the flute. Clarinets are usually tuned to Bb but clarinets in A are also quite common in orchestral music. Mozart wrote a very famous concerto featuring the clarinet.  

Buffet is a very popular maker of clarinets. Their Prodige Bb clarinet replaces the popular B12 clarinet, which had been a staple of student instruments for many years.  

The bass clarinet is pretty much what you’d expect from the name: a much deeper clarinet. It’s an interesting shape as it’s quite long and has a curved bell (where the sound comes out), similar to a saxophone.  

This section in the intro to Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” features some prominent bass clarinet parts. 

Saxophones are a whole family of instruments in themselves. They’re all fundamentally similar, though. Saxophones were traditionally not used in orchestral music due to misconceptions about them “not blending” with the other instruments. However, modern compositions often include saxophones.   

Glazunov wrote a concerto for saxophone which is a popular piece for saxophonists.  

Double reeds

Double-reed instruments have two reeds attached together at the base. These reeds are placed into the mouth and blown through to produce sounds.  

The oboe is the highest-pitched double-reed instrument in the orchestra. The name derives from the French word, “hautbois”, meaning “high wood”. It has a pure tone which carries very well, and so an oboe is often used to play an A when the orchestra is tuning. A famous use of the oboe is in Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky.  

A similar instrument is the cor anglais, also known as the English horn, which ironically is neither English nor a horn. This is a slightly larger instrument with a bulbous end that gives it its unique sound. A renowned cor anglais tune is the 3rd section of the William Tell Overture by Rossini.  

The bass section of the double reeds is served by the bassoon and contrabassoon. They’re both very similar in construction and sound, but the contrabassoon is an octave lower than the bassoon. A famous example of the bassoon is “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Grieg.   

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Brass 

Brass instruments all have a similar construction. They consist of a pipe which you blow air through to make a sound.

A series of valves can then be pressed to alter the notes played, the only exception is the trombone, which uses a slide instead.  

All brass instruments have a mouthpiece on which you make a raspberry-like sound with your lips. This is known as buzzing. 

Within the orchestral brass family, there are: 

• Trumpet 
• Trombone 
• Bass trombone 
• French horn 
• Tuba 

Trumpet

The trumpet is probably the most well-known of the brass instruments. It’s also one of the loudest instruments in an orchestra – a single trumpet player can be louder than an entire string section! Trumpets are well known for their fanfare-like sound and are used as a leading instrument with lots of melodic parts.  

A famous excerpt for trumpets is the opening to Mahler’s 5th Symphony.  

If you’re interested in playing the trumpet then the Besson BE111 is a great instrument to start off with.  

Trombone

The trombone, also more specifically referred to as a tenor trombone, is a lower-pitched brass instrument that uses a slide to get different notes. Trombones have a very powerful sound when played loudly, but also a very mellow sound when played softly.  

Our Bb/F Tenor Trombone is a good example of a tenor trombone. It also has a trigger to change the instrument’s key, allowing you to access more notes.  

The bass trombone is a lower-pitched trombone that plays the bass lines of the brass section.  

A famous orchestral excerpt for all the trombones is the storm section from Rossini’s William Tell Overture.  

French horn

French horns consist of a tightly coiled pipe that is extremely long, about 18 feet, making it one of the longest brass instruments in terms of pipe length! They have an extremely wide range, from quite a deep bass to high melodies. Horns are extremely popular in film music, especially for heroic melodies in their mid-range.  

Mahler uses the horns in the opening to his 3rd symphony, you can hear how his music has influenced film scores! 

The Hans Hoyer 801A 1-0 is a great quality double horn that, like our Bb/F trombone, has a lever which alters the key for access to more notes.  

Tuba

The tuba is the largest and deepest brass instrument. It fulfils the main bass role in the brass section and often plays similar parts to the double bass.  

A famous example of a tuba part (with double bass) is this section of Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. 

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Percussion 

Percussion instruments are all the instruments that you hit! They can include unpitched percussion, such as most drums, and pitched, like the xylophone. The main difference is that you can play tunes or chords on a pitched percussion instrument, but you can’t on unpitched percussion. 

Within pitched percussion, there are keyboard instruments. These have a series of metal or wooden blocks laid out like a piano. Chords and melodies can be played on these using up to four mallets (two in either hand).    

A larger orchestra usually has at least a couple of percussionists. One percussionist is always sat at the timpani and the rest are usually divided between the rest of the required percussion instruments.  

Within the percussion family, the main instruments are: 

• Unpitched 
  • Snare drum 
  • Bass drum 
  • Gong 
  • Cymbals 
• Pitched 
  • Triangle 
  • Timpani 
  • Chimes 
  • Xylophone 
  • Marimba 
  • Glockenspiel 
  • Vibraphone 
• Misc 
  • Piano 

Unpitched 

The snare drum provides a bit of noise and crunch to the percussion section. It’s just like the snare you’d hear in pop music or jazz.  

Orchestral bass drums are generally much larger than the bass drums you’d see in a drum kit. They’re often mounted on a metal frame and struck with a large soft mallet.   

Gongs are what you stereotypically would hear to announce dinner. Tam-tams are large, suspended gongs that are commonly used in orchestras.  

Cymbals are similar to their counterparts in a drum kit. A percussionist will usually hold a cymbal in either hand and then crash them together.  

Pitched 

The triangle is often used for its piercing sound which can carry surprisingly well for such a small instrument. It’s often considered easy to play but many pieces for orchestra can be very complex.  

Timpani, also known as kettledrums or “timps”, are large, pitched drums that are tuned to very deep notes. Most timpani have pedals that can be used to alter the pitch.

Fun fact: “timpani” is actually the word for a set of timps. A single drum is called a “timpano”!

Timpani can be very versatile when used well and can even play melodies! At the start of “Jupiter” from Holst’s The Planets, the timpani can be heard playing the introductory melody. 

We sell timpani from Premier such as this 29” Concert timpano. 

Chimes, also known as tubular bells, are a series of metal tubes that range in pitch and can be used to play melodies. A famous example of chimes is Tubular Bells from the movie The Exorcist.  

The xylophone is a keyboard percussion instrument that uses wooden blocks.  

Marimbas have wooden blocks like the xylophone, however, they’re usually deeper and have a drier sound.  

The glockenspiel is a keyboard percussion instrument with metal blocks for a high-pitched sound.  

Vibraphones are similar to a glockenspiel but they have a motor that spins disks on the resonators underneath the blocks to create a vibrato sound. They also can play extremely long sustained notes.  

Misc 

The piano is often hard to categorise in the orchestra, some say it lives in its own section. It’s most commonly regarded as being a percussion instrument due to the use of internal hammers that hit strings when keys are pressed.

Shop now | Percussion instruments   

Shop now | Piano

What is the layout of the orchestra? 

The orchestra is usually laid out in relation to the conductor, who stands in the front centre. There are numerous layouts that an orchestra can have but we’ll take you through the most seen layout.  

In a nutshell, the strings are usually directly in front of the conductor with the woodwinds and brass just behind them. At the very back is the percussion section. 

Let’s go into more detail. 

The first and second violins take up most of the left half of the string section, and on the right are the violas and cellos. Behind the cellos are the basses.  

Woodwinds are usually more centred, with the flutes and oboes in one row and the clarinets and bassoons behind.  

The brass section is laid out behind the woodwinds. French horns are sat on the far left, with the trumpets next to them. Then we have the trombones, and on the far right are tubas.  

Percussion doesn’t usually have a definite layout as the instruments are often set up to be most convenient to the percussionists. The only exception is with the timpani. Timpani are usually sat towards the left of the conductor, right at the back of the orchestra.  

FAQs 

What are the main 5 instruments? 

The five main groups of instruments are strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, and keyboards. However, percussion and keyboards are often grouped together as many keyboard instruments used in orchestras involve the striking of strings or bells with hammers.

How many instruments are in an orchestra? 

A large orchestra can have 80 to 100 players, while smaller orchestras tend to have 40 to 50 musicians. These are split across at least 15 different instruments from all the families.  

What is the order of instruments in an orchestra? 

The score order of an orchestra is grouped by family, starting with woodwind, then brass, percussion (keyboards too), and strings.  

From the top, the individual instruments are:  

• Flutes (and piccolos when needed) 
• Oboes (and cor anglais when needed) 
• Clarinets (and bass clarinets)  
• Bassoons (with contrabassoons)
• Horns 
• Trumpets 
• Trombones 
• Tuba 
• Timpani 
• Percussion 
• Other instruments (usually harp then piano) 
• Violins I + II 
• Violas 
• Cellos 
• Double basses 

Final thoughts 

Hopefully, after reading this guide you’ve gained some knowledge of the instruments of the orchestra. We’ve gone through the four instrument families, which instruments are in them, what these instruments do, and some examples of what’s available on our site. 

We also have many more orchestral instruments if you want to have a look at others.