成人快手

What is an orchestra?

Cartoon girl thinking hard and scratching her chin as she thinks.

An is a large musical that includes instruments from four families of instruments.

They are:

  • the string section
  • the woodwind section
  • the brass section
  • the percussion section

An orchestra can have up to 100 players or more. They're led by one person, called a , who makes sure they all play at the correct time.

Cartoon girl thinking hard and scratching her chin as she thinks.
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What are the families of the orchestra?

Each instrument in an orchestral family are related to each other and played in a similar way.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Double bass, violin and cello., String family The string family includes the violin, viola, cello and double bass. These instruments are all played the same way, by bowing across the strings or plucking. The bigger ones create a lower sound.
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Watch: What do they sound like?

Watch musicians from the 成人快手 Philharmonic Orchestra play and talk about their different instruments.

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What is a conductor?

A cartoon boy in a wheelchair has a conductor's baton and is trying conducting.

The conductor stands at the front of the orchestra and directs the players how to play the music.

The notes the players should play are written down on the music, but it's the conductor who tells them in what way to play it.

The conductor decides how fast or slow, loud or soft, spiky or smooth the music will be played.

The conductor holds a baton and moves it up and down to direct the speed of the music. The players should be watching the conductor to know exactly when to play. The baton helps all of the players to be able to see the conductor.

A cartoon boy in a wheelchair has a conductor's baton and is trying conducting.
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What music does the orchestra play?

A cartoon of composer Leonard Bernstein as he is conducting with his arms raised and eyes closed.

The orchestra can play very soft music and very loud music.

Have a listen to these two pieces of orchestral music, to discover how the orchestra can play in very different ways.

A cartoon of composer Leonard Bernstein as he is conducting with his arms raised and eyes closed.

Watch: Earth by Hans Zimmer

The 成人快手 Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus perform Earth by Hans Zimmer. From Ten Pieces Trailblazers.

Watch: Mambo by Leonard Bernstein

The 成人快手 Philharmonic Orchestra perform Bernstein's 'Mambo', conducted by Alpesh Chauhan. From Ten Pieces Trailblazers.

You can learn more about Hans Zimmer and Leonard Bernstein with 成人快手 Ten Pieces.

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Activities

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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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