Music · Lesson 10

Orchestra families, transposing instruments, ensembles, keyboards, voice types, guitar, music technology

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: JAMB Music Section D 2(ii)–(v) (orchestral and band instruments and classifications; the human voice: types, ranges and qualities; keyboard instruments; ukulele, banjo, guitar, mandolin, harp, accordion, xylophone, marimba) and music technology (Finale, Sibelius, Cubase, Reason, Sound Forge, Nero, tuning fork, pitch pipe). WAEC/NECO: transposing instruments; instruments and voices in Paper 1 and…

WAEC: JAMB Music Section D 2(ii)–(v) (orchestral and band instruments and classifications; the human voice: types, ranges and qualities; keyboard instruments; ukulele, banjo, guitar, mandolin, harp, accordion, xylophone, marimba) and music technology (Finale, Sibelius, Cubase, Reason, Sound Forge, Nero, tuning fork, pitch pipe). WAEC/NECO: transposing instruments; instruments and voices in Paper 1 and…

NECO: JAMB Music Section D 2(ii)–(v) (orchestral and band instruments and classifications; the human voice: types, ranges and qualities; keyboard instruments; ukulele, banjo, guitar, mandolin, harp, accordion, xylophone, marimba) and music technology (Finale, Sibelius, Cubase, Reason, Sound Forge, Nero, tuning fork, pitch pipe). WAEC/NECO: transposing instruments; instruments and voices in Paper 1 and…

What you will learn

Name and classify orchestral and band instruments.
Describe how each family produces and changes pitch.
State the tuning of string instruments and the guitar.
Write parts for transposing instruments.
Describe the organ, harpsichord, piano and electronic keyboards.
Describe voice types, ranges and qualities.
Explain the uses of music technology tools named by JAMB.

Key points

Four families: strings, woodwind, brass, percussion.
Family = how sound is made, not material.
Strings tuned in 5ths except double bass (4ths).
Woodwind: edge, single reed, double reed.
Brass: lips buzz; valves or slide change length.
Percussion: tuned vs untuned; timpani tuned by pedal.
Transposing: write up by M2 (B♭), M6 (E♭ alto), P5 (F horn).
Bands: military, brass, wind, dance; chamber groups.
Keyboards: organ, harpsichord, piano (Cristofori), synth.
Voices: S A T B (+ mezzo, baritone); qualities.
Guitar E A D G B E; frets are semitones; capo.
Tech: Sibelius/Finale (notation), Cubase/Reason (DAW), MIDI.

Start here: The orchestra and its families

An orchestra is a large group of instrumentalists playing together under a conductor. The modern symphony orchestra grew from the string bands of the Baroque period (around 1600–1750) and reached roughly its present form in the 19th century. Today a full orchestra may have between 60 and 100 players. Both JAMB (Section D, “orchestral and band instruments and classifications”) and WAEC (instruments, voices and ensembles in Paper 1 and the aural paper) test this topic, usually by asking you to name, classify or describe instruments.

Orchestral instruments are grouped into four families (sections). Each family shares a way of producing sound:

Strings: a stretched string is bowed or plucked (violin, viola, cello, double bass; the harp is often counted here too).
Woodwind: air vibrates inside a tube, set going by an edge or a reed (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon).
Brass: air vibrates inside a metal tube, set going by the player’s buzzing lips in a cup-shaped mouthpiece (horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba).
Percussion: instruments that are struck, shaken or scraped (timpani, drums, cymbals, xylophone).

Notice that these family names describe how the sound is made, not the material. A flute is usually made of metal but is still woodwind, because there is no lip-buzzing; a saxophone is brass-coloured metal but uses a single reed, so it is woodwind too. In the Hornbostel–Sachs system you met in mu13, strings are chordophones, woodwind and brass are aerophones, and percussion divides into membranophones (drums with skins) and idiophones (bars, bells, cymbals).

The conductor stands in front, beats time with a baton, shows the speed (tempo), dynamics and entries, and shapes the interpretation. The principal first violinist is called the leader (in America, the concertmaster); he or she tunes the orchestra and leads the strings. Before a concert the oboe plays an A, and everyone tunes to it, because the oboe’s penetrating tone is easy to hear and its pitch is hard to adjust quickly.

Worked example: Classifying correctly. Classify these orchestral instruments by family and by Hornbostel–Sachs class: (a) bassoon, (b) tuba, (c) cello, (d) timpani, (e) glockenspiel.
Solution. (a) Woodwind; aerophone (double reed). (b) Brass; aerophone (lip-buzzed). (c) String; chordophone (bowed). (d) Percussion; membranophone (skin stretched over a copper bowl). (e) Percussion; idiophone (metal bars struck with beaters).

Size of an orchestra through history. A Baroque orchestra (Bach, Handel) was mainly strings with a harpsichord continuo, plus a few oboes, bassoons and sometimes trumpets and timpani. The Classical orchestra (Haydn, Mozart) settled into pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns and trumpets, plus timpani and strings, with clarinets joining in the later 18th century. Romantic composers (Berlioz, Wagner, Mahler) greatly enlarged it with trombones, tubas, harp, extra woodwind such as piccolo and cor anglais, and more percussion.

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Practice questions

1. The string family of the orchestra includes violin, viola, cello and

double bass
harp only
guitar
trombone

Show answer

A: double bass
Four bowed members.

2. The double bass is normally tuned in

fifths: C G D A
thirds
octaves
fourths: E A D G

Show answer

D: fourths: E A D G
Unlike the violin family’s fifths.

3. Which is a double-reed woodwind instrument?

flute
saxophone
oboe
clarinet

Show answer

C: oboe
Oboe and bassoon use double reeds.

4. The clarinet uses

a cup mouthpiece
a single reed
a double reed
no reed

Show answer

B: a single reed
Single reed on a mouthpiece.

5. Which brass instrument uses a slide?

trombone
trumpet
horn
tuba

Show answer

A: trombone
Seven slide positions.

Key words

Timbre: Tone colour that distinguishes instruments.
Arco: Play with the bow.
Pizzicato: Pluck the string.
Con sordino: With the mute.
Double reed: Two cane blades vibrating together (oboe, bassoon).
Single reed: One cane reed against a mouthpiece (clarinet, sax).
Harmonic series: Natural notes of a tube or string.
Transposing instrument: Sounds at a fixed interval from written pitch.
Concert pitch: The actual sounding pitch.
Manual: An organ keyboard played by the hands.
Tessitura: The comfortable part of a voice’s range.
MIDI: Digital language linking instruments and computers.

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