Concept in Definition ABC

The term orchestra has two uses. On the one hand, the oldest use that is given to the term is the one that refers, to instances of a theater, to the place that is exclusively destined to dance, when the representations were carried out at the air free, this happened approximately in the 5th century BC. He himself was in front of the main performance area in which the instruments, those who danced and those who sang congregated.

Meanwhile, at present, this use has practically disappeared or it is the few that apply it in this sense and the one that refers to the set of instrumentalists with their respective instruments and who are in charge of interpreting a piece of music.

Until the 18th century, the organization of the instrumentalists' ensembles was highly variable, but then later in the mentioned century it was practically institutionalized. that the orchestra would be made up as follows: strings (eight violins, three violas, two cellos, a double bass and a harpsichord), woods (two flutes, two oboes and a bassoon, oboes and flutes were played by the same person, for which there was no sound coexistence of four voices) brass (two trumpets and two horns) and percussion (two timpani).

But of course and as the interpreters progressed in the practice and why not also in the new research on sound and instruments, the number of instruments was expanded considerably and then, already in the twentieth century, composers they started to to write depending on large orchestras, for example six timpani, eight horns, four trumpets, four trombones, two harps, two tubas.

exist different types of orchestra, among them we can name the classics as being the symphony or philharmonic orchestra, the string orchestra , which, as its name indicates, only uses stringed instruments, chamber orchestra, youth orchestra, which will be the one that is made up of students from the Conservatory or from a private academy, each capital or each region important it usually has one of these and that will generally be presented as a prelude to the performance carried out by the symphony orchestra professional, then we meet the orchestra that uses only one family of instruments, as being of strings, of wind, metal u orchestras using different families of instruments.

Meanwhile, in some parts of the world where they are found, ensembles dedicated to tango are known as the typical orchestra.

Although it is worth noting that an orchestra is not only reduced to those mentioned, but also other instrumental groups that interpret popular music, such as jazz and that they have a considerable number of members, they are also considered orchestras and so they are designated.