Why are there more violins in an orchestra

Not the direct sound i. However the Hass effect is also critical. This is where the figure of 1ms comes from. It is the first arrival of the sound that determines location.

If subsequent reflections of the sound arrive they merely add to the perceived level if they are say 5 to 20 ms late of if they are earlier, they add a sense of space, but still don't ruin the localisation. Localisation of source in an orchestra is going to depend a great deal on where you sit, and the quality of the venue. But my experience is that once you get a reasonable way back, you lose pretty much all localisation.

For reasons I con't quite explain I usually get seats either very close to the front, or the front of the first balcony. The latter position yields a well integrated spacious sound and zero localisation.

Front row seats yields a ridiculous separation of sources as the orchestra subtends about degrees across my view. Perfect seats, middle and about row F, yields a nice spread and good localisation, but nothing like the pinpoint imaging so beloved by HiFi freaks who really need to get out more and listen to live music. I need to wait for the season ticket holders who get those seats to die before I get them.

One of the critical things about localisation is the harmonics of an instrument or speaker. We have essentially zero ability to localise low frequencies - the waveleght is so long that our head makes no difference to the amplitude, and the period so long that phase differences are useless. But the harmonics of the sound are higher frequency, and due to the quite severe non-linearity of frequency response our ears have in the low frequencies, these harmonics are significant;y emphasised versus the fundamental.

A subwoofer should be impossible to localise, however a low quality one isn't to hard to find, because it has quite a bit of distortion, and harmonics that creep into the range we can localise are present. Vent noise turbulence of the air chuffing in and out of a ported enclosure is a good one. Orchestral instruments have quite a lot of harmonic content, that is part of what gives them their character, and interestingly those instruments that boast very low frequency notes may have more output in the harmonics than in the fundamental.

The extreme example are organ pipes, where the very low stops may be 10dB down in the fundamental versus the harmonics. Which is part of the reason you can enjoy organ music at all on something less than an insane HiFi system. Horns - even a Tuba, have a remarkable amount of energy in the harmonics. Its what gives a horn its sound. Bowed instruments are essentially a sawtooth wave, so even a double bass has a solid helping of harmonics.

Instruments with lower frequencies are usually located on the audience's right and instruments with higher frequencies are located on the left. Interactive Frequency Chart. I don't believe that the official design decisions are documented anywhere, so I'll list all the justifications that I can think of. It depends on various factors ranging from ease of communication and performance to the acoustics of the performance space.

If musicians from the same group of instruments are seated together, it helps you to listen to each other and keep playing together as a section, working as a team, which is invaluable in an orchestra.

It also improves communication between the section, particularly in circumstances where there may be a problem, for example, one quite regularly sees a problem involving someone's instrument and the section can usually sort it out amongst themselves, even during a concert.

Of course, everyone is seated facing the conductor, which helps, of course. As regards to acoustics, there are various accepted seating plans for different purposes and different concert halls and most conductors seems to have their own preference. Although the above is pretty much the most common set up, there are several things which need to be taken into consideration, for example, projection of the instruments and balance. I, personally, very much favor the two violin sections to be facing each other, with the concert master to the direct left of the conductor and the principle 2nd violin the direct right.

Then the violas come next to the 1st violins and the cellos next to the second violins. This produces a better balanced sound, in my opinion, since the 1st violin part is the more harmonically important part of the two, and the 1st violin will project much better towards the audience from this angle. The second violins, when facing the 1st violins will almost project inwards which means they don't project outwards as loudly, which means that they can play more freely since they don't have control their playing as much and that they don't worry about overpowering the 1st violins.

The cellos project forward much better from this angle as well. Also, there is much more freedom of communication between section principles which helps. As regards to the percussion, that varies from piece to piece, but very often, I will have them on the far right behind the cellos and 2nd violins or right at the back behind everyone.

If it's a big piece for percussion, I'll have them right at the back but personally, I prefer the sound when the double basses are right at the back behind and above everyone else though, but the percussion section and the double bass section are interchangeable. I think, in a good acoustic, the double bass sound bounces off the back wall and projects out over the orchestra which has a nice effect and provides a much needed 'oomph' from the back.

It should be noted that the horns are generally seated on two separate tiers, with the 1st and 3rd in front and the 2nd and 4th behind. They are seated as on that image, with section principle seated on the conductor's left. In my experience, the sound is considerably better the above way in terms of balance, and it is easier for the conductor to cue, etc. This set up is becoming more and more common. I will add some small tidbits of experience here focusing on the winds.

Playing bassoon and contrabasson, but started on the trombone. I want the wind instruments to sit close to each others when possible. Often the wind instruments play sections together and will want to phrase the same way. This is much easier if you can hear each other. While the first violins concentrate on their own difficulties in creating excitement in the higher registers or the fast passages, they constantly rely on the musical support of the second violins.

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website, to measure the effectiveness of our systems, and to analyze traffic. By using our website, you consent to cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Menu Donate. What's on. The most typical feature of the trombone is that the tones can be changed continuously by means of a telescoping slide mechanism — it's called glissando. The trombone players of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra show how it works!

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Put simply, percussion instruments are any instruments you strike, whether with sticks or with your hands. At least instruments are considered percussion instruments — and new ones appear all the time! The sheer sounds of the harp and the beautiful form of the instrument fascinate many. But how do you really go about to play the harp — with all its functions?

The harpist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra will show you. The piano is an entire orchestra in itself — but sometimes its sound is a part of the big symphony orchestra. I would not want to miss that experience for anything! I understand. Home Play Current page: The orchestral instruments: The violins. The orchestral instruments: The violins Meet some of the orchestra's violinists, and listen to how it sounds when all 29 players play at one and the same time!

The music. Louis Spohr from Duo concertante in D major for two violins. Carl Nielsen from Symphony No. The violin section of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. The video is approximately 5 minutes. Subtitles in English or Swedish is activated by using the CC control in the video player. Related videos.