Instruments of the Orchestra
Instruments of the Orchestra
| Family | Section | Instrument/Player | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodwinds | Flute | Piccolo | picc |
| Woodwinds | Flute | Flute | fl |
| Woodwinds | Flute | Alto Flute | afl |
| Woodwinds | Flute | Bass Fute | bfl |
| Woodwinds | Oboe | Oboe | ob |
| Woodwinds | Oboe | English horn | eh |
| Woodwinds | Oboe | Oboe d'amore | oda |
| Woodwinds | Clarinet | Eb Clarinet | ebcl |
| Woodwinds | Clarinet | Clarinet | cl |
| Woodwinds | Clarinet | Bass Clarinet | bcl |
| Woodwinds | Clarinet | Contrabass Clarinet | cbcl |
| Woodwinds | Bassoon | Bassoon | bn |
| Woodwinds | Bassoon | Contrabassoon | cbn |
| Woodwinds | Saxophone | Soprano Sax | ssax |
| Woodwinds | Saxophone | Alto Sax | asax |
| Woodwinds | Saxophone | Tenor Sax | tsax |
| Woodwinds | Saxophone | Baritone Sax | bsax |
| Brass | HORNS | Horn | hn |
| Brass | Cornet | Cornet | crt |
| Brass | Trumpets | Piccolo Trumpet | pttp |
| Brass | Trumpets | Trumpet | tpt |
| Brass | TROMBONES | Trombone | tbn |
| Brass | TROMBONES | Bass Trombone | btbn |
| Brass | TUBAS | Tuba | tba |
| Brass | TUBAS | Wagner Tuba | wag |
| Percussion | Timpani | Timpani | timp |
| Percussion | Metal | Thunder sheet | |
| Percussion | Metal | Tam-tam | tam-t |
| Percussion | Metal | Gongs (untuned) | |
| Percussion | Metal | Metal plate | |
| Percussion | Metal | Brake drum | |
| Percussion | Metal | Cymbal | cym |
| Percussion | Metal | Suspended cymbal | sus.cym |
| Percussion | Metal | Hi-hat | |
| Percussion | Metal | Cymbal piatti | |
| Percussion | Metal | Chinese cymbal | |
| Percussion | Metal | Cowbell | |
| Percussion | Metal | Triangle | tgl |
| Percussion | Metal | Bell tree | |
| Percussion | Metal | Chimes metal | |
| Percussion | Wood | Wood drums | |
| Percussion | Wood | Boobams | |
| Percussion | Wood | Temple blocks | |
| Percussion | Wood | Wood blocks | |
| Percussion | Wood | Castanet | cast |
| Percussion | Drums | Bass drum | bd |
| Percussion | Drums | Tom-toms | |
| Percussion | Drums | Snare drum | sd |
| Percussion | Drums | Tenor drum | td |
| Percussion | Drums | Sticks | |
| Percussion | Hand | Conga | |
| Percussion | Hand | Bongos | |
| Percussion | Hand | Tambourine | tamb |
| Percussion | Hand | Maracas | |
| Percussion | Hand | Cabasa | |
| Percussion | Stick-stir | Cuica | |
| Percussion | Stick-stir | Guiro | |
| Percussion | Stick-stir | Whip | |
| Percussion | Stick-stir | Ratchet | |
| Percussion | Tuned | Xylophone | xyl |
| Percussion | Tuned | Marimba | mar |
| Percussion | Tuned | Crotales | crot |
| Percussion | Tuned | Glockenspiel | glock |
| Percussion | Tuned | Vibraphone | vib |
| Percussion | Tuned | Tubular bells | t-bells |
| Percussion | Tuned | Bells (tuned) | |
| Percussion | Tuned | Gongs (tuned) | |
| Percussion | Tuned | Waterphone | |
| Plucked Strings | Harp | Harp | hp |
| Plucked Strings | Guitar | Guitar | gtr |
| Plucked Strings | Mandolin | mand | |
| Keyboads | Piano | Piano | pno |
| Keyboards | Celesta | Celesta | cel |
| Keyboards | Harpsichord | Harpsichord | hps |
| Keyboards | Ondes Martenot | Ondes Martenot | om |
| Keyboards | Organ | Organ | org |
| Strings | Violins | Violin I | vn |
| Strings | Violins | Violin II | vn |
| Strings | Viola | Viola | va |
| Strings | Cello | Violoncello | vc |
| Strings | Bass | Double Bas | cb |
Evolution of the Orchestra
Adapted from “Evolution of the Modern Symphony Orchestra” (Read, 1953, pp. 29–24)
| Instrument | Mozart Symphony No. 41 (1788) | Haydn Symphony No. 2 (1795) | Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (1823) | Berlioz Symphonie fantastique (1830) | Liszt Eine Faust Symphonie (1857) | Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (1888) | Debussy La mer (1905) | Ravel Daphnis and Chloe (1911) | Shostakovich No. Symphony 7 (1941) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piccolo | 1 Piccolo | (2nd Fl. alt. Piccolo) | (3rd Fl. alt. Piccolo) | 1 Piccolo | 1 Piccolo | 1 Piccolo | (3rd Fl. alt. Piccolo) | ||
| Flute | 1 Flute | 2 Flutes | 2 Flutes | 2 Flutes | 3 Flutes | 2 Flutes | 2 Flutes | 2 Flutes | 3 Flutes |
| Alto Flute | 1 Alto flute | (2nd Fl. alt. Alto flute) | |||||||
| Oboe | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes | 2 Oboes |
| English horn | 2 Clarinets | 2 Clarinets | (2nd Ob. alt. English horn) | (2nd Ob. alt. English horn) | 1 English horn | 1 English horn | 1 English horn | ||
| Eb Clarinet | 1 Eb Clarinet | 1 Eb Clarinet(Alt. 3rd Clarinet) | |||||||
| Clarinet | 2 Clarinets | 2 Clarinets | 2 Clarinets | 2 Clarinets | 2 Clarinets | 2 Clarinets | |||
| Bass Clarinet | 1 Bass clarinet | 1 Bass clarinet | |||||||
| Bassoon | 2 Bassoons | 2 Bassoons | 2 Bassoons | 4 Bassoons | 2 Bassoons | 2 Bassoons | 3 Bassoons | 3 Bassoons | 2 Bassoons |
| Contrabassoon | 1 Contrabassoon | 1 Contrabassoon | 1 Contrabassoon | 1 Contrabassoon | |||||
| Horn | 2 Horns | 2 Horns | 4 Horns | 4 Horns | 4 Horns | 4 Horns | 4 Horns | 4 Horns | 4 Horns |
| Cornet | 2 Cornets | 2 Cornets | |||||||
| Trumpet | 2 Trumpets | 2 Trumpets | 2 Trumpets | 2 Trumpets | 3 Trumpets | 2 Trumpets | 3 Trumpets | 4 Trumpets | 3 Trumpets |
| Trombone | 3 Trombones | 3 Trombones | 3 Trombones | 3 Trombones | 3 Trombones | 3 Trombones | 3 Trombones | ||
| Tuba | 2 Tubas | 1 Tuba | 1 Tuba | 1 Tuba | 1 Tuba | 1 Tuba | |||
| Timpani | 2 Timpani | 2 Timpani | 2 Timpani | 4 Timpani (2 players) | 2 Timpani | 2 Timpani | 3 Timpani | 4 Timpani | 5 Timpani |
| Bass Drum | Bass drum | Bass drum | Bass drum | Bass drum | Bass Drum | Bass drum | |||
| Cymbals | Cymbals | Cymbals | Cymbals | Cymbals | Cymbals | Cymbals | Cymbals | ||
| Snare drum | Snare drum | Snare drum | Snare drum | ||||||
| Tenor drum | Tenor drum | ||||||||
| Triangle | Triangle | Triangle | Triangle | Triangle | Triangle | Triangle | |||
| Tambourine | Tambourine | Tambourine | Tambourine | ||||||
| Castanets | Castanets | ||||||||
| Antique cymbals | Antique cymbals | ||||||||
| Gong | Gong | Gong | Gong | Gong | |||||
| Eoliphone | Eoliphone | ||||||||
| Glockenspiel | Glockenspiel | Glockenspiel | |||||||
| Xylophone | Xylophone | ||||||||
| Celesta | Celesta | Celesta | |||||||
| Piano | Piano | ||||||||
| Harp | 2 harps | 1 Harp | 2 Harps | 2 Harps | 2 Harps | ||||
| Chorus | Chorus: S.A.T.B. Solo Quartet | Male Chorus | Chorus: S.A.T.B., off-stage | ||||||
| Solo Voice | Tenor Solo | ||||||||
| Violin | Violin I | Violin I | Violin I | Violin I | Violin I | Violin I | Violin I | Violin I | Violin I |
| Violin | Violin II | Violin II | Violin II | Violin II | Violin II | Violin II | Violin II | Violin II | Violin II |
| Viola | Viola | Viola | Viola | Viola | Viola | Viola | Viola | Viola | Viola |
| Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello | Violoncello |
| Bass | Bass | Bass | Bass | Bass | Bass | Bass | Bass | Bass | Bass |
| Offstage | 4 Horns | ||||||||
| Offstage | 3 Trumpets | ||||||||
| Offstage | 3 Trombones | ||||||||
| Offstage | 2nd Snare drum | ||||||||
| ad libitum |