Afull symphoriy orchestra can need up 98 musicians playing 28
different instruments in the same piece ot music.
Where do they all sit, you might wonder, and what do they all playl
Read on to find out.
ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY
The logic behind the seating positions allotted to the different members
of the orchestra follows a simple
rule: the quieter instruments go in front, and they get progressively
noisier as you move upstage! The percussionirt and drummer stand at the
back, of course, with their thundering timpani, crashing cymbals and the
small but far-reaching triangle, whereas the meeker string instruments
(the violins, violar, cellos and double basses in the string section) are
placed at the front. In the woodwind section, the nautists sit in front
ofthe clarinetists and bassoonists and, in the brass section, the mellow
French horns are closer to the
audience than either the shrill trumpets or the booming tuba. The pianists
sit behind the harmonious harpists and the double bassists extend further
back than the more diminutive cellists. And then, when
they're all sitting comfortably, the music can finally begin.