Violins form part of the string section in every symphony orchestra.
A full-size symphony orchestra can contain more than 100 musicians. These individual musicians are placed within one of four specific sections of the orchestra, with each section comprising instruments of a particular family. These four sections, strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, combine to create the powerful, unified sound of the orchestra as a whole.
Strings
The string section of a symphony orchestra includes violins, violas, cellos and double basses. The concert harp was a later addition to the standard instrumental array of the symphony orchestra. Although the harp has a long history, it was not really used in orchestral music until the 19th century, says the Philharmonia Orchestra website.
Woodwind
Despite its name, the woodwind section features wind instruments made from both wood and metal. Flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons are commonplace in all symphony orchestras. The saxophone, more commonly associated with jazz and popular music, can also feature in a symphony orchestra, but appears less frequently than the more traditional woodwind instruments.
Brass
Brass instruments form a powerful and distinctive section of any symphony orchestra. According to the Oregon Symphony website, this family of instruments can play louder than any other in the orchestra and can also be heard from far away. Trumpets, French horns, trombones and tubas are the most commonly used instruments in an orchestra's brass section.
Percussion
A symphony orchestra can call upon a huge variety of percussion instruments. Percussion instruments fall into two basic categories: tuned and untuned. Tuned percussion instruments, also known as pitched instruments, include the xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, marimba and vibraphone. The timpani, or kettledrums, are also included within the tuned percussion category, but always have a special part written for them, says the BBC Orchestras and Singers website. Untuned or unpitched percussion instruments include the bass drum, side drum, cymbals, castanets and triangles.
Piano
The piano is included within the percussion section, but it is really a hybrid instrument. According to The Piano Education Page website, it is a string instrument because the musical tones originate in the strings, and also a percussion instrument because the strings are struck with hammers. The piano was originally used in the orchestra to add strength to weak bits of music, says the BBC Orchestras and Singers website. Since the early 1900s, however, the piano has been given more prominence, particularly as a solo instrument or as a lead instrument supported by the rest of the orchestra.
