Page:Essentials in Conducting.djvu/109

 PROPORTION OF INSTRUMENTSIn a symphony orchestra of about one hundred players, the proportion of instruments is approximately as follows:

1. Strings:
	18 first violins
	16 second violins
	14 violas
	12 violoncellos
	10 double basses
2. Wood wind:
	3 flutes	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}}$ (Usually only three players)
	1 piccolo
	3 oboes	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}}$ (Usually only three players)
	1 English horn
	3 clarinets	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}}$ (Usually only three players)
	1 bass clarinet
	3 bassoons	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}}$ (Usually only three players)
	1 double bassoon
3. Brass wind:
	4 horns (Sometimes 6 or 8)
	2 or 3 trumpets (Sometimes 2 cornets also)
	3 trombones
	1 bass tuba
4. Percussion:
	1 bass drum	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}}$ (One player)
	1 snare drum
	3 kettledrums (Of different sizes—one player)
	1 triangle	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}}$ (One player)
	1 glockenspiel
	1 pair cymbals
	et cetera
	1 harp (Sometimes 2)

It will be noted that out of about one hundred players almost three-quarters are performers upon stringed instruments, and it is this very large proportion of strings that gives the orchestral tone its characteristic smoothness, its infinite possibilities of dynamic shading, its almost unbelievable agility, and, of course, its inimitable sonority. The wind instruments are useful chiefly