String Section the String Section

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faggot String Section The String Section

Where did the string section Repertoire that come from? features the string The string section as we know it today really began to take shape at the end of the section 17th century. Before that instruments had mainly played a supporting role to the human voice, or had performed only as soloists or in very small chamber groups. An orchestra made up just of string players is The violin emerged in the mid-16th century and the members of the violin family called a string orchestra. Many composers have (including viola, cello and double-bass) began to dominate the more ancient viol written pieces for string orchestra including family, even though at first they had been thought somewhat unrefined! Composers Elgar, Barber, Strauss and Schoenberg. Some soon began to appreciate the power, brilliance and versatility of this new family of composers have also composed movements instruments. By the end of the 17th century groups of stringed instruments were within large pieces that feature just the string being employed by leading composers and the violin family (or string section) section, or give the strings big section solos. For instance in Mahler Symphony No 5 there is assumed its position as the heart of the orchestra. a very famous slow movement written just for strings and harp, and in Tchaikovsky Symphony No 4 there is a fast and quirky movement where What is the concertmaster? the string section only plucks the strings and IThe concertmaster is the principal first violinist and also the leader of the orchestra. alternates with the wind and brass sections. The position of concertmaster is a bit like the managing director position in a business. The concertmaster sits at the front of the first violins, closest to the conductor and the audience. At the beginning of a concert it is the concertmaster who stands up and asks the oboeist to give the note that the rest of orchestra tunes to. The concertmaster also makes decisions about bowing and about other technical matters that affect the string section, and particularly the violins. If there are any violin solos then the concertmaster will play them. The concertmaster must usually be the most skilled musician in the section, good at learning music quickly, at counting and observing the conductor so that the rest of the section can follow.

What is bowing? All of the instruments in the string section make their sound by having a bow pulled across their strings. Bows can be pulled in two directions, either up or down. To make a consistent sound every players bow should go in the same direction, so someone has to decide which way to go! This is known as bowing. The concertmaster, along with other string section principals, works out the bowing for each piece of music and advises on specific techniques. Next time you go to hear an orchestra, watch the violin section and check that all of their bows are travelling in the same direction!

Research task... There are a lot of diferent techniques string players use to make diferent sounds from their instruments. Use the internet to fnd out about the following techniques. Here are some websites you can visit…

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