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Orchestra Map

TRIANGLE
TIMPANI
CYMBALS
TRUMPETS
SIDE DRUM
FRENCH HORNS
TROMBONES
BASSOONS
CLARINETS
BASS DRUM
TUBA
OBOES
CONTRABASSOON
BASS CLARINET
PICCOLO
FLUTES
SECOND VIOLINS
VIOLAS
ENGLISH HORN
PIANO
HARP
FIRST VIOLINS
CELLOS
BASSES
CONDUCTOR
Watch for subsequent issues of Overture as we explore more instruments of the orchestra !

A QUICK GUIDE TO THE VIOLIN

• The highest-pitched and most numerous member of the string section .
• Separated into two sections — first violins and second violins — within a symphony orchestra . The sections are typically placed side-by-side , but they sometimes face opposite each other , as in some European orchestras .
• Made of about 90 different parts , including a spruce top with maple ribs and back held together by hide glue .
Bridge
Chinrest
Scroll
Pegs
Neck and Fingerboard
F-holes
Strings
Tailpiece
HISTORY OF THE VIOLIN
Early history : The violin ’ s ancestry can be traced to the Arabic rebab , the basis of the lyra in the 9th-century Byzantine Empire , then the rebec in Western Europe during the Middle Ages .
16th century : The violin as we know it emerged in northern Italy around 1530 , and quickly spread to the rest of Europe .
17th century : Violin makers — including Antonio Stradavari in Cremona , Italy — perfected the violin ’ s design , creating the “ Golden Age of violin making .”
18th & 19th centuries : The violin ’ s neck and fingerboard were elongated , while the addition of the chin rest facilitated greater freedom of the left-hand .
40 | OVERTURE | BSOmusic . org