Musical Ensemble

A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music, typically known by a distinct name. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families (such as piano, strings, and wind instruments) or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. In jazz ensembles, the instruments typically include wind instruments (one or more saxophones, trumpets, etc.), one or two chordal “comping” instruments (electric guitar, piano, or organ), a bass instrument (bass guitar or double bass), and a drummer or percussionist. In rock ensembles, usually called rock bands, there are usually guitars and keyboards (piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, synthesizer, etc.) and a rhythm section made up of a bass guitar and drum kit.

Classical Chamber Music

In Western classical music, smaller ensembles are called chamber music ensembles. The specific defining characteristic of such ensembles is one player (or instrument)  per part.  Large ensembles such as bands and orchestra have more then one person per part in some sections and therefore do not fit the definition of  chamber music. Examples  are  String sections in orchestras and clarinet sections in  Bands  each of which have multiple players per part.   Chamber  ensembles could be a duet, trio, quartet, quintet, sextet, septet, octet,  etc.

Duets

In classical music, the term most often refers to  a composition for two singers or pianists.  In the case of piano a piano duet would be performed by two pianists performing on one piano .  A piece for two pianists performing  on separate pianos is referred to as a “piano duo.”

A sonata for  violin and piano, would also fit this category. A sonata only for piano (one instrument)  would not fit the category of chamber music, but is a popular medium.

Trio

The most common  trios in classical music  are the “piano trio“— piano, violin and cello—and the “string trio”—violin, viola and cello.

Quartets

String Quartets

The traditional  string quartet is a highly developed genre  consisting of two violins, a viola, and a cello. String quartets  could also  feature two violins and two violas  or   one viola, two cellos, and a double bass.

Wind

A traditional woodwind quartet usually features a flute, an oboe, a clarinet and a bassoon. A brass quartet features two trumpets, a trombone and a tuba. Other wind quartets could feature combinations of the above instruments such as  a horn, a flute, an oboe and a bassoon or   a tuba, a bassoon, a bass clarinet and a trombone.  Saxophone, horn, tuba,  trombone  or other combinations of like instruments could also  fit the quartet category.

Quintets

The string quintet is a common type of group. It is similar to the string quartet, but with an additional viola, cello, or more rarely, the addition of a double bass. Terms such as “piano quintet” or “clarinet quintet” frequently refer to a string quartet plus a fifth instrument. Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet” is similarly a piece written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola, a cello, and a clarinet—the last being the exceptional addition to a “normal” string quartet.

Some other quintets in classical music are the wind quintet, usually consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn; the brass quintet, consisting of two trumpets, one french horn, a trombone, and a tuba; and the reed quintet, consisting of an oboe, a soprano clarinet, a saxophone, a bass clarinet, and a bassoon

Sextet

A sextet is a formation containing exactly six members. It is commonly associated with vocal or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit.

Many musical compositions are named for the number of musicians for which they are written. If a piece is written for six performers, it may be called a “sextet.” Steve Reich’s “Sextet” is written for six percussionists.

Larger choral and Instrumental ensembles

Choral  Groups

A group of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus. The former term is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the choir) and the second to groups that perform in theaters or concert halls, but this distinction is far from rigid.

The term “choir” has the secondary definition of a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the “woodwind choir” of an orchestra, or different “choirs” of voices and/or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical eighteenth- to twenty-first-century oratorios and masses, chorus or choir is usually understood to imply more than one singer per part, in contrast to the quartet of soloists also featured in these works.

Choirs can sing with or without instrumental accompaniment. Singing without accompaniment is called a cappella singing (although the American Choral Directors Association discourages this usage in favor of “unaccompanied,” since a cappella denotes singing “as in the chapel” and much unaccompanied music today is secular). Accompanying instruments vary widely, from only one to a full orchestra; for rehearsals a piano or organ accompaniment is often used, even if a different instrumentation is planned for performance, or if the choir is rehearsing unaccompanied music.
Choirs can contain all male (tenors, baritones, basses) or female (sopranos and altos) voices or be, soprano, alto, tenor, bass sometimes called SATB.

Symphony Orchestra

Introduction

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string (violin, viola, cello, and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes be grouped into a fifth section such as a keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and electric and electronic instruments. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the twentieth century.

A symphony orchestra will usually have over eighty musicians on its roster, in some cases over a hundred, but the actual number of musicians employed in a particular performance may vary according to the work being played and the size of the venue. A leading “chamber orchestra”  might employ as many as fifty musicians. There are  amateur orchestras, school orchestras, youth orchestras and community orchestras.

Orchestras are traditionally  led by a conductor who directs the orchestra  performance by way of visible gestures usually using a baton.

Instrumentation

The typical symphony orchestra consists of four families of related musical instruments called the woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings (violin, viola, cello, and double bass).  In the history of the orchestra, its instrumentation has been expanded over time, often agreed to have been standardized by the classical period and Ludwig van Beethoven’s influence on the classical model. In the twentieth century, new repertory (musical pieces) demands expanded the instrumentation of the orchestra, resulting in a flexible use of the classical model instruments in various combinations.

 The Conductor

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as a concert, by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats (meter), and to  shape the sound of the ensemble.

The conductor typically stands on a raised podium and  may or may not use a wooden baton. In baroque and some classical  music  a conductor may lead an ensemble while playing a keyboard instrument or the violin.

Bands

Concert Band

A concert band, also called wind ensemble, symphonic band, wind symphony, wind orchestra, wind band, symphonic winds, symphony band, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion families of instruments, along with the double bass.

Jazz Bands

A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a horn section.

Jazz bands can vary in size from a big band, to a smaller trio or quartet. The term jazz trio can refer to a three piece band with a pianist, double bass player and a drummer. Some bands use vocalists, while others are purely instrumental groups. Jazz bands usually have a bandleader. In a big band setting, there is usually more than one player for a type of instrument.

Jazz bands and their composition have changed many times throughout the years just as the music itself changes with each performers personal interpretation and improvisation which is one of the greatest appeals of going to see a jazz band.

Jazz Ensemble Types

Combos

Small jazz bands of three to four musicians are often referred to as combos and can be found in small night club venues. In modern jazz, an acoustic bass player is almost always present in a small band, complemented by any other combination of instruments.

Three Parts (Trios)

In jazz, there are several types of trios. One type of jazz trio is formed with a piano player, a bass player and a drummer. Another type of jazz trio that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s is the organ trio, which is composed of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and a third instrumentalist (either a saxophone player or an electric jazz guitarist).

Four or More Parts

Jazz quartets typically add a horn (the generic jazz name for saxophones, trombones, trumpets, or any other wind or brass instrument commonly associated with jazz) to one of the jazz trios described above. Slightly larger jazz ensembles, such as quintets (five instruments) or sextets (six instruments) typically add other soloing instruments to the basic quartet formation, such as different types of saxophones (e.g., alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, etc.) or an additional chordal instrument.

Rock and Pop Bands

Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as “rock and roll” in the United States in the 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical sources.

Listen: Rock Band

Western Classical Music

At classical music concerts, the cardinal principle is to let others listen to the music undisturbed. Instruments and voices are typically unamplified, the music is rich in detail, wide in dynamic range, and poetic in intent. Many audience members want to hear everything, and the normal standard of courtesy is simply to be entirely silent while the music is playing.