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Music vocabulary · Instruments and Voice

Orchestra

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈɔːrkɪstrə/nounCore term

In music, orchestra means: A large group of musicians playing string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments together, usually led by a conductor.

In Turkish: orkestra

How it is used

Types include the symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra and string orchestra. You play in, join, or audition for an orchestra; a piece can be written 'for orchestra'. The verb 'orchestrate' means to write music for orchestra.

Example sentences

  1. She has played second violin in the city's symphony orchestra for ten years.

  2. The band will perform their album live with a full orchestra.

Common collocations

  • symphony orchestra
  • chamber orchestra
  • play in an orchestra
  • full orchestra
  • orchestra pit
  • conductorThe person who leads an orchestra or choir, setting the tempo, showing entries and shaping the performance with hand movements or a baton.
  • stringsThe section of instruments played with a bow, mainly violins, violas, cellos and double basses. It also means the actual strings on an instrument such as a guitar.
  • brassThe family of wind instruments, usually made of metal, in which the player makes the sound by buzzing the lips into a cup-shaped mouthpiece, such as the trumpet, trombone, horn and tuba.
  • woodwindThe family of wind instruments that make sound by blowing across an edge or through a reed, such as the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone.
  • scoreWritten music that shows all the parts of a piece together, one above the other. It also means the original music written for a film, series or game.

More terms: Instruments and Voice

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