instrument arrangement

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

who can share w/ me about how instruments are arranged in a symphony. why are the basses always on one side. wouldnt it be better to have the basses spread out so there is bass everywhere? why are certain instruments always next to other instruments? like bassoons are always next to some other instrument i cant remember.

who knows about the history of classical orch. setups

have any composers expieremented with varrying/altering the trad. setups over the years, if so- which composers, etc....

[Rooster_Ties]

http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/orchestra.html

And FWIW, the alternate string seating arrangement (as mentioned in the link above) is something I've personally seen used here by the Kansas City Symphony on at least 4 occasions (over the last 10+ years). That alternate puts the 1st Violins on the far left (right where they usually are), but then the 2nd Violins on the far right (where the basses usually are), and the violas and cellos in the center (with the cellos to the right of the violas).

Here's another link on the subject of the placement of the strings...

Debate over Placement of Orchestras' String Sections

Edited August 20, 2008 by Rooster_Ties

[Shrdlu]

The bassoon is one of the many so-called "woodwind" instruments. These include the flute, clarinet, and oboe, as well as the bassoon. They are not always actually made of wood. Most orchestral flutes are metal, and the saxophone (rarely seen in a symphony orchestra) is also classified as woodwind. One reason for the name is that the basic fingerings for the six fingers other than the thumbs and the little fingers are pretty much the same on all of them.

It makes sense to group the woodwind players together, as the score harmonizes them. So that is probably what you saw.

The standard symphony woodwind section has two each of the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. Most woodwind players double on other woodwind instruments, including the piccolo (octave higher than the flute), cor anglais (a larger instrument in the oboe family), bass clarinet and contrabassoon. It would be hard to find a woodwind player who does not double.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

hmm....

[Jim Alfredson]

Bass frequencies appear omnidirectional to our ears, so it wouldn't really matter where you put them.

[Bluerein]

but the overtones aren't so it does matter where you put them especially in regard to the acoustics of the hall.

[Jim Alfredson]

[Jim Alfredson]

Maybe the bassists smell funny.

[mikeweil]

Yeah, because they work harder

[AllenLowe]

what do you call a bassist without a girfriend?

....homeless.....

[Teasing the Korean]

wouldnt it be better to have the basses spread out so there is bass everywhere?

In either baroque or classical times (can't remember which) it was more common to have the basses in or near the middle. A few conductors prefer this method today although it is less common.