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Amusical ensemble, also known as amusic group,musical group, or aband is a group of people who performinstrumental and/orvocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, such as thejazz quartet or theorchestra. Other music ensembles consist solely of singers, such aschoirs anddoo-wop groups. In bothpopular music andclassical music, there are ensembles in which both instrumentalists and singers perform, such as therock band or the Baroque chamber group forbasso continuo (harpsichord andcello) and one or more singers. Inclassical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds ofmusical instrument families (such aspiano,strings, andwind instruments) or group instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles (e.g.,string quartet) or wind ensembles (e.g.,wind quintet). Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as theorchestra, which uses astring section,brass instruments,woodwinds, andpercussion instruments, or theconcert band, which uses brass, woodwinds, and percussion. In jazz ensembles or combos, the instruments typically include wind instruments (one or moresaxophones,trumpets, etc.), one or two chordal "comping" instruments (electric guitar,acoustic guitar, piano, orHammond organ), abass instrument (bass guitar ordouble bass), and a drummer or percussionist. Jazz ensembles may be solely instrumental, or they may consist of a group of instruments accompanying one or more singers. In rock and pop ensembles, usually calledrock bands or pop bands, there are usually guitars and keyboards (piano, electric piano,Hammond organ,synthesizer, etc.), one or more singers, and arhythm section made up of abass guitar anddrum kit.
Music ensembles typically have a leader. In jazz bands, rock and pop groups, and similar ensembles, this is theband leader. In classical music, orchestras, concert bands, and choirs are led by aconductor. In orchestra, theconcertmaster (principal first violin player) is the instrumentalist leader of the orchestra. In orchestras, the individual sections also have leaders, typically called the "principal" of the section (e.g., the leader of the viola section is called the "principal viola"). Conductors are also used injazzbig bands and in some very large rock or pop ensembles (e.g., a rock concert that includes astring section, ahorn section, and achoir that accompanies a rock band's performance).
In Western classical music, smaller ensembles are calledchamber music ensembles. The termsduo,trio,quartet,quintet,sextet,septet,octet,nonet, anddecet describe groups of two up to ten musicians, respectively. A group of eleven musicians, such as found inThe Carnival of the Animals, is called anundecet, and a group of twelve is called aduodecet (seeLatin numerical prefixes). A soloist playing unaccompanied (e.g., a pianist playing a solo piano piece or a cellist playing aBach suite for unaccompanied cello) is not an ensemble because it only contains one musician.
Astring quartet consists of twoviolins, aviola, and acello. There is a vast body of music written for string quartets, making it an important genre inclassical music.
A woodwind quartet usually features aflute, anoboe, aclarinet, and abassoon. A brass quartet features twotrumpets, atrombone, and atuba (orFrench horn (more commonly known as "horn")). A saxophone quartet consists of asoprano saxophone, analto saxophone, atenor saxophone, and abaritone saxophone.
The stringquintet 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 quartetplus a fifth instrument.Mozart'sClarinet 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.[citation needed]
Some other quintets in classical music are thewind quintet, usually consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn; thebrass quintet, consisting of two trumpets, one 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.[1]
Classical chamber ensembles of six (sextet), seven (septet), or eight musicians (octet) are fairly common; the use of latinate terms for larger groups is rare, except for the nonet (nine musicians). In most cases, a larger classical group is referred to as an orchestra of some type or a concert band. A small orchestra with fifteen to thirty members (violins, violas, four cellos, two or three double basses, and several woodwind or brass instruments) is called achamber orchestra. Asinfonietta usually denotes a somewhat smaller orchestra (though still not a chamber orchestra). Larger orchestras are calledsymphony orchestras (see below) or philharmonic orchestras.[2]
Apops orchestra is an orchestra that mainly performs light classical music (often in abbreviated, simplified arrangements) and orchestralarrangements andmedleys of popular jazz, music theater, or pop music songs.[clarification needed] Astring orchestra has only string instruments, i.e., violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.
Asymphony orchestra is an ensemble usually comprising at least thirty musicians; the number of players is typically between fifty and ninety-five and may exceed one hundred. A symphony orchestra is divided into families of instruments. In the string family, there are sections of violins (I and II), violas, cellos (often eight), and basses (often from six to eight). The standardwoodwind section consists of flutes (one doubling piccolo), oboes (one doubling English horn), soprano clarinets (one doubling bass clarinet), and bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon). The standardbrass section consists of horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba. Thepercussion section includes thetimpani,bass drum,snare drum, and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle,glockenspiel, chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.). InBaroque music (1600–1750) and music from the earlyClassical period music (1750–1820), the percussion parts in orchestral works may only include timpani.[clarification needed]
Awind orchestra orconcert band is a large classical ensemble generally made up of between 40 and 70 musicians from the woodwind, brass, and percussion families, along with the double bass. The concert band has a larger number and variety of wind instruments than the symphony orchestra but does not have a string section (although a singledouble bass is common in concert bands). The woodwind section of a concert band consists of piccolo, flutes, oboes (one doubling English horn), bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), soprano clarinets (one doubling E♭ clarinet, one doubling alto clarinet), bass clarinets (one doubling contrabass clarinet or contra-alto clarinet), alto saxophones (one doubling soprano saxophone), tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. The brass section consists of horns, trumpets or cornets, trombones, euphoniums, and tubas. The percussion section consists of the timpani, bass drum, snare drum, and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle, glockenspiel, chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.).
Less well known is the large symphonicaccordion orchestra. Typically, it includes between 50 and 100 musicians whosefree-bass instruments are individually re-tuned in order to recreate the full range of orchestral sounds and timbers required for the performance of traditional Western classical music.[3][4][5][6][7]
When orchestras performbaroque music (from the 17th century and early 18th century), they may also use aharpsichord orpipe organ, to play thecontinuo part. When orchestras perform Romantic-era music (from the 19th century), they may also useharps or unusual instruments such as thewind machine orcannons. When orchestras perform music from the 20th century or the 21st century, occasionally instruments such as electric guitar,theremin, or even an electronic synthesizer may be used.
Avocal group is a performing ensemble ofvocalists whosing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s.[8]
Vocal groups can come in several different forms, including:[9]
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A group that playspopular music ormilitary music is usually called a band; adrum and bugle corps is a type of the latter. These bands perform a wide range of music, ranging from arrangements of jazz orchestral, or popular music to military-style marches. Drum corps perform on brass and percussion instruments only. Drum and Bugle Corps incorporate costumes, hats, and pageantry in their performances.
Other band types include:
SeeList of musical band types for more.
Women have a high prominence in manypopular music styles as singers. However, professional women instrumentalists are uncommon in popular music, especially in rock genres such asheavy metal. "[P]laying in a band is largely a male homosocial activity, that is, learning to play in a band is largely a peer-based... experience, shaped by existing sex-segregated friendship networks."[13] As well, rock music "...is often defined as a form of male rebellion vis-à-vis female bedroom culture."[14] In popular music, there has been a gendered "distinction between public (male) and private (female) participation" in music.[14] "[S]everal scholars have argued that men exclude women from bands or the bands' rehearsals, recordings, performances, and other social activities."[15] "Women are mainly regarded as passive and private consumers of allegedly slick, prefabricated – hence, inferior – pop music..., excluding them from participating as high-status rock musicians."[15] One of the reasons that there are rarely mixed gender bands is that "bands operate as tight-knit units in which homosocial solidarity – social bonds between people of the same sex... – plays a crucial role."[15] In the 1960s pop music scene, "[s]inging was sometimes an acceptable pastime for a girl, but playing an instrument...simply wasn't done."[16]
"The rebellion of rock music was largely a male rebellion; the women—often, in the 1950s and '60s, girls in their teens—in rock usually sang songs as personæ utterly dependent on their macho boyfriends..."[17] Philip Auslander says that "Although there were many women in rock by the late 1960s, most performed only as singers, a traditionally feminine position in popular music." Though some women played instruments in Americanall-female garage rock bands, none of these bands achieved more than regional success. So they "did not provide viable templates for women's on-going participation in rock".[18]: 2–3 About the gender composition ofheavy metal bands, it has been said that "[h]eavy metal performers are almost exclusively male"[19] "...[a]t least until the mid-1980s"[20] apart from "...exceptions such asGirlschool".[19] However, "...now [in the 2010s] maybe more than ever–strong metal women have put up their dukes and got down to it,"[21] "carv[ing] out a considerable place for [them]selves".[22]WhenSuzi Quatro emerged in 1973, "no other prominent female musician worked in rock simultaneously as a singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader."[18]: 2 According to Auslander, she was "kicking down the male door in rock and roll and proving that a femalemusician ... and this is a point I am extremely concerned about ... could play as well if not better than the boys".[18]: 3
