What's the Difference Between an Orchestra & a Band?

Different combinations of musicians are given different names, based mostly on personnel, instrumentation, and the style of music played.

An orchestra, traditionally, is made up of the following: strings (violins, violas, cellos, bass), brass (trumpets, trombones, french horns), woodwinds (clarinet, oboe, bassoon, flutes, piccolos), and percussion (snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, misc. percussion instruments). Although there are exceptions, an orchestra plays mostly symphonic music (Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc.) and most often performs in a concert setting. Most orchestras are seated the same way with the violins and violas on the conductor's left, cellos to his right, woodwinds behind the strings, brass in back to the conductor's right, and percussion, back center. Its quite common that a piano is included to the conductor's immediate left. A soloist usually takes this position as well. The average size of an orchestra is 75 to 100 players. Smaller groups of 50 or less are often called chamber orchestras.

The word orchestra is sometimes used in a less informal way such as the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. The Boston Pops orchestra is known for playing popular songs of the day.

A concert band, unlike an orchestra, has no stringed instruments such as violin or cello. And where an orchestra usually has three trumpets, a band can have as many as twelve (as well as that many trombones and clarinets). Although concert band music can range from symphonic to popular to Jazz, many bands are known for playing marches such as The Stars and Stripes Forever and The Washington Post March. Some bands play both in a concert setting and perform as a marching band (such as in parades or as part of the entertainment at a football game).

The word band, of course, can also be used to describe a rock band, Dixieland band, or hip hop band. Personnel and instrumentation varies widely in these kind of groups as well as does the music being played.

A choir is made up entirely of singers (and often a piano accompanist) and most often takes the form of male and female vocalists divided into five voices (vocal ranges): soprano and alto (women) and tenor, baritone, and bass (men). Music written for choirs utilizes the five voices to create the parts that might otherwise be played by musical instruments. Choirs can be all male or female and there are many specialty choirs such as singers that perform only certain styles of music. Jazz choirs are quite common as are barbershop quartets.

An ensemble is a "catch all" phrase for a group of musicians. The term is mostly used to describe string ensembles. The term is sometimes used when describing a group of singers (e.g., a vocal ensemble). Typically, an ensemble contains four to twenty members. It is derived from the word "assembly."

The word combo (from the word "combination") is sometimes used when describing an ensemble, but for the most part, it means a four-or five-piece group, typically with guitar, bass and drums. You'll see the term most often when describing jazz musicians (i.e., a jazz combo).

The Difference Between Melody and Harmony

Most people know what melody means. Some people even equate it with harmony itself. However, in the strictest musical sense, these are two very different things with very different purposes. If you want to learn what the difference between melody and harmony is, then read on for a basic introduction to two of the most important elements of music theory.

Differentiation

A melody is basically the one which dominates the whole musical phrases or sections of a song, while the harmony of a song is the one that's used to complement the melody. Think of it this way: A melody is like your tee-shirt, and the harmony is the print, design, and colors of your shirt. However, this doesn't mean that a plain melody without the harmony is boring in itself. Just think of how many shirts are ruined because of bad designs and colors. This means that a melody can be pleasant with or without a harmony. On the other hand, harmony is used to heighten the effect of a musical phrase/section. Think of how many good shirts look even better because of their cool print designs.

Melody: The Basics

To further understand what the technical differences are between a melody and a harmony, you have to understand what each one is first. As cited in the previous paragraph, a melody is the main series of notes that basically stand out. For example: the melody of a Happy Birthday song is easily recognizable. Its melody is simply the one that you sing (the lyrics). To choose another example (and to be a bit more technical), imagine a song in the key of C in a 4/4 measure. With this, a common example of a melody would be a series of notes that's made up of C, D, E, G, A, G, and back to C, in that order.

Using Scales for Melody

Most musicians will recognize the previously mentioned group of notes as a pentatonic scale, in the key of C. Pentatonic scales are the most common group of notes that are used as a melody for a song. A musician can basically reorder these notes (or add some more) to form variations of the melody as the whole song progresses. The pentatonic scale is just one example; there're certainly other scales out there that you can use to create melodies from, such as the basic Major Scale. In the key of C, the group of notes in the Major Scale would be C-D-E-F-G-A-B.

Harmony: The Basics

A song can still sound beautiful even without a harmony. However, if you really want to heighten the effect of particular sections of a song, then your best option is to use harmonies. Harmony is basically the complementary notes that you hear alongside the melody. Think of an A Cappella group of four people wherein they sing in different pitches (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass). Or, think of a high-pitched voice of a woman, and a lower-pitched voice of a man. Imagine both of them singing a song and complementing each other's vocal parts. Duets like this are usually sung with harmonies, and not with octaves (octaves are just higher/lower forms of the same note, like lower-C to higher-C).

Scale Numbering

To use harmony, you only need some knowledge of scales to guide you. As mentioned before, you can use basic Major/Pentatonic Scales. The numbering system is useful in this method. The Major scale is always the reference to the numbering system of the notes C-D-E-F-G-A-B. Translated, they would be numbered as 1st (C-note), 2nd (D-note), 3rd (E-note), and so on. In the key of C, the number 1 is the C-note, and its other contrapuntal (or harmonic) notes would be the 3rd and 5th-notes (E and G).

Counterpoint

Though it's basically defined a little differently, counterpoint is actually related to harmony. Always remember that the most common starting note to use as a harmony is its contrapuntal notes of 3rds and 5ths. There are other counterpoint species you can use, but these are the most basic. On a guitar, when you see the chord C9, that means that you must add a 9th-note (or 2nd-note) to emphasize a harmony or counterpoint within that section of the song. The harmonizing 9th-note is the same as the 2nd-note, by the way (key of C, with a contrapuntal D-note on the C-chord).

To sum it all up in basic terms, a harmony defines a melody. But a harmony, by itself, becomes a melody.