String section
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| - | The transition from the late-1970s [[disco]] styles to the early-1980s dance styles was marked primarily by the change from complex arrangements performed by [[big band|large ensembles]] of studio session musicians (including a [[horn section]] and an orchestral [[string section]]), to a leaner sound, in which one or two singers would perform to the accompaniment of [[synthesizer]] [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]] and [[drum machine]]s. | ||
| - | In addition, [[dance music]] during the 1981–83 period borrowed elements from [[blues]] and [[jazz]], creating a style different from the disco of the 1970s. This emerging music was still known as disco for a short time, as the word had become associated with any kind of dance music played in [[discothèque]]s. Examples of early 1980s dance sound performers include [[D. Train]], [[Kashif]], and [[Patrice Rushen]]. These changes were influenced by some of the notable R&B and jazz musicians of the 1970s, such as Stevie Wonder, Kashif and [[Herbie Hancock]], who had pioneered "[[Multi-instrumentalist|one-man-band]]"-type keyboard techniques. Some of these influences had already begun to emerge during the mid-1970s, at the height of disco’s popularity. | + | The '''string section''' is the largest body of the standard [[orchestra]] and consists of [[bow (music)|bowed]] [[string instrument]]s of the [[violin family]]. |
| + | It normally comprises five sections: the first [[violin]]s, the second violins, the [[viola]]s, the [[cello]]s, and the [[double basses]] (or basses). | ||
| + | In discussions of the instrumentation of a musical work, the phrase "and strings" is used to indicate a string section as just defined. | ||
| - | Songs such as [[Gloria Gaynor]]’s "[[Never Can Say Goodbye]]" (1974), [[Thelma Houston]]’s "[[Don't Leave Me This Way]]" (1976), [[Donna Summer]]’s "[[Spring Affair]]" (1977), [[Rod Stewart]]’s "[[Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?]]" (1978), [[Donna Summer]]’s "[[Bad Girls (song)|Bad Girls]]" (1979), and [[The Bee Gees]]’ "[[Love You Inside Out]]" (1979) foreshadowed the dramatic change in dance music styles which was to follow in the 1980s. | + | In music of the [[classical period (music)|classical period]], the cellos and double basses often play from the same music, their parts being usually notated on a single [[staff (music)|staff]], with the bassist's written notes sounding one [[octave]] lower than written. |
| - | During the first years of the 1980s, the "disco sound" began to be phased out, and faster tempos and synthesized effects, accompanied by guitar and simplified backgrounds, moved dance music toward the funk and pop genres. This trend can be seen in singer [[Billy Ocean]]'s recordings between 1979 and 1981. Whereas Ocean's 1979 song ''American Hearts'' was backed with an orchestral arrangement played by the [[Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra]], his 1981 song ''"One of Those Nights (Feel Like Gettin' Down)"'' had a more bare, stripped-down sound, with no orchestration or [[symphonic]] arrangements. This drift from the original disco sound is called [[post-disco]]. In this music scene there are rooted sub-genres, such as [[italo-disco]], [[techno]], [[house music|house]], [[dance-pop]], [[boogie (genre)|boogie]], and early [[alternative dance]]. | + | An orchestra consisting solely of a string section is called a [[string orchestra]]. |
| - | During the early 1980s, dance music dropped the complicated melodic structure and orchestration which typified the "disco sound". Examples of well-known songs which illustrate this difference include [[Kool & the Gang]]’s "[[Celebration (song)|Celebration]]" (1980), [[Rick James]]’ "[[Super Freak]]" (1981), [[Grace Jones]]'s "[[Pull Up to the Bumper]]" (1981), [[Carol Jiani]]'s "Hit N' Run Lover" (1981), [[Laura Branigan]]'s "[[Gloria (Umberto Tozzi/Laura Branigan song)|Gloria]]" (1982), [[The Pointer Sisters]]’ "[[I'm So Excited]]" (1982), [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]’s "[[1999 (song)|1999]]" (1982), [[The Weather Girls]]'s "[[It's Raining Men]]" (1982), [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]]’s "[[Holiday (Madonna song)|Holiday]]" (1983), [[Irene Cara]]'s "[[Flashdance (What A Feeling)]]" (1983), [[Angela Bofill]]'s "Too Tough" (1983), [[Miquel Brown]]'s "[[So Many Men, So Little Time]]" (1983), [[Michael Jackson]]’s "[[Thriller (song)|Thriller]]" (1983), [[Stevie Nicks]]' "[[Stand Back]]" (1983), [[Cerrone]]'s "Back Track" (1984), [[Jocelyn Brown]]'s "Somebody Else's Guy" (1984), and [[Klymaxx]]'s "Meeting in the Ladies Room" (1984). | + | The term is also used to describe a group of bowed string instruments used in [[rock music|rock]], [[pop music|pop]], [[jazz music|jazz]] and [[jingle|commercial]] music.<ref name="stringsection">[http://www.stringsection.co.uk/]</ref> In this context the size and composition of the string section is less standardised, and usually smaller, than a classical complement.<ref name="absil">[http://www.fransabsil.nl/archpdf/strsize.pdf Size of the String Section in Popular Music Recordings, F.G.J.Absil, 2010]</ref> |
| - | ==Post-disco== | + | ==Seating arrangement== |
| - | Later in the 2000s, [[Daft Punk]], a [[house music]]al group, adopted [[post-disco]], disco and synthpop sounds of early 1980s to their album ''[[Discovery (Daft Punk album)|Discovery]]'', another artist [[Les Rythmes Digitales]] was influenced by [[post-disco]]/[[electro music|electro]] scene of the early 1980s. | + | The most common seating arrangement is with first violins, second violins, violas and cellos clockwise around the [[Conductor (music)|conductor]], with basses behind the cellos on the right.<ref>''Stanley Sadie's Music Guide'', p. 56 (Prentice-Hall 1986). [[Nicolas Slonimsky]] described the cellos-on-the-right arrangement as part of a 20th century "sea change" (''Lectionary of Music'', p. 342 (McGraw-Hill 1989).</ref> In the 19th century it was standard<ref>"Orchestra" in Encyclopedia Americana (1948).</ref> to have the first and second violins on opposite sides (violin I, cello, viola, violin II), rendering obvious the crossing of their parts in, for example, the opening of the finale to [[Tchaikovsky]]'s [[Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)| Sixth Symphony]]. |
| + | |||
| + | If space or numbers are limited, cellos and basses can be put in the middle, violins and violas on the left (thus facing the audience) and winds to the right; this is the usual arrangement in orchestra pits.<ref>Gassner, "Dirigent und Ripienist" (Karlsruhe 1844). [[Rousseau]]'s ''Dictionnaire de musique'' (1768), however, has a figure showing second violins facing the audience and firsts facing the singers, reflecting the [[concertmaster]]'s former role as [[Conductor (music)|conductor]].</ref> The seating may also be specified by the composer, as in [[Béla Bartók]]'s [[Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta]], which uses [[antiphony|antiphonal]] string sections, one on each side of the stage. | ||
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| + | The pair of string players who play from the same sheet of music on the stand in front of them is called a "desk". | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Numbers== | ||
| + | The size of a string section may be expressed with a formula of the type (for example) 10-10-8-10-6, designating the number of first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and basses. The numbers can vary widely; thus in a large orchestra they might be 14-14-12-12-10; the band orchestra in [[Darius Milhaud]]'s [[La création du monde]] is 1-1-0-1-1. [[Mozart]]'s [[mass (liturgy)|mass]]es and [[offertories]] written for the [[Salzburg]] cathedral routinely dispensed with violas, as did his [[Mozart and dance|dances]]. [[Leonard Bernstein]] also left out the violas in his ''[[West Side Story]]''. Famous works without violins include the Serenades of [[Brahms]] and [[Stravinsky]]'s [[Symphony of Psalms]], as well as [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s ''[[Requiem (Lloyd_Webber)|Requiem]]'' and [[Philip Glass]]'s opera ''[[Akhnaten]]''. | ||
| - | [[Canada|Canadian]] musical group called [[Chromeo]] debuted in 2004 by 80s-influenced electrofunk/[[boogie (genre)|boogie]] album ''[[She's in Control]]''. ''[[The Perfect Beats]]'' series (Vol. 1-4) are post-disco compilations of various artists (e.g. [[Imagination (band)|Imagination]], [[Level 42]], [[Afrika Bambaataa]]). Another compilation series are ''[[Nighttime lovers]]'' (Vol. 1-10) and mixed-up album ''[[The Boogie Back: Post Disco Club Jams]]''. | ||
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Revision as of 17:21, 29 August 2012
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The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family. It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses (or basses). In discussions of the instrumentation of a musical work, the phrase "and strings" is used to indicate a string section as just defined.
In music of the classical period, the cellos and double basses often play from the same music, their parts being usually notated on a single staff, with the bassist's written notes sounding one octave lower than written.
An orchestra consisting solely of a string section is called a string orchestra.
The term is also used to describe a group of bowed string instruments used in rock, pop, jazz and commercial music.<ref name="stringsection">[1]</ref> In this context the size and composition of the string section is less standardised, and usually smaller, than a classical complement.<ref name="absil">Size of the String Section in Popular Music Recordings, F.G.J.Absil, 2010</ref>
Seating arrangement
The most common seating arrangement is with first violins, second violins, violas and cellos clockwise around the conductor, with basses behind the cellos on the right.<ref>Stanley Sadie's Music Guide, p. 56 (Prentice-Hall 1986). Nicolas Slonimsky described the cellos-on-the-right arrangement as part of a 20th century "sea change" (Lectionary of Music, p. 342 (McGraw-Hill 1989).</ref> In the 19th century it was standard<ref>"Orchestra" in Encyclopedia Americana (1948).</ref> to have the first and second violins on opposite sides (violin I, cello, viola, violin II), rendering obvious the crossing of their parts in, for example, the opening of the finale to Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony.
If space or numbers are limited, cellos and basses can be put in the middle, violins and violas on the left (thus facing the audience) and winds to the right; this is the usual arrangement in orchestra pits.<ref>Gassner, "Dirigent und Ripienist" (Karlsruhe 1844). Rousseau's Dictionnaire de musique (1768), however, has a figure showing second violins facing the audience and firsts facing the singers, reflecting the concertmaster's former role as conductor.</ref> The seating may also be specified by the composer, as in Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, which uses antiphonal string sections, one on each side of the stage.
The pair of string players who play from the same sheet of music on the stand in front of them is called a "desk".
Numbers
The size of a string section may be expressed with a formula of the type (for example) 10-10-8-10-6, designating the number of first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and basses. The numbers can vary widely; thus in a large orchestra they might be 14-14-12-12-10; the band orchestra in Darius Milhaud's La création du monde is 1-1-0-1-1. Mozart's masses and offertories written for the Salzburg cathedral routinely dispensed with violas, as did his dances. Leonard Bernstein also left out the violas in his West Side Story. Famous works without violins include the Serenades of Brahms and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem and Philip Glass's opera Akhnaten.
