The All Shore Orchestra Director’s Association is dedicated to helping create and develop premium quality performance opportunities for young string players in Monmouth County and Ocean County, both situated along the Jersey Shore. The day-to-day reality is that string orchestras and orchestra programs, in general, are sparse in these areas and the association hopes to fill a void.

“Today’s great announcement is about nurturing a strong call to action for so many talented music teachers and members of the local communities to support orchestra programs,” expressed, Dan Martinho, Founder, All Shore Orchestra. “I’m absolutely delighted with the interest already expressed by several super-talented music teachers in the region who wish to further our cause. It has been a huge vote of confidence in the actions that we have been empowered to take on behalf of the children of the nearby counties.”

The philosophy of All Shore Orchestra centers around the belief that the orchestra as an ensemble is an inextricable part of Western culture, featured in virtually all aspects of media and the arts, and as such deserves its rightful place in education and the local community. The 21st century orchestra is not just about playing – it is about developing future loyal audiences and developing a life-long appreciation of music in all those involved. Grade 7 to 9 violinists, violists, cellists, and double bassists attending public, private, or home schools in Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean Counties are welcome to audition.

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The bow consists of a piece of slightly flexible wood on which an amount of horsehair is mounted. It is held in and drawn using the player’s right hand. Before playing, the player adjusts a screw at one end of the bow to tighten the hair enough to allow it to make firm contact with the string. The hair is then lightly rubbed with a substance called rosin, made from treated tree resin hardened into a block. The rosin is sticky and allows the bow hair to grip the strings enough to set them vibrating when the bow is drawn across them.

The part of the string instrument where the bow actually touches the strings is between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge, which suspends the strings above the body and transmits their vibrations into this body in order to amplify them. Within this area the player can choose how far between these two points the bow will be drawn, in order to produce variations in volume and timbre: the closer to the bridge, the greater the volume.

The bow is drawn across the string in two ways: either from the frog to the tip, called a downbow, or from the tip to the frog, an upbow.

Naturally, the terms downbow and upbow come from the general direction that the bow is drawn across the string, from the perspective of the player.  Because the bow is so versatile, there is rarely a “correct” bowing for any particular passage of music. One should therefore know all the possibilities and sounds that the bow can produce, and adjust his or her techniques according to the composer’s intentions.

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The cello and the double bass may look similar from a distance, but they are actually very different.

A cello is played while seated on a standard chair.  A double bass is played either standing up, or seated on a high stool. Bass bows come in two different varieties and are held with two different grip styles: French and German. Cello bows are typically a smaller version of the French bass bow.

The Cello

Cello in a concert

The name cello is short for violoncello, which is Italian for “small double bass.”

While the cello is too big to be placed under the player’s jaw like a violin or viola, it is also too small to play while standing up. It is the only instrument that absolutely must be played sitting down.

This instrument is the tenor voice in the orchestra. Its four strings are tuned to the pitches C, G, D, A – exactly one octave below each of the four open strings on the viola. Most cello music will be written in the bass clef, but occasionally moves into tenor clef as the music gets higher. When the music gets very high, the treble clef is used.

The cello has a much deeper and richer tone than both the violin and the viola, due to its larger size and thicker strings. The cello is the second-largest instrument in the string orchestra. It is also the one that sounds the most like a tenor voice.

The cello’s lower strings have a rich, dark sound. It is quite common for composers often write a particular phrase to be played on a certain string, in order to take advantage of this sound.

A large symphony orchestra can have between eight and twelve cellos in a section. Smaller ensembles, of course, have fewer and it’s entirely possible for a small chamber orchestra to get by with just one or two cellists.

How to Hold the Cello

• Sit in a chair with a firm base.
• The neck and scroll of the cello should be to the left of the head, with the C-string tuning peg approximately the same height as the ear. (This may vary, according on the particular instrument and cellist.)
• The cellist should sit straight up and avoid slouching.  Some prefer to sit on the edge of the chair, and others like sitting well back on the seat for more back support.
• Adjust the endpin so that the body of the cello gently rests against the chest, its lower half balanced between the knees.  Be sure the endpin is rooted securely onto the floor.  An endpin holder can keep the cello from slipping.
• Use the knees to firmly keep the cello steady.  Do not grip the instrument between the legs.
• Slightly angle the base of the cello to the right, so that the bow can easily reach all of the strings.

The Double Bass

The Double Bass

At over 6 feet long, the double bass is the biggest member of the string family. This instrument is so big that one has to stand up or sit on a very tall stool to play it – having long arms and big hands comes in handy, too!

Like the cello, the body of the double bass rests on the floor, supported by a metal endpin, and the neck of the instrument is aligned with the player’s left shoulder.  Its sound is produced the same way as the sound on a cello, using the left hand to change pitches and the right hand to move the bow or pluck the string.

The strings on the double bass, however, are much longer than those on a cello. This extra length allows this instrument to play very low notes.  Unlike the other three instruments of the string family, the strings on a double bass are only the interval of a perfect 4^th apart from one another: E, A, D, and G (the low E is lower than the cello’s C). In comparison, the cello has a much wider range. The cello can play notes spanning about five octaves, while the bass can play only around four.

The size (and shape) of double bass bodies is not as standardized as that of the cello – so string length can vary between individual instruments. Double basses typically have a lot more variation in their body shape and proportions than cellos. The volume of the cello body is well suited for its tonal range. As a result its shape could be perfected over centuries of time. In contrast, the body of the double bass is actually too small for its range.  Making it large enough to suit its very low range would make it too large for any person to play. As a result, bass makers have adjusted the sizes of these instruments to balance tone with practicality.

How to Hold the Double Bass

Standing Position:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Adjust the length of endpin so the nut of the fingerboard is at the level of your eyebrows. Bass players have differing preferences regarding the proper height of the bass and how to adjust the endpin, so consult your bass teacher for his or her advice. Some recommend that the nut of the fingerboard should be at eye level, while others say the nut should be as high as the top of the head or forehead.  Still others adjust the height of the bass using their knuckles: to do so, stand facing the bass (holding the neck of the instrument with your left hand and dropping your right arm straight down against your body) and adjust the endpin so the bridge touches the knuckles or fingernails of your right hand.
• Turn the bass slightly to the right and tilt it back so that it rests against the left side of your hip (some like to rest the bass against the stomach).
• Many bass players use endpin rests to help keep their endpin from sliding.

Sitting Position (using a stool):

• Adjust the length of the bass endpin so the nut of the fingerboard is at the level of your eyebrows when standing.
• Sit on the front half of the stool. Some bass players keep both feet on the floor while playing, while others keep their right foot on the floor, lifting and placing their left foot on a rung of the stool. Select a position that is comfortable for you.
• Turn the bass slightly to the right and lean the back of the instrument on the left side of your stomach.

Bows

Bass players use two different types of bows: the French bow and the German bow.

• The French bow is shorter and heavier than the cello bow, and utilizes an overhand bow hold similar to what cello players use.

• The German bow has a taller frog that requires the bass player to use an underhand bow grip.

Both bows have their advantages. Consult your bass teacher or a fellow bass player for assistance if you’re unsure which bow to use.

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Violins and violas are very important instruments in the orchestra. Since they are bowed and not played with air, both can play long melodic phrases. They can also play two notes at a time, called “double stops”, which allow more complex harmonies to evolve from the melody. However, differences between these two instruments are significant. The violin produces the highest pitches. There are more violins in the orchestra than any other instrument (up to 30, depending on the size of the orchestra), and are divided into two groups: first and second. First violins often play the melody, while second violins alternate between melody and harmony.

The Violin

Violins in general often have the melody. If not, they often have an interesting counter melody. So you want to have enough violins to be heard, especially over louder brass instruments. A typical violin is around 24 inches (two feet) long, with a bow that is slightly longer than the instrument itself. You play the violin by resting it between your jaw and left shoulder. Your left hand holds the neck of the violin and presses down on the strings to change the pitch, while your right hand moves the bow or plucks the strings.

The viola is slightly larger and heavier than the violin, requiring the fingers on the left hand to be placed slightly farther apart on the fingerboard while playing. It is also heavier and requires thicker strings and heftier bows. Viola bows weigh about 10 grams more than violin bows. One way to tell a viola bow apart from violin bows is by looking at the frog (the part of the bow that is held by the hand). The frog of the violin bow is pointed, while one on a viola bow is rounded.

The four open strings on both the violin and the viola are tuned to the interval of a perfect fifth apart from one another. The lowest pitch a violin can produce is the first G below middle C, played on an open string. Each consecutive open string that follows is the interval of a perfect fifth above the previous one. Thus the strings on the violin are tuned to the pitches of G, D, A, and E.

The Viola

Three strings on the viola are tuned to the same pitches as those on the violin: the G, D, and A. However, the viola does not have a high E string. Instead, it adds a low C string below the G string. The range of music that the viola plays, therefore, falls right in between the treble and bass clefs. Rather than using both clefs at the same time, viola music is most often notated on an alto clef – with middle C on its center line.

Although this alto clef was used quite widely in the Baroque period, it is rarely used in modern times by instruments other than the viola. The trombone and cello sometimes use the tenor clef, which looks like an alto clef floating one line higher on the music staff. Violists also get to use treble clef on occasion when they play in higher registers. Since the viola is the middle voice in the string section, they have to be masters of articulation. Violas often serve as the mediator between the cellos/basses and the violins.

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As musicians were added to spice up the shows in theaters, the musicians were put– where else? — in “the orchestra” (that is, the space directly in front of the stage).  Over time, this location also became what the group of musicians were called. (Sometimes when you go to a concert or a theater you can buy “orchestra seats,” which doesn’t mean seats in the orchestra, it means the seats that are below the level of the stage.)

An orchestra is made up of lots of different musical instruments. It makes it easier if you divide them up into “families” of instruments. These are:

the strings
the woodwinds
the brass, and
the percussion

The String Orchestra

A “string orchestra” is made up of only string instruments, with no woodwinds, brass, or percussion.
Four major kinds of instruments make up the string orchestra.  These are, from the smallest to the largest in size:

the violin
the viola
the cello, and
the double bass

A typical string orchestra can contain anywhere from eight instruments on up.  This type of orchestra plays special compositions written exclusively for these four instruments. Many of the pieces that were composed for string orchestra were written during two specific periods of musical history: the Baroque Era (1600-1750) and the Classical Era (1750-1820).

The smaller instruments (the violin and viola) produce higher-pitched sounds, and are carried on a musician’s left shoulder, with the left side of the jaw resting on the chinrest.  The jaw and the shoulder must hold the violin firmly enough to stabilize it while the right hand handles the bow.

The larger instruments (the cello and double bass) produce low, rich sounds. The cello is played while its player is seated, with the instrument supported on the floor.  The double bass, even larger than the cello, is most often played with the musician standing up, although it can also be played while seated on a tall stool.

All four of these instruments are all shaped in a similar manner, with curvy wooden bodies and wooden necks. The strings stretch over the body and neck and attach to small heads, where they are tuned with tuning pegs.

These string instruments play a very important role, making up about 2/3 of a full symphony orchestra.  Many famous works of the past few centuries have been written for performance by string instruments and string orchestras.

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