The strings at the front最前面的弦樂
Click the strings. Notice where they sit, close to the conductor.
點弦樂。注意它們坐在哪裡:靠近指揮。
Music · Unit 3 · Lesson 11 · 音樂 單元三 第十一課
Click through a 3D seating plan, from the strings at the front to the percussion at the back. Switch between two string layouts, and hear the sections join in one by one.
點一點 3D 的座位圖,從最前面的弦樂到最後面的打擊。換兩種弦樂的排法,聽各組一組一組加進來。
An orchestra has four sections, arranged in a semicircle around the conductor. A general principle is to seat them by volume, softer in front and louder behind, but the layout is a tradition that conductors adjust.
管弦樂團有四組,圍著指揮坐成半圓形。一個通則是依音量排:輕的在前、響的在後;但這是傳統,指揮會依情況調整。
3D Model · 3D 模型
The conductor stands on the podium in the middle. The strings sit in a fan at the front. Behind them are the woodwinds, then the brass, and the percussion are at the back. Click a group of seats to hear that section. Switch between the American and the German layout to see how only the strings move. You can also look from above or from the audience. The dots show where each section sits, not how many players there are.
指揮站在中間的台上。弦樂在最前面坐成扇形。後面是木管,再後面是銅管,打擊在最後面。點一群座位,聽那一組的聲音。在美式和德式排法之間切換,看看只有弦樂換了位置。你也可以從上面看,或從觀眾席看。圓點只顯示每一組坐在哪裡,不代表有多少人。
Click a group of seats to hear that section · 點一群座位聽那一組 Drag the background to turn · 拖曳背景旋轉 Scroll or pinch to zoom · 滾輪/雙指縮放
This 3D model needs WebGL, which this browser does not support. The buttons on this page still work, and so do the reading, the cards, and the games.
這個瀏覽器不支援 WebGL,沒辦法顯示 3D 模型。頁面上的按鈕、課文、卡片與小遊戲都還能用。
This is a teaching sketch. Real seating plans differ from orchestra to orchestra, and from concert to concert.
這是教學用的示意圖。真正的座位圖,每個樂團、每場音樂會都不一樣。
All sounds on this page are made by your browser, tone by tone. They are simple recipes for each section, not recordings of an orchestra. · 本頁所有的聲音都由瀏覽器即時合成,是每一組的簡單配方,不是樂團的錄音。
Reading · 英文閱讀
An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble that combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. A full-size orchestra may be called a symphony orchestra or a philharmonic orchestra, and Taiwan’s dictionary says there is no real difference between the two names. Its size may vary from seventy to over one hundred players, depending on the music and the hall.
The strings are the first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, and they are usually the most numerous group. The woodwind section usually includes flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. The brass are French horns, trumpets, trombones, and a tuba. The percussion include the timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, and triangle. The timpani can be tuned to particular notes. A harp is often added, and keyboard instruments may form a fifth section.
These four sections are not the same as the four families in lesson 9. The woodwinds and the brass are both aerophones, because air vibrates in both. The percussion section includes membranophones, such as the timpani, and idiophones, such as the cymbals. A piano is a chordophone. And the names do not describe materials: a saxophone is usually made of brass but belongs to the woodwinds, and a brass instrument is defined by the way its sound is made.
In the usual plan the strings sit at the front, in a semicircle around the conductor’s podium. The Berlin Philharmonic describes one general principle: the sections are arranged by volume. The softer strings sit at the front, then the more powerful woodwinds, then the louder brass, and finally the percussion at the back. But it is a tradition and not a rule. The conductors decide, thinking about the music, the hall, how well the sections blend, and whether they can see the players.
Even the strings can be arranged in different ways. In the so-called American setup, the first violins, second violins, violas, and cellos sit in that order from the audience’s left. In the German setup, the first and second violins sit opposite each other, with the cellos and violas between them. The double basses sit behind the strings, on the left or the right. Even the horns may switch sides. So the picture in this lesson is one possible plan.
The conductor stands on a raised podium. The conductor sets the tempo, makes sure each group comes in at the right time, and shapes the phrasing, often with a baton. Most conductors do not play an instrument when they conduct, so all the sound is made by the musicians. The concertmaster, who leads the first violins, is the second-in-command and leads the tuning. By a convention hundreds of years old, the first oboe plays the note A for the orchestra to tune to.
Questions · 閱讀理解
Why do the strings usually sit at the front?
What does a conductor do, if the conductor does not make the sound?
Why are the orchestra’s four sections not the same as the four families of lesson 9?
Words & Phrases · 生字及片語
Quick Check · 小測驗
1. Which section usually sits at the very back?
2. What is one thing a conductor does?
3. Who leads the first violins and is second-in-command?
4. Which instrument usually gives the note A for the orchestra to tune?
5. A woodwind and a brass instrument are both…
Try It in the Model · 在模型裡試試
Then try it yourself: switch to the German layout. Which sections moved, and which did not?
然後自己試試:換成德式排法。哪些組移動了?哪些沒有?
Click the strings. Notice where they sit, close to the conductor.
點弦樂。注意它們坐在哪裡:靠近指揮。
The woodwinds sit in rows behind the strings. Listen for the hollow, reedy sound.
木管坐在弦樂後面的幾排。聽那種空空的、帶簧片的聲音。
The brass sit behind the woodwinds. In our simple recipe their sound has many strong harmonics.
銅管坐在木管後面。在我們的簡單配方裡,它們的聲音有很多強的諧波。
Hear the sections join in, in the order they sit, from the front to the back.
聽各組依座位的順序,由前到後,一組一組加進來。
Build It · 動手組組看
Turn on the sections you want and press play. They all play the same simple chord. As you add sections, each gets a smaller share of the volume, so the total does not get too loud.
打開你想要的組,再按播放。它們都奏同一個簡單的和弦。加進來的組越多,每一組分到的音量就越小,總音量才不會太大。
Sections playing · 正在奏的組 1 of 4
Game · 小遊戲
Six questions. Each one names a section. Choose which row it usually sits in. Remember that real orchestras vary.
六道題。每一題給一個組的名字。選出它通常坐在哪一排。記得真正的樂團各不相同。
Question 1 of 6 · 第 1 題(共 6 題)
Right on the first try · 第一次就答對 0 / 0
Stories Behind the Notes · 音符背後的故事
Four short stories about how orchestras came to sit the way they do.
關於樂團怎麼坐成今天這樣的四個小故事。
A Greek Word · 希臘字
The word orchestra comes from the Greek orchestra, the name of the area in front of a stage in ancient Greek theaters. Taiwan’s dictionary says the same: it was the place where the chorus stood, and the meaning later grew to a group of instruments playing together, usually in music after the eighteenth century.
orchestra 這個字來自希臘文的 orchestra,是古希臘劇場裡舞台前面那塊地方的名稱。台灣的辭典也這麼說:那是合唱團站的位置,後來延伸成一群樂器合奏的團體,通常用在十八世紀之後的樂團。
Two Layouts · 兩種排法
In the 19th century it was standard to put the first and second violins on opposite sides. Today the most common layout puts the first violins, second violins, violas, and cellos in a line, with the basses behind. Some conductors prefer the German layout, with the violins facing each other. A composer may even specify the seating: Bartók wrote for strings placed in a conversational, antiphonal way.
十九世紀的標準是把第一和第二小提琴放在相對的兩邊。今天最常見的排法,是第一小提琴、第二小提琴、中提琴、大提琴排成一線,低音提琴在後面。有些指揮喜歡德式排法,讓小提琴面對面。作曲家甚至可以指定座位:巴爾托克的曲子,就要求弦樂用像對話一樣的「交替」方式擺放。
An Experimenter · 實驗者
The conductor Leopold Stokowski is credited as the first to adopt the seating plan that most orchestras use today, with the first and second violins together on the conductor’s left and the violas and cellos to the right. He kept changing the seating of his sections. At one time he even put the winds and brass in front of the strings, which, as one article tells it, horrified the people of Philadelphia.
指揮史托科夫斯基(Leopold Stokowski)被認為是第一位採用今天大多數樂團所用座位的人:第一和第二小提琴一起在指揮的左邊,中提琴和大提琴在右邊。他不斷改變各組的座位。有一次他甚至把木管和銅管放在弦樂前面;有一篇文章說,這讓費城的人大吃一驚。
In Taiwan · 在台灣
The National Symphony Orchestra has been in residence at the National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei since 1987. The National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, in Wufeng, Taichung, was founded in 1945 and is the oldest symphony orchestra in Taiwan. The Taipei Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1969. They are three different organizations.
國家交響樂團從 1987 年起,常駐台北的國家戲劇院與音樂廳(兩廳院)。位在台中霧峰的國立臺灣交響樂團,成立於 1945 年,是台灣歷史最悠久的交響樂團。臺北市立交響樂團成立於 1969 年。它們是三個不同的單位。
In the Curriculum · 對應課綱
The curriculum names playing together and conducting. The words orchestra, symphony, and section do not appear in the curriculum itself.
課綱寫到合奏與指揮。「樂團」「管弦」「交響」「聲部」這些詞,課綱本文裡沒有出現。
音 E-Ⅲ-2藝術領域・音樂(國小五、六年級) · Arts, music (grades 5–6)
樂器的分類、基礎演奏技巧,以及獨奏、齊奏與合奏等演奏形式。
An orchestra is an ensemble of many kinds of instruments playing together.管弦樂團是許多種樂器一起合奏的團體。
音 E-Ⅳ-2藝術領域・音樂(國中七至九年級) · Arts, music (grades 7–9)
樂器的構造、發音原理、演奏技巧,以及不同的演奏形式。
Different forms of playing include orchestras and other ensembles.不同的演奏形式,包括管弦樂團與其他合奏。
音 E-Ⅳ-5藝術領域・音樂(國中七至九年級) · Arts, music (grades 7–9)
基礎指揮。
Basic conducting is named in junior high school.基礎指揮在國中被列為學習內容。
Myth vs. Fact · 常見迷思
✗ Myth · 迷思Quiet instruments always sit in front.輕的樂器一定坐在前面。
✓ Fact · 事實Arranging by volume is one general principle, not a law. Conductors adjust the seating for the music and the hall, and Stokowski once put the winds and brass in front.依音量排只是一個通則,不是法律。指揮依曲子和場地調整座位;史托科夫斯基有一次把木管和銅管放在前面。
✗ Myth · 迷思All orchestras use the same seating plan.所有樂團的座位都一樣。
✓ Fact · 事實American and German layouts differ, the basses can be on the left or the right, and the horns may switch sides. The exact layout varies.美式與德式排法不同,低音提琴可以在左也可以在右,法國號可能換邊。確切的排法各有不同。
✗ Myth · 迷思The conductor makes the sound.指揮發出聲音。
✓ Fact · 事實Most conductors do not play an instrument while conducting. The conductor sets the tempo, gives cues, and shapes the phrasing, and the musicians make all the sound.大多數指揮在指揮時不演奏樂器。指揮定速度、給提示、塑造樂句,所有的聲音都由樂手發出。
✗ Myth · 迷思The concertmaster is the conductor.樂團首席就是指揮。
✓ Fact · 事實The concertmaster leads the first violins and is the second-in-command, behind only the conductor. Early orchestras, with no conductor, were led by the concertmaster.樂團首席帶領第一小提琴,是僅次於指揮的第二號人物。沒有指揮的早期樂團,由首席帶領。
Remember It · 記憶口訣
Strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion.
弦樂、木管、銅管、打擊。
Usually softer to louder.
通常由輕到響。
Conductors adjust it.
指揮會調整。
Tempo, cues, phrasing.
速度、提示、樂句。
Protect Your Ears · 保護耳朵
Classroom Activity 1 · 課堂活動一
You need · 準備材料
Steps · 步驟
Clap softly with hands or on knees, so it does not get too loud. Let each student try being the conductor.
用手或在膝蓋上輕輕拍,不要太大聲。讓每位同學都試試當指揮。
Classroom Activity 2 · 課堂活動二
You need · 準備材料
Steps · 步驟
Different concerts have different layouts, so there is no single right answer. Notice the differences instead of marking things wrong.
不同的音樂會有不同的排法,所以沒有唯一的答案。注意差別,不要把不一樣的當成錯。
Go Further · 延伸閱讀
Sources · 資料出處
Names, numbers, and quotations on this page were checked against these sources (October 2026). The seating plan and the sounds are our own simplified drawing and recipes; the geometry and the mix levels in the code are covered by automatic tests. · 本頁的名稱、數字與引文依下列資料查證(2026 年 10 月);座位圖與聲音是我們自己的簡化圖形與配方;程式裡的幾何與混音比例有自動測試。