Answering most Googled questions about the orchestra!
That's right.
Your favourite violin internet detectives are going to...
...everyone about the symphony orchestra.
First question.
It's because...
When there's music, there's electricity.
- When there's...electricity, you need to conduct... - Yep.
...the electricity.
Alright, sorry. Bad joke.
I...I get it's like a common question, right?
Especially in a concert,
- when you're taking a friend that hasn't been to - (Eddy) Yeah.
- a classical...concert, it's like... - Yeah, it's like some person just being like...
And they're just like, "Uh, hold up,
- what do they do?" - Yeah.
Really, the primary...
...base need for a conductor,
I mean, the conductor does a lot of other things.
But, at the end of the day,
they're there to keep the ensemble,
to make sure all the musicians play together.
So when the musicians are smaller,
and they can all see and hear each other,
it's not really needed.
To illustrate this, you kind of have to see...
...the history of conducting, right?
Actually, in the Baroque era,
which is 1600s to 1750, roughly,
- there wasn't often conductors, they weren't very common, - (Brett) Yeah.
because ensembles were a lot smaller,
so you'll see back in Baroque,
- it'll usually be just the concertmaster, - (Brett) Yeah.
- or the harpsichord player, uh... - (Brett) Yeah.
If you ever watch a baroque ensemble, even today,
often they perform without a conductor,
- but sometimes they do. - (Brett) Yes.
And the harpsichord sometimes leads it, everyone follows,
- or the concertmaster leads it as well. - (Eddy) Yeah.
Even in the Classical era,
when orchestras started getting a little bit bigger,
often for example, Mozart, would play a piano concerto,
- and he would lead it from the piano himself. - Mm-hmm.
And so you'll still see that tradition today sometimes,
where soloists of a classical concerto will conduct
while playing at the same time.
I think...
...really, conducting became a thing in the Romantic era.
I mean, I'm not an expert,
I believe the reason is because pieces in the Romantic era
grew a lot more complex with tempo changes,
and then the orchestras like, got big, so...
Imagine a hundred musicians,
except you're not just playing to a beat,
the speed is constantly slowing down, and then speeding up,
and so, you kind of need someone to dictate
how much you want to speed up,
or how much you want to slow down,
and everyone kind of has a visual...
- Yeah, and that's why the conductor's on a podium sometimes, - (Eddy) ...guide.
and if everyone looks at the concertmaster,
- it's not enough. - Mmm.
If you look at the concertmaster from the back of the section,
like you're a percussionist, it's too far.
I think a conductor now has almost taken...
...a leadership role as well.
They're not only responsible for...showing time,
but they're also the one who has to drive
- the musical interpretation of the piece. - Yes.
So they are the one that has to be...
...the master interpreter,
to study the symphony, all its parts,
come up with their interpretation of
how all the parts should weave together,
and then signal and gesture that, through his...
- ...skills. - Mm-hmm.
And then add on to that,
you often get the same orchestra with different conductors,
and the sound will sound very different.
So true!
Yeah, and then some conductors are known for specific...
- ...repertoire, - (Eddy) Yeah, yeah.
and everyone gets really excited for that,
- 'cause... - This conductor is an expert in ballets,
- Yes...yes. - this one's an expert in classical.
So a conductor actually has
- a lot of responsibility. - Yeah.
And that's why they're the highest paid,
- I think? They are. - Yeah they are, they are the highest paid.
Damn it!
- I know, industry secret! - Damn it!
- Highest paid, more than the concertmaster! - Grrr!!!
- Ohhhh! - No...!
- Alright, next question! - Okay, next one.
I actually don't know this.
Ehhhhh!
'Cause they're so nasally they pierce—
No, I'm just joking.
Actually I want to Google,
I don't know this.
Oh, you're right!
It's the penetrating sound of the oboe!
Stands out of the orchestra!
There you go!
It's easier for musicians to hear.
You know why I was thinking that?
Because I'm sitting in the section,
I can hear it straight away.
- It is a very...behhhhhh! - Behhh! It cuts through!
- That's true, if it's a violin, - (Brett) Yeah.
and all the other instruments start tuning...
- (Brett) Yeah, if it's o—if it's... - ...all the sound gets lost.
- If it's a clarinet, it's too round, - (Eddy) Yeah.
for that situation.
- If it's a bass, no one's going to hear it. - Yeah.
- (Brett) If it's a...yeah. - If it's brass, it's never gonna be in tune.
Ohhh!!!!
Just kidding!
Next question.
Why do orchestras tune to a441?
(What?!)
- What? - Oh, a440.
I clearly tune to a441.
Yeah.
Uh, look, they don't always tune to a440.
A lot of orchestras these days tune to 441,
- all the way up to 446, almost... - 6?!
Yeah, I feel like...
Who goes to 446?!
Some European orchestras just feel so sharp.
Alright, maybe not 446, I don't know,
I made that up, but...
Definitely up to 443.
Yoh, I think so, yeah.
Back in the old days,
- Mmm. - Back in the days, when we were
toiling in the renaissance villages...
- I think they used to tune anywhere between 415 to 4... - Yeah.
...50.
There was just no set rule,
- people kind of just roughly tuned to whatever. - Yeah.
Times have definitely changed,
and then over time, it got standardised,
and it became a=440.
Like have you heard like why they're all so sharper,
sharper now?
- The sharper you are, the more bright the sound is. - Brighter sound,
and the brighter the sound is, the sound can, you know,
- travel, further. - (Eddy) Yeah.
Check out a video we did a long time ago, called like,
- "The global warming of...pitch." - Yes.
- It literally...it's all just going sharper. - It's like global warming, it's like...
(Eddy) Yeah.
Next one!
I mean...
Do you want everyone to memorise every symphony?
Like maybe if you're a percussion player,
and you have like,
5 triangle hits throughout the whole sym...
Nah, just kidding.
Violinists, we have a lot of notes.
- Thousands. - (Eddy) Look...
Look at a Mahler symphony,
a Shostakovich symphony,
- it's...it's a lot of notes. - (Brett) Yeah.
And not just that, but often in orchestra,
you're playing parts that are not the melody,
- so they're not very memorable notes. - Yeah...yes.
You might be doing some accompaniment, like...
- Notes that kind of don't really make sense by themselves, - Yeah.
- in context, make sense. - Exactly.
And then add that to the fact that the current way
orchestras work is...we're expected to play...
...like a different symphony, every week,
- it's just too much to memorise, you know what I mean? - And just actually, just imagine,
like it takes one person to have a small memory slip,
- and the whole effect, - (Eddy) Mmm.
and the sound is gone.
Some conduct—actually,
most conductors conduct by memory as well.
They kind of know...the gist of it.
- The conductor needs to know. - The symphony...yeah.
If they don't know, then...
- Then they're in trouble. - Yeah.
But that's 'cause the conductors get paid more!
- Yeah! That's true! - So if the musicians got paid more...!
- (Brett) Yeah, if... - Then maybe we would memorise the music!
- Wow, what a segue from what we were just saying. - (Brett) Yeah.
No, we don't get paid.
Not enough if you want us to memorise the symphonies!
Come on!
The triangle players need to get paid more,
because each ding is only $3,000 right now.
Actually, I don't know how much they're paid.
Well actually, if you put it to the amount of...
...[notes] played to how much you get paid...
Violin, we work pretty hard!
Yeah, the violinists, we struggle the most!
- It's just like 0.00001 cent per note. - Yeah.
Whereas the triangle, like he said,
- it's like, a ding is a hundred bucks. - (Eddy) It's like...
- $100! - (Brett) Yeah.
Ding, another $200!
- And then they just like, wait there, chill. - They just chill there.
Okay, we're just joking,
you guys gotta count rests, but like...
Respect to percussion players.
I can't believe it's a que—
Do orchestra musicians get—
Yeah, of course we get paid.
- Professional. - Professional orchestras get paid.
If it's like youth orchestras, it's different.
Youth orchestra, the musicians PAY,
- Yeah, they pay, you pay! - to play.
- You know, youth orchestra, we gotta pay! - Yeah, yeah.
But actually,
to get serious a little bit,
it is a bit of a problem,
because a lot of orchestras are struggling
- to get funded properly, - (Brett) Mmm.
and, given the current...pandemic,
it's just not good.
It's been a struggle, yeah.
But hey.
More time to practice.
Can you imagine after the pandemic,
just imagine every orchestra musician just practices.
And that way, everyone gets so good.
That would be amazing, but somehow I feel like...
- It's wishful thinking. - (Eddy) Yeah!
- I've definitely been practicing more during this pandemic. - Super good. Yeah!
- Yeah. - Been practicing a lot more.
The next tour, we're gonna be sounding different.
Yeah.
Just hope this next tour is like, next year,
not five years down the line.
Dude, five years down the line,
my back won't be able to hold a violin anymore.
All right, next one.
Because...
People wanna see the violin. Clearly.
Yeah...!
Usually, the attractive instruments are in the front.
- So first violin, and cellos. Yeah, yeah. - It's all thought out, guys.
Violas and seconds back there.
The ones people don't want you to see.
Now, you might think,
"Why are violas before the flutes and oboes?"
"Flutes and oboes are more attractive, right?"
- Well, flutes and oboes have a stand. - Yeah.
- So you actually can see them more than the violas. - Yes, yes.
But then you can't really see the brass,
'cause they're just like,
- all the way back there. - (Brett) Yeah.
And they're trying to get [your] attention
with their shiny instruments.
That's why they're back there.
'Cause if they're in the front,
- no one's gonna look at the back. - Yeah.
So that's why they're there.
And the percussion instruments are just like...
You can't really see the percussion instruments.
But I mean, who looks at them anyway?
Just kidding, just kidding!
All right. All right, um...
Honest answer, though...
If you think about it from musical terms, right?
The same sections need to at least sit with each other.
If you're in a section, you sound more unified
and you can hear how you're blending with
the people playing the same parts as you, right? Now...
The strings are gonna have a lot more people.
- And that's why the flat ground is usually the string players. - Mmhm.
On top of that,
brass and wind are a lot louder.
- That's why they're less, and they're also behind. - Yep.
I think... I don't know.
This is why also percussion is at the very end,
'cause they're like, massive. Like...
Now, as to why it's first, second,
viola, cello...
Actually, some conductors play around with different arrangements.
- Yeah, they swap the violas and cellos around. - (Eddy) Yeah.
- Or they put... - Seconds on the...
I hate that though!
- I hate that! - I was gonna say, if they really prefer violins
playing on the outside.
If you're here as a second violin,
the back of your violin is facing the audience.
So our sound is traveling backward.
And the second violins usually play a more middle register.
- So it's already harder to project. - So already, it's harder to project.
- Dealing with higher registers is a lot easier. - Yeah.
Whereas, if it's the viola on the outside,
well, it doesn't matter 'cause they're not projecting anyway.
But that's why.
- There's actually science behind it. - Science behind it.
"Bah-ton."
Is it "bah-ton" or "ba-tawn"? I've always said "bah-ton."
- B... "Ba-tawn," "bae-ton." - "Ba-tahn."
- "Bah-tawn." - "Bah-ton."
"Ba-toofs."
Okay, so why do they use a "ba-toon"?
They don't always use a baton.
Well I mean, one famous conductor uses a toothpick.
Yes!
Check out...
- Gergi... Gergio. Gergiev. - Gergiev. Gergi. Gerg...
- Gergiev, yeah. - Gergiev. Gergiev!
- Super super famous conductor. Um... - Yep.
Very great.
And he also has this very strange...
I mean, it's not strange, like...
It's unique, but I think it's amazing.
Where he does this thing,
- and you can't really tell where the beat is, - (Brett) Yeah.
but the orchestra just sounds so alive
- and together. - It's so meta. It's like, conducting within conducting.
He's doing this conducting motion,
but within that motion he's doing mini conducting.
We didn't really answer.
Oh, right.
- Okay. Oh yeah, we just said we don't... - I just realized that we...
I just realized it! And I was like,
- We don't... Okay. - "What was the question again?"
Why do they use a...
Easier to see?
I mean, I don't know the official reason, but like...
This...
- ...versus this. - Yeah.
You can see when the...
- This point, right? - The point at the tip, it's gonna do the rhythm.
And also, it just feels kind of bad***.
It's like a magic wand.
- You do this, sound comes out. Like... - Yeah!
- Boop. - Bam!
Again, like...
A conductor doesn't need a baton.
It's just there for...
...convenience. And also so they can do this
when the students aren't listening.
Yeah, on the music stand!
"No no no no..."
"Strings, why?!"
"Viola!"
"Violaaa!"
Guys.
Google, learn some grammar. Geez.
But, um...
I mean, they know the hierarchy in orchestra, right?
The most superior instrument.
There's some things in life,
there's just a natural order.
You know in the beginning of Lion King,
where all the animals...
- Yeah, all come together. Yeah, oh yeah. - They come together.
- And like, Simba, whatever... - Yeah yeah, Simba's there. Yeah.
This is the violin.
Eddy: This is the violins, hey?
Everyone respects the vio...
All right, guys. Seriously...
I think it's probably to do with
the nature of the violin, what we're able to do,
means we typically have the more important...
Not important.
Well, we play a lot of melodies.
I feel like a violinist can gesture a lot more.
- Yeah. - While also playing.
And again, too, given the nature of the layout,
the violins are usually gonna be at the front,
- whereas the winds are gonna be at the back. - Yeah. Exactly.
- And everyone's looking that direction. - Yeah.
And cellos I can see also leading, but...
I just feel like maybe the cello has less range of motion.
- Yeah, they can only kind of do this, - Yeah.
- whereas violin can actually lift their violin up. - Yeah. And 'cause it's like,
the bow, sometimes you lead with the bow as well, right?
But the cellist bow is too low for the people in the back to see.
That's true!
Cellists...
- It's a bit hard to like, lift their cello up. Show the... - Cello is like...
- Like... - (Eddy) Yeah!
Boom!
I think that's why.
I mean...
- It is the reason now! Official. - Yeah, official reason now!
TwoSet's official reason.
Because usually they're the best violinist,
and the violin is the best, most important instrument.
And therefore...
This whole episode is just about how great the violin is.
Everyone's gonna be like,
"TwoSet is just going to be how great the violin is."
I mean, I think...
They're kind of like the second-in-command, after conductor.
And if the conductor messes up,
the concertmaster is the one that needs to dictate the orchestra.
Remember when, earlier, we asked about conductors?
Why they're needed?
And it's like, during the Baroque era...
- Oh yeah! Yeah, yeah. - It was the concertmaster that conducted.
- So that's why. - (Brett) Yep.
All right, now, one bonus question
that we found on Quora.
- Beats us. We don't know. - Yeah.
Dude, that's a question I've always asked.
Ever since I joined orchestra, or watched a concert, I'm like...
Yeah, when you're in the audience, and your hands hurt,
and they go off and on, like...
I mean, sometimes three times,
- sometimes like, twenty times. - (Brett) Yeah, yeah.
And then if you ever work as an orchestral musician, you're like,
- "I just want to go home." - (Brett) Yeah.
"Like, I mean, that was a great concert,
but I'm so tired."
- Yeah, played a whole symphony. - Yeah.
- It's like, "Oh he's out again, let's stand up again." - Yeah.
I mean, I don't know. It's just a th...
A tradition, I guess.
- I think it's a tradition, etiquette. - Yeah.
Recently, we went to a
- concert, with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. - (Brett) Oh yeah.
And due to the pandemic,
- there was a lot less capacity in the audience. - Yep.
- So, the clapping was a lot softer than usual. - Yep.
And every audience, you can tell they
felt the need to, like...
- Well, one person had to clap for like, six people. - Clap louder, right? Yeah.
And that...
During the last time the conductor walked on,
you could tell people wanted to stop.
- So it got really soft. - (Brett) Yeah.
But it was just so awkward
- and the conductor bows again, - Yeah.
and no one claps. And they're like...
- I was like, "No, I've got to do it!" - "Gotta keep going!"
Anyway, guys.
We hope that answers some of your most Googled questions.
- To be fair, some of them we don't really know. - Mmm.
Some of them...
...are legitimate questions.
So next time, if you get a chance,
when you go to a concert,
you know what's... what it's all about.
Like and subscribe, and we'll see you guys next time.