Modern Orchestras

Modern orchestras tend to be a lot larger than early orchestras. This has to do with the fact that early orchestras lacked certain instruments. Trumpets were only available in C and D and the other types did not surface until the end of the 1700’s. Of course the size of the orchestra varied depending on the composer’s preferences. Today, orchestras consist of 180 members! Early orchestras were comprised of only a dozen or so members.