I would love to play in an orchestra, do they ever have resident pianists (if I dare call myself that )
or just visiting soloists ?

It must be great to be part of a BIG sound

Well said, pianophrase, you have put into words the very thoughts that I have had for many a year as a lone pianist. As others will already know, and be thoroughly bored to see again , I took up the flute after over 60 years of piano playing with the idea of breaking that long sequence with the aim of learning a new instrument. The fact that it was a flute was purely a coincidence, but as you can see from my signature, I am well on the way towards realising that ambition.

I would just say "don't wait as long as I did before you get the same idea" .

There are pieces where the pianist is a member of the orchestra (i.e. not a soloist).

A few large works have orchestral piano parts. Many pianists wishing to join an orchestra take up percussion. They have a head start in learning the tuned percussion instruments: glockenspiel, tubular bells, xylophone, celesta, vibraphone and marimba (in rough historical order of appearance) all have the parts that you strike (celesta has a keyboard, but usualy wider keys than a piano) in the same relationship as the piano keys. Triangle and suspended cymbal are fairly easy to learn; paired cymbals are rather tricky, especially when loud;* snare drum and quiet tambourine rolls both need lots of practice; timpani need a very good ear, have a surprisingly varied technique and can have very difficult parts to play. All percussion players have to be able to count bars rest very reliably.

* Beginners often don't realise how much you have to anticipate the beat on which they are to sound, so arrive late.

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I agree that some conductors can be VERY moody. But only because they want us to do our best...
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I absolutely agree with you. Music can be changed face because of conductors. They are always want to make us to do our best.
They have very cleary mind how music will be coloured.

I also buy scores (especially symphony) to understand my movement, flow and accounting- as sombody mentioned it is very helpful and you use it a lot!

I also play in local small orcehstra. (like sinfonietta)
We borrow the brass in the concert but always make music nicely in the concert.
I think it is because everybody practice hard individually at home between rehearsals. Especially symphony is main part of the concert, we all should make an effort and will be star on the stage!
Try to talk everybody at tea time is another way to be an orchestra player -you know polple's name and nice to introduce each other when family members come to the concert.

So many things to learn from music and director and I just can't wait for weekly rehearsal. Swich off brain completely and just think about music. (I am living for it!)

We all shall enjoy our music life!

So long as you obey the conductor you will get along just fine.

Do ge to know other musicans, esecially outisde of your section.

Do practice your part at home.

Do become a better musican for playing in your orchestra.

Do have fun.

[quote name='bohemian' date='Aug 31 2006, 06:15 PM' post='385990']

Oboe players are SO annoying (no offence) - they seem to know best about everything. No-one else agrees.
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Must be true... and actually, I HAVE taken offence! How much you have to learn...

Probably from an oboist We DO always know best. Strange but true.

I hate to disagree with you kenm, but I reckon that triangle is one of the harder ones to do well. I found myself playing triangle in a professional context in the William Tell Overture (with José Cura conducting), and sight-reading the traingle part was sooo difficult .... should I look at the music, the conductor, or the triangle, as it tried to spin round? Getting a triangle to make two pp notes ping exactly the same is not easy, to say the least. But I did find out how to do vibrato on a trangle: move a couple of fingers up and down inside the triangle after you've struck it. It works, though I think it might be wasted on the average audience member.

Oboists are superior to everyone else in the orchestra if not the universe

For someone with general musical experience who has not put a lot of time in on a particular percussion instrument, I still think that triangle is easier than most. Bass drum and suspended cymbal are easier, I grant, but all the difficulties you have in looking in three directions at once are worse on xylophone, glock, tubular bells, chinese blocks and vibes and these usually have parts that are more difficult to memorise. Snare drum rolls need lots of practice and I once saw a professional player getting repetitive strain injury in a piece by Steve Reich which required him to play an exotic instrument* whose name excapes me.

* For several minutes continuously, he had to rotate a handle which moved something inside a cylinder of length and diameter both about six inches. It made a high frequency rattling noise at medium dynamic. His arm and wrist got tired of twisting the handle and he failed to stay with the beat.

To stop a triangle rotating, ensure that the suspending loop makes a shallow V by spreading it at the top. Never try to play a roll at the open corner.