[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by jrubbernek

how many instruments are there in an orchestra piece/band, what does each instrument do, what is the tuning of each string on the instrument.

This might help:

http://www.ethanwiner.com/orchestra1.gif
http://www.ethanwiner.com/orchestra2.gif

Description:

I created the two charts Instruments of the Orchestra and Their Ranges to help me when composing, and I'm sure others will find them useful too. The GIF files for Page 1 (70 KB) and Page 2 (80 KB) list the playable ranges for all of the instruments in the orchestra, and also show what ranges are appropriate for amateur players. Besides note ranges, the woodwind "break points" are also shown, so you know what note pairs are difficult to finger and should not be trilled. For trombones, the slide ranges are shown so you don't write a slide that's impossible to play. Offsets for all transposing instruments are also given.