Orchestra seating chart for kids: who sits where and why

In most orchestras, the strings sit at the front in a wide fan around the conductor. The woodwinds sit in the middle. The brass sit behind them, and the percussion sit at the back. Seen from the audience, the violins are on the left and the cellos and double basses are on the right. The plan puts the quietest instruments closest to the listeners.

Print the orchestra seating chart for a labeled map and a blank one to fill in.

Who sits where

This is one common plan, described from a seat in the audience.

Group	Where they sit
First violins	Front left, next to the conductor
Second violins	Beside the first violins, toward the middle
Violas	Front, middle to right
Cellos	Front right
Double basses	Behind the cellos, on the right
Harp	Left side, behind the violins
Flutes and oboes	Center, first row behind the strings
Clarinets and bassoons	Center, second row behind the strings
Horns	Behind the woodwinds, toward the left
Trumpets	Behind the woodwinds, in the middle
Trombones and tuba	Behind the woodwinds, toward the right
Timpani and percussion	Across the back

The conductor stands on a small platform at the front, facing the players, with their back to the audience.

Why they sit that way

Loud goes to the back. A trumpet is far louder than a violin. If the brass sat at the front, nobody would hear the strings. Distance evens things out.

Families sit together. Players who share a part need to hear each other to stay in tune and in time. All the cellos read the same notes, so they sit as one block.

Everyone needs to see. The players sit in curved rows so that each one has a clear line to the conductor. In many halls, the back rows sit on raised steps.

Partners sit close. The first flute and the first oboe often play duets, so they sit side by side. The timpani and the brass often play together, so they sit near each other.

Who sits in the first chair

Each group has a leader, called the principal, who sits in the first chair and plays the solos for that instrument.

The principal of the first violins has a special title: concertmaster. The concertmaster sits nearest the audience on the conductor’s left, leads the tuning before the concert, and walks on stage alone just before the conductor. The page on what a conductor does explains how the two work together.

String players sit in pairs and share one music stand. The player on the inside turns the pages.

Other seating plans

Orchestras do not all sit the same way, and one orchestra may change its plan from piece to piece.

In an older plan, the second violins sit on the right, across from the first violins. When the two groups trade a tune, a listener hears it pass from side to side. Some conductors still choose this plan for music from the 1700s and 1800s.

In some orchestras, the violas and the cellos swap places.

The conductor Leopold Stokowski tried many plans with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the early 1900s. The plan with all the violins on the left became common in North America after his time there.

How many players?

A full symphony orchestra has about 80 to 100 players. More than half are strings. A piece from Mozart’s time needs far fewer players than a piece by Holst or Stravinsky, so the stage can look different from one half of a concert to the next.

Things to do together

Label the chart. Print the blank chart and fill it in from memory.

Build an orchestra. Seat toy figures or stuffed animals in a fan on the floor. Give each one an instrument on a slip of paper. Let your child be the conductor.

Watch and point. Play a concert video. Pause on a wide shot and find each family. Then watch for the camera to jump to whoever has the tune.

Listen for left and right. With headphones on, play the start of a symphony. Ask which side the violins are on and which side the low strings are on.

Find the first chairs. In a video, look for the concertmaster and the principal flute, oboe, and horn.

Print and play

To hear each group take a turn in order, use The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. For what puts an instrument in each family, read instruments of the orchestra for kids. If a concert is coming up, read first orchestra concert with kids.