I’ve never been strongly attached to the traditional orchestral seating arrangement, and in my 10+ years of teaching orchestra I’ve gone through just about every possible seating arrangement with my students. Each arrangement brings its own set of pros and cons, its own strengths and weaknesses. Each arrangement changes how I teach and how my students learn and progress.
Traditional Seating
By “traditional” seating, I’m referring to the most common orchestral seating arrangement, with 1st violins on the left of the conductor, 2nd violins next to them, then violas, with cellos and bass on the right. Most orchestras that I have seen use this arrangement.
The traditional seating is familiar and therefore easy to work with. As a conductor and teacher, you know where to find everyone. All similar instruments sit together so you can address them all at once. That makes teaching technique much easier and more convenient. The students are surrounded by other students playing their part so they may learn the music a little faster. They might also become dependent on the support of their peers and be less independent players.
While discussing traditional seating, it’s important to mention how we assign chairs. Many teachers assign chairs according to skill, with the best players sitting at the front of the section and the worst players sitting at the back. Some students might be motivated by this way of assigning chairs and the opportunity to move up. With the best players at the front of the section, the rest of the section has a strong section leader to follow. Teachers who aren’t native string players themselves can rely on the section leaders for fingerings, bowings, and technical help.
I do not assign seating that way. I’ve found that it has far more disadvantages than advantages. With all the best players at the front, the conductor hears a skewed version of what’s really happening. Students in the back don’t get the attention they need, and playing in the back is naturally more difficult anyway. While the competition to move forward chairs or be section leader might be motivating for some students, I’ve found it creates a culture that can become toxic and discouraging for many students as well.
Instead, I change up my students’ seating every concert cycle and assign them seats somewhat randomly. I want my students to experience sitting in all different parts of the orchestra. None of my violinists should get comfortable playing 1st or 2nd violin all the time, nor do I want any player to get comfortable sitting at the front or back of the section. I intentionally spread out my strong players throughout the orchestra, and I will often put the weakest players in the front of the section so they are closer to me. I tell my students that every player in my group is equally important, and I expect the same level of playing from all of them. My seating reflects that. It’s worked very well for me.
Switching Sections
Sometimes an orchestra will change the positions of the sections. For example, an orchestra might sit with the 1st violins on the left of the conductor, then the cellos, violas, and finally the 2nd violins on the right. There are several different combinations to choose from.
Changing the positions of the sections can be advantageous for a number of reasons. Sections sitting on the outsides, closer to the audience, are going to be more visible and more audible. If you have a particularly strong or weak section of your orchestra, changing the positions of the sections could help with the overall balance. Moving the cellos to the middle of the orchestra helps all the sections hear the bass line more clearly, which can help the orchestra stay together better.
I’ve also found that certain types of pieces like fugues work better with the 1st and 2nd violins on opposite sides of the stage. With that type of polyphonic writing and equally strong violin parts, separating the violins can help both parts be heard more clearly and creates an interesting effect.
Mixed Parts without Defined Sections
One of my favorite ways to arrange my orchestras is to mix them up. Every player gets their own stand and no two adjacent students play the same part. I love doing this because the students have to be more independent. They cannot rely on their section to figure out the music because they aren’t sitting in sections. The students also get a better idea of how the piece sounds as a whole and how their individual part fits in with all the other parts. When performing in this arrangement, you get a much more blended sound.
Mixing the students up like this works best with a smaller group of older students. My juniors and seniors do much better than my sophomores in this kind of setting. Teaching and rehearsing with a mixed seating arrangement is a little more inconvenient as well, as you can’t address the entire section all at once. With more than about 30 students, mixed seating like this makes it much more difficult to hear who needs help or what needs work.
Ways to Add Variety
Maybe you aren’t quite ready to completely change your seating arrangement but you want to add in some variety. There are lots of ways to do that. Sometimes I have had my students in a traditional seating arrangement but they’ve struggled to stay together or they aren’t listening to the group as a whole. When that happens, I might have them move to a mixed seating arrangement for one rehearsal or even part of a rehearsal. That will often fix the problem. Sometimes I’ll have them get up and move so everyone is standing around the walls in a big circle, or I’ll have them stay where they are but move into smaller circles with everyone facing each other. I’ve even kept the traditional seating and just had the students rotate from the back of the section to the front of the section over the course of a week or two. Seating changes can help both you and your students listen to the pieces in new ways and hear things that you wouldn’t otherwise hear.
The seating arrangement you choose for your orchestra will make a huge difference in how your students play and what the audience hears at your performance. Traditional seating works well, but we don’t always need to stick with the status quo. Changing up the seating arrangements in my orchestras has helped my students become more independent players and has helped me create a culture of inclusion and belonging. Try it and see what happens.