We all have our passions that we spend our time doing and pour our emotion into, and a relatively common one is playing music. Playing music with other people, the peak of all instrumental arts, is a very extensive scene to spend your time in, with many different categories. However, one of these categories is superior to the rest, being the string orchestra department, compared to, specifically, band. String orchestra is an ensemble that contains four different string instruments: violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Band contains various instruments that fall under the category of either woodwind, brass, or percussion. The main difference between the two ensembles is the types of instruments in the two groups.
String orchestra has four different instruments with a total of five sections, whereas a standard band has up to fourteen different instruments and sections. Having a smaller amount of sections creates a stronger connection in the ensemble, between all of the different musicians. Making strong connections in any musical ensemble is incredibly vital to the success and flow of the group, and a band simply cannot have the level of connection that an orchestra has because of the large number of different sections.
In addition, having a professional career playing a string instrument tends to be easier than having a professional career in a band. The average salary of a violin player, a standard string instrument, is around $85,000 a year. On the other hand, a professional trumpet player will tend to make less than this, for an average of about $50,000 a year. Also, in terms of scholarships to universities, orchestral instruments often have the upper hand over band instruments. For example, the University of Maryland offers a scholarship to undergraduate cello players. This scholarship can offer up to $15,000 per year, which is quite a hefty amount of funding.
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