Fix Symphony Orchestra template

I see that in a symphonie orchestra there are usually muiltiple violins, violas and violoncelli, but are there also multiple contrabasses?
And is Violin 1 not usually solo?

There are usually multiple contrabasses in a symphony orchestra.

Violin 1 usually refers to a section with several players. Sometimes the composer requires only a single player and will mark the Violin 1 part "Solo". This may also be done for other string parts - e.g. Dvorak symphony No.9 movement 2, bars 110 and 111 where violin 1, viola and cello parts are all marked solo - i.e. Dvorak wants a string trio, and not the full sections to play there. The return to full sections is marked "Tutti".

So channels for Solo/Tutti might be needed? Maybe not and rather use an Instrument change?

Another enhancement that would be nice, but probably needs coding rather than tweaking of template, would be to allow multiple different instruments to be allocated to a single written part. The particular application would be in classical (i.e. pre Beethoven) orchestral scores where cellos and contrabasses often share a part. As the contrabass sounds an octave lower than written, they effectively double the cellos an octave lower. In some cases the score is notated to indicate that only cellos or contrabasses should play during a particular section, and so the ability to mute one of the instruments would also be needed.

The workaround I use is to include staves for both cello and contrabass; rename the cello stave to something like Violoncello e Basso; notate the part on the cello stave, copy and paste it to the contrabass stave and then ctrl down arrow to put it at the correct pitch; then set the conttrabass stave to invisible.

Would the names also need to change to plural?

See https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/5114

What is the difference between a template and a regular score with the instruments added from scratch?
I've found the templates as mczx files in the templates subfolder of the program folder, and they look pretty the same as a score with the same appearance created directly using the New score wizard.

To JoJo Schmitz: This could be handled with an instrument change indeed, but I've noted that each instrument one adds under the same part name finally appears as a channel. In a recent piece I needed the doublebass player to hit the top of the instrument with the hand as sort of a percussion instrument. I used a conga sound through an instrument change and I found it as one of the channels.
So it will appear there anyway.

Thanks for the explanations!
Regarding the instrument change, I didn't really mean to include it in a template, but to show that if it is likely to use an instrument change (for instance a solo violin in an orchestral section, frequent in many romantic and modern composers), not including it in a channel by default but leaving it to be later included as an instrument change will not save mixer space since anyway the new instrument is automatically associated to the main instrument as a channel.
I may be wrong, but from the preceding discussion it seems that including a solo violin as one of the channels associated with "violins I" part (along with pizzicato and tremolo) actually does depend on the template definition. Then it would be posible to select it from a list in the staff text properties dialog, and possibly offered as a distinct text in the palette.
The only problem at the current stage is that the available solo violin is more intimate, chamber-music like: it has the correct sound but not the reverberation expected from a solo violin played within an orchestra which is most often heard in a large hall. The reverse problem exists when using the tremolo channel fom the solo violin, it is clearly an orchestral tremolo instead of a solo tremolo.

I've been looking at
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/5114/commits/d1f21014c3d32f…
and found, for instance, this change:
- strings.viola
+ strings.group
This goes along with changing MIDI program 41 (solo viola) to program 48 (GM strings 1, I guess fast strings). The same happens to the other strings, they are all converted into program 48.
I think this is not convenient, since each instrument of the family has a distinct sound, both solo and as an ensemble. In this way all instruments are merged into a unique continuum of sounds losing their personality. As a first approximation it may be acceptable, but I think a different approach would be necessary in the future.
Soundfonts can host up to 128 MIDI banks so, probably MSCX scores should include a reference to banks, and so it would be preferable to keep program 40, 41, 42 and 43, provided that it also specified the bank (one where those programs correspond to ensemble).
Clearly General MIDI is insufficient to give a program number to all different timbres required in an orchestra (besides arco, pizzicato and tremolo strings can have saltellato, col legno, harmonics, sul ponticello, mute, flageolets, and probably many others, let alone the extended techniques).
Of course one could find specific soundfonts to do this, but the standard HQ soundfont should at least provide distinct sounds for group violins, violas celli and basses.

Fixed in branch master, commit c9c6cabafa

_fix #290462: Change Symphony Orchestra template's strings to plural

and string section sound, as "* Fast Expr.", see also next commit_

Fixed in branch master, commit 80d962a54b

_Merge pull request #5114 from Jojo-Schmitz/templates

fix #290462, fix #290429: Changes to string sections_

Fixed in branch 3.2, commit 09a7ab81b9

_Merge pull request #5114 from Jojo-Schmitz/templates

fix #290462, fix #290429: Changes to string sections_

No, Viola to Violas and the sound to "Violas Fast Expr." (rather than "String section Expr.")

Automatically closed -- issue fixed for 2 weeks with no activity.