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Teaching the Instruments of the Orchestra to Young Students using the San Francisco Symphony Kids’ Website
Using the San Francisco Children's Orchestra web site, first graders build listening and instrument identification skills. Each child wears head phones, listens to ID, and finds various instruments on the included worksheet.
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Investigating Brass Instruments and Pitch
Students observe the sounds of different brass instruments in order to understand how to create different pitches. In this musical instructional activity, students create a "brass" instrument from everyday household objects. The students...
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Musical Instrument Families
Using graphics, and an easy-to-understand format, this resource outlines the different kinds of instruments and their characteristics. This presentation could be used as an introduction to instruments for students getting ready to...
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The Role of the Opera Orchestra
Young scholars listen to and examine a recording of the opera Don Pasquale and study the various musical instruments in an orchestra. They discuss the difference between a symphony orchestra and an opera orchestra. Finally they play the...
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The Ultimate Instrument!
Third graders identify the four instrument families of the symphony orchestra. They listen to the instruments and compare the similarities and differences of each of the four families. They design and create an instrument that belongs to...
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Meet the Instruments of the Orchestra
Students examine the characteristics of the four families of instruments. They read an eBook, unscramble instruments and categorize them in the correct families, take a quiz, and explore the San Francisco Symphony website.
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Orchestra: Focus on Rhythm and Arranging
High school orchestra is a great place to play music, like The Star Spangled Banner. Upper graders create new rhythms to the old song and perform them with the class. They rehearse their updated versions of the song using their...
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Design an Instrument
Students design an instrument. For this sound, vibration and pitch lesson, students learn about the characteristics of sound, vibration and pitch. Students design a guitar using the assembled craft materials and demonstrate how they...
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Instruments of the Orchestra Race
Students receive a musical instrument of the orchestra and the family it belongs to. They run when the teacher calls either the instrument or the family.
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Music- Found-Object Orchestra
Students construct simple musical instruments. In this music lesson, students read the text Max Found Two Sticks and construct their own instruments from classroom materials.
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Instruments of the Orchestra- Flute and Oboe
Students name the different families in an orchestra, name many of the instruments in each family, listen to an orchestral recording to identify the flute and oboe and listen to the melody of a piece.
SoundTree
When The Saints Go Marching In: A Lesson for Middle School Keyboard Lab Students
After listening to a variety of interpretations of "When the Saints Go Marching In," partners compose and then perform their own renditions of this classic before joining a full-class jam session.
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Music: Instruments of the Orchestra
Students identify various musical instruments and explain their roles in an orchestra. Following a Powerpoint presentation, students discuss what they have discovered in small groups. Then, each groups devises four questions based on...
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Be Sharp and Never Flat
An outstanding lesson on music awaits your young composers! They learn about patterns found in music, the different sections of an orchestra, and see the differences between musicians and a composer. Excellent streamed videos and good...
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An Introduction To The Instruments Of The Orchestra
Students explore a variety of instruments to discover their sound. After watching an orchestra play, students discover the categories of instruments such as woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. In teams, they listen to music and...
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Chinese Instruments
Students explore Chinese instruments. For this Chinese instrument music lesson, students listen to a performance by Liu Fang and describe the sounds they hear. Students classify western and Chinese instruments according to their...
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Star Spangled Banner: For Orchestra
Middle schoolers practice playing "The Star Spangled Banner" while focusing on phrasing. They work with the instructor to mark the lyrics and music, then play the song using the phrasing indicated. Several cross-curricular extension...
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Exploring the Families of Instruments
Students investigate the families of instruments. In this instrument lesson, students discuss how each instrument family makes their sound. Students then make their own instruments. Students write a paragraph about their favorite musical...
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Meet the Instrument Families
Fourth graders listen to a recording of a string quartet and ask questions about what kinds of instrument they think they are listening to and describe what they think the instruments look like. Then they discuss musical ideas such as...
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Introduction To The Orchestra
Students listen to a book, "Meet the Orchestra." They observe a PowerPoint presentation, listen to the sounds in "Peter and the Wolf" and then match illustrations of instruments to their specific sound. Students identify instrument...
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The Orchestra: Exploring the Instruments
Students explore the instruments of the orchestra. In this music appreciation lesson, students discover the four families of instruments and research each of them using selected Internet sources.
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String Instruments and Pitch
Students make predictions and explore how pitch is altered in string instruments. In this acoustic science lesson, students learn the types and parts of string instruments and create their own. They listen to classical music and identify...
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THE TRAVELS OF BABAR: An Adventure in Scale : The Instruments of the Orchestra
Learners classify the classes of instruments of the orchestra: strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion. They aurally and visually identify the instruments of the orchestra. Students become actively engaged in live performances by...
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Folk Songs, Instruments of the Orchestra
Second graders study Folk Songs and instruments of the orchestra in these lessons. They recognize the difference between folk songs and classical music.