Children's Discovery Museum
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose: Create a Shaker Percussion Instrument
Percussion instruments produce sound through vibration, so if you hit, scrape, rub, or shake the instrument, it makes a sound. Making your very own shaker to accompany your song is easy.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Musical Instruments
Homepage for a hypertext about the different families of musical instruments. From this page, users can retrieve information on a the acoustics of a variety of specific instruments: stringed instruments, woodwind instruments, brass...
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Xylophone
The xylophone is a percussion instrument that is tuned and has a keyboard shape. Use this resource to learn more about it and the other instruments in the percussion family. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the xylophone by...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Catherine Schmidt Jones: Percussion Fast and Cheap
Here are some great ideas to assist you in helping your students make their own percussion instruments with little or no money.
Read Works
Read Works: Musical Instruments Percussion Instruments
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about percussion instruments. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Percussion Instruments and Pitch
Students will enjoy learning about pitch as they construct their own percussion instruments. They will predict and explore how pitches can change based on the materials used and how the instruments are made.
PBS
Classics for Kids: Musical Instruments
An A-to-Z directory of all the instruments and tools of the orchestra. Each entry includes a description, a picture, and a sound sample.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Uncommon Instruments
The emigration of various cultures into the U.S. gives birth to many many instruments such as the piano, guitar and oboe. Discover the history behind these instruments.
Other
Discover Eso: Percussion Instruments: Harp
Contains information on the harp. Students learn about the history and qualities of the instrument and can listen to audio excerpts of the harp being played.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Castanets
Castanets are a percussion instruments. Read more about them at this resource. Use this resource to learn more about the percussion family of the orchestra. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear castanets play with the orchestra.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Triangle
Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of the orchestra. The triangle is part of this group of instruments. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the triangle on its own and with the orchestra.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Chimes
The chimes are the tall tube looking things in the orchestra. Read more about percussion instruments, the chimes in particular. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the chimes on their own and with the orchestra.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Timpani
Have you ever wondered what those big bowl shaped drums were? They are timpani. Use this resource to learn more about them and the percussion family of the orchestra. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the timpani play...
Other
Drum Bum: A Drum Lessons Database
Providing "Over 400 free Lessons and Tabs," this resource includes learning ideas and information for everyone from the drum novice to the expert. In addition to including lessons on a wide range of instruments, this resource includes...
Music Education
Learn About Instruments: The Percussion
Learn general information on different percussion instruments such as the snare drum and cymbals and hear sound clips of these instruments being played.
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies
Mocomi: Types of Musical Instruments
Provides a list of musical instruments and how they work.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Instrument Families of the Orchestra: Percussion
In this lesson, young scholars will learn to identify the percussion instruments in an orchestra by sight and sound. Students will also learn to group the percussion instruments into pitched and unpitched instruments.
Other
Ancient Music Instruments
A very in-depth site concerning ancient music instruments. Organized into various groups such as organ, strings, percussion and others, this site details many of the instruments found in ancient music.
Indiana University
History and Literature of Music: Renaissance Instruments
This resource classifies Renaissance instruments in the following categories: winds, plucked strings, bowed strings, keyboard, and percussion.
New York Times
New York Times: Crossword Puzzle: Musical Instruments
An interactive and printable crossword puzzle developed by the New York Times Learning Network. The theme of this puzzle is Musical Instruments.
Other
Alien Travel Guide: Musical Instruments
This site contains links to articles that explain how musical instruments work, describes vocal mechanics, and the three main vocal groups.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Orchestra Instruments
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart describes the various instrument families and the instruments that fit in each family. Sound files are attached to the instruments so that students can hear what each sounds like.
Unite for Literacy
Unite for Literacy: Create and Play: Musical Families
Learn about the different groups of musical instruments. Book includes audio narration in 6 additional languages with text in English.