Membranophones? Aerophones? How about strings? Percussion? You need not be a music instructor to benefit from a packet of 24 worksheets that introduce aspiring musicians to the various instrument families.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

Learn general information on different percussion instruments such as the snare drum and cymbals and hear sound clips of these instruments being played.

A basic article on percussion instruments lists several examples of percussion instruments, provides a distinction between membranophones and idiophones, and lists instruments that are tuned vs. ones that are not.

Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of the orchestra, the tambourine in particular. Learn what it is made of and how it is played. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the tambourine alone and with the...

A nice, factual encyclopedia entry from Wikipedia on the timpani. Discusses its origins, how it is played, how it is tuned, and its significance in an orchestra. Links are provided throughout the article for additional information.

Learn about the ways to play the cymbals and how they contribute to the sound of the orchestra. Use RealAudio to listen to cymbals alone and with the orchestra. Pictures of the instrument are also provided.

Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of instruments, especially the snare drum. Find out how it helps the orchestra make music. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the snare drum by itself and with the...

Read about the percussion family of the orchestra. Find out how the bass drum helps the sound of the orchestra. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the bass drum.

Read about keyboard instruments and the piano in particular. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the piano alone and with the orchestra.

Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of the orchestra and the guiro. This instrument is untuned and comes from South and Central America.

See how the number of orchestra members increased from the Baroque period through the Classical, up to the Romantic. You can print each orchestra seating chart.

One of the elements of music is "Texture." This site gives the definition, which basically is the relationship between melodic and harmonic.

The harpsichord looks a little like a piano, but there are enough differences to place them in two different instrument groups even though both use keyboards. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the harpsichord.