Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Percussion Instruments and Pitch
Students play string instruments to discover how the pitch changes on various string instruments. In this pitch lesson, students listen to video clips and play an online music game. Students become familiar with music...
Curated OER
Identifying Instruments and Families
Fourth graders complete with the class a KWL chart and discuss prior knowledge of orchestras. They visit websites to discover instruments and families of the orchestra and discuss appropriate audience behavior prior to going to a concert...
Curated OER
Arranging Patriotic Music for Instruments
Students arrange a short piano composition for a group of four to six instruments of their choice. The musical arrangements should be then demonstrated and analyzed by the class as a unit study.
Curated OER
Music Conducting: Classroom Activities
Turn the class into a percussive orchestra and let the kids take over as conductor. You'll explain a few ins and outs of what a conductor does. Then you hand over the baton and let your budding Beethovens conduct each other as they...
Curated OER
Reviewing Good Playing Habits
The string section of your school orchestra can get a proper form make-over by incorporating this instructional activity. They reestablish proper playing form, posture, and sound as they compose an essay on how to maintain good playing...
American Museum of Natural History
Sounds of the Silk Road
Young explorers may not be able to travel the Silk Road but they can listen to music that was played on instruments of the time and create their own songs with the help of an interesting interactive resource.
Berklee College of Music
Create Your Own Afro-Latin Groove
The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Instruments of the Orchestra
In this music worksheet, students find the words related to the musical instruments of an orchestra. The Answers are found at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
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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Brass Instruments
In this music worksheet, students read about the 4 main brass instruments in the orchestra: trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba. Students also write the missing words into 8 sentences.
Curated OER
Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
Students explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics instructional activity, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Students research "pitch" and what causes...
Curated OER
Orchestra Layout
For this music worksheet, students read a description and then label the blank sections of a orchestra layout accordingly. Students also shade each section in the appropriate color.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Exploring Musical Instruments of the Orchestra
Students listen to "The William Tell Overture," identify instruments, sounds and other characteristics of the music. They compare and contrast orchestra music to large band music. Students discuss the musical composition and how the...
Kansas Music Educators Association
Games for the Elementary Music Classroom
Perfect for music specialists, classroom teachers, and substitutes, a packet of 18 games includes complete lessons as well as short activities for when you have some extra time at the end of class.
Curated OER
Brass Instruments of the Orchestra
In this orchestra worksheet, 7th graders read about the brass instruments which include the French horn, tuba, trombone, and the trumpet. They fill in the blanks in 8 sentences about the brass section of the orchestra.
Curated OER
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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The Classical Orchestra
Students study the classical orchestra in this technology-based general music lesson for the high school classroom. Emphasis is placed on the use of the "Microsoft Musical Instruments" software. This lesson can be accomplished in one...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
The Layout of an Orchestra
In this orchestra worksheet, 7th graders follow directions for coloring in a diagram of an orchestra setting. They shade each section according to the type of instrument that would be seated there.
Curated OER
Musical Instruments
Students invent a musical instrument to be played by them. They invent a nonstandard notation for music and compose a short piece to preform for the class using their instrument.