Handbells and castanets. Triangles and timpani. Trumpets and trombones. As part of their study of instruments, young musicians label, trace and color the parts of seven instruments. Also included in the resource packet are tracing...

Learners 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 learners...

Is your class familiar with the tale of Peter and the Wolf? If they are, they will have fun testing themselves on how well they can identify each character by listening to the piece. This presentation acts as a quiz where the class works...

Explore the cultural and religious influences that have shaped music in the Middle East. Classical and traditional music styles are covered in terms of instrumentation and music theory. This slide show would be appropriate for a music...

Students make predictions and explore how pitch is altered in string instruments. In this acoustic science lesson plan, students learn the types and parts of string instruments and create their own. They listen to classical music and...

Ancient people used musical pipes as early as the third millennium BCE. Young scientists explore the workings of musical pipes to better understand the relationship with frequency, length of pipe, and sound waves. They determine the...

Students 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 music...

My, how Japan has changed! From Hogaku to karaoke, this slide show provides an overview of the culture, instruments, and periods of transition through Japanese music. Here you will find 21 text-rich slides which are great for note taking.

A series of activities teach young musicians that they don't need a room full of instruments to make music. The second activity in the Amani Project has participants use their hands, feet, and voices to demonstrate the five elements of...

Play and sing a Valentine's song with your second graders. They'll follow along allow as you demonstrate how to sing and keep a steady beat on non-pitched percussive instruments. While the music instructional activity has a Valentine...

Students design an instrument. In 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...

Primary graders are introduced to the concepts of pitch and volume with a reading comprehension worksheet that focuses on the physics of sound.

Third and fourth graders should enjoy this easy-to-implement activity involving a straw, and bottles filled with water. Learners manipulate the end of a straw in a way that results in a sound being made when it's blown. There is also an...

Students explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics lesson, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Students research "pitch" and what causes pitch fluctuation by...

Learners play string instruments to discover how the pitch changes on various string instruments.  In this pitch instructional activity, students listen to video clips and play an online music game.  Learners become familiar...

Students explore how pitch changes when using instruments that are plucked, blown, and hit. In this sound and pitch instructional activity, students blow across the top of bottles that are filled with water to create sound. Students use...

What causes sound? Groups of sound detectives use a variety of tools including ping pong balls, pasta noodles, raisins, rubber mallets, and a tuning fork to investigate what causes sound. The young Sherlocks conduct a series of...

Students perform a song using correct rhythms, accurate pitches, and dynamic phrasing. They perform an accompaniment to "America" on Orff instruments.

Mix it up and engage learners in a instructional activity on music and physical science. Using cups, strings, guitars, and voice, the class will experiment with sound vibration and frequency. They'll use each instrument and fill out a...

Fourth graders explore the music of Buenos Aires as they hear and then dance the Tango. They practice basic Tango rhythm, learn to sing the song, "Any Turkey can Tango," then practice a few Tango-riffic dance steps with a partner....

Third graders review ideas about sound and vibration to make their own stringed instrument. They review what a pictograph and bar graph are. Pupils conduct a survey within the classroom to choose the four favorite string instruments and...

Learners focus on reading musical notations. They see, hear, practice and write notations in the lessons to become more independent readers of music. They complete a Rubric for Pitch Worksheet.

Students define pitch, measure varying amounts of water into containers, make predictions about the sounds made when striking the containers, put containers in order from highest to lowest pitch, and create their own sound patterns with...

Learners explore musical instruments and the pitches and tones they make. In this acoustical science lesson, students create their own string instruments and explore how pitch is altered.