Meet The Awesome Orchestra! Instrument Families: Objective

Meet the Awesome Orchestra!
Instrument Families
Objective:
Students will learn the properties of each instrument family in the orchestra.
Materials & Setup:

 Instrument Family Worksheet
 Orchestra Map
Activity:
1. Ask students to think about a photo of their family. Someone else might look at your family
photo and tell you that you all look alike in some way. Families are like that – they are
individual people, but they have some characteristics in common.
2. Tell students the instruments of the orchestra are organized into families, and each family
has characteristics that the instruments share. Ask students if they know the names of the
four instrument families. (String, Woodwind, Brass, Percussion)
3. Pass out the Instrument Family Worksheet. Tell students you will answer these three
questions about each family, as well as list the instruments that belong to each family:
a. What vibrates to make sound?

b. How do you start the sound?
c. What are the instruments made of?
4. Complete the worksheet as a class by first listing each instrument in the family and then
having students predict the answers to the three questions. Use the completed worksheet
as a guide.
5. Finally, show students the Orchestra Map. Identify each family of instruments and notice
how they sit near each other.
Instrument Family Worksheet
Instrument What vibrates How do you What are the Instruments in
Family to make start the instruments the family:
sound? sound? made of?
STRING
FAMILY
WOODWIND
FAMILY
BRASS
FAMILY
PERCUSSION
FAMILY
Instrument Family Worksheet
Instrument What vibrates How do you What are the Instruments in
Family to make start the instruments the family:
sound? sound? made of?
Strings vibrate to You start the sound String instruments Violin

STRING
make sound. by plucking the are made of mostly Viola
FAMILY strings (pizzicato) wood. Strings are Cello
or pulling the bow made of different Bass
across the strings types of metal. Harp
(arco).
A wood reed You start the sound At first, woodwind Piccolo

WOODWIND
vibrates or blowing by blowing air. instruments were Flute
FAMILY over the hole in the only made of wood Oboe
mouthpiece (flute) (hence the name), English Horn
which vibrates the but now they are Clarinet
air to make sound. also made of metal Bassoon
and plastic.
The air inside the Brass players buzz Brass instruments Trumpet
BRASS
brass instrument their lips to vibrate are made of metal, Trombone
FAMILY vibrates to make the air. usually brass. French Horn
sound. Tuba
The instrument You vibrate the Percussion Over 1,000 different

PERCUSSION
itself vibrates to instrument by instruments are instruments.
FAMILY make sound. striking, shaking, or made of all kinds of Snare drum
scraping. things including Tambourine
wood, metal, and Xylophone
animal skin (drum Timpani
head). Chimes
Y O U N G P E R S O N S ’ G U ID E T O T H E O R C H E S T R A
O R C H ESTR A
O R C H ESTR A
W O O D W IN D
W O O D W IN D
CREATED FOR THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA BY M OLLIBETH COX, DECEM BER 2018
PAG E
BR ASS
BR ASS
S T R IN G
S T R IN G
2 Y O U N G P E R S O N S ’ G U ID E
PAG E 3 Y O U N G P E R S O N S ’ G U ID E
P E R C U S S IO N
P E R C U S S IO N
O R C H ESTR A
O R C H ESTR A
Guide to the Orchestra
Objective:
Students will learn to aurally identify instruments and families in Britten’s Young Person’s Guide
to the Orchestra.
Materials & Setup:

 Instrument Cards
 Orchestra Map
Activity:
1. Display the Orchestra Map for students to see. Review the characteristics of the four
families of instruments in the orchestra (String, Woodwind, Brass, Percussion) and each
instrument within the families.
2. Listen to the theme of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Tell students
they will first hear the entire orchestra play the theme and then each instrument family
(1. Woodwind, 2. Brass, 3. String, 4. Percussion) before the entire orchestra plays it
again (0:00 – 2:07 or Listening Map video).
3. Pass out Instrument Cards to students. Note that some students may have the same
instrument. You may choose to create the orchestra in your classroom by having
students rearrange their seats by instrument to reflect the orchestra map.
4. Listen to the remaining Variations in Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

(Guide video 0:00-12:15). Ask students to raise their instrument card in the air when they
hear their instrument playing.
5. Next, explain that a fugue is when a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by
one instrument and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the
parts. Ask students to listen to the fugue and raise their card when they hear their
instrument enter (Guide video 12:15-15:05).
JEOPARDY
Objective:
Students will text their knowledge of instruments and instrument families through the game,
Jeopardy!
Materials & Setup:

 http://jeopardylabs.com/play/meet-the-awesome-orchestra-2

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Meet the Awesome Orchestra!

Materials & Setup:

a. What vibrates to make sound?

Strings vibrate to You start the sound String instruments Violin

A wood reed You start the sound At first, woodwind Piccolo

The instrument You vibrate the Percussion Over 1,000 different

Materials & Setup:

4. Listen to the remaining Variations in Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Materials & Setup:

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