Families of musical instruments

Families of Musical Instruments

6th Grade General Music Classroom

Learning Objectives: Students can categorize instruments into musical families by name

Students can identify instruments from audio samples

By: Amanda Waszczuk

Families of Musical Instruments

Woodwinds Brass

Strings Percussion

Intro to WoodwindsClick on the play button below to view a video clip of woodwind instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kRGXvcObY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kRGXvcObY

How Woodwind Instruments Work

The instruments in this family all used to be made of wood, which gives them their name. Today, they are made of wood, metal, plastic or some combination. They are all basically narrow

cylinders or pipes, with holes, an opening at the bottom end and a mouthpiece at the top. You play them by blowing air through the mouthpiece (that's the "wind" in "woodwind") and

opening or closing the holes with your fingers to change the pitch. Metal caps called keys cover the holes of most woodwind instruments.

The mouthpieces for some woodwinds, including the clarinet, oboe and bassoon, use a thin piece of wood called a reed, which vibrates when you blow across it. The clarinet uses a single reed made of one piece of wood, while the oboe and bassoon use a double reed made of two

pieces joined together. Just as with the stringed instruments, the smaller woodwinds play higher pitches while the longer and larger instruments play the lower notes.

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/woodwinds.aspx

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/woodwinds.aspx

Woodwind Instruments

FluteSaxophone

Oboe Clarinet

Click on each instrument below to listen to an audio clip of each one.

Review-WoodwindsQuestion #1: Which of these instruments is a woodwind instrument?A. French HornB. BassC. OboeD. Tambourine

Review-WoodwindsQuestion #2: Which of these instruments is not a woodwind instrument?A. FluteB. ViolinC. ClarinetD. Saxophone

Review-WoodwindsQuestion #3: Click on the link to hear the audio sample.Audio SampleWhich of these instruments is being played in the audio sample?A. FluteB. SaxophoneC. OboeD. Clarinet

Intro to BrassClick on the play button below to view a video clip of brass instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cy3tjg1tVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cy3tjg1tVw

How Brass Instruments WorkIf you think the brass family got its name because the instruments are made of brass, you're

right! This family of instruments can play louder than any other in the orchestra and can also be heard from far away. Although their early ancestors are known to have been made of wood, tusks, animal horns or shells, today's modern instruments are made entirely of brass. Brass

instruments are essentially very long pipes that widen at their ends into a bell-like shape. The pipes have been curved and twisted into different shapes to make them easier to hold and play.

Like the woodwind family, brass players use their breath to produce sound, but instead of blowing into a reed, you vibrate your own lips by buzzing them against a metal cup-shaped

mouthpiece. The mouthpiece helps to amplify the buzzing of the lips, which creates the sound. Most brass instruments have valves attached to their long pipes; the valves look like buttons.

When you press down on the valves, they open and close different parts of the pipe. You change the pitch and sound by pressing different valves and buzzing your lips harder or softer.

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/brass.aspx

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/brass.aspx

Brass Instruments

Trumpet French Horn

TromboneTuba


Review-Brass

Question #1: Which of these instruments is a brass instrument?A. French Horn B. GuitarC. Snare DrumD. Clarinet

Review-BrassQuestion #2: Which of these instruments is not a brass instrument?A. TrumpetB. TubaC. TromboneD. Saxophone

Review-BrassQuestion #3: Click on the link to hear the audio sample.Audio SampleWhich of these instruments is being played in the audio sample?A. TrumpetB. TromboneC. TubaD. French Horn

Intro to String InstrumentsClick on the play button below to view a video clip of string instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU7Lu0uWCJQ



How String Instruments Work

When you look at a string instrument, the first thing you'll probably notice is that it's made of wood, so why is it called a string instrument? The bodies of the string instruments, which are hollow inside to allow sound to vibrate within them, are made of different kinds of wood, but the part of the instrument that makes the sound is the strings, which are made of nylon, steel

or sometimes gut. The strings are played most often by drawing a bow across them. The handle of the bow is made of wood and the strings of the bow are actually horsehair from horses' tails!

Sometimes the musicians will use their fingers to pluck the strings, and occasionally they will turn the bow upside down and play the strings with the wooden handle.

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/strings.aspx

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/strings.aspx

String InstrumentsClick on each instrument below to listen to an audio clip of each one.

ViolinBass

Guitar Harp

Review-Strings

Question #1: Which of these instruments is a string instrument?A. BassB. XylophoneC. TromboneD. Saxophone

Review-Strings

Question #2: Which of these instruments is not a string instrument?A. ViolinB. CymbalsC. Guitar D. Harp

Review-StringsQuestion #3: Click on the link to hear the audio sample.Audio SampleWhich of these instruments is being played in the audio sample?A. ViolinB. BassC. GuitarD. Harp

Intro to Percussion InstrumentsClick on the play button below to view a video clip of percussion instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk3BvNLeNgw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk3BvNLeNgw

How Percussion Instruments Work

The percussion family is the largest in the orchestra. Percussion instruments include any instrument that makes a sound when it is hit, shaken, or scraped. It's not easy to be a

percussionist because it takes a lot of practice to hit an instrument with the right amount of strength, in the right place and at the right time. Some percussion instruments are tuned and

can sound different notes, like the xylophone, timpani or piano, and some are untuned with no definite pitch, like the bass drum, cymbals or castanets. Percussion instruments keep the

rhythm, make special sounds and add excitement and color. Unlike most of the other players in the orchestra, a percussionist will usually play many different instruments in one piece of music.

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/percussion.aspx

http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/percussion.aspx

Percussion InstrumentsClick on each instrument below to listen to an audio clip of each one.

XylophoneCymbals

Snare Drum Tambourine

Review-Percussion

Question #1: Which of these instruments is a percussion instrument?A. TrumpetB. FluteC. HarpD. Tambourine

Review-Percussion

Question #2: Which of these instruments is not a percussion instrument?A. CymbalsB. Snare DrumC. TubaD. Xylophone

Review-Percussion

Question #3: Click on the link to hear the audio sample.Audio SampleWhich of these instruments is being played in the audio sample?A. CymbalsB. Snare DrumC. XylophoneD. Tambourine

Try Again Please

Back

The Woodwind Instruments are…Flute

SaxophoneOboe

Clarinet

GREAT WORK, MAESTRO!

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Try Again PleaseThe Woodwind Instruments are…

FluteSaxophone

Oboe Clarinet

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FluteSaxophone

Oboe Clarinet


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The Brass Instruments are…Trumpet

French Horn Trombone

Tuba

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The Brass Instruments are…Trumpet

French Horn Trombone

Tuba

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Trumpet French Horn

TromboneTuba


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The String Instruments are…ViolinBass

Guitar Harp

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The String Instruments are…ViolinBass

Guitar Harp

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ViolinBass

Guitar Harp


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The Percussion Instruments are…Xylophone

CymbalsSnare Drum Tambourine

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The Percussion Instruments are…Xylophone

CymbalsSnare Drum Tambourine

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XylophoneCymbals

Snare Drum Tambourine


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Families of musical instruments

Education

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