How well do your students know their instruments? You might be a little surprised by how many students will call a trombone a “trumpet” and confuse the sound of a saxophone with a trumpet. Teaching students about the instruments of the orchestra, not only expands their musical knowledge. It also prepares them for the experience of listening to classical music.
In this post, we’ll examine some methods for teaching instruments of the orchestra in elementary music class.
Play A Game to Pre-Assess Instruments of the Orchestra
This freebie instrument who-is-it game is easy to play, and a fun way to quickly pre-assess your students’ knowledge. To play, print out pictures of various orchestral instruments and cut them out. Attach one picture to each student’s back without them seeing it. Students then move around the room asking yes or no questions about their instrument. Examples: “Am I a brass instrument?” or “Do I have strings?” Once they’ve gathered enough clues, students can guess their instrument. This game is a great way to reinforce instrument characteristics and encourage critical thinking in your classroom.
Introduce the Instrument Families in Elementary Music
Before introducing instruments individually, it’s important to establish the framework of the orchestra. I like to explain that instruments have families just like people do! Some families look alike (e.g. the strings family) and other families come in all shapes and sizes! (e.g. percussion family)
Using visuals can help your students begin to recognize the different families. You can also try showing videos like the BBC Orchestra’s Introduction to the Orchestra Families or Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. To review and practice you could also try…
Time To Meet The Instruments of the Orchestra
Now that students are familiar with the families, you can start to introduce the instruments to your music class individually. To keep this organized, I recommend going through each family, one instrument at a time. If you like you could start with the highest instrument and move to the lowest,or vice versa. For example, you might start with the piccolo as the highest woodwind and the bassoon as the lowest.
The best way for teaching instruments of the orchestra is to demonstrate how the instruments work. Allowing students to see, hear, and feel these instruments firsthand is how they’ll start associating the sights and sounds in a meaningful way.
If this is not feasible for you, your next best bet is to teach the instruments in a way that includes visual and auditory aids. You can use photos, videos, and recordings to do this. If you’re in need of a resource that includes all of these things, you might be interested in my Instruments of the Orchestra – A Complete Unit. This resource includes a comprehensive Google Slides lesson with visual aids. The aids include images and video as well as audio recordings of each instrument. Digital and printable note-taking, labeling, and assessment activities are also included to keep students on track. Other helpful supplemental activities include…
- Instruments of the Orchestra – Fill-in-the-Blank Instruments | Boom Cards
- Instruments of the Orchestra – Visual & Aural Identification | Boom Cards
But What About The Saxophone?
One unique instrument that deserves consideration is the saxophone. While many music teachers will elect to omit it, saxophone is gradually making its way into more and more orchestral literature. Plus, it’s an instrument your students will inevitably ask questions about since many of them will be familiar with it from the school band. Given its increasing and evolving role, I believe it’s valuable to discuss its place within the orchestra and woodwind family.
Bring The Orchestra To Life
As mentioned before, the best way to introduce elementary music students to instruments of the orchestra is through direct experience in music class. Allowing students to see, hear, touch, and experience these instruments will create the most lasting impression. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend bringing your elementary music class to see a live orchestra performance. There’s nothing more exciting! If that’s not possible, you might be able to coordinate a student informance, where students from your district’s middle school, or high school visit, perform, and answer questions from students about their instrument.
Teaching instruments of the orchestra is a great way to foster a deeper musical appreciation and expand student musical vocabulary. By incorporating engaging lessons, visuals, audio recordings, and by offering hands-on experiences, you can transform your music class into a rich orchestral experience for your students. If you’re looking for ideas, or are interested in leveling up your approach, check out my Instrument of the Orchestra Bundle on Teacher’s Pay Teachers.
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