Instruments of the Orchestra: A Monster Collection of Links for Music Teachers

Unit: Instruments of the Orchestra

A unit about the instruments of the orchestra is frequently included in music education curricula around the world and there are lots of free resources online to help you introduce or expand upon the topic. Here are some of the links that I have found over the years.

How orchestral instruments work and sound: videos

1. The Philharmonia Orchestra’s online resources are possibly the most extensive and best quality. Excellent videos introduce each instrument – how they work, how they sound, how they are constructed and more.

2. The Blue Man Group’s video Pipes – a humorous demonstration of how pipe length affects pitch:

3. Toot Whistle Pluck Disney cartoon

4. The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra

5. Peter and the Wolf – a full version with picture book images and notation

6. Suzie Templeton animated version of Peter and the Wolf (part 1)

7. A while ago I wrote about 21+ Fantastic Free Peter and the Wolf Resources which includes a range of extra links and videos.

8. I also put together a collection of Carnival of the Animals resources.

9. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales has an engaging series of videos about each section of the orchestra. Here’s the brass section video:

And here you can find the strings, percussion and woodwind videos.

10. The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra as performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra

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

Orchestra Seating charts

11. Classics for Kids has an interactive orchestra map

12. The DSO Orchestra seating chart compares different styles and sizes of orchestras through the ages

Composer biographies

13. My first go-to place for composer biographies is the DSO Kids website because the biographies are simple and brief. Listening examples are also included.

The Conductor

14. Video of Esa Pekka Salonen on the role of the conductor:

Humour and Fun

15. The PDQ Bach version of Beethoven’s Symphony 5: a sports-themed version with narration (sports commentary!)

16. Cello Wars – The Piano Guys

17. Lemony Snicket The Composer is Dead (book and audio CD). I’ve just ordered my copy of this book and I’m waiting for it to arrive from Amazon! There’s an introductory video on Youtube here:

18. Greg Patillo beatboxing flute version of Peter and the Wolf

Games, Quizzes and Interactive Listening

19. Perfect Pitch game: instrument information and quizzes presented with a baseball theme

20. San Francisco Kids games for young students – listening and rhythm games that use music from the San Francisco Orchestra library.

21. Who Am I? Instrument ID Game – game overview by music teacher Tanya

22. Animated Science website’s orchestral quiz – hover your mouse over the picture to see each different section. Click on the section name to open an online quiz.

Scheherazade

23. Scheherazade Interactive – an online storybook version of Sheherazade, with teacher lesson plan and more.

24. BBC Ireland Orchestra fact files – teach students about sections of the orchestra. Includes listening examples

25. For very young students, the San Francisco Kids website has an introduction to instruments, families, and composers (includes a composer timeline).

26. Also on the SFS Kids website: young students can also explore instruments and listen to examples.

Clip Art and Images

27. Phillip Martin has a collection of cartoon-style music images which are free to download and use in your own resources.

28. Another of my favourite sources of free images – Pixabay – also has a range of musical instrument images. Visit the website and type an instrument name into the search box.

Downloadable instruments of the orchestra resources

29. This SMARTboard file and craft activity by Cherie Herring includes facts about each instrument, sound samples and links to videos.

Saint Louis standup orch

30. Then there’s this lovely Saint Louis “Standup Symphony” craft activity.

iPad Apps

31. Earlier this year I shared my list of 7+ Free Apps for Discovering the Orchestra which included favourites such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra app and the Young Person’s Guide to Orchestra app, plus others.

32. You MUST also take a look at The Orchestra app. You’ll need 2GB of space on your iPad, but it’s worth it. Read about the app here and here.

33. Naxos My First Classical app is an interactive app version of their book.

Any I’vemissed?

There are so many online resources that cover this topic that I even ended up leaving out a few. Do you have any that you use regularly that are not mentioned above?

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17 Comments

  1. margaret conyers December 17, 2014 at 1:19 pm - Reply

    Wow what a brilliant lot of stuff to check out. Havent managed to install my 7.5 yet. sat through the lot but it didnt stay on. will need to try again. Hope you have a great Christmas Kate – all the best xx margaret

    • Katie January 13, 2015 at 2:49 pm - Reply

      Thanks Margaret! A belated merry Christmas and happy new year to you too!
      – Katie

  2. Jennifer Agati December 18, 2014 at 4:39 am - Reply

    The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures. Its a great web based interactive game with a safari theme. I play it on my Smart board with the full class.

    • Katie January 13, 2015 at 2:48 pm - Reply

      Yes – I really like that one too Jennifer!
      – Katie

  3. Evelyn January 5, 2015 at 1:51 pm - Reply

    This is amazing, thanks so much. I teach elementary music and have always been scrambling for a good way to introduce my students to the orchestra. You’ve made this so much easier.

    • Katie January 13, 2015 at 2:40 pm - Reply

      Thanks Evelyn! I’m glad it was helpful.
      – Katie

  4. Linda February 6, 2015 at 1:09 pm - Reply

    Each time I try to download Incredibox, I get a security alert from Nortons. Do you have a safe link for downloading the software?

    Thanks,

    Linda

    • Katie February 9, 2015 at 8:44 am - Reply

      Hi Linda,
      Incredibox is not a software program that you need to download – it’s simply a website that you visit. Even though you get a security alert, I have found it completely safe to use and I know lots and lots of music teachers that use it all the time. Sometimes the security alerts are a little over-sensitive (!) – they might be caused by a pop-up advert or something similar. If you want to be certain, check with your school IT person (I presume you’re teaching at a school?).
      – Katie

  5. Music Revision | Pearltrees January 24, 2016 at 3:05 am - Reply

    […] YouTube. Indian Classical Music – Raag Madhuvanti. GCSE Bitesize – Popular music. Elton John – Your Song (live) YouTube. Instruments of the Orchestra: A Monster Collection of Links for Music Teacher… […]

  6. […] INSTRUMENTS OF THE ORCHESTRA: A MONSTER COLLECTION OF LINKS FOR MUSIC TEACHERS […]

  7. posicionamiento web españA August 25, 2016 at 8:15 pm - Reply

    Estaba buscando esa informacion hace años, te lo agradezco, estoy de pacto
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    • Katie August 30, 2016 at 4:19 pm - Reply

      You’re welcome 🙂

  8. Music | Pearltrees October 8, 2016 at 1:48 pm - Reply

    […] For each lesson I make a column for rhythm and pitch so that I make sure that I am addressing both (no matter where I am in the Prepare/Present/Practice) in each lesson. It looks something like this. I start off just listing things and then I put them in order once I figure out how I want to weave the songs together (that's what the numbers are for): Last year, when I added kindergarten and pre-k once a month I knew I wasn't going to have them enough to have a seating chart, so I thought a lot about where they would be in my room, how they would enter my room etc. And then procedures…. this is the HOW. Instruments of the Orchestra: A Monster Collection of Links for Music Teachers | Midnight Music. […]

  9. Riley Carew April 17, 2017 at 3:38 pm - Reply

    I believe the acoustic guitar would add another dimension in the orchestra giving it a new modern touch to something so great and giving it another chord instrument. The combination of them both would change the aspect of every orchestra round the world

  10. Natasha May 10, 2017 at 4:04 am - Reply

    This website really helped me…. 🙂

  11. […] Violin Violin Viola Viola Cello Cello Harp. Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Instruments. Learn and Listen by Instrument! Click on the links below to sample sounds and learn more about all of the instruments played by our Dallas Symphony Orchestra musicians. Instruments of the Orchestra: A Monster Collection of Links for Music Teacher… […]

  12. Adam August 2, 2020 at 1:54 am - Reply

    HEre is a fun and extensive link of resources: https://www.stringquest.com/

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