Instruments of the orchestra

Instrument Families

By the end of this lesson you should: Know what an orchestra is

Understand the layout of an orchestra

Be Able to categorise orchestral instruments into their instrumental families

What is an orchestra?

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble.

A typical orchestra is made up of four sections

Strings

Brass

Woodwind and

Percussion instruments.

Orchestra’s have grown over the years.

Did you know that an orchestra could have up to 100 players playing together at the same time!

What is an orchestra? In your books copy out these sentences and fill in the missing words.

• An orchestra is a large instrumental ______________

• A typical orchestra is made up of ______ sections.

• Brass, woodwind, percussion and ______________

• Ensemble

• 4

• Strings

Instruments of the orchestra

String Family & The Conductor

By the end of this lesson you should:

Know the names of the string instruments in an orchestra and the 2 musical terms for how the strings can be played

Understand the role of a conductor

Be Able to beat time in 2, 3 & 4 time

Conductor• A conductor is the

leader of an orchestra.

• One of the main roles of a conductor is to help keep everyone in time with each other by using hand gestures.

Instruments of the orchestra - Strings

• Bowed “Arco”

• Plucked “Pizzicato” or

• Struck

• How many can you name?

• Violin, viola, cello, double bass

• Harp• Guitar, banjo, piano

• Stringed instruments can be played in a number of ways

Instruments of the orchestra

Brass Family

By the end of this lesson you should:

Know the names of the brass instruments in an orchestra

Understand how sounds are produced from brass instruments

Be Able to

Instruments of the orchestra - Brass

• Brass instruments are long tubes of curved brass.

• They are played by blowing air through a mouthpiece and making air vibrate through the tube to make a sound.

• You can make different sounds by blowing harder or softer into the mouthpiece.

• How many can you name?

• Cornet, trombone,• Trumpet, tuba, French

horn,

Instruments of the orchestra

Woodwind Family & Orchestral layout

By the end of this lesson you should:

Know what the woodwind instruments are in an orchestra

Understand how sounds are produced from the different woodwind instruments

Be able to draw the layout of an orchestra.

Layout of an orchestra

Instruments of the orchestra - Woodwind

• How many can you name?

• Flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet,

• A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed.

• Most of these instruments are made of wood but can be made of other materials, such as metals or plastics.

Instruments of the orchestra

Percussion Family & Dynamic Markings

By the end of this lesson you should:

Know the definition of PERCUSSION & Dynamic markings

Understand the difference between tuned and untuned percussion instruments

Be Able to translate the dynamic markings into full Italian words with their Englich meaning

Introduction to instruments of the orchestra - percussion

• There are two types of percussion instruments: tuned and untuned.

• Percussive instruments are instruments that are hit by a hand or a beater

Tuned Untuned

XylophoneVibraphoneTubular bells

DrumsShakercymbals

Instruments of the orchestra

Dynamic markings