Musical Instruments
Background Information & Activities

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Exploring different instruments is a great way to introduce music to your children. It also provides a perfect opportunity to make cross-curricular connections to science and social studies. We encourage using the Sound movie for review or to extend the topic. This movie will introduce musical instruments, including those that originated from different parts of the world. We recommend pausing throughout the movie and inviting your children to brainstorm other instruments they have seen, heard, or even played.

A musical instrument is any object or tool that can be used to make music. Brainstorm different instruments together. Then have your children sort them into different groups. There are many ways to sort instruments; encourage them to be creative! Some instruments have strings, while others are hit. Some instruments are blown through to play different notes. What are other ways musical instruments are played?

Banjos, guitars, cellos, violins, and harps are all stringed instruments. Review with children that when you pluck a string, you pull on it quickly. When you strum, you brush your fingers over the strings. Remind children that when something vibrates, it moves back and forth quickly. When a string is plucked, it vibrates to make a sound. On instruments like a guitar or a banjo, the strings on the neck are pressed down with one hand, while the other hand plucks or strums the strings on the body. The pitch of the note is affected by where the strings are pressed down on the neck. Pitch describes how high or low a sound is. If possible, show a guitar to children and explore it together. Many children do not know that a piano is a stringed instrument. When a key is pressed, a small hammer strikes a string to play a note. There are many different stringed instruments played all around the world. We encourage going on the Internet to learn about different stringed instruments. How are they alike? How are they different?

A percussion instrument is hit, shaken, rubbed, or scraped to make sounds. Maracas, tambourines, the xylophone, and drums are all percussion instruments. Many children have played with drums or have even made them on their own. Some drums have a special material that is stretched over a frame. When the drum is hit, the material vibrates to make a sound. Some drums are hit with hands, such as the bongos or the djembe. Other drums are hit with mallets or sticks.

Teach children that some instruments are played by blowing air through them. Flutes, recorders, clarinets, saxophones, tubas, and trumpets all fall in this category. Many of these instruments have holes, keys, or valves. When holes are covered or keys are pressed, they change notes. On a trombone, the slide is moved up and down in order to change notes. If possible, examine different instruments together and discuss how notes can be played. Some children may have learned about woodwinds and brass instruments. Many woodwind instruments, such as the flute, are not made of wood. Likewise, brass instruments today are made from various kinds of metals, not just brass.

Encourage children to listen to music and think about the instruments used to play the songs. What instrument is making the low notes? What instrument is making the high notes? Invite them to create musical instruments of their own. Almost everything can become a musical instrument!

See more lesson plans and resources: BrainPOP Educators.

Musical Instruments Teacher Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Class Band

Start a band with the whole class! Have students create their own musical instruments. Some children may want to put rubber bands around an empty tissue box to create a stringed instrument. Others may want to make their own drums out of boxes or use unsharpened pencils to tap a rhythm on their desks. Encourage students to be creative. They can rip pieces of paper to a beat or use a stapler to create a rhythm. Some may want to stomp their feet, snap their fingers, or even beatbox!

Sound Experiment

Explore sound and vibrations as a science connection. Place students in small groups and give each group a piece of string. Have one student in each group stretch the string between his or her fingers. Another student can measure the length that is stretched out. Then have another group member pluck the string. What does it sound like? Is it high, low, or something in between? Have students take notes, marking the length and pitch. Then have a student hold the string so that it's shorter or longer and repeat the activity. How does the length of the string affect the sound? How does the strength of the plucking affect the sound? You may want students to conduct the experiment using different types of string–thick, thin, or something in between–and different materials, such as floss or wire. After the experiment, have students discuss how stringed instruments might work to play notes.

Musical Instruments Family Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Live Music

If possible, attend a live musical performance with your child. Many high schools have bands that perform, and many local colleges have chamber ensembles or orchestras that play on campus or in the community. Discuss the instruments with your child and help him or her hear the different instruments. Which instrument is the loudest? Softest? Highest? Lowest?

Traditional Instruments

Many children are familiar with guitars, drums, and other instruments typically played in bands or orchestras. But many are not familiar with traditional instruments that date back thousands of years. Choose a country together, such as India or China, and explore its traditional instruments. You may want to go to the library to investigate or research online. Many resources online also have sound clips that give an example of how the instrument sounds. Explore world music together!