California Department of Education
Instruments of Change: Making a Simple Stringed Instrument (CTE)
What materials and skills does a person need to build a simple working instrument? With the first of four lessons from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project series, scholars learn about the basic structure of...
Physics Classroom
Name That Harmonic: Strings
Don't string your class along! Physics scholars discover the fascinating forces behind the music of stringed instruments using an interactive. From a series covering sounds and waves, the interactive asks users to identify nodes and...
Music Fun
Musical Instruments
Membranophones? Aerophones? How about strings? Percussion? You need not be a music instructor to benefit from a packet of 24 worksheets that introduce aspiring musicians to the various instrument families.
Curated OER
String Instruments and Pitch
Students make predictions and explore how pitch is altered in string instruments. In this acoustic science lesson, students learn the types and parts of string instruments and create their own. They listen to classical music and identify...
Purdue University
Design of Music Instruments for a Rock Band
Can you create a rock band? Scholars learn about the creation and transmission of sound in a hands-on STEM activity. First, they explore the transmission of sound using a tuning fork. Then, they must solve the problem of missing...
Classics for Kids
Instrumental Sounds
What sound does a piccolo make? What's the difference between a violin and viola? What family does a timpani belong to? Take a tour through the different sections of an orchestra with an interactive reference tool.
Acoustical Society of America
Musical Instruments: Part II
String together how instruments produce sound. Using pieces of string, learners find ways to create sound. They investigate changes to the string and the effect of adding a cup. Finally, pupils experiment by changing the way to create...
American Museum of Natural History
Sounds of the Silk Road
Young explorers may not be able to travel the Silk Road but they can listen to music that was played on instruments of the time and create their own songs with the help of an interesting interactive resource.
Curated OER
The Ultimate Instrument!
Third graders identify the four instrument families of the symphony orchestra. They listen to the instruments and compare the similarities and differences of each of the four families. They design and create an instrument that belongs to...
Curated OER
Meet the Instrument Families
Fourth graders listen to a recording of a string quartet and ask questions about what kinds of instrument they think they are listening to and describe what they think the instruments look like. Then they discuss musical ideas such as...
Curated OER
Rubber Band Banza
Third graders review ideas about sound and vibration to make their own stringed instrument. They review what a pictograph and bar graph are. Pupils conduct a survey within the classroom to choose the four favorite string instruments and...
Curated OER
Meet the Instruments of the Orchestra
Students examine the characteristics of the four families of instruments. They read an eBook, unscramble instruments and categorize them in the correct families, take a quiz, and explore the San Francisco Symphony website.
California Department of Education
Consonance and Dissonance: Creating Intervals for Emotions (CTE)
How are music and emotion related? Using lesson plan two of four from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project Series, scholars explore the connection between the two topics. They learn to recognize different...
Curated OER
Design an Instrument
Students design an instrument. For this sound, vibration and pitch lesson, students learn about the characteristics of sound, vibration and pitch. Students design a guitar using the assembled craft materials and demonstrate how they...
Captain Planet Foundation
Predicting Whether the Weather is Good for the Garden
Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns and...
Curated OER
Identifying Musical Instruments
First graders identify different musical instruments. In this music appreciation lesson, 1st graders discover the different groups and sounds of instruments while learning their names as well. Students write about an instrument they...
Curated OER
Music- Found-Object Orchestra
Young scholars construct simple musical instruments. In this music instructional activity, students read the text Max Found Two Sticks and construct their own instruments from classroom materials.
Acoustical Society of America
Musical Instruments
Mix it up and engage learners in a lesson on music and physical science. Using cups, strings, guitars, and voice, the class will experiment with sound vibration and frequency. They'll use each instrument and fill out a worksheet that...
California Department of Education
Tension and Release: Creating Mindful Harmony (CTE)
Perhaps the Doobie Brothers said it best when they sang, "Listen to the Music." With the third of four lessons from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project series, pupils discover the connection between music and...
Acoustical Society of America
Musical Instruments Part I - Woodwinds
What is the connection between sound and vibration? Learners find out as they conduct a series of experiments with instruments they create. The experiment is well explained, includes modifications for visuall and hearing impaired...
Curated OER
Musical Instruments - Strings
Students explore various string instruments in this multi-week music lesson for the upper-elementary grades. Emphasis is placed on group violin lessons, listening to and identifying string instruments, and researching non-European...
Curated OER
Reviewing Good Playing Habits
The string section of your school orchestra can get a proper form make-over by incorporating this lesson. They reestablish proper playing form, posture, and sound as they compose an essay on how to maintain good playing habits during...
Classics for Kids
Listen to the Music
Different pieces of music can elicit different emotions from audience members. A quick tempo can make you feel happy, while a largo piece may bring out a melancholy temperament. Elementary musicians learn more about the instruments and...
Classics for Kids
Fun With Musical Words
Is concertmaster another term for conductor, or is he or she another person entirely? Learn the specifics of the role of concertmaster with an activity focused on classical music. After learners define the term, they select a piece of...