This is a few lesson plan ideas that you can use when learning about the Symphony Orchestra
You can arrange the classroom like an orchestra. Place the names of instruments on the the students desks, or affix name stickers to individual students. Allow students to be different instruments on different days.
Have a class discussion about the similarities and differences between different musical groups. What do Rock Bands and Symphony Orchestras have in common?
Discuss the relationship between the traditional sections of the orchestra and the Hornbostel-Sachs instrument classifications. (Strings are chordophones; woodwinds and brass are aerophones; some percussion instruments are membranophones, others are idiophones.)
Here is an idea for a Long-term assignment: construct an instrument that demonstrates two or more of the Hornbostel-Sachs categories.
Discuss the science of musical instruments – the connection between vibration and sound
An excellent listening activity is to listen to Benjamin Britten’s Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra If you have assigned students to different instruments to the children’s seating positions above, they may stand or perform some action when their instrument is heard. This is a relatively lengthy composition (over 17 minutes) so you may want to do different sections on different days.
For more information on music lesson plans please contact the Fun Music Company
