Have a Look at Our
Fun Activities for Kids and Families
Print out these activities and have fun.
01.
Build An Instrument
Use materials around the house to make your very own string, wind, and percussion instruments.
FREE
DOWNLOAD NOW
02.
Music Maze
Find your way to Davies Symphony Hall.
FREE
DOWNLOAD NOW
03.
My Music Inspiration
Imagine and draw what you would like to write music about.
FREE
DOWNLOAD NOW
04.
The Right Tools for the Job
Select the right tool for each job.
FREE
DOWNLOAD NOW
03.
Instrument Landscape
Use your imagination and create a special landscape.
FREE
DOWNLOAD NOW
04.
Another Music Maze
Here is another maze to test your skill.
FREE
DOWNLOAD NOW
Musical Instruments
Want to learn more about an instrument – or discover new ones?
Accordion
Atumpan
Autoharp
Bagpipe
Balofon
Banjo
Bassoon
Bells
Biwa
Bodhran
Castanets
Celesta
Chimes
Claves
Clavichord
Concertina
Contrabassoon
Cornet
Accordion
This instrument is held between your hands and consists of bellows, two sets of reeds, akeyboard for the melody and buttons for bass notes and chords. While playing the keyboard and buttons with your fingers, the bellows are pushed open and closed. To make the sound they pump air through one set of reeds when being opened and through the second set of reeds when being closed.
Atumpan
A type of African talking drum. Played in pairs, these drums provide the bass part in Adowa dance ensembles. These drums are also found in Fontomfrom ensembles. The atumpan is played either with one’s bare hands or L-shaped sticks.
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Africa.
Autoharp
A strummed instrument with strings stretched across a resonating box. Buttons on th autoharp control bars that dampen all strings except the ones needed to produce a desired chord.
Bagpipe
A wind instrument that is played by blowing air into a pipe leading to the windbag. Air squeezed from the bag into reed pipes. One pipe has finger holes that used to play the melody. The other pipes, called drones, are used to continuously sound one tome each.
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Scotland.
Balofon
A gourd-resonated xylophone, originally from West Africa.
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Africa.
Banjo
A stringed instrument in the guitar family with a long neck, five strings and a round body like a tambourine with an open back. A banjo’s strings are strummed or plucked with the fingers.
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Africa.
Bassoon
This long, narrow woodwind instrument has a double reed. Its wooden tube is doubled back on itself to reduce its height and ends with a bell that points up. Bassoons play the low notes in the woodwind family.
Bells
A collection of bells that are worn, often around the ankle of a traditional dancer
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of North America.
Biwa
A Japanese short-necked lute, often used in narrative storytelling.
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Japan.
Bodhran
An Irish drum whose construction includes two perpendicular pieces of wood at the back used to hold the instrument. It is most commonly played with a stick that has a knob at one or both ends.
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Ireland.
Castanets
A Spanish percussion instrument that consists of two small shell shaped pieces of wood held together with string. The strings of the castanets are looped over the thumb. Sound is created by clicking the two shells together using the other ingers.
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Spain.
Celesta
A keyboard instrument with tuned metal bars. When a key on the keyboard is pressed, a hammer hits a metal bar to produce a tone.
Chimes
A set of tuned metal tubes that hang in rows in a frame. The sound is made by striking the tube at the top edge with a mallet. The chimes are often used by orchestras to create the sound of bells.
Claves
A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks
*Usually considered a traditional instrument of Latin America.
Clavichord
An early keyboard instrument consisting of strings stretched across an oblong wooden box, and a brass wedge or tangent. When the key is struck, the tangent rises and strikes the string, causing it to make the sound, which is very soft.
Concertina
An instrument with expanding bellows like an accordian, but with buttons, instead of keys, for playing the melody.
Contrabassoon
This instrument is also called a double bassoon. It has a double reed that can play an octave lower than a regular bassoon. Its tube is over 16 feet long and is doubled over on itself four times. The metal bell at the end of the tube points downward.
Cornet
Similar to a trumpet, the cornet has a partly conical metal tube and is mellower and less brilliant than the trumpet.
ONLINE MUSIC EDUCATION GAMES FOR KIDS
We provides a great resource that you can use to identify good music education games available online .
Neon Guitar
Animal Piano
Musical Instruments
Musical Dress-up
Music Maker
Kid-Maestro
Piano & Animal-Sounds
Instruments-for-kids
Smurfs-Music
Tom-and-Jerry-music-maker
Tom-and-Jerry-musical-stairs
Instruments-for-kids
Pandora is the best till date I have experienced in past few months. They know hospitality very well.
Brenda Greene
INSTRUMENT OF THE MONTH
Every few weeks, we will focus on a different instrument of the orchestra, sending you links with fun facts and activity pages for children, parents, and teachers to print out, explore, and enjoy.