Identifying the Music Instrument Families
Lessons 003 and 004
Each Music Technology student will receive one 30-45 minute lesson per week. The class structure is ‘work-at-your-own-pace’ because students are not required to have any materials or music equipment to participate.
Essential Question: What are the main instrument families in music? (Answers below evaluation.)
Objectives:
*Students will learn the names of the instruments in the music families (woodwind, brass, string, percussion / keyboard).
*Students will complete a quiz about identifying instruments on our website.
*Students will complete one or more pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Level 1A (varies based on student level).
Materials:
Piano keyboards, Windows computers, Alfred Basic Piano, Music Ace and Groovy software and all cables, adapters and headphones associated with electronic equipment. Instrument worksheets or quizzes may be found on our website.
Procedures:
1) Introduce the names of the instruments in the woodwind, brass, string and percussion sections, including the electric guitar and electronic musical keyboard. Also introduce the keyboard family as an additional family of instruments. Use the pictures of instruments in our folder and on our website. Students may press the green arrows by each instrument to hear the sounds on our site. (Instrument Sounds and Pictures)
Ask students to notice.....
- What is the difference in the way you play (blow into) a woodwind and brass instrument? (Brass instruments have to be played with a buzz from the lips rather than blowing into it like woodwind instruments.
- Sometimes people think that the saxophone is a brass instrument because it is ‘gold’ in color. Why are saxophones in the woodwind family?
- Can a keyboard be considered a part of the percussion family? (Yes)
2) Students will complete the ‘Mighty Music Man 3 – Instrument Heist’ quiz on our website or The ‘Instrument Spin-off Quiz.’
Students may also try to locate various instrument family sounds on our Yamaha keyboards. Ask the students which family of instruments is their favorite.
3) Complete various pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Book 1 based on individual student progress. Make a video (digital camera) of some of the students and post it immediately using the projector for review and feedback. Younger students will be on pages 10-13. (Using right and left hand, measures, quarter note, groups of 2 and 3 black keys, half notes, whole notes, dynamics of forte and piano).
4) If time allows, students may play some of the other quizzes on our website related to music instrument families or open the Sibelius Instruments software program to listen to many instruments in various styles of musical genres.
5) For extra activities, students may also complete Lessons 2-5 in the Music Ace software. The teacher will need to record the progress of each student due to a lack of student accounts per station. Students may also choose to complete Lessons or Create songs using Sibelius Groovy software.
Evaluation:
Students will complete all exercises on pages 10-13 of the Alfred Piano Lesson 1A.
(Using right and left hand, measures, quarter note, groups of 2 and 3 black keys, half notes, whole notes,
dynamics of forte and piano). The teacher will observe the points above and provide feedback to the students.
Students will be able to respond to questions about the instrument families verbally and through website quizzes.
Essential Question: What are the main instrument families in music?
There are four main instrument families: Woodwind, Brass, String and Percussion. Sometimes the upright piano and grand piano are considered percussion instruments, but they may also be a part of the Keyboard family. The Keyboard family can include pianos as well as electronic music keyboards and synthesizers.
You can see pictures of each instrument and listen to their sounds on our website, www.musictechteacher.com. Click on Quiz Help and Instruments. After you have learned the instrument families, there are many quizzes and games about instruments that you can play to test your knowledge of instrument families.
Standards:
TI:ME (Technology for Music Education)
Standard (1) - Electronic Musical Instruments
- Operate electronic instruments
- Understand their unique characteristics
Standard (4) - Technology Assisted Learning
- Prescribe instructional software to provide students with a patient practice partner, allowing self-paced
progress through subject matter.
MENC (National Association for Music Education)
- Standard (2) Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
- Standard (6) Listening to, analyzing and describing music (Instrument Families Study)
ISTE/NETS-S 2007
Standard (3) Technology Productivity Tools
- Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
ISTE/NETS-S 2009
Standard (3) Research and Information Fluency
- Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate and use information.
- b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources
and media.
Standard (6) Technology Operations and Concepts
- Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
- b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
