Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Cymbals
Learn about the ways to play the cymbals and how they contribute to the sound of the orchestra. Use RealAudio to listen to cymbals alone and with the orchestra. Pictures of the instrument are also provided.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Cello
Read about the cello, the tenor member of the string family. Use Windows Media Player or RealAudio to listen to three samples if the cello on its own and with the orchestra. Pictures of the instrument are also provided.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Violin
Read about the violin, as well as a few other string instruments. Use Windows Media Player or Real Audio to listen to three violin samples. Pictures of the instrument are also provided.
Open Curriculum
Open Curriculum: Orchestral Instruments
To provide an introduction to orchestral instruments of the modern Western orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Double Bass
The double bass is the largest string instrument, and is the bass member of the family. Read about how to play this instruments and how it works. Use Windows Media Player or RealAudio to listen to samples of the double bass on it's own...
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Piano
Read about keyboard instruments and the piano in particular. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the piano alone and with the orchestra.
PBS
Pbs Kids: Carmen's World Orchestra
Carmen, Andy and Leo are putting on a concert with instruments from all around the world and you can play too or just listen to their solos.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Organ
A concert hall organ can have as many as four keyboards, 244 keys, 32 pedals and 4,535 pipes. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the organ alone or with the orchestra.
University of Michigan
University of Michigan: Instrument Encyclopedia: Clarinet
This article, providing general information on the clarinet -- "a very popular woodwind instrument which originated in Islamic and Asian countries" -- includes an image of a clarinet, several references for reading and research, and a...
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Contrabassoon
Learn about the contrabassoon, a member of the woodwind family of instruments. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the contrabassoon.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Teachers Lounge
Although this is considered a teachers lounge, it has many activities for students too. Teachers will love this because there are many lesson plans as well as other activities to do with their students.
The Orchestra
The Orchestra: A User's Manual Oboes
Explore the many aspects of the oboe. This site explains its construction, range, articulations, effects and more. Be sure to check out the videos of the players tips and tricks.
The Orchestra
The Orchestra: A User's Manual Flutes
Everything concerning the flute can be found at this site. Learn about its construction, range, articulations, effects and more. Also be sure to check out the players tips and tricks.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Trombone
Did you know that the trombone has about nine feet of tubing in it? Read more about trombones and the rest of the brass family of the orchestra at this resouce.
Other
Pay the Piper
A resource for children who want to play a musical instrument, and their parents, this website includes answers to such questions as "Where do you get lessons?" and "How much will a new instrument cost?" Also included are informational...
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Perfect Pitch
Perfect Pitch is an interactive learning environment that lets you form orchestras and create your own orchestral arrangements of music from the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods. Clever game design, including a...
National Arts Centre (Canada)
Arts Alive: Music
ArtsAlive provides a website devoted to the music of the orchestra. Content includes a glossary of musical terms, biographies of significant composers, information on specific instruments, activities and games, teacher resource guides,...
Other
Discover Eso: Percussion Instruments: Harp
Contains information on the harp. Students learn about the history and qualities of the instrument and can listen to audio excerpts of the harp being played.
Other
New York Philharmonic: Kid Zone!
Meet musicians, create your own instrument and musical compositions, and tour the backstage home of the New York Philharmonic.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Harpsichord
The harpsichord looks a little like a piano, but there are enough differences to place them in two different instrument groups even though both use keyboards. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the harpsichord.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Guiro
Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of the orchestra and the guiro. This instrument is untuned and comes from South and Central America.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Viola
A description of the viola accompanied by sound files that let you hear what the viola sounds like.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: William Grant Still
This resource describes how William Grant Still (1895-1978 CE) started out playing the violin and then began teaching himself to play other string instruments as well as the oboe, clarinet, and saxophone. His most famous work is...
Other
Online Mallet Lessons
This site contains numerous tips and suggestions dealing with many facets of playing the vibraphone and marimba. Although much of the information is jazz oriented, some is general enough that it could easily be applied to xylophone and...