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Contributor: Renae Green. Lesson ID: 12973
Orchestral music is written for many different types of instruments, but there are no words! Hear what these instruments sound like alone and together. You'll even create art work to match the music!
Q: Why do orchestras have bad reputations?
A: Because they don’t know how to conduct themselves.
It's true! All orchestras have a conductor who stands before all the musicians and instructs them on how and when to play their instruments.
Learn how these instruments team up to make beautiful music that can speak to your heart, even without words!
There are so many different instruments that some people play several. (Probably not all at once, though!)
Instrumental music is music that has no lyrics or words. An orchestra is a group of musicians who perform instrumental music together. Orchestras often perform classical music, but they can perform any music.
An orchestra has four main musical sections: strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion. Each section has different instruments and players; they all work together to create a wonderful sound when performing.
Explore some of the instruments played in an orchestra.
A composer is a person who writes music for orchestras. This type of music is often called a symphony.
A conductor is the leader of the orchestra. The conductor tells the players how fast the music should be played and when to get softer and louder.
Here is a short video to help you understand more about an orchestra. As you watch, think about the following questions.
Here’s a funny clip of an orchestra performing when the conductor gets arrested and taken away so a very special guest can be the new conductor!
Continue to the Got It? section to hear an exciting fictional story about one of the most famous conductors of all time.
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