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Summary
Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson on recognizing musical instruments and their sounds. Integrate solfeg.io in teaching your students to differentiate between the sounds of acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, synthesizer, drum set, drum machine and percussions.
🎲 What’s included in the activities:
- Discussing about musical instruments;
- Learning about acoustic guitar;
- Learning about electric guitar;
- Learning about bass guitar;
- Learning about ukulele;
- Learning about piano;
- Learning about synthesizer;
- Learning about the drum set;
- Learning about the drum machine;
- Learning about percussions
- Recognizing instrument timbres in a song;
- Exploring and finding various percussion instruments;
- Playing percussion instruments in a song.
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to Wi-Fi
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, synthesizer, drums, percussions (optional)
You & Instruments
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Find out your students' current connection with musical instruments
🎲 Activity:
Find out about students' experience with musical instruments. You can ask such questions:
- Do you play a musical instrument?
- What musical instruments do you like?
- What instruments would you like to play?
- What instruments were featured in the last song you heard?
Introduce the Acoustic Guitar!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about acoustic guitar - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of an acoustic guitar in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about acoustic guitar!
- Hollow-bodied instrument with nylon or steel strings, usually 6. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Can be played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick') or plucked directly with the fingertips.
- Can be used to play chords (accompaniment) or to play melody (fingerstyle).
- A similar instrument that is electronically amplified, is called semi-acoustic guitar.
- Play the Intro of 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by The Mamas and the Papas as an example of acoustic guitar.
This is the Electric Guitar!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about electric guitar - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of an electric guitar in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about electric guitar!
- An electronically amplified guitar. It's solid-bodied - the body provides little resonance but simply accommodates the bridge and the electronic apparatus and bears the strings under tension.
- Most commonly: 6 steel strings. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Usually played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick').
- Rock music often features elaborate electric guitar solos.
- Often played in combination with electronic effects units, like pedals. A commonly used effect in rock music - distortion.
- Play Instrumental Chorus 2 from 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of an electric guitar.
Here's the Bass Guitar!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about bass guitar - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of a bass guitar in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about bass guitar!
- Can be electric or acoustic. In pop and rock music, usually the electric bass guitar is used.
- Similar to the electric guitar: solid body with strings and electronics mounted.
- Usually has 4 thick steel strings, tuned an octave lower than the lower 4 strings on the electric guitar. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G.
- Used to play the bass line. A simple example of such could contain the root notes of the chords.
- Play Intro of 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of bass guitar.
Introduce the Ukulele!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about ukulele - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of a ukulele in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about ukulele!
- A small instrument of the guitar family.
- Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone (each have a different tone, volume, tuning).
- Derived from Portuguese instruments brought to Hawaii in the end of the 19th century by Portuguese immigrants.
- 'Ukulele' means 'jumping flea' in Hawaiian.
- 4 nylon strings. Standard tuning of soprano ukulele is G-C-E-A. The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected, it is called a 'reentrant tuning'.
- Usually played with fingertips, used to play accompaniment.
- Play Intro of 'Riptide' by Vance Joy as an example of ukulele playing.
This is the Piano!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about piano - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of a piano in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about piano!
- An acoustic stringed instrument, in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material. It is played using a keyboard.
- Lots of pieces in classical music are written for piano - either solo, or as an accompaniment for other instruments.
- Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys.
- In pop, rock and other musical styles, electronic pianos are usually used. They do not have strings or hammers but are a type of synthesizer that simulates piano sounds using oscillators and filters.
- Play Intro of 'Imagine' by John Lennon of piano playing.
Here's the Synthesizer!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about synthesizer - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of an synthesizer in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about synthesizer!
- An electronic instrument that generates audio signals. The sound is created by oscillators and then may be shaped and modulated by components such as filters, envelopes, and low-frequency oscillators.
- Typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments.
- Comes in different shapes, with or without a keyboard. Can be purely digital too - if you see a musician with a laptop on stage, it's quite likely he or she is playing a synthesizer!
- Play Intro or Interlude 1 of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a synthesizer.
Meet the Drum Set!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about drum set - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of a drum set in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about drum set!
- A collection of drums and other percussion instruments.
- Played with drumsticks or brushes held in both hands and with pedals operated by the feet.
- A standard kit contains: a snare drum, bass drum, two or more toms, a hi-hat and one or more cymbals.
- Play Chorus 2 of 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' as an example of drums.
It's a Drrrrrr....um Machine!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about drum machine- its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of an drum machine in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about drum machine!
- An electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns.
- It may imitate drum kits or other percussion using pre-recorded samples of the sounds of these instruments or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones.
- May have buttons or pads to be played live.
- Play Chorus of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a drum machine.
Here are the Percussions!
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Learn about percussions - its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Learn to distinguish the timbre of percussions in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tell your students these facts about percussions!
- Instruments that are played by shaking, striking, scraping or rubbing by hand, by a beater or against another similar instrument.
- Most commonly divided into two classes: pitched percussion instruments which produce notes with an identifiable pitch, and unpitched instruments which produce notes or sounds in an indefinite pitch.
- Often made of wood, metal or other hard materials.
- Percussive techniques can be also applied to the human body itself. It's called body percussion. Sound can be created by stomping, patting, clapping, snapping fingers etc.
- Play the intro of 'We Will Rock You' by Queen as an example of percusssions.
500 miles… How many instruments?
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Recognize and write down several instrument timbres in a song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
- Play the Chorus 3 and Post-Chorus 2 from 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers.
- Ask students to listen carefully to the instruments.
Can you write down what instruments you hear? (Synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions)
- Discuss what instruments they have heard. To clearly demonstrate each one of them, you can mute other instruments in the song player under Controls section.
Sounds creepy and kooky!
🕐 Time: 15 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Explore and invent percussion instrument types and compare their timbres
- Play a rhythm excerpt from a song with percussion instruments
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
- Divide students in small groups.
- Play an excerpt from 'The Addams Family' Theme song (Interlude 2). Make sure that 'Notation' is selected under 'Tools' - 'Visuals'.
- Ask students to listen to the percussion instruments. You can discuss or ask each group to write down the answers to these questions.
What instruments do you hear?
What other sounds are there?
What sound sources could produce these sounds?
- Ask students to look around and think about what stuff in the classroom could be used as percussion instruments (different surfaces to strike, pens and pencils to be used as beaters, objects that can be used as shakers, body percussion... Be creative!)
- Let each group practice the rhythm lines of Interlude 2 using the found instruments.
- Ask each group to perform the rhythm lines of Interlude 2 in front of the class.
- Compare the different versions. Shortly discuss the differences and similarities.
Reflection
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Consolidate the knowledge on recognizing instruments and their sounds
🎲 Activity:
Ask your students the following questions:
- What is the most exciting fact you have learned about band instruments?
- What instruments are characteristic of, for example, pop, rock, indie, dance, hip-hop, country?
Beyond the Lesson
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Test students' knowledge on recognizing instruments and their sounds.
- Recap the topics, as needed for each individual student.
🎲 Activity:
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Exploring different song categories and trying to find different instruments in them.
In which song piano and guitar is played together?
In which song feet stomping is used as a bass drum?
Which song features ukulele?
Which is your favourite electric guitar solo?
Summary
In this lesson, students will learn to recognize band instruments and their timbres. They will listen to song excerpts and identify the instruments they hear. They will find out how different instruments are constructed and learn the basics of sound production in them. Students will get to know the function of different instruments in a band and discover how instrumentation can vary in different musical styles.
The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons and add additional activities (see 'Activities' section). If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.
⏰ Time: 45 min
🎓 Grades: 5-12
🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson students will know and/or be able to...
- Recognize instruments, most commonly used in bands;
- Understand the role of different instruments in a band;
- Understand the basics of sound production in different instruments.
💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:
- Basic notation;
- Basic rhythm values.
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to Wi-Fi
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, synthesizer, drums, percussions (optional)
Song suggestions:
Inspiration
🕐 5 min - You & instruments
Find out about students' experience with musical instruments. You can ask such questions:
- Do you play a musical instrument?
- What musical instruments do you like?
- What instruments would you like to play?
- What instruments were featured in the last song you heard?
Warm-Up
🕐 20 min - Theory
Introduce each instrument!
- Show a picture of it or demonstrate it live, if you have the instrument available.
- Shortly talk about its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Play a song excerpt where it is featured. To demonstrate it more clearly, you can mute other instruments under 'Controls' - 'Volume'.
Acoustic guitar
- Hollow-bodied instrument with nylon or steel strings, usually 6. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Can be played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick') or plucked directly with the fingertips.
- Can be used to play chords (accompaniment) or to play melody (fingerstyle).
- A similar instrument that is electronically amplified, is called semi-acoustic guitar.
- Play the Intro of 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by The Mamas and the Papas as an example of acoustic guitar.
Electric guitar
- An electronically amplified guitar. It's solid-bodied - the body provides little resonance but simply accommodates the bridge and the electronic apparatus and bears the strings under tension.
- Most commonly: 6 steel strings. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Usually played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick').
- Rock music often features elaborate electric guitar solos.
- Often played in combination with electronic effects units, like pedals. A commonly used effect in rock music - distortion.
- Play Instrumental Chorus 2 from 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of an electric guitar.
Bass guitar
- Can be electric or acoustic. In pop and rock music, usually the electric bass guitar is used.
- Similar to the electric guitar: solid body with strings and electronics mounted.
- Usually has 4 thick steel strings, tuned an octave lower than the lower 4 strings on the electric guitar. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G.
- Used to play the bass line. A simple example of such could contain the root notes of the chords.
- Play Intro of 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of bass guitar.
Ukulele
- A small instrument of the guitar family.
- Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone (each have a different tone, volume, tuning).
- Derived from Portuguese instruments brought to Hawaii in the end of the 19th century by Portuguese immigrants.
- 'Ukulele' means 'jumping flea' in Hawaiian.
- 4 nylon strings. Standard tuning of soprano ukulele is G-C-E-A. The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected, it is called a 'reentrant tuning'.
- Usually played with fingertips, used to play accompaniment.
- Play Intro of 'Riptide' by Vance Joy as an example of ukulele playing.
Piano
- An acoustic stringed instrument, in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material. It is played using a keyboard.
- Lots of pieces in classical music are written for piano - either solo, or as an accompaniment for other instruments.
- Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys.
- In pop, rock and other musical styles, electronic pianos are usually used. They do not have strings or hammers but are a type of synthesizer that simulates piano sounds using oscillators and filters.
- Play Intro of 'Imagine' by John Lennon of piano playing.
Synthesizer
- An electronic instrument that generates audio signals. The sound is created by oscillators and then may be shaped and modulated by components such as filters, envelopes, and low-frequency oscillators.
- Typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments.
- Comes in different shapes, with or without a keyboard. Can be purely digital too - if you see a musician with a laptop on stage, it's quite likely he or she is playing a synthesizer!
- Play Intro or Interlude 1 of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a synthesizer.
Drum set
- A collection of drums and other percussion instruments.
- Played with drumsticks or brushes held in both hands and with pedals operated by the feet.
- A standard kit contains: a snare drum, bass drum, two or more toms, a hi-hat and one or more cymbals.
- Play Chorus 2 of 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' as an example of drums.
Drum machine
- An electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns.
- It may imitate drum kits or other percussion using pre-recorded samples of the sounds of these instruments or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones.
- May have buttons or pads to be played live.
- Play Chorus of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a drum machine.
Percussions
- Instruments that are played by shaking, striking, scraping or rubbing by hand, by a beater or against another similar instrument.
- Most commonly divided into two classes: pitched percussion instruments which produce notes with an identifiable pitch, and unpitched instruments which produce notes or sounds in an indefinite pitch.
- Often made of wood, metal or other hard materials.
- Percussive techniques can be also applied to the human body itself. It's called body percussion. Sound can be created by stomping, patting, clapping, snapping fingers etc.
- Play the intro of 'We Will Rock You' by Queen as an example of percusssions.
Practice
🕐 5 min - Exercise 1 - 500 miles… How many instruments?
- Play the Chorus 3 and Post-Chorus 2 from 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers.
- Ask students to listen carefully to the instruments.
Can you write down what instruments you hear? (Synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions)
- Discuss what instruments they have heard. To clearly demonstrate each one of them, you can mute other instruments in the song player under Controls section.
🕐 10 min - Exercise 2 - Sounds creepy and kooky!
- Divide students in small groups.
- Play an excerpt from 'The Addams Family' Theme song (Interlude 2). Make sure that 'Notation' is selected under 'Tools' - 'Visuals'.
- Ask students to listen to the percussion instruments. You can discuss or ask each group to write down the answers to these questions.
What instruments do you hear?
What other sounds are there?
What sound sources could produce these sounds?
- Ask students to look around and think about what stuff in the classroom could be used as percussion instruments (different surfaces to strike, pens and pencils to be used as beaters, objects that can be used as shakers, body percussion... Be creative!)
Reflection
🕐 5 min - Discussion
- What is the most exciting fact you have learned about band instruments?
- What instruments are characteristic of, for example, pop, rock, indie, dance, hip-hop, country?
Beyond the Lesson
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Exploring different song categories and trying to find different instruments in them.
In which song piano and guitar is played together?
In which song feet stomping is used as a bass drum?
Which song features ukulele?
Which is your favourite electric guitar solo?
Visual presentation
Summary
In this lesson, students will learn to recognize band instruments and their timbres. They will listen to song excerpts and identify the instruments they hear. They will find out how different instruments are constructed and learn the basics of sound production in them. Students will get to know the function of different instruments in a band and discover how instrumentation can vary in different musical styles.
The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons and add additional activities (see 'Activities' section). If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.
⏰ Time: 45 min
🎓 Grades: 5-12
🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson students will know and/or be able to...
- Recognize instruments, most commonly used in bands;
- Understand the role of different instruments in a band;
- Understand the basics of sound production in different instruments.
💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:
- Basic notation;
- Basic rhythm values.
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to Wi-Fi
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, synthesizer, drums, percussions (optional)
Song suggestions:
Inspiration
🕐 5 min - You & instruments
Find out about students' experience with musical instruments. You can ask such questions:
- Do you play a musical instrument?
- What musical instruments do you like?
- What instruments would you like to play?
- What instruments were featured in the last song you heard?
Warm-Up
🕐 20 min - Theory
Introduce each instrument!
- Show a picture of it or demonstrate it live, if you have the instrument available.
- Shortly talk about its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Play a song excerpt where it is featured. To demonstrate it more clearly, you can mute other instruments under 'Controls' - 'Volume'.
Acoustic guitar
- Hollow-bodied instrument with nylon or steel strings, usually 6. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Can be played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick') or plucked directly with the fingertips.
- Can be used to play chords (accompaniment) or to play melody (fingerstyle).
- A similar instrument that is electronically amplified, is called semi-acoustic guitar.
- Play the Intro of 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by The Mamas and the Papas as an example of acoustic guitar.
Electric guitar
- An electronically amplified guitar. It's solid-bodied - the body provides little resonance but simply accommodates the bridge and the electronic apparatus and bears the strings under tension.
- Most commonly: 6 steel strings. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Usually played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick').
- Rock music often features elaborate electric guitar solos.
- Often played in combination with electronic effects units, like pedals. A commonly used effect in rock music - distortion.
- Play Instrumental Chorus 2 from 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of an electric guitar.
Bass guitar
- Can be electric or acoustic. In pop and rock music, usually the electric bass guitar is used.
- Similar to the electric guitar: solid body with strings and electronics mounted.
- Usually has 4 thick steel strings, tuned an octave lower than the lower 4 strings on the electric guitar. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G.
- Used to play the bass line. A simple example of such could contain the root notes of the chords.
- Play Intro of 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of bass guitar.
Ukulele
- A small instrument of the guitar family.
- Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone (each have a different tone, volume, tuning).
- Derived from Portuguese instruments brought to Hawaii in the end of the 19th century by Portuguese immigrants.
- 'Ukulele' means 'jumping flea' in Hawaiian.
- 4 nylon strings. Standard tuning of soprano ukulele is G-C-E-A. The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected, it is called a 'reentrant tuning'.
- Usually played with fingertips, used to play accompaniment.
- Play Intro of 'Riptide' by Vance Joy as an example of ukulele playing.
Piano
- An acoustic stringed instrument, in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material. It is played using a keyboard.
- Lots of pieces in classical music are written for piano - either solo, or as an accompaniment for other instruments.
- Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys.
- In pop, rock and other musical styles, electronic pianos are usually used. They do not have strings or hammers but are a type of synthesizer that simulates piano sounds using oscillators and filters.
- Play Intro of 'Imagine' by John Lennon of piano playing.
Synthesizer
- An electronic instrument that generates audio signals. The sound is created by oscillators and then may be shaped and modulated by components such as filters, envelopes, and low-frequency oscillators.
- Typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments.
- Comes in different shapes, with or without a keyboard. Can be purely digital too - if you see a musician with a laptop on stage, it's quite likely he or she is playing a synthesizer!
- Play Intro or Interlude 1 of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a synthesizer.
Drum set
- A collection of drums and other percussion instruments.
- Played with drumsticks or brushes held in both hands and with pedals operated by the feet.
- A standard kit contains: a snare drum, bass drum, two or more toms, a hi-hat and one or more cymbals.
- Play Chorus 2 of 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' as an example of drums.
Drum machine
- An electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns.
- It may imitate drum kits or other percussion using pre-recorded samples of the sounds of these instruments or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones.
- May have buttons or pads to be played live.
- Play Chorus of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a drum machine.
Percussions
- Instruments that are played by shaking, striking, scraping or rubbing by hand, by a beater or against another similar instrument.
- Most commonly divided into two classes: pitched percussion instruments which produce notes with an identifiable pitch, and unpitched instruments which produce notes or sounds in an indefinite pitch.
- Often made of wood, metal or other hard materials.
- Percussive techniques can be also applied to the human body itself. It's called body percussion. Sound can be created by stomping, patting, clapping, snapping fingers etc.
- Play the intro of 'We Will Rock You' by Queen as an example of percusssions.
Practice
🕐 5 min - Exercise 1 - 500 miles… How many instruments?
- Play the Chorus 3 and Post-Chorus 2 from 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers.
- Ask students to listen carefully to the instruments.
Can you write down what instruments you hear? (Synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions)
- Discuss what instruments they have heard. To clearly demonstrate each one of them, you can mute other instruments in the song player under Controls section.
🕐 10 min - Exercise 2 - Sounds creepy and kooky!
- Divide students in small groups.
- Play an excerpt from 'The Addams Family' Theme song (Interlude 2). Make sure that 'Notation' is selected under 'Tools' - 'Visuals'.
- Ask students to listen to the percussion instruments. You can discuss or ask each group to write down the answers to these questions.
What instruments do you hear?
What other sounds are there?
What sound sources could produce these sounds?
- Ask students to look around and think about what stuff in the classroom could be used as percussion instruments (different surfaces to strike, pens and pencils to be used as beaters, objects that can be used as shakers, body percussion... Be creative!)
Reflection
🕐 5 min - Discussion
- What is the most exciting fact you have learned about band instruments?
- What instruments are characteristic of, for example, pop, rock, indie, dance, hip-hop, country?
Beyond the Lesson
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Exploring different song categories and trying to find different instruments in them.
In which song piano and guitar is played together?
In which song feet stomping is used as a bass drum?
Which song features ukulele?
Which is your favourite electric guitar solo?
Visual presentation
PRINT OR DOWNLOAD
Summary
In this lesson, students will learn to recognize band instruments and their timbres. They will listen to song excerpts and identify the instruments they hear. They will find out how different instruments are constructed and learn the basics of sound production in them. Students will get to know the function of different instruments in a band and discover how instrumentation can vary in different musical styles.
The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons and add additional activities (see 'Activities' section). If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.
⏰ Time: 45 min
🎓 Grades: 5-12
🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson students will know and/or be able to...
- Recognize instruments, most commonly used in bands;
- Understand the role of different instruments in a band;
- Understand the basics of sound production in different instruments.
💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:
- Basic notation;
- Basic rhythm values.
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to Wi-Fi
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, synthesizer, drums, percussions (optional)
Song suggestions:
Inspiration
🕐 5 min - You & instruments
Find out about students' experience with musical instruments. You can ask such questions:
- Do you play a musical instrument?
- What musical instruments do you like?
- What instruments would you like to play?
- What instruments were featured in the last song you heard?
Warm-Up
🕐 20 min - Theory
Introduce each instrument!
- Show a picture of it or demonstrate it live, if you have the instrument available.
- Shortly talk about its construction, sound production, function in band and musical styles it's commonly used in.
- Play a song excerpt where it is featured. To demonstrate it more clearly, you can mute other instruments under 'Controls' - 'Volume'.
Acoustic guitar
- Hollow-bodied instrument with nylon or steel strings, usually 6. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Can be played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick') or plucked directly with the fingertips.
- Can be used to play chords (accompaniment) or to play melody (fingerstyle).
- A similar instrument that is electronically amplified, is called semi-acoustic guitar.
- Play the Intro of 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by The Mamas and the Papas as an example of acoustic guitar.
Electric guitar
- An electronically amplified guitar. It's solid-bodied - the body provides little resonance but simply accommodates the bridge and the electronic apparatus and bears the strings under tension.
- Most commonly: 6 steel strings. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G-B-E.
- Usually played with a plectrum (also called a 'pick').
- Rock music often features elaborate electric guitar solos.
- Often played in combination with electronic effects units, like pedals. A commonly used effect in rock music - distortion.
- Play Instrumental Chorus 2 from 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of an electric guitar.
Bass guitar
- Can be electric or acoustic. In pop and rock music, usually the electric bass guitar is used.
- Similar to the electric guitar: solid body with strings and electronics mounted.
- Usually has 4 thick steel strings, tuned an octave lower than the lower 4 strings on the electric guitar. Standard tuning: E-A-D-G.
- Used to play the bass line. A simple example of such could contain the root notes of the chords.
- Play Intro of 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes as an example of bass guitar.
Ukulele
- A small instrument of the guitar family.
- Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone (each have a different tone, volume, tuning).
- Derived from Portuguese instruments brought to Hawaii in the end of the 19th century by Portuguese immigrants.
- 'Ukulele' means 'jumping flea' in Hawaiian.
- 4 nylon strings. Standard tuning of soprano ukulele is G-C-E-A. The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected, it is called a 'reentrant tuning'.
- Usually played with fingertips, used to play accompaniment.
- Play Intro of 'Riptide' by Vance Joy as an example of ukulele playing.
Piano
- An acoustic stringed instrument, in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material. It is played using a keyboard.
- Lots of pieces in classical music are written for piano - either solo, or as an accompaniment for other instruments.
- Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys.
- In pop, rock and other musical styles, electronic pianos are usually used. They do not have strings or hammers but are a type of synthesizer that simulates piano sounds using oscillators and filters.
- Play Intro of 'Imagine' by John Lennon of piano playing.
Synthesizer
- An electronic instrument that generates audio signals. The sound is created by oscillators and then may be shaped and modulated by components such as filters, envelopes, and low-frequency oscillators.
- Typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments.
- Comes in different shapes, with or without a keyboard. Can be purely digital too - if you see a musician with a laptop on stage, it's quite likely he or she is playing a synthesizer!
- Play Intro or Interlude 1 of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a synthesizer.
Drum set
- A collection of drums and other percussion instruments.
- Played with drumsticks or brushes held in both hands and with pedals operated by the feet.
- A standard kit contains: a snare drum, bass drum, two or more toms, a hi-hat and one or more cymbals.
- Play Chorus 2 of 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' as an example of drums.
Drum machine
- An electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns.
- It may imitate drum kits or other percussion using pre-recorded samples of the sounds of these instruments or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones.
- May have buttons or pads to be played live.
- Play Chorus of 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd as an example of a drum machine.
Percussions
- Instruments that are played by shaking, striking, scraping or rubbing by hand, by a beater or against another similar instrument.
- Most commonly divided into two classes: pitched percussion instruments which produce notes with an identifiable pitch, and unpitched instruments which produce notes or sounds in an indefinite pitch.
- Often made of wood, metal or other hard materials.
- Percussive techniques can be also applied to the human body itself. It's called body percussion. Sound can be created by stomping, patting, clapping, snapping fingers etc.
- Play the intro of 'We Will Rock You' by Queen as an example of percusssions.
Practice
🕐 5 min - Exercise 1 - 500 miles… How many instruments?
- Play the Chorus 3 and Post-Chorus 2 from 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers.
- Ask students to listen carefully to the instruments.
Can you write down what instruments you hear? (Synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions)
- Discuss what instruments they have heard. To clearly demonstrate each one of them, you can mute other instruments in the song player under Controls section.
🕐 10 min - Exercise 2 - Sounds creepy and kooky!
- Divide students in small groups.
- Play an excerpt from 'The Addams Family' Theme song (Interlude 2). Make sure that 'Notation' is selected under 'Tools' - 'Visuals'.
- Ask students to listen to the percussion instruments. You can discuss or ask each group to write down the answers to these questions.
What instruments do you hear?
What other sounds are there?
What sound sources could produce these sounds?
- Ask students to look around and think about what stuff in the classroom could be used as percussion instruments (different surfaces to strike, pens and pencils to be used as beaters, objects that can be used as shakers, body percussion... Be creative!)
Reflection
🕐 5 min - Discussion
- What is the most exciting fact you have learned about band instruments?
- What instruments are characteristic of, for example, pop, rock, indie, dance, hip-hop, country?
Beyond the Lesson
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Exploring different song categories and trying to find different instruments in them.
In which song piano and guitar is played together?
In which song feet stomping is used as a bass drum?
Which song features ukulele?
Which is your favourite electric guitar solo?
Visual presentation
