A Virtual Field Trip to the Symphony Learning About Musical Instruments

Listen and learn about musical instruments with a virtual field trip to the symphony. Enjoy the videos of varying styles and genres.

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Have you ever wanted to take your students on a field trip to the symphony but it is too far away or it costs too much? Learning about the instruments of the orchestra and band has never been easier with quality online performances.

Gathering videos and preparing lessons is time consuming. That’s why I created this Virtual Field Trip to the Symphony. It’s organized and ready for you.

Just add kids!

Take a Virtual Field Trip to the Symphony | Learning About the Instruments of the Orchestra in the Elementary Music Classroom

Note: Due to the extreme popularity of this post, the platform that I used to create this Virtual Field Trip is no longer feasible. So I embedded the videos directly into the post. Enjoy!

Hook Your Students by Listening to a Wide Variety of Styles and Genres

I created these musical instrument listening lessons to help my students learn about instruments. Videos include a wide variety of styles and performers: pop, classical, Disney, marching band drumline, etc. There is something to “hook” all of your students.

Students can also access the performances at home, and they do. Since I posted these listening lessons, the videos have been viewed over 400,000 and my sharing platform account was frozen! So I re-created the field trip inside this blog post.

Use Quality Performances to Motivate and Inspire Your Students

TRUE STORY – A classroom teacher reported that one of her boys had worked very hard to earn free iPad time. This was a rare occurrence for him. During his free time, he could choose to do any school-appropriate online activity.

He chose to watch my Virtual Field Trip videos! He spent his precious 20 minutes with headphones on, sitting quietly mesmerized by the instruments, the music, and the videos. His teacher was amazed and frankly so was I.

You do NOT know how you are touching and inspiring your students. Take time to teach about the main instruments of the orchestra and band.

Pace Listening Lessons

These instrument activities are ideal for your sub plans if you have an extended absence.

Suggested Sequence

Focus on one instrument family per class session.

Day 1: String Family

Listen to 1-2 minutes of the first performance of each instrument.

Day 2: String Family

Listen to 1-2 minutes of the second performance of each instrument.

Continue this same pattern with each instrument family.

Spending two class sessions on the same instrument family helps ensure that absent students don’t miss the experience completely.

And this sequence gives you time to . . . .

Make music during each class session.

String Family

Violin

Viola

Cello

Double Bass

Harp

Woodwind Family

Flute

Piccolo

Clarinet

Oboe

Saxophone

Bassoon

Brass Family

Trumpet

Trombone

French Horn

Tuba

Percussion Family

Marching Band Drum Line

Marimba

Timpani

Drum Set

Keyboard Family

Piano

Celesta

Harpsichord

Pipe Organ

Need More Quality Musical Instrument Resources?

Although you’ll enjoy teaching these fun, informative lessons, they also work well as SUB LESSONS! Each No-Prep resource includes a PowerPoint presentation compatible with Google Slides and professional YouTube video links.

Download
Print the optional worksheet (if desired)
Teach

Pictures of musical instruments in the String, Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Families — Save with the Bundle

Presentations include embedded teacher scripts, built-in student interaction, and optional guided notes worksheets to hold students accountable. Answer keys are included.

An introduction to the string family with images of violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp — Check Out the Strings

An introduction to the woodwind family with images of flute, piccolo, clarinets, bass clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor, sax, bari sax, oboe, and bassoon — Check Out the Woorwinds

An introduction to the brass family with images of a trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba — Check Out the Brass

An introduction to percussion instruments with images of timpani, chimes, marimba, bass drum, snare drum and elementary music class percussion instruments — Check Out the Percussion

Save over 20% with the time-saving Instruments of the Orchestra and Band Bundle.

Use Safe Viewing as Outlined by Your School Policy

When you access the YouTube performances through my website, you can skip the ads that appear when visiting YouTube directly.

Click Play from this web page.
Select Full Screen.

**Do not click to watch on YouTube. This will trigger ads.

Since apps and websites change frequently, it’s a good idea to double-check occasionally to be sure updates haven’t affected this feature.

Bonus: No Permission Slips Needed for This Field Trip

There’s NO long bus ride and no admission costs. This Virtual Field Trip to the Symphony is ready for use in your classroom. And, best of all, you can take your students whenever you want. 😊

P.S. You may link this post to your school website.

Enjoy!

Musical Instrument Puzzles – Just for Fun!

This Virtual Field Trip pairs well with these DIGITAL and/or PRINTABLE Musical Instrument Puzzles. Use them as standard printable worksheets or assign them as paperless activities on a computer or Chromebook.

Highlight one instrument family per class session or for use as centers or stations.

Printed musical instrument worksheets and digital worksheet on computer screen — Click to See More

Looking for easy elementary music sub plans?
👉 Elementary Music Sub Plans

More Musical Instrument Activities

Meet the Author

Terri Lloyd is an experienced music educator with over 25 years of teaching in elementary music classrooms. She holds a Master’s in Education, an Instructional Technology Certificate in Curriculum Design, and a Bachelor of Music. Her resources are designed to help music teachers develop students’ music literacy and performance skills while enjoying learning.

She presents music education workshops, develops curriculum, and writes for her blog. Terri is on the music staff at her church and leads a children’s program. She performs as an active community musician with a local Big Band, pit orchestras, and at various events.

More About “Mi”

Let’s Connect – Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok

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5 Comments

jenna fazzone says:

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Awesome Blog!!!!
1. Frau Musik says:
  
  at
  
  Thank you Jenna! I am just getting started blogging. I am migrating some of the elements from my school website.
Pingback: Fun Zoom Music Lessons for Distance Learning - Becca's Music Room
Daniel says:

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this is very interesting!
1. Frau Musik says:
  
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  Thank you Daniel.

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