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 all of the quality performances posted online.

But gathering videos and preparing lessons can be time-consuming. That’s why we created this FREE Virtual Field Trip to the Symphony that’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 we used to create this Virtual Field Trip is no longer feasible. So we embedded the videos into this blog 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. There are a wide variety of styles and performers, from pop to classical, to Disney, to a marching band drumline. 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 online activity that was school-appropriate.

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.

Space and Pace Listening Lessons

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

Suggested Teaching and Learning Sequence

String Family Day 1: Listen to 1-2 minutes of the first performance of each instrument.
String Family Day 2: Listen to 1-2 minutes of the second performance of each instrument.
Highlight only one instrument family per class session as you continue this same sequence.

When you highlight the same instrument family for two class sessions, absent students will not miss out 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

It’s that easy! The presentations include 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% when you invest in the time-saving Instruments of the Orchestra and Band Bundle.

Use Safe Viewing as Outlined by Your School Policy

As an added benefit, when you currently access these YouTube performances through our website, you avoid any ads or commercials that pop up if you go directly to YouTube. Click the “play” button from our website, then click the “full screen” icon to avoid ads.

Frequent updates often change the way apps and websites work. Be sure to double-check from time to time to confirm that no updates or policy changes interfere with 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’re welcome to link this post to your school website. Please don’t forget to credit fraumusik.com if you do. Enjoy!

Fun 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

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. She is on the music staff at her church and leads a children’s program. She performs as a active community musician with a local Big Band, pit orchestras, and at various events.

More Ways to Connect – Instagram, Facebook, YouTube.

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5 Comments

jenna fazzone says:

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Awesome Blog!!!!
1. Frau Musik says:
  
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  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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