Instruments of the Orchestra Study Guide for 4th Grade

In 4th grade, we are starting Instruments of the Orchestra next week! I am so excited because they can choose to join band next year! We are going in depth with the instrument that they can choose to play in band.

We are going to create a study guide for each family. At the end of the unit we are going to play several games and they will need the facts from their notes!

Here is a picture of the brass notes page and here is a link to the notes we are using.

To make this even more interesting and enjoyable, we are going to have an instrument petting zoo! I have most of the band instruments and have borrowed the ones I didn't own. I plan to teach 2 families per class so after we complete the notes, the students will get a chance to play instruments from those families. We are also helping the band director out by administering an informal rhythm assessment for those students interested in playing percussion next year. They will play a series of rhythms, each progressively harder and we will assess which students would excel at playing the percussion instruments.

During the brass petting zoo, we will discuss forming an embouchure and they will each have a chance at playing the horn, trumpet, and trombone. At the woodwind station, they will look at a reed, play the clarinet and the flute.