Orchestra instruments for kids are exciting to explore! Join Winnie Rat as he discovers the amazing instruments of the orchestra and learns about the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families through fun music activities.
Take an Adventure with Winnie Rat
Read Winnie’s Story
Winnie Rat is in Kindergarten. He is a mischievous and curious little rat. Winnie Rat has trouble following rules because he has a lot of energy and forgets what he’s told, but he loves sitting next to his music teacher and helping her. He explores the orchestra and learns about the music families. He loves his piano lessons most of all.
Learn About the Orchestra With Winnie Rat!
Winnie Rat is curious and always ready to discover something new. Join him as he explores the orchestra and meets musicians who play many different instruments.
Can You Find Your Instrument?
What Instrument Are You? 🎵
Answer 5 quick questions to find your musical match!
Question 1 of 5
What Winnie Rat Teaches
What are the four instrument families of the orchestra?
Meet the Four Instrument Families
The orchestra is made up of four instrument families: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Learning about orchestra instruments helps children recognize their sounds, understand how they are played, and appreciate how musicians work together.
What are the four instrument families of the orchestra?
Just like you may look like some of your family members, instruments are divided into families according to how they make sound. The four traditional families are woodwind, brass, strings, and percussion.
Woodwinds
Woodwind instruments often have a reed. A reed is a small piece of wood used to make sound. Some woodwind instruments with reeds include saxophones, clarinets, and oboes. Woodwind instruments can also be made of wood, like a flute.
Brass
Brass instruments use a mouthpiece to create sound and are made mostly of brass. These instruments include the trumpet, Tuba, French horn, and slide trombone.
Strings
String instruments have strings. When the string is plucked or bowed, it vibrates and makes a sound. Low strings are thicker and longer, and high strings are shorter and thinner.
Percussion
Percussion instruments are any instruments that can be hit, shaken, or scraped. Percussion instruments include the drum set, djembe, bongo, triangle, maracas, and many others. Percussion instruments can have a pitch, like a xylophone, or not, like a djembe. Drummers still tune some of their drums, even though they aren't classified as pitched instruments. Examples of these percussion instruments that break the rules are toms, snare drum, kick, and djembe.
Keyboards
Keyboards as a family are not considered part of the traditional instrument families, but can be added as a modern practicality. Instrument families are categorized based on how their sound is made. A piano can be both a string and percussion instrument because the hammer "hits" the strings. Other keyboard instruments are the organ, clavichord, and harpsichord.
Electric Instruments
Electric instruments use electricity to make sound. Some popular electric instruments are electric guitars and basses, and electric keyboards.
Play the Orchestra Game
Test your knowledge with Winnie's interactive orchestra game! Match instruments to the correct family and discover new sounds while learning about the orchestra.
Winnie Rat's Instrument Sort!
You did it!
You sorted all 12 instruments!
Other Winnie Rat Music Activities
FREE Winnie Rat – Music Families Worksheet – Balloons
Help Winnie Rat draw a line to connect the instrument balloons to their correct families. Don't forget to color the balloons!
Teaches:
Instruments and Music Families
Read the Story
"Winnie Rat and the Big Orchestra"
Winnie Rat can hardly wait for his class field trip to hear a live orchestra. But when he accidentally gets separated from his classmates, his unexpected adventure becomes an incredible journey through the orchestra. Along the way, Winnie meets musicians, explores the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families, and learns what makes each instrument unique. By the end of his adventure, Winnie discovers the instrument that is just right for him.
Why Learn About the Orchestra?
Learning about orchestra instruments helps students develop listening skills, recognize instrument families, and build a strong foundation for music appreciation. These activities are perfect for elementary music classrooms, homeschool lessons, and young musicians.
Collect the Music Animals
Join the universe of The Music Animals and follow them on their adventures with these interactive products.
Meet Winnie's Friends
