WQXR's Classics for Kids
New/Beginner
Elementary +
Learning Series
Naomi Lewin brings classical music's great composers to life through music and stories, to help young audiences learn about classical music and have fun, too!
Each video comes with a companion worksheet and a followup video quiz to test your new knowledge.
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
PART ONE
Hear examples of instruments from the woodwind and string families, playing the music composer Benjamin Britten wrote specifically for them.
In this excerpt we learn:
What are the 4 different sections of an orchestra? What are the instruments in the woodwind and strings secions?
and we also learn these vocabulary words:
variation, woodwind, brass, strings, percussion,
flute, piccolo, oboe, reeds, clarinet, bassoon,
violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp
Continue to explore the various types of instruments through Benjamin Britten's work The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. This masterpiece is based on a theme by composer Henry Purcell, which is shared among the sections of the orchestra. In Part 1, we looked at the string and woodwinds; in Part 2 we will explore the range of the brass and percussion instruments.
In this excerpt we learn:
What are the instruments that make up the brass and percussion sections of an orchestra?
and we also learn these vocabulary words:
french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, valves
percussion, timpani, cymbal, bass drum, tambourine, triangle, snare drum, xylophone, mallet
PART TWO
The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc.
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 6th Floor
New York, NY. 10023