Symphony Orchestra Facts For Kids from the Wonder Rotunda
This material is drawn from the "Learn More" reading opportunities in the "Symphony Orchestra" adventure at the Wonder Rotunda, an on-line children's adventure museum for kids, ages 7-12. This material describes 15 different orchestra instruments, some basics on conducting an orchestra, and biographies of many of the great composers.
Orchestra Instruments:
The Clarinet
The Clarinet comes in several sizes, each playing a different range of notes. It has a smooth, mellow tone.
Blow into the reed on the Clarinet’s mouthpiece, and press on the keys with the fingers of both hands, to play different pitches.
Bassoon
With almost 8 feet of wood tubing, the Bassoon can play the lowest notes in the entire orchestra.
When playing the Bassoon, the fingers of your two hands press on the keys to create different sounds. The air you blow through the double reed travels to the bottom of the instrument bends around and exits at the top.
Oboe
You are looking at an Oboe. It has a strong quality to its sound. Some describe it as sounding like the long quack of a duck.
Hold the oboe straight up. Create different pitches by using your hands to press on the keys to open and close the holes.
Flute
I’m sure you recognize this one. The flute plays some of the highest notes in the orchestra.
Rest your lower lip on the lip late and blow across the blowhole at the end of the Flute. Use your fingers to open and close the thirteen keys to play different notes.
Piccolo
The bright sound of that Piccolo is a full octave higher than a standard flute and stands out above the rest of the orchestra.
You can make the sound of the Piccolo higher or lower by pressing the 13 keys, which shorten or lengthen the distance the vibrating air moves through the flute.
Tuba
This large brass instrument is a Tuba. Its deep, heavy sound is the lowest in the brass section of an orchestra.
Hold the Tuba with the bell facing up. You can create higher or lower sounds by changing the opening between your lips and pressing on the valves with your fingers.
Trombone
The Trombone is known for its slide which, by lengthening the instrument, allows the musician to produce higher or lower notes.
Buzz into the mouthpiece, and then use your hand to move the slide in and out to alter the pitch of the sounds.
Trumpet
Played for thousands of years, the trumpet is popular with jazz musicians and orchestras.
Buzz into the mouthpiece and press the three valves with your fingers of your right hand. Pressing the valves in different combinations will create a variety of pitches.
French Horn
The velvety sound of the French Horn helps blend the sounds of woodwinds with brass sections of the orchestra
To play the French Horn, hold it with the bell facing down. Buzz into the mouthpiece, use your left hand to press the valves and move your right hand in and out of the bell.
Violin
The violin can stir emotions and create a variety of moods.
Place the Violin under your chin and rest it on your shoulder. Use your right hand to move the bow across the strings or pluck them, while the fingers of your left hand depress the strings to create different notes.
Cello
Larger than a violin, the Cello can produce velvety sounds from its rich high notes to its warm low notes.
The Cello rests on the ground and is held between your knees. The neck rests on your left shoulder. Use your right hand to move the bow or pluck the strings. The fingers of your left hand depress the strings to alter the pitch.
Double Bass
The Double Bass is the biggest and lowest pitched instrument in the string family. Its long strings give its deep, very low sound.
Rest the Double Bass against your shoulder. You will need to stand or sit on a tall stool to play it. Use the thumb of your left hand to depress the strings on the fingerboard while you move the bow or pluck the strings with your right.
Harp
The Harp’s forty seven strings give it the largest range of notes of all instruments. It is often used by composers to create moods of passion or fantasy.
You play the Harp sitting down with the instrument between your legs. It leans on your right shoulder. Use one hand on each side of the strings to play it. Each string creates a different note while seven foot pedals allow you to play additional notes.
Snare Drum
This a Snare Drum. The wires, called the snare, that sit under the bottom drumhead give it its rattling sound.
Strike the drumhead with brushes, sticks or mallets to create a sharp rattling sound.
Timpani
That big copper kettle-style drum is a Timpani. It helps keep the rhythm and support the melody.
Play the Timpani by striking the drumheads with felt-tipped wooden sticks or mallets. Foot pedals can alter the pitch of the sounds.
Cymbals
While the Cymbals don’t play notes, they are often used to create excitement or drama in a composition. Small cymbals make high pitched sounds, large cymbals make low sounds.
Hit one Cymbal against the other cymbal, or strike one or both Cymbals with a mallets, brushes or sticks. Depending upon their size, or what you strike them with, Cymbals produce a wide range of sounds.
Bass Drum
The Bass Drum makes the lowest sounds in the percussion family and is used for rhythm and mood.
Strike either side of this large drum with a beater or mallet, usually covered in a soft material made from sheep’s wool to hear its low, rhythmic sound.
Xylophone
The bars on the Xylophone are arranged like a piano keyboard. Striking them with a hard mallet produces a bright, sharp sound. Softer mallets produce a softer, deeper sound.
Strike the wooden bars with rubber, plastic or wood mallets. Underneath the bars are metal tubes, known as resonators, which amplify the sound.
Conducting an Orchestra:
How does the conductor keep track of what 100 different musicians are playing?
He or she works with a score, which is the written form of a music composition that contains the parts played by each of the instruments.
The conductor must work to get all of the musicians to play as a team. To lead the orchestra, conductors communicate their instructions with their body, arms, and even their eyes. The smallest gestures can mean a great deal. The conductor also makes sure that the music sounds the way the composer wanted it to sound. If the composer's intentions are not very specific, the conductor may communicates his or her own interpretation to the orchestra.
Composers:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Bach was considered one of the most amazing musical geniuses in the history of music. But, during his own life, Bach was not nearly as famous as he is today.
Bach spent many years as an organist for a Duke, and was the Director of Music at a school and church. It wasn't until 100 years after he died, when the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn conducted his work, that people began to discover how amazing Bach's music was.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Mozart was a child star. He was only 5 years old when he composed his first piece of music. He played for the Empress of Austria when he was 6 and published his first piece of music at age 7.
Mozart traveled all throughout Europe as a child and teenager playing in large concert halls. During his travels he learned to speak 15 different languages. Mozart only lived to age 35, but during his short life he wrote in almost every category of music including vocal music, symphonies, operas, sonatas and chamber music.
Ludwig Von Beethoven (1770-1827)
The 9th Symphony, a portion of which you heard while sitting on stage with the orchestra, was written by Beethoven. It is one of his most famous compositions. Beethoven was born in Germany and was only 12 years old when he began earning a living for his family playing the organ and composing music. He later moved to Vienna and made money composing music for churches and wealthy people.
Beethoven started to lose his hearing when he was in his twenties, but this did not stop him from composing music. He wrote nine symphonies, as well as chamber and coral music, an opera and piano music such as the piece you are listening to now, Fur Elise.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Do you recognize this piece of music? You may know this piece as "Here Comes the Bride." It is played at many weddings, and is from an opera Wagner wrote called Lohengrin.
Wagner composed many operas. His most famous, The Ring of the Nibelung, is about a magic ring, that grants who possesses it, the power to rule the world. This very long opera takes 4 days and up to 18 hours to perform. A special theater designed by Wagner was built in Bayreuth, Germany so that there would be a home for performances of this opera and his others.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Have you heard this beautiful piece of music by Tchaikovsky from the Nutcracker ballet before? The Nutcracker ballet is the story of a young girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads.
Tchaikovsky's other very famous composition for ballet, Swan Lake, is the story of prince who falls in love with a beautiful girl who has been turned into a swan by the spell of an evil magician.
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dance Number 5, is among Brahms' most famous dance compositions. It has a lively rhythm and melody.
As a young man Brahms traveled through Hungary and was inspired by the music he heard. He eventually wrote 21 Hungarian dances in total. He also wrote four symphonies. His First Symphony is considered one of the finest symphonies ever written.
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Mahler was the director of the Vienna Opera, which was the most important musical position at the time in the Austrian Empire.
During his career Mahler wrote 9 symphonies, usually with large choruses and orchestras in mind to perform them. His Tenth Symphony was unfinished when he died. He spent time in America at the end of his career conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
George Gershwin is considered one of the most important American composers. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and his work was inspired by American popular music, jazz, and the blues.
Gershwin wrote many popular songs for the theater and for films. He incorporated many elements from jazz and the blues into his classical compositions.
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About the Symphony Orchestra Adventure
You receive a backstage pass and join the conductor on stage for a stirring performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. When the performance is over, learn about, and play (virtually, of course) more than 15 different instruments. After a few lessons, it’s time to conduct the orchestra. In the Hall of Composers, busts of the great composers come to life as you learn about them.