Music Instruments

There are four sections of instruments in an orchestra: strings,

woodwind, brass, and percussion.

I. Order the letters. Search them in the wordsearch.

A O O M T U O V S

R W E A T B A D O
PARH ____________________.
P H O R S E T R A
MDRU ____________________. L Z X A V B L U H
ACRAMSA ________________. D A Y C T U M O I

NCRAINOCD ______________. T R I A N G L E C

BETU ______________________. A J U S G D U C K

IAGNLETR _________________. M W E M T Y S I F

P S H E J P E J R

II. Match the words with the pictures.

R E T S O R D I O

N O I D R O C C A
harp violin piano bass trumpet shaker saxophone
tambourine keyboard clarinet guitar drum

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12)

III. Look at the picture and write names for each sentence.

Tina
Tom

Lisa

Penny Bill Sally Jack Mark

a. I wear green dress. I play the violin in the band. ______________

b. I play the drums and I am very active. ______________
c. I wear green trousers and play the guitar. ______________
d. I wear a pink top and play the electro guitar. ______________
e. We don’t play any instruments. We sing. ______________
 IV. SPEAKING: Work in pairs. Ask your partner these questions
and vice versa.
1. What types of music do you know? Which is your favourite?
2. What do you need if you want to listen to music?
3. Where do you go if you want to listen to live music?
4. Where can you learn to play a musical instrument?

V. Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right.

1. band ....... A. a famous pop singer

2. choir ....... B. a person who sings
3. orchestra ....... C. unable to tell the difference between different musical notes
4. musician ....... D. a large group of musicians who play different musical
5. composer ....... instruments together
6. songwriter ....... E. words of a song
7. conductor ....... F. a wooden stick used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or
8. baton ....... band
9. pop star ....... G. a person who plays a musical instrument
10. singer ....... H. a singer who sings with a pop group
11. vocalist ....... I. a person who composes (writes) music
12. lyrics ....... J. a small group of musicians who play popular music such as
13. tone-deaf ....... rock, pop or jazz
K. a person who writes songs
L. a large group of people who sing together
M. a person who conducts (directs) an orchestra
VI. Put the musical instruments into the families they belong to. Write
1. for Wind Instruments, 2. for Percussion Instruments, 3. for
Brass Instruments, and 4. for String Instruments.

violin _____ trumpet _____ harp _____ triangle _____ cornet _____

clarinet _____ guitar _____ tuba _____ flute _____ piccolo _____

xylophone _____ tambourine _____ cello _____ drum _____ oboe _____

VII. Fill in the missing words. Use the words in the box.

blowing pluck reed shaking sounds

families across vibrations signals bow
strings hitting hammers different beaters

1. Musical instruments make ____________________ and the vibrations make

____________________.

2. We divide musical instruments into ____________________.

3. In each family vibrations are made in a ____________________ way.

4. String instruments, such as the violin and harp, have ____________________.

5. You play wind instruments by ____________________ them.

6. You play percussion instruments by ____________________ or ____________________

them.

7. You hit a xylophone with __________________.

8. A piano has strings inside it. Small ____________________ make the strings
vibrate.

9. A clarinet has a ____________________. You make it vibrate with your lips.

10. An electronic keyboard uses electrical ____________________ to make sounds.

11. You can play the strings of a violin with a ____________________, or you can
____________________ the strings with your fingers.

12. You play a flute by blowing ____________________ the hole.

 VIII. WRITING: Answer these questions and write a short
composition about your favourite singer or band in the box.
1. Do you like music? What kind of music do you listen to?

2. Who is your favourite singer/band? Have you ever seen them

play/sing live? Have they made any albums?

3. What is your favourite song? Who is it by?

4. Do you often go to concerts?

5. Do you sing? Have you ever sung in a choir?

6. When you listen to songs with lyrics, do you try

to understand the lyrics?

7. Do you play any musical instruments? If yes, which?

My favourite band is ......... . They play ...... music. In the band there are ....
members: .... They play .... (instruments).They started playing together
in ..... . They have made ...... albums. Their number one hit is .... .
 IX. Answer these questions!
My favourite band
1. Which musical instrument begins with the letter "t" and ends
...................................................................................................................................................
with the letter t"?
...................................................................................................................................................
2. Which musical instrument begins with the letter "d" and ends
...................................................................................................................................................
with the letter m"?
...................................................................................................................................................
3. Which musical instrument has the word "phone" in it?
...................................................................................................................................................
4. Which musical instrument has the shape of a triangle/circle?
...................................................................................................................................................
5. Which musical instruments can we make of wood/leather?
...................................................................................................................................................
6. Which musical instruments have a high sound/low sound?
...................................................................................................................................................
7. Which two instruments that you have learned about can be
...................................................................................................................................................
played with beaters?
..................................................................................................................................................
8. Which musical instrument has keys, strings and hammers?
9. Which musical instrument can be played with a bow or with

one’s fingers?
10.Is a maraca usually played by hitting or shaking it?

11.Which do you think came first, the piano or the harpsichord?

12.Tick the nouns connected to the world of music:

□song □window □violin □sing

13.Tick the verb connected to the world of music:

□swim □eat □sing □saxophone

14.Choose a musical instrument that you like the most and write

four sentences about it. You may use the words: big, small, old,
new, and, the, like, don't like.
X. Read the invitation and answer the questions!

The Longi School of Music

invites you to the

Melody College Concert

FEATURING: Melissa Jones on piano

playing works by Mozart, Handel & Bach

Sunday, August 4th at 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Melody Concert Hall

123 Crochet Road,

Music City, CA

Tickets: $35

1. Who held the concert?

2. Where is the concert held?

3. When is the concert held?

4. How much do concert tickets cost?

5. What time does a concert end?

XI. Read about Mary the musician and answer the questions.

This is Mary. She’s a musician. She’s tall and beautiful.

She works in a studio and a concert hall. She plays the
piano.

Every day she gets up at nine o’clock in the morning. She

takes a shower and gets dressed. She drinks a cup of tea
and eats some toast. At ten o’clock, she takes a taxi to
the studio.

In the studio, she plays the piano. She writes new songs
and makes CDs. At one o’clock, she goes to the
restaurant. She eats lunch with her friends. At three
o’clock, she goes to the studio again. She plays more
music and sings. At six o’clock, she goes home and has
dinner.

She goes to the concert hall at eight o’clock. She plays

her music for lots of people. They like her songs. She goes
home at eleven o’clock. She is very tired and she goes to
bed.

1. What’s her name?

2. Where does she work?
3. Is she tall?
4. Does she drink coffee in the morning?
5. Does she ride a bike to work?
6. Does she play the guitar?
7. Where does she eat lunch?
8. Does she sing in the studio?
9. Where does she have dinner?
10. When does she go to the concert hall?
11. What time does she go to bed?
XII. Reading comprehension.
Trumpet

The trumpet may be known best for its use in American jazz, symphonies,
and school marching bands, but it has a long history that stretches several
continents. It is in the brass instrument family, along with the tuba, trombone,
French horn, and many others.

Trumpet sounds are made by the player’s closed lips vibrating while he blows
air through the brass tubes. The player can change the notes by also pressing
on three valves. Not all brass instruments are made of brass, and not all
instruments made of brass are considered brass instruments. The saxophone,
for example, is made of brass but is considered a woodwind instrument.

The trumpet is one of the oldest musical instruments known. It’s over 3,500
years old! Historians don’t know where it was invented or who invented it. In
medieval times, armies used trumpets to relay messages over large areas. It is
sometimes confused with the bugle, which is a brass instrument that is
famously used by the United States military. The cornet is another instrument
often confused with the trumpet.

In the early- and mid-1900s, the trumpet became extremely popular in the
United States as jazz music was developed. Two of the most famous and
influential trumpeters are Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. People still listen
to their music, and musicians still imitate their styles.

1. New terms: See how these three terms are used in the text, and write a
definition next to each one.
- relay
- historians
- influential
2. The text mentions an instrument that is made of brass but isn’t in the brass
family.
What is it?
3. The bugle and the cornet are types of trumpets. True or False?
4. Name two brass instruments besides the trumpet.
XIII. Reading comprehension.

THE PIANIST
My name is Mia Lynne Lindstrom. I am a pianist. I began
studying the piano when I was three years old. I am ten years
old now. I play the piano in the junior orchestra at the
community college. We give a concert twice a year. I am
always practicing new music for the next concert.

During the school year, I take four piano lessons every week from my piano
teacher, Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor teaches piano lessons at the college. In the
summer, I take two lessons every week. I practice playing the piano about ten
hours every week. I practice very hard because I want to learn everything
about playing the piano.

The piano is a very interesting instrument to play. I like reading the notes,
moving my fingers on the keys, and hearing the beautiful music. It is
sometimes difficult, but I always practice until I can play the music perfectly.

I am not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I do know that playing the
piano will always be a major part of my life. It is very special to me.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

1. Where does Mia take her piano lessons every week?

a. at her elementary school
b. at home
c. at the community college
d. none of these

2. How long has Mia been taking piano lessons?

a. five years
b. ten years
 c. eight years
d. seven years

3. How many hours a week does Mia practice the piano?

a. two hours
b. five hours
c. ten hours
d. twelve hours

4. Mia practices the piano because ______.

a. her parents require her to practice
b. Mia wants to learn everything about the piano
c. Mrs. Taylor requires her to practice
d. she wants to be a piano teacher one day

5. The music Mia practices for the orchestra concerts____.

a. is probably difficult
b. is very easy to learn
c. is not interesting to Mia
d. is boring

6. Mia feels that the piano _____________.

a. is an interesting instrument to play
b. will always be a part of her life
c. requires hours of regular practice
d. all of the above