Music Instrument Families for Kids |Orchestral, Keyboards, Electric | 27 mins | Miss Jessica's World

Let's meet the instrument families. Hi, I'm Miss Jessica. Welcome to my world. Today, we're off on a musical adventure in Music Town to meet six instrument families. Instrument families are grouped by how they make sound. Here, repeat after me. Instrument families. Are grouped. By how they make sound. Great job. Keep those listening skills sharp and let's head to Orchestra Lane. La, la, la, la, la. We made it to Orchestra Lane. There are four instrument families that play together in a big group called an orchestra. The string family. The woodwind family. The brass family. And the percussion family. Let's explore and let me know if you see an instrument before I do. Look. What? I see something. You see something? Yes. Over there. Oh, it's the string family. Come on. Hi, string family. That sounds so beautiful. Now let's remember, music families are grouped by how they make sound. Exactly. The string family makes sound when their strings vibrate. Everyone, put your hands like this. And now, shake your hands and your arms like this and go. That is us vibrating. And that's what strings do when they make sound. Now, there are four ways to make a string vibrate. You can pluck them. Bow them. Strum them. Or strike them. Let's act those out together. Pretend you have a big, beautiful harp in front of you and we will pluck the strings together. Ready? Go. So beautiful. Now pretend you have a viola. Oh, I have a real one. This is a bow. And when I bow it on a string, it makes a sound like this. Now you pretend you have a viola and bow. I'll play and you can bow with me. Ready? Go. Great job. Now pretend you have a guitar and we'll strum it together. Ready? Go. Great job. Now let's pretend we have a dulcimer and two hammers that we hold in our hands. So we'll strike the dulcimer like this. Ready? Go. Great job. Some of the string instruments you'd find in a classical orchestra include the violin. The viola, which I play and I love. The cello. And the bass. A globe. I love the globe. String family instruments aren't only found in classical orchestras. They're found in cultures all over the world. In a Chinese orchestra, you might hear the Erhu. In India, you might hear a Santur. From West Africa, you might hear the Kora. As long as the instrument makes sound with vibrating strings that you either pluck, bow, strum, or strike, it belongs in the string family, no matter where it's from in the world. Okay, let's review. Instrument families are grouped by how they make sound. That's right. And string instruments make sound when their strings, what? Vibrate. That's right. And what four actions can you do to make a string vibrate? You can pluck, bow, strum, or strike. Wow, great job. Let's keep exploring to see what other instruments we might meet. Bye, strings. Oh, do you see something? Instruments, there. It's the woodwind family. Come on. Hi, woodwinds. Now let's remember, instrument families are grouped by how they make sound. Woodwinds make sound when air vibrates inside a tube. That happens when you blow air with your mouth. Here, try it with me. Everybody go like this. Easy peasy. Some woodwinds use reeds, which look like this, the clarinet, oboe. Others use air blown across a hole, like a flute. And some have air blown through a mouthpiece, like the recorder, which some of you might already play. Okay, let's try blowing air again together, but this time, bring your hands like this in a tube shape, and we're gonna blow into the tube. Ready? Go. Whoa, can you feel the air in your hands? In a classical orchestra, members of the woodwind family are instruments like the flute, the saxophone, and the violin. The clarinet, the oboe, the bassoon, and the piccolo. Wow. A globe. Woodwinds aren't just in classical orchestras. They come from all around the world. In Japan, you might hear the shakuhachi. In Egypt, you might hear a ney. And in South America, samponhas play beautiful melodies like this. If an instrument makes sound by air vibrating inside a tube, no matter where they come from in the world, it belongs in the woodwind family. Okay, let's review. Instrument families are grouped by how they make sound. Exactly. Woodwinds make sound when air vibrates inside a tube. Let's give a warm wave goodbye to the woodwinds, and then keep exploring Orchestra Lane. Wow, we've met the string family, the woodwind family. I wonder who we'll meet next. Instruments. Wait, you see an instrument? Over there. You do see an instrument. That's the brass family. Come on. Hi, brass family. Whoa, what a powerful group of instruments. Now repeat after me. Instrument families. Are grouped. By how they make sound. Great. Brass family instruments make sound when you buzz your lips into a mouthpiece, sending air through the instrument to make music. Let's try buzzing our lips together. Playing a brass family instrument takes a lot of breath. So let's start with breathing before we start buzzing. Let's take a nice big breath in for a count of two, and then a nice big breath out for a count of two. Ready? Go. Good job. Let's try that again. Ready? Go. Okay. Now remember how to breathe big like that when we try buzzing our lips. Now say banana. Banana. Good job. Say it again. Banana. Now we're going to think about saying banana, but not say it. And then just stop our lips right at the beginning of the word. That is the position you want to have your lips in to make a buzzing sound to play a brass family instrument. Now let's try buzzing our lips. We'll take a big breath, and then we'll put our lips together like we're about to say banana, but instead we'll blow the air out of our lips like this. Ready? Go. It's kind of a silly sound, and it kind of tickles my lips. That's how you blow into a brass family instrument. Here, try it again. Ready? It'll sound a whole lot better when we have an instrument in front of our lips. Now in the classical orchestras, brass family instruments include the trumpet, the trombone, the tuba, and French horns, and other special horns like the euphonium. Oh, there's the glow. Brass family instruments can be heard outside of the classical orchestra all over the world in different cultures. Now remember, instrument families are grouped by how they make sound, not by what they're made of. Not all brass family instruments are made of brass. The alphorn of Switzerland is made of wood. And the shofar, in Jewish tradition, is most commonly made of ram's horn. But both the alphorn and the shofar belong to the brass family because of how you play them, by buzzing your lips and blowing air through a tube. All right, let's review. Instrument families are grouped by... By how they make sound. Exactly, by how they make sound. Brass family instruments make sound when you buzz your lips into a mouthpiece, sending air through the instrument to make music. Thanks, brass family. So cool, let's keep exploring. Wow, there are four families that live on Orchestra Lane, and we've met three of them. Wait, who have we met so far? The string family. Oh, yeah, the string family. The woodwind family. The woodwinds family. The brass family. That's right, the brass family. And soon, we'll meet the... Do you hear that? Yes. It's the percussion family. Remember, instrument families are grouped by how they make sound. Percussion instruments make sound when you hit, shake, or scrape the instrument. Let's try being percussion instruments ourselves. Ready? Take your hands and tap your legs. Ready? Go. Awesome. Now, pretend you're holding an egg shaker like this. And now, shake it. Egg. Great job. Now, make a fist and bring it close to your ear, and use the index finger of your other hand and rub. Do you hear that? This is us sort of scraping or rubbing an instrument, and now our hands have become a percussion instrument. In a classical orchestra, you might hear percussion instruments like the timpani, the xylophone, the marimba, the triangle, cymbals, the chimes, and a bass drum. You can learn even more about percussion instruments when you watch my percussion episode with Mr. M.V. O'Globe! Percussion family instruments can be heard all around the world. In India, there's something called the tabla. In Africa, the djembe. In South America, the cajon. And in Ireland, the balran. If you can hit it, shake it, or scrape it to make sound, it's part of the percussion family, no matter where it's from in the world. Okay, let's review. Instrument families are grouped by... How can it make sound? Oh, you are never going to forget that. Percussion family instruments make sound when you hit it, shake it, or scrape it. Let's give a very percussive clap and say thank you to the percussion family. Thank you! Thank you, percussion! Wow, we met all four instrument families that make up the orchestra. The strings, the woodwinds, the brass, and the percussion. Next, let's go to Keyboard Valley. Oh, now we're in Keyboard Valley. Let's explore. Let me know if you see a keyboard before I do. Look! What's that? I see one! You see a keyboard already? Yes! Over there! It's the keyboard family! Come on! Hi, keyboards! Keyboards are grouped together by how you play them. Keyboards make sound when you press keys with your fingers, and sometimes with your feet, like with an organ. What happens inside each instrument to make sound can be very different. Some keyboard family instruments have strings that are hit, like inside a piano. Some move air, like an organ. When an organ is played, air is pushed out through these big pipes. And some use electricity, like a digital keyboard. But they're all part of the keyboard family because of how you play them, by pressing keys. Now, let's pretend we're playing a piano together. Tap your fingers on a desk or on your lap, and let's play a slow song. Now, let's play a super fast song. Good! Great job. Some instruments in the keyboard family include the piano, the organ, the celesta, the electric keyboard, and the accordion. It's the globe! Some cultures have their own keyboard-style instruments too, like the Indian harmonium from India. Some cultures have their own keyboard-style instruments too, If you press keys to make music, then it's in the keyboard family, no matter where it's from in the world. Okay, let's review. Keyboard instruments are grouped by how you play them. You play them by pressing keys with your fingers, and sometimes with your feet. Thanks, keyboard family! That was the synthesizer. Let's go follow it. Whoa! We're in Electro City! So cool. An instrument! You see an instrument? Where? Over there! It's the electronic family! Come on! Hi, electronic family! Whoa! Now remember, instruments are grouped by how they make sound. Electronic instruments make sound by using electricity and technology. These instruments use buttons, pads, and knobs to send sound through speakers. Some electronic instruments include the synthesizer, the drum machine, and the theremin, which you play without even touching it. Oh, you see a guitar! That's right! This is a guitar, and it's here in Electro City because it's an electric guitar. See, some instruments are called hybrids. A hybrid instrument is one that mixes two types of sound making. And remember, instruments are grouped by how they make sound. An electric guitar is still a string instrument because you play it by strumming the strings, but it needs to be plugged in and use electricity to be really heard. So it uses both strings and electricity, which makes it a hybrid. Other hybrid instruments include the electric keyboard, which we heard earlier in Keyboard Valley, the electric cello, and an eewee. Everyone say eewee. Eewee! An eewee is an electric wind instrument, and it sounds like this. Almost any regular instrument can become a hybrid if you add something new to it, like electricity, a speaker, or even parts of another kind of instrument, like a guitar. Okay, let's review. Instruments are grouped by how they make sound. Yes, by how they make sound. Electronic instruments make sound using electricity and technology. A hybrid instrument mixes two types of sound making. Wow, that's so cool. Thanks, electronic family. Wow, what a fun adventure we had in Music Town today. We learned that instrument families are grouped by how they make sound. That's right, how they make sound. We met six instrument families today. The strings, the woodwinds, the brass, the percussion, the keyboards, and the electronic. And we learned about hybrid instruments too. Oh, it sounds like a concert is about to begin. I better go get my seat. Thank you so much for exploring and learning with me today. I love spending time with you. I'm Miss Jessica, and I'll see you on our next adventure. Bye. 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