The Brandenburg Concertos by Bach: a listening guide for kids
Updated 2026-11-14
The Brandenburg Concertos are six pieces for small orchestra by Johann Sebastian Bach. He sent them as a gift to a German nobleman in 1721. Each one uses a different mix of instruments. The best first movement for a child is the opening of No. 3, where nine string players pass a busy tune back and forth.
Quick facts
- Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, who lived from 1685 to 1750
- Sent as a gift: 1721
- How many: six concertos
- Length: 10 to 20 minutes each
- Played by: a small orchestra with a harpsichord, and a different group of soloists each time
- Bach’s own title: Six Concertos for Several Instruments
A gift with no answer
In 1721, Bach worked for a prince in a small German town. He copied out six concertos in his neatest handwriting and sent them to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg. A margrave was a kind of nobleman. Bach may have hoped for a job.
No record shows that the margrave thanked him, paid him, or had the music played. The score sat on a shelf.
It was printed in 1850, a hundred years after Bach died. A later writer gave the set the name we use today.
What a concerto was in Bach’s day
In a concerto of this kind, a small group of soloists takes turns with the full group. The soloists play, the full group answers, and the tune passes back and forth.
Most of the six have three movements: fast, slow, and fast. Read what is a concerto?
The six concertos
| No. | Soloists | What to listen for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Two horns, three oboes, a bassoon, and a small violin | The horns call as if at a hunt. This one has four movements, and the last is a chain of dances. |
| 2 | Trumpet, recorder, oboe, and violin | Four soloists with four different sounds trade the tune. The trumpet part is high and hard to play. |
| 3 | Three violins, three violas, and three cellos | Strings alone. Two fast movements, with two slow chords between them. |
| 4 | Violin and two recorders | The two recorders play as a pair, and the violin races around them. |
| 5 | Flute, violin, and harpsichord | Near the end of the first movement, the other players stop, and the harpsichord plays a long, wild solo. |
| 6 | Two violas | No violins at all. The sound is low and dark. |
Where to start
- No. 3, first movement. About six minutes. Ask your child to pick one group of strings and follow it.
- No. 2, first movement. About five minutes. Listen for the trumpet above everyone else.
- No. 5, first movement. About ten minutes. Wait for the harpsichord solo near the end.
- No. 4, first movement. About seven minutes. Listen for the two recorders.
Why each one sounds different
Composers of Bach’s time often wrote a whole set of concertos for the same instruments. Bach changed the instruments every time. He gave solos to instruments that did not often get them, such as the viola and the harpsichord.
The harpsichord solo in No. 5 was new. In most music of the day, the harpsichord stayed in the background and filled in the chords. Read the harpsichord for kids and what is a cadenza?
A trip into space
In 1977, two spacecraft named Voyager left Earth. Each one carries a golden record with sounds and music from our planet. One of the pieces on it is the first movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.
Things to do together
Follow one group. Play the first movement of No. 3 three times. Follow the violins, then the violas, and then the cellos.
Name the four. Play the first movement of No. 2. Point to a picture of a trumpet, a recorder, an oboe, or a violin when each one plays alone.
Wait for the solo. Play the first movement of No. 5. Raise both hands when the harpsichord is left alone.
Pass the tune. Sit in a circle. Pass a ball each time the tune moves to a new instrument.
Fast, slow, fast. Play one whole concerto. Dance in the fast movements, and lie down in the slow one.
Design six covers. Draw a record cover for each concerto that shows its instruments.
Questions to ask
- Which concerto has the sound you like most?
- How is a harpsichord different from a piano?
- Why would Bach change the instruments each time?
- How do the players know when to pass the tune?
Words to know
- Concerto: a piece where soloists and a larger group take turns
- Soloist: a player who has a part alone
- Harpsichord: a keyboard instrument that plucks its strings
- Movement: one part of a longer piece
Print and play
Tick each instrument you hear on the instrument families listening chart. Read Bach for kids, Baroque music for kids, and the trumpet for kids.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.