A filmed concert is a simple first step toward a live one. Pick one short piece, put it on the largest screen you have, and watch it together from start to finish. Ten to twenty minutes is enough for most children under eight. The camera shows hands, faces, and instruments up close, which a seat in a hall cannot do.
Where to find concerts to watch
Orchestra channels. Many orchestras post full concerts, family concerts, and single pieces on their websites and video channels. Start with your nearest orchestra.
Public television and radio. Public broadcasters film concerts through the year. Check the listings for your country.
Concert streaming services. Some orchestras and concert halls run their own paid services with large libraries.
The public library. Some libraries lend concert videos, and some offer free access to streaming services with a library card.
Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts. Bernstein made these television programs with the New York Philharmonic between 1958 and 1972. He speaks to children and explains the music between pieces. They suit children of about eight and up.
How long to watch
These are starting points. Follow your child.
| Age | Length | What to choose |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 | 3 to 5 minutes | One short, lively piece |
| 4 to 6 | 10 to 15 minutes | One piece with a story or animals |
| 7 to 9 | 20 to 30 minutes | One longer piece or a short family concert |
| 10 and up | 45 minutes or more | Half of a full concert |
Make it feel like a concert
Make tickets. Your child writes the name of the piece and the time on slips of paper.
Set up seats. Line up chairs or cushions in a row.
Print a program. Write the composer, the piece, and its movements on one page.
Dim the lights. Turn off other screens and put phones in another room.
Add an intermission. Stop halfway for a snack and a stretch.
Clap at the end. Wait for the conductor to lower both arms.
What to look for on screen
The concertmaster. The leader of the first violins often walks on after the other players are seated. This player sits at the front, to the conductor’s left.
The tuning. Before the music, the oboe plays one note, and the others match it.
The conductor. In most cases, the right hand shows the beat, and the left hand shapes louder and softer. Read what a conductor does.
The bows. The players in each string section move their bows in the same direction at the same time.
The waiting. Brass and percussion players count many bars of rest. Watch them get ready just before they play.
The percussion section. One player may move among several instruments in one piece.
Pieces that are fun to watch
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, by Britten. The camera can show each section as it takes the tune. See the listening guide.
Boléro, by Ravel. The same two tunes pass from instrument to instrument for about fifteen minutes while a snare drum repeats one rhythm. Ask your child to name each new instrument.
The “Farewell” Symphony, by Haydn. In the last movement, the players stop one by one and leave the stage. Two violins finish alone.
“The Typewriter,” by Leroy Anderson. The solo instrument is a real typewriter.
Radetzky March, by Johann Strauss Sr. At the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, the audience claps along, and the conductor leads the clapping.
Peter and the Wolf, by Prokofiev. A narrator tells the story, and each character has an instrument. See Peter and the Wolf.
Symphony No. 5, first movement, by Beethoven. It lasts about seven minutes. Watch the strings play the opening four notes together. See the listening guide.
Games to play while you watch
Spot the family. Call out strings, woodwinds, brass, or percussion each time the camera moves. The instrument families listening chart has a box for each.
Find it on the map. Keep the orchestra seating chart on your child’s lap. Point to each section when it plays.
Listening bingo. Make a card with the listening bingo maker and mark a square for each thing you see or hear.
Conduct along. Give your child a pencil as a baton. Copy the conductor’s beat.
Count the players. Pause on a wide shot. Count the cellos, the double basses, and the French horns.
Freeze the frame. Pause on a close-up and ask, “Which instrument is this, and which family is it in?”
After you watch
Ask two questions: “Which instrument did you like best?” and “Which part would you watch again?” Write the answers on a listening journal page. Play the same piece with no picture the next day and see what your child remembers.
From the screen to the hall
After a few home concerts, a child knows the order of events: tuning, the conductor’s entrance, the music, the applause. That makes a live concert less strange. When you are ready, read first orchestra concert with kids and concert etiquette 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.