Instrument families listening chart
A free printable chart of the four instrument families of the orchestra, with a box to tick each time a child hears an instrument.
An orchestra has four families of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Each family makes sound in its own way. This chart lists the main instruments in each family, with a box to tick when a child hears one.
How to use it
Choose a piece where instruments take turns. Peter and the Wolf, Carnival of the Animals, and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra all work well. A video of an orchestra helps, because the child can see who is playing.
Pause after each section and ask which family played. Tick the box. At the end, ask which family played the most. Young children can tick the family name alone. Older children can tick each instrument. Our guide to the four instrument families explains how each one sounds.
Only the sheet below prints. It fits letter and A4 paper. For a clean page, turn off headers and footers in the print window.
Who is playing?
Tick a box each time you hear the instrument.
Strings
A bow rubs the strings, or a finger plucks them.
- Violin
- Viola
- Cello
- Double bass
- Harp
Woodwinds
The player blows air across a hole or through a reed.
- Flute
- Piccolo
- Oboe
- Clarinet
- Bassoon
Brass
The player buzzes the lips into a metal mouthpiece.
- Trumpet
- French horn
- Trombone
- Tuba
Percussion
The player hits, shakes, or scrapes the instrument.
- Timpani
- Snare drum
- Bass drum
- Cymbals
- Triangle
- Xylophone
Also listen for
Piano Celesta Organ Voices
Instrument families listening chartkidsclassicalmusic.com
Goes well with
- Instruments of the orchestra for kids: the four families
- Peter and the Wolf instruments
- Listening bingo maker
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