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3

Do you play an instrument and

make music? Do you play alone or do you play with friends?

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4

Making music with other people

can be fun and exciting. Some peopleplay together in a band, and some

people play together in an orchestra.

An orchestra is a large group of 

musicians. They play music together using different instruments.

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5

There is an orchestra in my town.

When I hear the music, I feel like

I am going on a journey. I see

pictures in my head and experiencedifferent feelings.

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6

Look at all the instruments inthe orchestra. There are four families

of instruments: strings, woodwinds,

brass, and percussion. Each

instrument family has its own soundand is important to the orchestra.

stringsstrings

woodwindswoodwinds

brassbrass

percussionpercussion

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The strings are at the front. The

violin is the smallest string instrument,

and the harp is the biggest. Others arethe viola, cello, and bass.

The woodwinds are behind the

strings. The piccolo has the highest

sound, while the contrabassoon hasthe lowest sound. Others include the

flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon.

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The brass family is behind the

woodwinds and include trumpets,

trombones, and tubas. The brassinstruments are the loudest.

The percussion family is at the

back of the orchestra. There are

many percussion instruments eachwith its own sound. They make the

rhythm and the music so exciting!

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9

Watch the conductor wave his

baton up and down, and side to side.He is directing the players how and

when to play their instruments.

The players concentrate and

watch the conductor. He helps them

play with expression. He can make

the volume loud or soft. He can makethe rhythm fast or slow.

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Sometimes the music is written

for just one instrument family to

play. Listen to the brass instrumentsblare!

Sometimes all the instruments

play together. Different sounds blend

together into beautiful music. Theconductor is in charge.

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People applaud when the music

finally ends. The performance wasbreathtaking. Everyone enjoyed it.

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The conductor is thrilled that the

performance is over. The musicians

are pleased they played well. Playing

in an orchestra is what they like todo more than anything.

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Maybe you would like to join an

orchestra someday. Making music

with a lot of people must be veryexciting!

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Word Count: 421 (425 with diagram)

Think Critically

1. What do musicians in an orchestra do?

2. Beginning at the front of an orchestra, in what

order are the instrument families?

3. In what section of the book can you find

information about the person who wrote the music?

4. What would happen if people in an orchestra didn’t

follow the conductor?

5. If you could play an instrument in an orchestra,

what would you like to play? Why?

Music

Make a Chart Divide a sheet of paper into four parts and label

the parts strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Draw a

picture of an instrument in each group. Write a sentence that

tells about the group.

School-Home Connection Talk to a family member

about the different instruments in an orchestra. Listen to

a CD or music on the radio and discuss the different instruments

you can hear.