Sound Samples / Play The Orchestra

What Next?
You can learn more about how sound samples are used by visiting the Sample Story.

Sounds Used in Play The Orchestra!
All the sounds used are Philharmonia Orchestra samples and are freely available in the Sample Libraries.

The Drawing
The picture of the Philharmonia Orchestra used in Play the Orchestra is from a poster by Dean Roberts (Copyright © Dean Roberts 2003). Contact us if you would like a free printed A3 copy for your school classroom.

Notes for Teachers & Parents
Play the Orchestra is a very simple, fun activity designed to appeal to young children. It also can be used by teachers as a learning resource:

In addition to familiarising children with different orchestral sounds Play the Orchestra has various creative possibilities:

• individuals could enjoy a few minutes improvising their own music
• children could be asked to play the orchestra show that they can identify the wind, strings and percussion sections.
• a whole class could play a particular section together or be divided into groups for each section (which assumes the lesson takes place in a computer suite with sets of speakers attached)
• live instruments could be mixed with Play the Orchestra so that some children play the computers as their instruments.

Particularly if being used with groups of children it may be helpful to know that the left side of the orchestra plays a G major chord and the right side an D7 chord (with a couple of oddities thrown in).

Progression
After using Play the Orchestra one could perhaps go on to explore some other sound samples eg the various percussion sounds in Phrases (squeaker is a particular favourite!).
Alternatively, you can learn about all the instruments in The Orchestra.