5 ‘Awesome’ Instrument Study Activities For 6 – 9 Year Olds

Primary school aged kids are at the right age to be introduced to music through instrument studies. 

Unfortunately, most homeschool moms, find themselves at a loss when it comes to introducing their kids to music appreciation through instrument studies. 

I have got numerous questions on this in the past, so I thought that it is high time that I write a post on how you can introduce your 6 – 9 year old kids to instruments in the orchestra in the comfort of your home. 

I have even included age appropriate worksheets to go with these suggestions, so don’t forget to download them once you are done reading through the post. 

Research

Yes, the first and most engaging activity is to select an instrument like a violin or trumpet for instance and research it. 

Ask your kids to research the origin of the instrument, the instrument family it belongs to, its evolution over the years, and the role it plays in the orchestra. 

Use the worksheets I’ve included for this activity.

Learn

Once your child has researched and learned the instrument family that the instrument of choice belongs to, he can take the learning further by researching about the specific instrument family. 

Say for instance the instrument of choice was the violin. 

The violin belongs to the string family and the string family consists of five other instruments, the viola, the cello, the double bass and the harp. 

Incidentally the string family makes up the largest section of the symphony orchestra. 

If your child feels up to it, he can now explore and learn about the other instruments in the string family as well. 

Listen

Either you can create a playlist of songs played exclusively on the instrument of choice, or ask your child to find and create a playlist and listen to it in the background during homeschooling hours. 

Do this for a week or more, so your child will truly internalize the sound of the instrument. 

Compare

You can do two types of comparisons here. 

You can ask your child to select two songs from the playlist he listened to and compare the two songs in terms of how the violin sounded and was used (was it loud or soft, high pitched or more lower pitched, was it a fast melody or a slow melody?), etc. 

Another comparison your child can undertake is to compare the violin (or other instrument of choice) with the harp or another member of the string family, in terms of origin, the manner in which it is played, it’s pitch and much more). 

Analyse

Again your child can choose a single song from the playlist for analysis. 

He can analyse the song in terms, of whether the song was suited for the violin, he can compare a different rendition of the song, played on a different instrument and decide, which was better and why. 

Want more ideas on how to introduce your child to music analysis? Then read my post, 3 ‘Must Teach’ Music Analysis Activities For Primary Students. 

Aren’t the above ideas fun and easy to implement?

Do you think your primary school aged homeschooler will be happy with the activities?

Comment below and let me know. 

Would you like to fill your homeschool with instruments? Then read my post, 9 ‘No Fail’ Ways To Fill Your Homeschool With Instruments, and learn how you can add instruments to your homeschool at a fraction of the cost.