A Musical
Journey
Durham Medical
ORCHESTRA
l
exp
o ri
ng
orc
he str
al music through story, movement,
a n d rhythm
A Booklet to Teach Kids About Orchestral Music
Lakewood Elementary School
In Partnership with the Emily K Center
Girl Scout Troop 1158
Sponsored by
the WCPE Education Fund
Cover artwork by: Gavi Fischer
http://DMOmusic.org
The Durham Medical Orchestra
The Durham Medical Orchestra is made up of
doctors and other medical workers who have
musical backgrounds. Why would doctors play in
an orchestra? We believe that music has the power
to heal people, whether they are playing the music
or just listening to it. Music makes people happy,
it makes people feel connected to each other, and
it gives people a reason to work together toward a
common goal.
The DMO is conducted by
Dr. Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant
You don’t have to be a professional musician to
enjoy playing music. Even busy doctors, nurses,
students and other professionals make time to play
in the orchestra because they find it so meaningful
and enjoyable!
We hope you’ll have fun reading this booklet and
learning more about music and orchestras!
What is an orchestra?
An orchestra is a group of musicians who play many
different instruments but all work together to create
beautiful music.
We play free public concerts to
spread our message of the healing
power of music.
Check this out!
This booklet has puzzles and
activities all the way through!
Look for word scrambles, a
maze, a word search, and more!
Answers are on the last page.
Instrument families
The instruments in our orchestra come from three different “families.”
String instruments
Wind instruments
or instruments that have strings on them
or instruments you blow air into
Woodwinds
bow
piccolo
flute
clarinet
oboe
violin
viola
cello
string bass
bassoon
Percussion instruments
or instruments you strike to make a sound
snare
drum
timpani
trumpet
horn
bass
drum
cymbals
Brass
tambourine
tuba
trombone
Making music
Different instruments
have different types
of sound.
Small instruments usually
sound higher than bigger
instruments. A tiny piccolo
makes a very high sound,
while a big string bass
makes a very low sound.
Woodwinds, especially
oboes, have a very pure tone
that can be heard very clearly
over the rest of the
orchestra. That’s why the
oboe is used for tuning.
Strings are usually quieter
and sound smoother than
brass instruments.
That’s why we have so
many strings!
Word scramble:
O
N
P
I
A
__ __ __ __ __
CLUE:
playing music quietly;
also an instrument
Understanding classical music
Our orchestra typically
plays classical music,
but sometimes we play
music from movies or
musicals instead.
In our orchestra, we
usually play classical
music that doesn’t
have any words or
lyrics – it’s just
instruments.
Classical music may sound happy, or
sad, or angry, or playful. Sometimes
the person who wrote the music
(the “composer”) was inspired by
a story, like a fairy tale or a play,
but sometimes the music is just
something they created from their
imagination.
Word scramble:
O
Just like reading a
book without pictures,
listening to music
without words just
means you get to use
your imagination!
Sometimes a new piece of music is
created by combining other pieces of
music. One piece our orchestra plays
is called Joyride, by a composer
named Michael Markowski. He
combined two pieces to create
Joyride: one called Ode to Joy and
another called Short Ride in a Fast
Machine.
T
E
N
__ __ __ __
CLUE:
a single pitch played
by a musician
What happens at a concert
Before a concert, the musicians will come on to
stage and start playing a little bit to “warm up,”
just like you might do if you were getting ready to
play a sport.
When the concertmaster stands up, it is time
for the orchestra to “tune.” Tuning is when we all
play the same note and adjust our instruments so
that they sound good together. We all tune to the
note “A”, which is played by the oboist (the
person playing an oboe).
The concertmaster is the
person who sits at the front
of the violin section. She is
not only the best player in
the section, but she also tells
the orchestra when it is time
to start the concert.
oboe
When we are done tuning, the conductor walks
in and stands at a podium – a platform that helps
everyone see her clearly.
Whenever the conductor is
at her podium, the orchestra
members are quiet and pay
attention to her, just like
students paying attention to
their teacher.
As soon as everyone is quiet, the conductor starts
the concert!
Word scramble:
A
P
H
R
S
__ __ __ __ __
CLUE:
a symbol that tells you to play
a note a half step higher
Being in the audience
Going to a live concert
can be more exciting than
listening to a recording of the
same music. You get to see
how the musicians move and
perform, and you get to sit next
to other people who are also
enjoying the music. Sometimes
in a concert the conductor will
even explain the pieces and talk
If you have trouble
paying attention to
the music or feel
like you’re getting
too bored, here are
a few tips:
with the audience, which can
help people understand what
the music means and what is
special about it.
Sitting in a concert for a long
time can be hard, though. You
have to stay quiet and still so
you don’t distract other people
from enjoying the music.
Ask your parents to talk with
you about the music you might
hear at the concert, or have
them share information with
you from the concert program.
The program may include fun
facts about the music that can
make it easier to pay attention.
♪♪ Try to watch one player in the orchestra and
see if you can hear that person above all the
others – maybe someone in the percussion
section playing a big drum!
♪♪ Try to imagine a story that would go along with
the music you’re hearing
♪♪ Try to imagine drawing or painting something
that would represent the same feelings as
the music
♪♪ Watch how the conductor sets the mood of the
music. Is she making big or small movements?
Is she focusing on one section of the orchestra
right now?
Word scramble:
T
L
A
F
__ __ __ __
CLUE:
a symbol that tells you to play
a note a half step lower
How to conduct
Music is divided up into
measures, just like
language can be
divided into sentences.
&
=======
A lot of music is written
with either 3 or 4 beats
in each measure.
&
qqqq
====
downbeat
&
q q q
====
The conductor
waves her
hands in
a special
pattern that
matches the
number of
beats in the
measures.
Each measure starts
with a heavy part
called a “downbeat,”
which gets a bit more
emphasis.
Measures can have
different sizes or
lengths. We say that
the measure has a
certain number of
“beats.”
For example,
Try singing them to
yourself and see if you
can hear when the
downbeats are.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
has 4 beats in each
measure, and
Happy Birthday has
3 beats.
Conducting a measure
with 4 beats looks like
this:
Beat 4
Beat 3
Beat 3
Beat 2
Beat 2
Beat 1 is the
“downbeat,” which
is when the hand
moves down!
Beat 1
Word scramble:
Conducting a measure
with 3 beats looks like
this:
R
F
T
E
O
__ __ __ __ __
Beat 1
CLUE:
playing music loudly
Can you read the music code?
Musical sounds are named for the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. But when music is written, the
sounds are shown by circles called notes. The notes are placed on a group of lines and spaces that
is called a staff. Where the notes sit on the staff tells which sound should be played.
Here is what the music code looks like:
w
w
w
w
w
C
D
E
F
G
& _w w w w w w w
=======================
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
The set of letters starts over every 8 notes, so there are different places on the staff for sounds with
the same letter name. The ones placed higher on the staff sound higher to your ear.
w
w
w
& w
=======
Here is an example:
F
A
C
E
Decode the music message!
w
w
__
__
w
w
& w
======================
w
__
S
H
__
__
__
,
w
w
w
w
w
w
&
w
=======================
_w w
__
__
__
T
H
O
V
__
N
__
__
__
__
w
w
w
& w
w
w
======================
w
__
__
I
Word scramble:
N
__
E
__
S
R
T
__ __ __ __
__
__
__
.
CLUE:
moments of silence inside
a piece of music
__
A String Family Story
Find your way
through the maze
to the DMO!
Once there was a family
of string instruments:
Daddy String Bass,
Mommy Cello, their
daughter Viola, and
their son Violin.
One day, Violin’s highest
string was pulled a bit
too tightly and it broke.
Oh no!
Daddy and Mommy
packed everyone up and
headed quickly to their
string doctor – who also
plays in the Durham
Medical Orchestra!
Luckily, Violin was fine.
Pretty soon he was as
good as new with a
brand new “E” string.
Durham Medical
ORCHESTRA
Having “pun” with music!
Why was the musician arrested? Want to hear the one about fermata? Want to hear a joke about staccato? Why is slippery ice like music? Why did the musician climb the ladder? What type of music are balloons scared of?
Word scramble:
P
O
He was in treble.
Wait, it’s too long.
Never mind, it’s too short.
If you don’t C # (sharp), you will B b (flat).
She wanted to be sure to reach the high notes.
Pop music
T
E
M
__ __ __ __ __
CLUE:
the speed of the music
Can you find all of the musical terms?
S
Q
T
O
E
A
C
E
O
P
L
W
Z
P
Y
O
C
C
S
C
A
U
Y
E
R
I
D
X
Z
J
O
L
L
T
F
E
S
E
M
U
N
O
R
R
P
B
S
O
A
F
J
S
H
A
B
S
O
Z
G
C
O
Y
L
C
R
I
I
L
F
K
A
W
T
E
W
E
Z
X
N
C
I
O
A
O
E
G
L
L
T
M
T
U
B
A
F
I
N
Z
R
Q
T
G
R
U
X
X
U
A
E
V
Q
P
E
Q
T
N
U
R
V
Z
T
R
O
M
B
O
N
E
T
A
M
D
L
N
X
N
O
O
S
S
A
B
E
I
P
P
P
D
F
T
What do the special letters
from the word scrambles spell?
I
S
S
A
R
B
T
T
T
Z
Y
C
M
B
Z
BASS
BASSOON
BRASS
CELLO
CLARINET
CYMBAL
DRUM
FLUTE
HORN
OBOE
PERCUSSION
PICCOLO
STRING
TRIANGLE
TROMBONE
TRUMPET
TUBA
VIOLA
VIOLIN
WOODWIND
__ __ __ __ __ __ __
bottom
R
G
V
B
O
A
P
B
K
R
V
D
J
O
H
Z
Z
A
H
L
E
E
T
J
Q
I
N
Y
D
K
V
S
Z
C
L
B
R
H
A
C
O
I
J
W
H
S
Q
T
O
E
A
C
E
O
P
L
W
Z
P
Y
O
C
C
S
C
A
U
Y
E
R
I
D
X
Z
J
O
L
L
T
F
E
S
E
M
U
N
O
R
R
P
B
S
O
A
F
J
S
H
A
B
S
O
Z
G
C
O
Y
L
C
R
I
I
L
F
K
A
W
T
E
W
E
Z
X
N
C
I
O
A
O
E
G
L
L
T
M
T
U
B
A
F
I
N
Z
R
Q
T
G
R
U
X
X
U
A
E
V
Q
P
E
Q
T
N
U
R
V
Z
T
R
O
M
B
O
N
E
T
A
M
D
L
N
X
N
O
O
S
S
A
B
E
I
P
P
P
D
F
T
Y
S
T
R
I
N
G
R
E
F
B
U
Q
T
M
I
S
S
A
R
B
T
T
T
Z
Y
C
M
B
Z
Answers
Y
S
T
R
I
N
G
R
E
F
B
U
Q
T
M
top
V
S
Z
C
L
B
R
H
A
C
O
I
J
W
H
Decoder:
Z
Z
A
H
L
E
E
T
J
Q
I
N
Y
D
K
As he aged,
Beethoven faced
being deaf.
R
G
V
B
O
A
P
B
K
R
V
D
J
O
H
Special letters:
PERFORM
Word scrambles:
PIANO
NOTE
SHARP
FLAT
FORTE
REST
TEMPO
Durham Medical
ORCHESTRA
http://DMOmusic.org
Special thanks to:
Girl Scout Troop 1158
Shari Fischer
Gavi Fischer
Sarah Fox
Bella Tesoro
Montana Wisnewski
Lakewood Elementary School
the Emily K Center
High Strung
Music and Arts
Triangle Music School
Dr Bass
Duke University String School
KidzNotes
Notasium
Gan Khoon Lay from the Noun Project
for Iconography
Eric Monson for Photos
and especially
the WCPE Education Fund
Booklet written by:
Angela Zoss, Laura Hale, Lindsay Lambe,
..
and Verena Mosenbichler-Bryant.