The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (Game and Music piece)

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a flash-based, animated web-based adventure game that introduces young students to the sounds of different instruments.

This game is based on Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” music piece. It introduces students to the sounds of different musical instruments. Although it is relevant to students of all ages, the game is geared more towards a younger audience.

Students can play the game through this link, or students can register for free with a username and password. Students can explore different sections such as woodwinds, strings, percussion, and brass, and they can also listen to different instruments played within each section.

Students also have the opportunity to listen to a full music piece from the video below. The timing description is helpful in decoding which instruments students are listening to.  (Timing description is taken from the comments on the YouTube video below.)

0:05 Full Orchestra, 0:26 Wind section, 0:46 Woodwinds, 0:52 Brass, 1:13 String section, 1:26 Percussion, 1:43 Full Orchestra // 2:02 Flute and Piccolo, 2:35 Oboe, 3:38 Clarinets, 4:20 Bassoon // 5:13 Violin, 5:50 Viola, 6:45 Cello, 7:55 Bass, 8:55 Harp // 9:45 French Horn, 10:33 Trumpets, 11:02 Trombones, Tuba 11:16 // 12:12 Timpani, 12:32 Bass Drum and Cymbals, 12:46 Tambourine and Triangle, 12:58 Snare drum and Woodblock, 13:03 Xylophone, 13:19 Castanets and Tam Tam, 13:33 Whip, 13:41 Percussion // (Fugue Section) 14:12 Woodwinds (Flute, Piccolo, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon), 14:52 Strings (Violin, Viola, Bass, Harp), 15:35 Brass (French Horn, Trumpet, Trombone), 15:55 Percussion // (Finale) 16:00 Full Orchestra – both themes, 16:33 Coda