Match The Timbre — Sample Activity

This is one activity from a content bank of 600+ classroom-ready music activities. Explore it anytime and unlock them all with Kidstrument.

Kidstrument is made up of activities that are repeated and remixed to offer varied and flexible teaching. Each activity is part of a wider module with many versions.

Overview

In this activity, students flip over cards to find matching pairs. One card shows a picture of an instrument, and the other plays its sound.

You can invite pupils up to the board or take hands up. Each time a card is revealed, use it as an opportunity to:

Identify the instrument by name
Say which family it belongs to (strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, etc.)
Describe the timbre – e.g. bright, mellow, smooth, raspy, metallic, wooden, ringing

Encourage students to compare sounds as they play and use their own words to describe the timbre. The game continues until all instruments are matched with their sounds.

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Contributes to Learning Outcomes

KS1 (Years 1–2)

listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music

KS2 (Years 3–6)

listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
develop an understanding of the history of music

Here’s what the full programme view looks like

This is the normal lesson view in Kidstrument — the full teacher layout you’ll use in class.

Kidstrument full programme view — Example programme view.