Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 11
- OCR
Understanding timbre: Western sounds
I can identify common instruments and timbres from different Western musical traditions.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 11
- OCR
Understanding timbre: Western sounds
I can identify common instruments and timbres from different Western musical traditions.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The orchestra is home to a diverse range of instruments which use different effects to create different timbres.
- Some common effects include: arco, pizzicato, muted, and double-stopping.
- Styles of popular music often use different timbres.
- The synthesiser creates a wide range of different sounds, including different synth leads, pads and basses.
Keywords
Arco - when strings are played with a bow
Pizzicato - when strings are plucked with a finger
Mute - a device that dampens and reduces the sound produced by an instrument
Synth lead - a type of synthesised sound that is suited to playing melodies
Synth pad - a type of synthesised sound that is suited to playing sustained sounds
Common misconception
Instrumental timbres in families can be identified with pitch.
This isn't always the case. Instruments such as the trombone and French horn have a similiar pitch and the oboe and cor anglais pitch ranges cross over, so it's important that pupils think about the timbres to identify instruments correctly.
To help you plan your year 11 music lesson on: Understanding timbre: Western sounds, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 music lesson on: Understanding timbre: Western sounds, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 4 music lessons from the Timbre and texture in music around the world unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Licence
Sign in to continue
Our content remains 100% free, but to access certain copyrighted materials, you'll need to sign in. This ensures we’re both staying within the rules.
P.S. Signing in also gives you more ways to make the most of Oak like unit downloads!
