Musical Instruments
Class 3 · Arts
4 ideas in Class 3 Arts, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Knowing Instruments
Part of: Instruments and orchestras
India has many instruments: tabla, bansuri, sitar, harmonium, mridangam, shehnai and many drums. Each one has its own sound. Children can listen to each, ask which they have heard before, and even spot them in songs they know.
Why it matters. Naming sounds builds sharp ears. It turns background music into known instruments.
Try it in two minutes
- Play two instrument sounds and ask which is which.
- Ask where your child heard such sounds before.
- Clap the beat of a song that uses drums.
Try at home. List three instruments heard at the last festival near your home.
Orchestra Together
Part of: Instruments and orchestras
When many players play different instruments together, it is called an orchestra. At home, pots, lids and spoons can form a kitchen orchestra that plays a song everyone knows, keeping one shared beat.
Why it matters. Playing together teaches listening and timing. It shows music is teamwork, not noise.
Try it in two minutes
- Give each family member a pot, lid or spoon.
- Pick a song everyone knows.
- Play it together to one shared beat.
Try at home. Play a known song with kitchen things for your family.
Making a Shaker
Part of: Making music
A shaker is a rhythm instrument that sounds when shaken. To make one, keep a small bottle dry inside and out, fill it with dry dal, rice, beads or pebbles, close it tight, decorate it and leave it to dry. What you fill and how much you fill changes the sound.
Why it matters. Building and testing shakers joins craft with early science: changing one thing changes the sound. It also gives each child her own instrument.
Try it in two minutes
- Dry a small bottle fully inside and out.
- Fill it half with dry dal and close it tight.
- Shake it, then test rice and compare sounds.
Try at home. Make two shakers with different fillings and find which is louder.
Drums and Music Patterns
Part of: Making music
Drums like dhol, dholak and tavil have wood or copper bodies with faces on top or sides, played with hands or sticks. Music also hides patterns: a tune or beat that repeats. Singers practise note patterns with claps and learn to control breathing while singing.
Why it matters. Seeing build and pattern links instruments with music sense. Clapping with notes builds steady rhythm.
Try it in two minutes
- Tap a table with hands, then with sticks, and compare.
- Sing a short tune twice and spot the repeat.
- Clap with each note and breathe slowly.
Try at home. Find a tune repeat in a song and clap with it.
What your child will practise
- Drums and Music Patterns: Candy Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Drums and Music Patterns: Ocean Quest (Flip and Match)
- Knowing Instruments: Jungle Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Making a Shaker: Lab Explorer Quest (Match It Up)
- Orchestra Together: Ocean Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Quiz: Drums and Music Patterns (8 questions)
- Quiz: Knowing Instruments (8 questions)
- Quiz: Making a Shaker (8 questions)
- Quiz: Orchestra Together (8 questions)