When we play in a group together it is important to listen to the different sounds of the instruments we use.

Timbre describes the unique sound of different instruments or groups of instruments.

Timbre is how we can tell the difference between a voice and a trumpet.

We have already listened to the timbre of instruments to tell them apart! Let's look at The Front Door again to spot the difference between instruments. While guessing the correct sequence of sounds and symbols, write down the sequence of instruments you can hear.

The Front Door - No.1

The Front Door - No.2

Listen to this piece by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky.

Listen to the difference between the brass at the start and then the strings following after. Listen also for the woodwind instruments that interrupt with small parts of the melody.

We can now explore timbre in a class performance. Let's divide the class into four different groups: red, green, yellow and blue. Give each group their own unique sounding instruments.

For example, give the yellow group shakers and give the green group triangles etc. Each group will now have their own timbre. Perform using The Clock and listen to the different sound from each group.

Let's go to The Clock Level 2 for a short performance.

Let's use Level 3 of The Clock to create a more advanced performance.

In Level 3 we can have two groups playing at the same time. We can also change the speed of the hand of The Clock and choose how many times it rotates.