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🎨 The arts 🎡 Music and dance

Bands

Bands

πŸ“– In short

A band is a group of musicians playing together, usually wind instruments like the trumpet and flute and percussion like drums. It's different from an orchestra, which has lots of string instruments like the violin.

🀩 Did you know?

  • Military bands play at national celebrations.
  • The tuba is one of the biggest brass instruments, with the deepest sound.
  • The band leader is called the maestro.
  • Many musicians learned to play in their school band.

πŸ”Ž Find out more

🌟 The marching band

Some bands march as they play in parades, celebrations and matches, wearing smart matching uniforms, led by a leader who moves a baton to keep the beat.

πŸ” Wind instruments

Brass instruments include the trumpet, trombone and big tuba, and woodwinds include the flute, clarinet and saxophone.

πŸ’‘ Drums keep the beat

Big and small drums and cymbals beat a steady rhythm, so the musicians march together in step.

🎯 Many kinds of bands

There are military bands, school bands, jazz bands and folk music bands. Some small bands have no more than twenty players.

🧩 Test yourself

1 Which of these is a wind instrument?

2 What do the drums do in a band?

3 Which picture shows β€œBands”?

🎨 Discover more

πŸ“· Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons