Orchestra Word Search

An orchestra vocabulary puzzle with its answer key, from Violin and Oboe to Concertmaster and Overture.

Name Date

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 16 words found

QIQOVSSRTEHARPP

FXCVIOLARISEBAK

UPEMWDECDTNMLVE

BMLDHFNAESCRLBT

RBLEPWOODWINDSN

ASOENONENMEFEOQ

SPCZEKENENUAYHM

SAORCHESTRAYSIB

RQNNRTKOYHRSYEI

PODIUMBATONMMVY

FLUTELCMPDPCPII

TDCUTIDOPTVNHOR

ICTRUMPETUBAOLN

YDOBOEATIMPANIX

NYRFSWHZOROHYNN

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

ViolinVIOLIN
CelloCELLO
OboeOBOE
TimpaniTIMPANI
ConductorCONDUCTOR
BrassBRASS
WoodwindWOODWIND
OrchestraORCHESTRA
SymphonySYMPHONY
BatonBATON
PodiumPODIUM
ViolaVIOLA
HarpHARP
FluteFLUTE
TrumpetTRUMPET
TubaTUBA

16 of 20 words from the Orchestra Key Terms list.

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Answer key: Orchestra Word Search

QIQOVSSRTEHARPP

FXCVIOLARISEBAK

UPEMWDECDTNMLVE

BMLDHFNAESCRLBT

RBLEPWOODWINDSN

ASOENONENMEFEOQ

SPCZEKENENUAYHM

SAORCHESTRAYSIB

RQNNRTKOYHRSYEI

PODIUMBATONMMVY

FLUTELCMPDPCPII

TDCUTIDOPTVNHOR

ICTRUMPETUBAOLN

YDOBOEATIMPANIX

NYRFSWHZOROHYNN

VIOLIN, CELLO, OBOE, TIMPANI, CONDUCTOR, BRASS, WOODWIND, ORCHESTRA, SYMPHONY, BATON, PODIUM, VIOLA, HARP, FLUTE, TRUMPET, TUBA

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All 124 words

The String Section 21

Arco A marking that means play with the bow again after plucking.
Bow A rod strung tightly with horsehair, drawn across the strings.
Bridge The thin upright piece of wood that holds the strings above the body.
Cello A four-stringed instrument pitched lower than the viola and higher than the double bass.
Double bass The biggest of the string instruments an orchestra plays with a bow.
Endpin The thin leg that props a cello or a double bass on the floor.
Fingerboard The strip of wood on the neck that the fingers press the strings against.
Harmonic A tone made by lightly touching a vibrating string at a point along its length.
Harp An upright three-sided frame of strings, plucked with the fingers.
Luthier A person who makes or repairs string instruments.
Mute A device put on an instrument to muffle or soften its tone.
Neck The narrow part of a string instrument, along which the strings run to the pegs.
Peg A wooden pin turned to tighten or loosen a string.
Pizzicato Plucked with the finger and not bowed.
Rosin A piece of hardened resin rubbed on bow hair so that it grips the strings.
Scroll The curved head at the top of a violin.
Tailpiece The triangular piece of wood that holds the lower ends of a violin's strings.
Tremolo A shivering effect made by repeating one note very fast.
Vibrato A slight, fast wobble in pitch that warms a held note.
Viola A string instrument slightly larger than a violin, with a deeper voice.
Violin A string instrument with four strings, played with a bow.

Show all 124 words (103 more)

Woodwind and Brass Sections 15

Bassoon A low-pitched woodwind with a double reed and a long wooden body.
Bell The flared open end of a wind instrument.
Clarinet A single-reed woodwind with a straight tube and a flared bell.
Embouchure The way a player shapes the lips to blow a wind instrument.
English horn A double-reed woodwind like the oboe but larger and lower in pitch.
Flute A woodwind held sideways; the player blows across a hole.
French horn A brass instrument coiled in a circle, with a wide flared bell.
Ligature The metal band that holds the reed on a clarinet mouthpiece.
Mouthpiece The part of a wind instrument that goes to the player's lips.
Oboe A slender double-reed woodwind that often gives the orchestra its tuning note.
Piccolo A tiny flute that plays an octave higher than the regular one.
Slide The U-shaped tube that a trombonist moves in and out.
Trombone A brass instrument that changes notes with a long slide.
Trumpet A soprano brass instrument with three valves and a flared bell.
Tuba A large brass instrument with valves and a very low pitch.

The Percussion Section 14

Bass drum A large drum with two heads and a low, booming sound.
Celesta A keyboard instrument whose hammers strike steel plates for a bell-like sound.
Cymbals Round brass plates that clash loudly when struck together.
Drumroll A fast, even run of beats on a drum.
Glockenspiel A row of tuned metal bars played with two light hammers.
Kettledrum A large bowl-shaped drum, often of copper; a set of them is called timpani.
Snare drum A small drum with wires stretched under it that rattle.
Tam-tam A gong struck with a felt-covered hammer.
Tambourine A small hand drum with metal jingles around its rim.
Timpani A set of large bowl-shaped drums, each tuned to a note.
Triangle A metal bar bent into three sides, open at one corner, and struck to ring.
Vibraphone Metal bars over tubes with spinning discs that make the sound shimmer.
Wood block A hollow piece of wood tapped with a stick.
Xylophone Wooden bars struck with mallets, laid out like a keyboard.

Sections and Players 27

Arranger A person who reworks a piece for other instruments or voices.
Bassist A musician who plays the double bass.
Bassoonist A musician who plays the bassoon.
Brass The section that holds the trumpets, French horns, trombones and tubas.
Cellist A musician who plays the cello.
Chamber Describes a smaller orchestra, of about fifty players at most.
Clarinetist A musician who plays the clarinet.
Concertmaster The first violinist of an orchestra, who leads the tuning.
Conductor The person who directs an orchestra.
Flutist A musician who plays the flute.
Harpist A musician who plays the harp.
Maestro A master of music, such as a great conductor, composer or teacher.
Oboist A musician who plays the oboe.
Orchestra A large group of musicians playing string, wind and percussion instruments together.
Percussion The section whose instruments are struck or shaken.
Philharmonic A word in the names of many symphony orchestras; it means devoted to music.
Principal The leading player of a section.
Section A group of instruments of the same class within an orchestra.
Soloist A musician who performs a solo.
Strings The section of violins, violas, cellos and double basses.
Timpanist The musician who plays the kettledrums.
Trombonist A musician who plays the trombone.
Trumpeter A musician who plays the trumpet.
Tutti A marking that tells all the players to play together.
Violinist A musician who plays the violin.
Violist A musician who plays the viola.
Woodwind A wind instrument sounded by a reed or by air blown across a hole.

At the Concert 24

Acoustics The way a hall carries and shapes sound.
Applause Clapping that shows the audience enjoyed the music.
Balcony Seats on an upper level of the hall.
Baton The thin stick a conductor beats time with.
Bravo A shout of praise for a fine performance.
Cue A signal that tells a player when to come in.
Downbeat The first beat of a measure, shown by a downward stroke of the baton.
Encore An extra piece played because the audience keeps clapping.
Intermission A break in the middle of a concert or a play.
Matinee A performance given in the afternoon.
Ovation Long, enthusiastic clapping.
Pit The space in front of and below a stage, where the musicians sit.
Podium The raised platform on which a conductor stands.
Premiere The first public performance of a piece.
Program The printed list of the pieces to be played.
Rehearsal A practice session before the performance.
Riser A stepped platform that lifts the back rows of players.
Score The written form of a piece, with the parts for the instruments.
Season The part of the year in which an orchestra gives its concerts.
Stand A rack that holds a player's music.
Tacet A direction in the music that tells a player to be silent.
Tuning Matching every instrument to the same note before the music starts.
Upbeat The beat before a measure begins, shown by an upward stroke.
Usher A person who shows people to their seats.

Music for Orchestra 23

Arrangement A version of a piece rewritten for other instruments.
Cadenza A showy passage for the soloist alone, near the end of a concerto movement.
Concerto A piece for a solo instrument with orchestra, often in three movements.
Divertimento A piece of chamber music, chiefly from the 1700s, in several short movements.
Finale The last section of a long piece.
Fugue A piece in which a theme is stated by one voice after another.
Interlude A short passage played between the main parts of a work.
Intermezzo A short movement that separates the main sections of a long work.
Minuet A slow, stately dance in three beats; also a movement written in its style.
Movement One complete section of a longer piece.
Nocturne An instrumental piece with a dreamy, thoughtful mood.
Opus A work numbered to show its place in the order of a composer's works.
Oratorio A large work for voices and orchestra that tells a story without acting or scenery.
Overture An instrumental piece that introduces a longer work such as an opera.
Prelude A short piece that introduces a larger one.
Rhapsody A piece of irregular form, often with a feeling of being made up on the spot.
Scherzo A lively movement, often in three beats, that took the place of the minuet.
Serenade A piece for a small group of players, with features of the suite and the sonata.
Sinfonia An instrumental piece that serves as an overture, as to an opera.
Suite A piece made of a series of short movements, often dances.
Symphony A long piece for full orchestra in three or more movements.
Theme The main melody of a piece.
Tone poem An orchestral piece in one movement that paints a story or a scene.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the word list and every clue were written for this page. Spellings and meanings were checked on 2026-10-11 against The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, https://www.ahdictionary.com/. Facts about the sections, the seating and the tuning of an orchestra were checked on 2026-10-11 against English Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/, in the articles Orchestra and Concertmaster. Licence: own work

How it works

This orchestra word search opens on 16 key terms: Violin, Cello, Oboe, Timpani, Conductor, Brass and Woodwind among them. Every word has a one-line meaning, and six more lists cover the sections, the players, the concert and the music.

Read the full guide

The sections and their instruments

Under Start from a list, The String Section has Viola, Double bass, Rosin, Scroll and Pizzicato. Woodwind and Brass Sections has Piccolo, English horn, Trombone and Embouchure. The Percussion Section has Timpani, Glockenspiel, Celesta and Tam-tam.

Players, the concert and the music

Sections and Players has Concertmaster, Principal, Oboist and Timpanist. At the Concert has Podium, Baton, Downbeat, Tacet and Encore. Music for Orchestra runs from Symphony and Concerto to Scherzo, Tone poem and Cadenza.

Double bass, English horn, French horn and Tone poem hide closed up: DOUBLEBASS.
Short Orchestra Words has 29 words of three to five letters, such as Harp, Oboe, Tuba, Bow and Cue.
Under More options, tick Show clues, not words and Podium prints as "The raised platform on which a conductor stands."

Questions and answers

What are the four sections of an orchestra?

Woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings. The strings are the violins, violas, cellos and double basses. A piano or a celesta may be grouped as a fifth, keyboard section, and the harp may stand alone.

What does the concertmaster do?

The concertmaster leads the first violins and sits to the conductor's left, nearest the audience. The concertmaster plays the violin solos in an orchestral work and leads the orchestra in tuning before rehearsals and concerts.

Which instrument tunes the orchestra?

The oboe often gives the tuning note, by a convention about 300 years old, and the concertmaster leads the tuning.

What is the difference between a symphony orchestra and a philharmonic?

None in kind: both names mean a full-size orchestra, which may use from seventy to over one hundred players for a concert. A chamber orchestra is smaller, with not more than about fifty.

All 124 words

The String Section 21

Woodwind and Brass Sections 15

The Percussion Section 14

Sections and Players 27

At the Concert 24

Music for Orchestra 23

How it works

The sections and their instruments

Players, the concert and the music

Questions and answers

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