Peter and the Wolf
Resource Pack
Peter and the Wolf is an orchestral
piece with narration written by Sergei
Prokofiev
1
The Story
Peter lives at his grandfather’s home in the forest. One day, Peter goes out into a clearing, leaving the
garden gate open: a duck that lives in the yard takes a dip in the pond nearby.
The duck starts an argument with a little bird whilst Peter’s cat eyes both of them up as a potential snack.
Peter warns the bird and the duck about the stalking cat and the bird flies up into a tree: the duck swims to
the middle of the pond.
Grandfather scolds Peter for being outside when there could be a wolf around but Peter takes no notice. So
Grandfather takes him inside and locks the gate.
Soon after, a wolf makes his presence felt; appearing menacingly from the dark forest. The cat quickly
climbs the tree but the poor duck, who jumps out of the pond and attempts to run for cover, is swallowed in
one gulp by the wolf. Peter fetches a rope and climbs the garden wall and into a tree. He has a cunning plan!
He gets the little bird to fly around and distract the wolf whilst he lowers a noose to capture the wolf by its
tail.
Peter succeeds in trapping the wolf and when some hunters appear, ready to kill the wolf, Peter persuades
them to take the wolf to a zoo in a victory parade that includes all the characters.
2
How this pack works
This pack is made up of four levels which explore different areas of music used in
Peter and the Wolf. Look for the colour coding at the top of each page to see
whether it's right for you.
BLUE YELLOW GREEN PINK
Beginner Level Intermediate Level Advanced Level Maestro Level
For an audio recording of Peter and the Wolf and other music for young minds,
visit our Resources page https://artsactive.org.uk/resources/ and search for
‘Peter and the Wolf’.
The Characters
After listening to Peter and the Wolf, can you
match the instrument below to the character it
represents in the music?
Strings
Clarinet
Kettle Drums
French Horns
Oboe
Flute
Bassoon
You can find out if your answers are correct in
the answer pack!
The Clearing
Can you draw a picture of what you think the
clearing looks like based on the story and the
music?
The Characters
Can you match the character to the
instrument that represents it in the music?
The Characters
How would you describe each character?
Here are some words to
get you started:
Happy Sad Scary Slow
Short Hopping Small Big
The Characters
Can you describe the instrument that is used to
represent each character? How does it represent
each character?
The Characters
What image does the first movement make you
think of?
How is Peter's mood portrayed by the instruments
in the first movement?
Why do you think Prokofiev chose the oboe for the
duck?
Describe the movement of the cat
The Characters
Listen to hear which instrument represents each character. Describe
how it represents the character.
Character Instrument Description
The Characters
If you had to change the instruments that represented
each character, what would you change it to and why?
The Characters
How does the music in the first movement allow
you to feel like you are part of the story?
What playing techniques are used to mimic the
movement of the cat by the clarinet?
Why do you think Prokofiev chose the flute for the
bird?
Pitch & Timbre
Does the bird sound high or low?
Can you listen to the second movement and
draw a line that follows how the melody gets
higher and lower?
Can you draw a picture of your favourite bird?
Pitch & Timbre
Can you describe the pitch of the
instruments used to represent each character?
reteP
driB ehT
rehtafdnarG
floW ehT
taC ehT
kcuD ehT
Pitch & Timbre
Can you describe the pitch and timbre of the
instruments used to represent each character?
Pitch Timbre
reteP
driB ehT
rehtafdnarG
floW ehT
taC ehT
kcuD ehT
Pitch & Timbre
Can you think of another instrument with similar
pitch & timbre that could represent each character?
Pitch & Timbre
Can you describe the similarities and differences in
timbre between the instruments below? You can
also use words from the word bank to help you.
French Horn Strings
Flute Bassoon
Reedy Brassy Clear Bright Focused
Unfocussed Breathy Dark
Rounded Piercing Strident Harsh Warm
Mellow Resonant Heavy Light Flat
Pitch & Timbre
Can you describe the pitch of each instrument and
how that helps it to represent each character?
Description of the Why does this match the
pitch character?
reteP
driB ehT
rehtafdnarG
floW ehT
taC ehT
kcuD ehT
Word Painting
Can you pick three of the movements and draw
what they make you think of?
Word Painting
Can you create a comic strip that shows each part of
the story?
Word Painting
Can you create a comic strip that shows each part of
the story with a brief description underneath?
Pitch & Timbre
Can you create a comic strip that shows each part of
the story? Describe how the music portrays that
picture beneath each section.
Dynamics
Can you match these dynamics to their correct
names?
Forte
Piano
Fortissimo
Crescendo
Diminuendo
Pianissimo
Mezzo-Piano
Mezzo - Forte
Dynamics
Can you listen to your favourite movement and write
down all the dynamics you hear?
Can you write the next chapter of the story?
What happens to the wolf in the zoo?
Dynamics
Can you match these dynamics to the correct name
and description?
Forte Very Loud
Piano Getting Louder
Fortissimo Quiet
Crescendo Moderately Loud
Diminuendo Getting Quieter
Pianissimo Loud
Mezzo-Piano Very Quiet
Mezzo - Forte Moderately Soft
The Story
Can you write the next chapter of the story?
Dynamics
Can you match these dynamics to the correct name
and description?
Forte Very Loud
Piano Getting Louder
Fortissimo Quiet
Crescendo Moderately Loud
Diminuendo Getting Quieter
Pianissimo Loud
Mezzo-Piano Very Quiet
Mezzo - Forte Moderately Soft
Dynamics
Can you order these dynamics from loudest to
quietest?
Loudest
Quietest
The Story
Can you write the next chapter of the story? Add in
any additional characters and how they would be
represented in the music.
Dynamics
Can you match these dynamics to the correct name
and description?
Forte Very Loud
Piano Getting Louder
Fortissimo Quiet
Crescendo Moderately Loud
Diminuendo Getting Quieter
Pianissimo Loud
Mezzo-Piano Very Quiet
Mezzo - Forte Moderately Soft
Dynamics
Can you order these dynamics from loudest to
quietest?
tseteiuQ
tseduoL
Can you create a melody line for a new character in the
story? What instrument are they represented by and
why?
The Story
Can you write the next chapter of the story? Add in
any additional characters and how they would be
represented in the music.
Glossary
Movement - a principal division of a longer musical work,
self-sufficient in terms of key, tempo, and structure.
Playing Techniques - Any aspect of sound production, on
any instrument, can be thought of as a performance
technique (accent/articulation, type of tone, use of pedal,
phrasing, dynamic level, vibrato)
Pitch - is the position of a single sound in the complete
range of sound. Sounds are higher or lower in pitch
according to the frequency of vibration of the sound waves
producing them.
Timbre - is what makes a particular musical instrument or
human voice have a different sound from another, even
when they play or sing the same note.
Dynamics - the volume of a sound or note.
Melody Line - the combination of a particular rhythm with
a series of pitches. The rhythm is the pattern of beats, or the
long and short sounds, while pitch refers to the high and
low sounds. Together they create the melody, which is the
tune, or musical line of notes that our brains hear as one
unit.
