#21 Instruments of the Orchestra-Updated 7/21/15
Topics (Just click on the category you want to view)
Activities, Classroom Ideas ----Curriculum ----Games ----Books ----Clip Art
History ----Listening Examples ----Names of Instruments ----Song ----Videos
Web Sites, Bulletin Boards, Powerpoints ----Private Instrumental Lessons ----Other Instruments
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ACTIVITIES, CLASSROOM IDEAS
06/15 Ella Jenkins "Play Your Instruments" is a standard for me. I also have each instrument group play with one song:With Pre-school:
Drums: Haya (Palestine) or any Native American drum song or "Land of the Silver Birch"
Tambourines: Zoom Gali
Maracas: Tinga Layo
Triangles: Twinkle L. Star
Sticks, Woodblocks: Hickory Dickory Dock
Cymbals: You're a Grand Ol' Flag
With Kindergarten/First Grade:
After they are comfortable playing various 4 beat patterns, I teach them the song "Willum, He Had Seven Sons." With all then each instr. group, the first half of the song they play ta's then when the song says "and this is what he did": Then they choose patterns they want to play and play until the conclusion of the song. I use the album, "Rhythm Band Jam" - Frank Leto which has several selections intended for this purpose. The accompaniment is steel drums. Really nice ---Sandy Toms
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07/13 http://www.montereysymphony.org/edusymphony.htm#edumeetinstruments
07/11 I would get Artie's orchestra pack - several activities listed in that resource! Formative Assessment - have students clip the instrument on the pink card as you're playing the recordings or use the small instrument cards and blue family card to classify the instruments. Summative Assessment - create a worksheet with instrument bank for students to identify names/families. ---- RaeAnna Goss
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06/07 UNIT: I do about an 8-10 class periods unit in third grade with instruments. I bought a set of videos (brass, strings, woodwinds, percussion) at a conference a couple of years ago. They all have this goofy (in a good way) teenager kind of character named T.J. (maybe?). Anyway...the format that I use is 1. video, 2. lecture and touch, 1. video 2. lecture and touch etc...
Class # 1: watch the brass video
Class #2: using a worksheet that is essentially just a graphic organizer for their notes I review information about the instrument and pass around a few of the instruments for them to touch (no mouth pieces!) or the reeds or whatever. They keep their worksheet in a folder until all of our instrument activities are complete. The worksheet wants the following info:
what instruments are in the family?
what parts do these instruments have that make them members of this family?
what vibrates to create sound?
how do musicians make higher and lower sounds with these instruments?There's also a place for them to sketch it they want and for "other" facts that they may want to remember. There are no excuses for spelling mistakes as almost all of the words are on our word wall.
Class #3 woodwind video
Class #4 woodwind lecture and touch while taking notes and so on.
Other things that I include are instrument spelling bees, instrument bingo and this year I'm going to add some listening games. I just haven't had a good resource for it before. I'm going to use one of the CDs that came with some textbooks for listening examples. Hopefully that will help them too. I have several 3-5 minute games with identifying instruments or the family that the instrument is in, etc...that we play as review for the rest of the year. This gives them a solid instrument background. -- Tracy, Bulletin Boards for the Music Classroom, www.musicbulletinboards.net
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01/07 Computer Movie of the PIPE ORGAN: http://www.rdimusic.com/movie.htm
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06/06 I like to play STOP. It is something my cooperating teacher did with her students. I have a big poster on the board with orchestra instrument pictures on it. I call out the name of on instrument, and then with my magic wand baton, slowly drag the baton all over the poster. While I¹m pointing the students are saying, sssssss.....ssssss.... When I touch the instrument I¹ve called out at the beginning they all yell out STOP! It is a great way to tell if they can identify instruments by name and picture. Short, easy game ¬ but they love it! Kay Dickinson
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06/06 LOWER ELEMENTARY: The "PJ" videos are called "Tune Buddies" and there are six of them: an introductory one, then strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and keyboards. My 2nd graders love them! They think PJ is crazy and cool. After we watch and discuss each "video" the children each color and put together their own booklet with a page about each instrument. We visit the band room (across the hall) and the middle or upper school band students show and demonstrate their instruments. (no strings, unfortuntately) Sometime during the year, we have a visit from members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra who have a couple of different programs for the children. By the end of second grade, they are playing "Music Instrument Bingo" with a partner. They always say, at first, "I don't know these," but they do! After second grade, I don't do a major focus on the instruments per se, but we continue to play the bingo game, and talk about the instruments as they occur in accompaniment tracks we're using. … I always read "Farkle" to either 3rd or 4th grade on our Camp Cuddle-Up day...wear pajamas and read all day! Oh, yeah...4 year olds and kindergarten watch the Elmo version of Peter and the Wolf...too cute. -- Shirley Nichols
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06/06 LOWER ELEMENTARY: I begin teaching orchestra instruments in K by showing a little video called "Melody," which was originally in movie form. We simply talk about how Melody feels badly because her family isn't very nice to her, so she goes out and finds some new "families" to be her friends. The video takes only about 10 minutes, and I show it again in 1st grade, followed by an informal discussion of the instrument families she meets and looking at posters which show the family groupings. I show it one more time in 2nd grade, but this time I stop the clip after each family. Students do just a bit of writing - nothing difficult. Our major instrumental focus comes in 3rd in preparation for a trip to a special symphony orchestra concert. We also spent some time earlier this year classifying and discussing how instruments fit into the aerophone, chordophone, membranophone, idiophone groupings. (Hornbostel-Sachs classification) This opened the door for meeting more folk instruments and was quite easy for even my younger students to grasp. -- Connie Herbon
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06/06 LOWER ELEMENTARY (2d/3d Grades):
1. Put them in groups of two or three and give each group 2 instrument cards. Mine have the family and a paragraph of simple information beneath the picture. They have five minutes to think of two ways they're the same and two ways they're different. I disallow "They're the same because they both make music" or "They're different because they're not the same." Then each group presents to the rest of the class.
2. Choose a child to go first. I do it by randomly landing on the seating chart. Tape an instrument card to the child's back so they can't see it. They walk backwards/sideways so everyone else can see the card, then they call on kids to get clues. Once they guess correctly, they land on the seating chart to choose the next player. You have to give some guidance as to what makes a good clue. For example, "My brother has one" isn't a good clue. Neither is "It rhymes with bump it." The rule is the clue has to be about the instrument, not about its name or who plays it.
3. I do this in K and 1 but 2nd begs to do it again. First read “Zin Zin a Violin”. Show the picture cards for the 10 instruments in the story, demonstrating how each is played. Line half the class up facing the center of the room and line the send half up facing them, about three feet apart. One side is conductors. I pass out recorder cleaning rods as batons. The other side is the orchestra. I show each player an instrument card and they show me how to play it. Strauss' "Blue Danube" is perfect for this. It has a nice range of tempos and it's familiar to most kids. I stand behind the musicians so the conductors can see me and I schmaltz it up big time. It's amazing how much expression they put into their conducting. Then musicians teach conductors how to play and they switch. We bow and curtsy at the end. Their favorite part is when the musicians get to carry the instruments carefully over to the risers and gently set them down. -- Andrea Cope
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06/05 The "Promenade" from Mussorgsky’s “Pictures At An Exhibition” uses the instruments in family groups pretty vividly. There's a listening map showing this very thing in Share the Music, 4th grade I think. -- Pat Price
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02/04 LESSON: 1 - I play and explain instruments from each family We spend a lot of time looking for the special traits of each family.
Lesson 2 - I tape a picture to the back of student. They take clues from classmates until they correctly guess their instrument. Clues must be about the instrument, not its name.
Lesson 3 - Instrument Baseball. To advance a base they must correctly identify an instrument or answer a question about it.
Lesson 4 - I throw all my instrument resources (posters, cards, brochures, books, etc.) onto the floor. They each have a packet of questions to answer, using the stuff on the floor. They can also ask anyone in the room, including me, where to find an answer, but not for the answer.
Lesson 5 - Instrument Bingo with pencils for winners who can correctly pronounce each name and say its family. - Contributed by Andrea Cope
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09/03 MAKE YOUR OWN INSTRUMENT: Students must pick a family of instruments that their instrument is going to represent (String, brass, WW, percussion) and then they must make a draft (drawing) of the design and make a list of materials they need to make it. They are responsible for bringing in the materials they need (box, cans, markers, string, etc). I give them a few classes to put it together (it is like an music/art project). Then their projects are judged by me and the art teacher. I pick a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winner who recieve a small gift (candy, cool pencil, etc) and the three prize winners are entered in our county fair to be judged. I have had a lot of nice projects and then you'll have those "so-so" projects (drums). You may make it a requirement to avoid drums. I also have my kids do a mini presentation on their project. they just ahev to tell why they made it, what it is, what family it is from, materials used, etc. - Contributed by Tera Derr
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GAME: 1. Present the 4 families of orch. instru. with a game of 4 corners. Write a familiy name (Brass, etc.) on 4 dift. large cards. Mount on your 4 walls. Choose an IT who will sit in center chair while others move silently to a wall of their choice (while I play full orchestra music). Stop music after a few seconds. IT, w eyes still closed, calls out a family. Those at that wall all sit down. A new IT is chosen from the "out" players and the game cont. You can let the "out" kids back in after 1 round, or play a total elimination and give the last one standing a prize. This simply aquaints them with the family names. Then I'll give them a handout of the entire orchestra's seating chart to color in each instrum. families section as they're introduced.
2. Introd. each family group separately. I do this with a Mystery family game. I have 8-10 questions ranging from very vague to very specific in numerical order from 1. Like, "We are the largest family in the orchestra" to "A part of us comes from the guts of a cat" to "Some of us are played on the shoulder". The kids can only offer 1 guess. If wrong, they're out, if correct, they get a prize.
Then, with this same family, we list the member's names in order of my Instr. Bingo game card 1, then listen to an excerpt of each instrument. I also give a handout of line drawings of these instruments and they color in each one as they hear it on the cd. After this, I usually teach the Orchestra Song in our STM text, or the MK8 piece "Make Some Music" from last year I think. We'll id whatever instru. from the day's family is mentioned in the song.
I may even follow up with a SQUILT activity using an instrumental piece featuring the instruments of the day's family. I do this for each different instr. family. As a culmination of the unit, we watch a video on the instrument families. - Contributed by Gretchen in IL
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04/03 INSTRUMENT RIDDLES
#1 We come as a pair, you could say that we're twins.
We're shiny and crash when you play us, my friend. If you like to make noise and to march in a band,
You'll love us 'cause we make those marches sound grand! I'm a ____________________.
#2 Sometimes I'm acoustic and sometimes electric.
Those rock stars, they love me and act energetic. They strum me or pick me and play lots of songs,
Then put me in a case and take me along. I'm a _________________.
#3 You can beat me and I won't get red in the face.
I come in all sizes from snare down to bass. All bands like to use me to keep a good beat.
As you march me along on your two little feet. I'm a _________________.
#4 I sit on the floor and you sit in a chair. You play with a bow that's made of horse hair.
I'm played in a orchestra, a nice wooden fellow. My name is five letters, they call me a ____________.
#5 If you ask for keys you won't get a car.
But they are black and white, on the bench sits a star. I'm a _________________.
#6 I'm bright and colorful and something that's new.
I'm hit on the floor or maybe your shoe. And when you want a really good sound,
Hit me on your head, that's the best sound around! I'm a _________________.
#7 I'm played with a mallet, that's easy to see.
And there are bars that are big and small across me. I'm made of wood and come in different sizes.
My music makes lots of terrific surprises! I'm a _______________.
#8 I have four short strings, but you can't tie a knot. I do have a bow so you can play me a lot!
I'm ___________________.
#9 I'm held in your hand, and sometimes I'm round. I need you to shake me or I won't make a sound.
I jingle and jangle with small metal pieces. When you leave me alone, my melody ceases. I'm a ________________.
#10 I'm silver and narrow and held in your hands. Just blow across me for you woodwind fans.
A piccolo's my cousin, but I'm just a bit longer. I bet you know now, or do you still have to wonder? I'm a ________________.
Contributed by Kristin Lukow
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Fix (near top) of instrument pictures (---------)
Instruments of the orchestra: pictures, descriptions: http://datadragon.com/education/instruments/strings.shtml
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04/03 SPELLING TEST! I told the students that they would be having a spelling test so they studied their brains out and then they came into my room to find the front of the room completely empty with a clear path to the chalkboard.
I divided the class into 2 teams. I gave each team only one piece of chalk. No matter what happened, they could only use that piece of chalk - which made it equally challenging. Each member of the team had to contribute one letter at a time. If there was a mistake, the next person could only erase the wrong letter, not correct it.
I showed individual pictures of the instruments and they had to spell it letter by letter (like a relay) once they were done, they had to place a laminated magnetic letter S, W, B or P to indicate the family the instruments belonged to. They received 3 points for correct spelling and 3 points for proper identification.
What a riot! When I showed the picture of the timpani, one team started spelling timpani and the other started spelling kettle drums. The team spelling kettle drums won that one - the other team wanted to add "drum" to their correctly spelled word. Oh my! -- Contributed by Kathy Berg
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04/03 POEM- GLORIOUS GARDEN Poem: by Jack Prelutsky in the book "Something Big Has Been There"(1990, Greenwillow).
This is a great poem! I've used this as a sub activity where I have typed up a copy of the poem, with credit to the poet of course! The class circles the names of the instruments as part of the lesson. They read the poem together also while learning to pronounce some of the lesser known instruments. I leave a book with real photos of the instruments for the sub to share. I have them marked with sticky notes in case the sub doesn't know the instruments. You can also springboard off into categorizing them by instrument family if you wish. I have my students draw a picture of the instruments coming out of a flower stem. I usually then put them on a hallway bulletin board when I return. The poem and pictures make a very attractive spring bulletin board or for an Earth Day celebration! -- Contributed by Todd in Phoenix
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02/03 ORCHESTRA ACTIVITY:
Prepare a flashcard set with the name of each orchestra instrument and family. For younger students or non-readers you can use pictures from the textbook teacher material of some other source. You can print the family name on the back or code it in some way, if you desire. Depends on what you are planning to teach. Prepare a nice set and have them laminated for future years or review.
Give each student a card as he/she enters the classroom. Make sure all major instruments are represented and include additional percussion, harp, piano, to fill out your class size. Initially students can use the cards to group themselves into families. Some discussion questionsto stimulate thinking:
Where do the harp and piano belong?
Why are there more of some instruments and fewer of other types?
Why is each family placed in a specific location?
A placement activity which follows this lesson would be to give students the cards and have them organize themselves into to correct location for each family or instrument. You can draw the outline of the orchestra on the board and have the group identify the appropriate location. Then give the class a set time to move. A simple check of the cards lets you know what they know. For younger classes, if you have room, place masking or electrical tape on the floor in the orchestra curve. Name:_______________________ Name_______________________ Name________________________ I play at least 8 sounds. I can see if they are "getting it" or not by seeing which cards they laid down. We then have someone read off the answers, they read the instrument group and the color. Then, later, I go sound by and sound and see if they can identify that specific instrument. The cards with the question marks are for those instruments that don't fall into the four main orchestral groups - let's not forget them! I also play Dial-an-instrument. I have a HUGE piece of cardboard with pictures of instruments all around a very large dial. (I got these pictures from an office/school supply store, very cheaply.) The instruments don't have the names printed underneath them. The child spins the dial and has to name the instrument the dial points to and the orchestral group it belongs to. (Although in my opinion, this is the least important part of studying instruments! I would rather that they can identify them by hearing! But, hopefully, that can do both.) We play in teams and each group scores a point for each correct answer; if they name the instrument they get one point, if they name the orchestral family they get another point.
Alphabet Band book: I think that the Alphabet Band mentioned on this page has been converted and produced as a CD-Rom that is sold with the picture book. It can be read to the children or it will read itself with musical examples. It also provides a "concentration" type game where upper and lower case letters are under cover. Object is to uncover the letters that match. Also has a sound picture that can be clicked and drug with images and finally printed. In this component there are 4 different music styles that play continuously while the picture is being constructed.The alphabet appears in upper and lower case letters with the appropriate animal pictorially attached. It has a puzzle component where a picture is dissected before your eyes and your task is to click and drag all of the parts into their proper places. It too, is sold in Sam's and costs $7.95. A fun computer program for the whole family. It can help little hands learn how to click and drag to accomplish quite a few entertaining challenges. It has 5 songs that can be activated(with printed lyrics on the bottom of the screen)by clicking on musical notes that appear as you drag across pictures in the book. Fun, fun(even for adults)
When they bring the instruments in they fill out a reflection sheet about the experience: 2. Have the kids “Go Fish” and get 1 point for naming either the instrument or family and 2points for both. 3. Have the kids put the instruments in piles of families. Since we were outside, we also played some other circle games with the parachute. We would get the chute high in the air and then all would pull it behind us and sit on the ground with all of us sitting under it watching each other in the circle as it came down over our heads. We learned that if each person held on tight to the edge of the chute, we could all lean way back and hold each other up as we walked around the circle. Any songs (etc."Old Brass Wagon" ) could be adapted for moving left / right, clockwise / counter-clockwise according to the verse directions. There are other parachute game resources - some with music. Being retired now for 10 years, I cannot at this moment remember them. I just know that you can adapt the parachute use to almost anything for a special fun learning day. -- Dale Poling
http://tinyurl.com/yoh5fu The BBC website on instrument "fact files" http://www.nyphilkids.org/lockerroom/main.phtml?
01/07 SNOWBALL!! - Each student needs a small piece of paper and a pencil. You tell them to write a word on the paper. Give each student a word making sure that you use all of the characters and instruments (example: student one writes wolf on his paper, student two writes French horn on her paper, etc.). Then you have the instruments line up on one side and the characters on the other. The students crumple their paper and throw them at each other until you blow the whistle (flash the lights, or other quiet signal). They then become TOTALLY silent and pick up ONE paper only. They must find the person who has the match to their paper (ex. the child with clarinet on her paper is looking for the child with cat on his paper.). They then form a line with their partner and I check them all. This game may seem chaotic, but the "you won't get to play if you're obnoxious" threat works really well here. If you don't want to brave it, then don't have the students crumple their paper. They then walk around the room trading papers with whoever they pass. When you say stop, they look for the match and line up. This game makes them:
We played with about 8 students in a group. Shuffle. Deal. Each student received 4.
Each prefect had a turn (so we did the game 4 times in all). each prefect
was the "labeller". i had 10 pieces of paper with either woodwind/brass or
the instrument name on it. they had one minute to go around the room and
place the family and instrument name next to the correct instrument. Their
team mates could help them from their bench. Here's the catch: the other
benches had to try to trick the prefect by saying things like "no it's not
that it's this". It was such a riot to see them. After the minute was up,
i went around the room and said what the prefect had laid down and asked if
it was right. If it wasn't the class would tell me the correct labels.
Each one correct was worth a point. (ravenclaw ended up winning)
And after it all, they really knew they names and the families for the more
popular instruments. The first time I may keep playing until everyone wins. I always help them find the instrument on the card if their neighbor can't do it. I point at the instrument with a meter stick so I don't have to bend over. I have them sit on the floor in groups of four or fewer so they don't get too loud and on the floor so that the markers don't fall off. I make one bunch of markers at the beginning of the year out of scrap tagboard. I cut it up into 1/2 or 3/4 inch squares. By the way, I laminate the cards when they are new. Once in a whilewith the older children, I have a speed game and don't pause the CD. With some classes I not only don't pause the CD between instruments, Idon't even tell them what instrument it is until we get somebody who thinks they have a bingo. Then they have to listen to see if they have all the ones that I confirm. This is only for classes that really knowthe instruments pretty well. It's a great game. Kudos to Cheryl Lavender. Also, allowing them to switch cards if they want to at the end of a game, gives the appearance of everyone getting a fair chance as it does seem that some cards are luckier than others.. I also do tic-tac-toe with my sound clip tape -- lay out a 'board' with string on your floor - if you identify the instrument correctly, you go and sit in the square with your X or O. You can do this with any facts you want to review, too. The biggest pain, of course, was putting the tape together - most of the wind, string and brass instrument sounds came from my series recorded lessons, but I had to record a lot of the classroom percussion myself. I also got a few from some Kindermusik CD's that were donated to my school.
PROCEDURE:
HELPFUL HINTS:
VARIATIONS:
P. S. Students are to stay on their base until a teammate's "hit" causes them to move to another base. Of course, when the bases are
loaded, the next "batter" up prays for a home run, which results in a "grand slam" in their language! cute!
GEORGIA MUSIC by Helen Griffith -about a girl who learns to love music from her grandpa who plays the harmonica
10/08 INSTRUMENTATION AND ORCHESTRATION: For my Orchestration class last winter, we used a book by Blatter It was sooo helpful because the 4 "families" each had a chapter. Every instrument in a "family" was described, with a picture, the range, and how it transposes from concert pitch. The book also gives you all of the little oddities and idiosyncrasies (I looked that one up!) that are characteristic of each instrument and what part of the instrument sounds best and which pitches to avoid. --- Rita Oglesby
THE OLD KING AND HIS FIDDLERS FOUR by Inez Schubert and Lucille Wood -Bomar book that comes with recording discusses all the string instruments
"ORCHESTRANIMALS", a Big Book with accompanying casette tape, by Scholastic Books. Vlasta van Kampen and Irene C. Eugen are the authors I use it in my classroom all the time. I also have the second book called "Rockanimals". I show these books to my grade 1 and 2 students and they love it. Both books come with audio tapes that tell the story on one side, incorporating music and other sound effects and the second side of the tape for book 1 has an introduction of each family of the orchestra and audio examples for each family. Then each family plays a small section of music so that the children can hear what each family sounds like when they play together. At the end of the tape the whole orchestra plays together so that they can hear all the instruments together. I have had a huge amount of success with these books and recommend them to everyone. I also have made a bulletin board of instruments of the orchestra with beautiful cards that I purchased from a local music store. Each instrument is on a separate cards with a brief description about the instrument. I made a coiled book out of these cards for the children to look at while we listen to the second side of the tape for book 1. ACCOMPANYING WORKSHEET: Pamela Rezach's worksheet to accompany the video "The Orchestra", narrated by Peter Ustinov, is now available at the Music Education Madness Site for download, in both Word and PDF format. Thanks, Pamela! Karen Stafford "The Music Education Madness Site" http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/
I Like the Music by Leah Komaiko -a young girl doesn't want to go to the symphony concert with her grandma
What Instrument Is This? by Rosmarie Hausherr -a description and picture of many orchestral instruments with history and children playing the instruments
TOM PIPER by Inez Schubert and Lucille Wood -Bomar book that comes with recording discusses the wind instruments
TY'S ONE MAN BAND by Mildred Walter-about a boy who plays in his own one man band
ZIN ZIN THE VIOLIN by Lloyd Moss -about a violinist who combines with many other instruments to make an orchestra.
ORIGIN OF INSTRUMENTS: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmusic.htm
CLARINET
OCARINA
HISTORY: http://inventors.about.com/od/ofamousinventions/a/ocarina.htm
RECORDER
SNARE DRUM
VIOLA
WOODWINDS The educational materials needed for the Young People's Concert can be found by following the link below:
http://www.scphilharmonic.com/UserFiles/scphil/Documents/1011_educational_packet.pdf ----- Sally Utley
I get out three each of six different unpitched instruments: hand drums, tambourines, triangles, wood blocks, guiros, and cow bells. After a review of how to treat an instrument (put it on the floor, put your hands in your lap), they get to choose what to play. I sing the song. When I sing "... and in that band he had a DRUM", the drums get to play, until the end of the verse. Then I cut them off just like a real conductor. I continue with the next verse. For visual effect, I also have a drawing of each of the instruments on the board; and I point to it when I call that instrument. After every instrument has its turn, I have a tutti section "... and in that band, he had an EVERYBODY." (Thrillingly loud!!!) With kindergarten, my objective is not proper technique or even steady beat. This activity is an introduction to playing instruments -- and learning their names. Instead of having a free-for-all while trading instruments, and to make sure that everyones plays every instrument, my next step is to call each child's name and ask them to name the instrument they just played. I write it down. Then I tell them who to trade with; and I write down which instrument they get. We keep playing and trading until every child has played all six instruments. They get to name, hear, and play all of these instruments. Finally -- and this is the part that pulls my hair out -- I give a written assessment, using clip art pictures of the instruments. It's multiple choice, with three possibilities for each question. I actually give the same paper twice: once for name recognition, and once for timbre recognition. The hard part is getting the kids to track across and down the paper at such a young age. FIRST GRADE has fun with "Mama Don't Allow..." Again, they choose any instrument I have put on the counter. The hard thing for them is waiting, because the very first line of the song gives the name of the instrument; and they want to play right then. But I don't let them play until "I don't care what Mama don't allow" to the end of the verse. And with 1st grade, I want a steady beat. They've experienced the instruments before, and know how to control them. The assessment is the same paper that kindergarten used. -- Kay in GA
10/02 Disney Educational Productions, 1200 Thorndale Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL. 60007
There is a video called Once Upon a Sound which is geared to lower elementary ages that is most excellent. It is by Clearvue/eav, 6465 N. Avondale Ave., Chicago, IL 60631. These titles might ring a bell from the old filmstrip days: Mu, the Horn Blower, Jubal and the Twanging Strings, The Pipes of Pan, Bangalore and the Stump Drum and Merry Music Makers. It comes with a study book.
Introduction to Instruments. Narrated by a story teller who tells us about Ludwig von Vegetables dream to conduct an orchestra. Helga the fairy godcow helps make his wish come true. My kindergarteners get squirmy, but the 1st grade sits through. Its about a half hour long, and a little too dry when is discusses the instruments, but until I find domething better it works:-)
A good video that my students really got into was "Amazing Music." All the music on the video is performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. They discuss instruments, emotions and music, and they show artwork of elementary students who were asked to draw what they heard.....It's really neat.
Notes Alive! On The Day You Were Born - The Minnesota Orchestra provides the world-class sounds that accompany Debra Frasier's award-winning story, On the Day You Were Born. This stunning book comes alive with brilliant 3-D animation and original music by Steve Heitzeg. This 30 minute video won five national awards! $19.95
Notes Alive! - Dr. Seuss's My Many Colored Days - The third in the award-winning Notes Alive Story Concert series features the Minneapolis Orchestra exploring colors and moods as Holly Hunter narrates a 3-D computer-animated treatment of the Dr. Seuss story about a boy and his dog. The music was created by Richard Einhorn, who also conducts the orchestra, and it features all of the instruments creatively. The story itself is 30 minutes, and it is followed by a 15-minute short on the making of the film. What a great way to reinforce the study of the orchestra. $19.95 available thru MK8.
I like The Orchestra by Mark Rubin, although it is a little pricier. It covers all the instruments as well as some emotional elements of music. Peter Ustinov's narration in marvelous! 40 min. $24.95 in Music in Motion. It also comes as a book and cassette tape for $19.
I would like to recommend a video called "The Orchestra" by Mark Rubin. It is a video version of the book by the same name and author and is VERY well narrated by Peter Ustinov. It includes excerpts of classical repertoire performed by the Toronto Philharmonic. This material is also available as a book/cassette combo from Music in Motion. The video is divided into three sections of unequal length. with the last two introducing the instruments individually (organized by family). It also emphasizes the size/pitch relationship. At 40 minutes long (total), you could begin at the second section if you wanted to show it in one class session. I have used this with my K-2 classes with much success. I believe that the video costs approx. $25.00.
Video: Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom is very good
BLAST!: AN EXPLOSIVE MUSICAL CELEBRATION
"Elmo's Musical Adventure- the Story of Peter and the Wolf" reading comments from her and others, I purchased the video and finally tried it this week with 1st. Since "Peter and the Wolf" is an ongoing thread, I thought I'd share some ideas that are working for us. The goals were to introduce the instruments and story, of course, but also to include elements of music literacy. Musictechteacher.com - http://www.musictechteacher.com/musicquizzes.htm San Francisco Symphony has soundfiles for instruments in the orchestra -http://www.sfskids.org/templates/instorchframe.asp?pageid=3 You can also listen to the sounds made by the instruments here http://www.dsokids.com/listen/instrumentlist.aspx?
LISTEN & MATCH THE SOUNDS: http://www.thirteen.org/publicarts/orchestra/ An interesting article about creating music from the protein structure of plants .... It turns out there are a LOT of scientists turning proteins, DNA structures, etc. into music. Implicit in their attempts is the notion that hearing the structure as music will give us more information and understanding of the source material. I'm thinking that if we think about this a little bit, we can use this "hearing patterns to understand world objects" as another reason that our children need to be exposed and taught music. As educated hearers with understanding of what they're hearing and how to label and interpret what they are hearing, they are more like to glean knowledge from acoustic scenarios that are not even human-composed music. -- Martha Stanley Have them beat the rhythm of their name. If you don't want to keep shuffling the instruments form bag to bag I have also done this with plain bags in a box and they get to chose a bag. All the bags go back in the box for the next week. Place pictures of the instruments on the board. Put some rhythmic background on such as Atisket a tasket by Brent Lewis on and have all the tambourines play when you or a child point with a pointer at the picture. The children need to say the name of the instrument before they begin playing. When the pointer is down no-one plays then point to another instrument.etc. They like it if a child has one pointer and you have another so two groups can play at the same time too. - Contributed by Susan Michiels
Contributed by Susan Cavin
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02/02 ACTIVITY: This morning I used my individual wipe-off boards while listening to Cher's narration of A Young People's Guide to the Orchestra. I had the students write the names of the instruments she mentioned, in the correct order. That way I could tell they were half-way paying attention...
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CD-INSTRUMENTS: I have a neat CD of Leroy Anderson pieces--including "Plink, Plank, Plunk", "Bugler's Holiday", "The Penny Whistle Song", "Clarinet Candy," "Trumpeter's Lullaby", "Fiddle Faddle", "Sandpaper Ballet," among others. They are all light, fun pieces and are great examples of the individual instruments.
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8/01 RHYTHM INSTRUMENT ACTIVITY: Get out a rhythm instrument for each child set them in a circle. Use only instruments on which beats and rhythms can be played (no rainsticks, windchimes, etc.) First go around and have the students name the instruments and be sure that they know how to play the instruments correctly. Everyone needs to pay attention to this because remember it's PASS THE INSTRUMENTS. Start with having the students keep the beat for a phrase ( a Sousa march works well) then pass the instruments until the piece is over. Now that we are warmed up variaions are 1. pick a starting place in the circle play individually for 4 beats. Alfter once around the circle pass the instruments. The teacher decides when in the music to start up again. 2. Do this on a two beat sequence. 3. It's pretty wild each player gets one beat-everyone had better be alert. We can move on to rhythm patterns we know -it depends on time and what else the teacher has planned. It is a winner.
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Name: ________________________ Class:__________________________
STRINGS
1. What kind of hair is the bow made from?
2. What is put on the bow to make the bow sticky?
3. How many strings are usually on the stringed instruments?
4. What makes the sound louder on the stringed instruments?
5. What do guitarists sometimes use to play the strings of the guitar?
6. How many strings are on the guitar?
7. What instruments are in a string quartet?
8. How many violins are in a typical orchestra?
9. Name the stringed instrument in order from smallest to largest
1.
2.
3.
4.
10. How many strings are on the harp?
11.How many pedals are on the harp?
12. Name two folk instruments that have strings.
Homeroom:___________________
BRASS
1-4. Name the 4 major brass instruments:
5-8. What 4 things do most brass instruments have?
9. What actually makes the sound on the brass instrument?
10. What puts the sound into the tube?
11. How do the valves work?
12. What horn was originally used for hunting?
13. What is the most difficult horn to play?
14. What is the oldest brass instrument?
15. What does the trombone have that the other brass instruments don't?
16. What is the largest brass instrument?
17. What is the highest pitched brass instrument?
18. What is the modified tuba called?
19. Who was it named for?
Homeroom___________________
WOODWINDS
1-2. What are the 2 groups of woodwinds?
3-5. What are 3 members of the flute family?
6. What is air blown across on the flute or piccolo?
7. Which is higher pitched, piccolo or flute?
8. The more air vibrating the higher or lower the note?
9. What two kind of reeds are there?
10-12. Write s for single or d for double by each instrument to describe what kind of reed it has:
Clarinet_____
Bassoon____
Oboe _____
13. Is the accordion a woodwind instrument?
14. What kind of reed does a bagpipe have?
15. What single reed instrument is used a grea tdeal in jazz bands?
Homeroom____________________
PERCUSSION
1. What does percussion do for the other instruments?
2-3. Name 2 ways to play a percussion instrument.
4-5. What are the two kinds of percussion instruments?
6. Name a pitched percussion instrument.
7. Name a non-pitched percussion instrument.
8. What is the way different lengths of musical notes are arranged in time?
9. What is the most popular non-pitched percussion instrument?
10. What is tempo?
11-13. What are the 3 types of drums in a marching band?
14.When did the drum set or trap set start?
15. Is the piano a percussion instrument?
16. What drum is a pitched instrument?
17-20 Name 4 other percussion instruments:
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MYSTERY INSTRUMENT GAME: It's a form of the old game 20 questions. I hide a small instrument, such as a tambourine, inside a gift bag which has musical designs on the outside. The class can ask 5 questions which must be answered yes or no. Then they get one guess. The 3 third gr. classes compete to see who can get the lowest score. Could be done by teams or in other variations. Besides drawing on musical knowledge, this activity encourages good questioning skills. Any instrument the students are familiar with will work, or you could use pictures of larger instruments
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UNIT: : team teach with your media specialist. Assign a instrument, research his/her life, design a presentation (computer slide show, oral presentation, written report, newspaper article as if the instrument was still being used, panel discussion on the topic of the the value of this instrument, whatever you decide). You could narrow their choices to a specific style.
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COMPOSER CLUE (on mornig announcements) The students then try to figure out the mystery composer and put their answer in my giant mailbox in my room. The following morning, I draw three names out of the mailbox and the students get a small prize. Yesterday's mystery composer was GeorgeGershwin, and one of my clues was that he wrote Rhapsody in Blue. Well, when I was drawing for winners today, in a bad mood because of a rushed morning at home and a forgotten meeting that meant I had a duty during my normal setup time, the first piece of paper made me laugh. It was from one of my little first graders and it read "George Gershwin wrote Rap, City and Blues." Needless to say, I gave it to him, and then showed him the correct spelling
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INSTRUMENT GAME WITH CARDS: Here is another activity that helps kids identify instruments. I made cards of the different groups of instruments. I select one instrument for each group to stand for that specific instrument group. For example I have a card that says "strings" and there is a man with a cello on the card. For "brass" I have a picture of a woman playing trumpet, etc. I make these in different colors (strings are orange, brass are red, etc.) Each child gets a set of cards. This set includes at least four of each instrument group and a set of cards with a question mark on them. I play an instrument
from the sound bank and ask them to place the appropriate card on the floor in the first spot. Then I play another sound, the appropriate card lies next to the first, etc.
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WHICH INSTRUMENT IS IN THE BAG? I hide an instrument in a bag (Christmas ornaments work great for this - French horn or trumpet) and have the kids guess what is in the bag. Twenty questions works well for this. They usually come around to guessing an instrument of some sort. This puts them in a questioning mood. I also have them guess how to make a sound on the instrument. We just finished the brass family so everyone is going around buzzing in preparation for making soda bottle trumpets, if we ever manage to collect enough 2 liter bottles.
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BOOK: "Alphabet Band" book..........I use a "listen and Learn" book with kindergarten for an introduction to instruments.....I checked and it is available from Amazon. This is one of those books that you press the button to hear the sound........sounds are NOT good. But the book has animals and instruments which go with each letter of alphabet. Kids enjoy and gives us a chance to look at pictures of actual instruments and listen to actual sounds of the instruments used in the book.
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ASSIGNMENT: MAKE AN INSTRUMENT: assign the instruments at the beginning of May - due at the beginning of June - only because we use May to practice for the Memorial Day program that they present each year. I tell them that I only have 2 requirements - that it actually make a sound (vibration) and that some effort went into it's production. Have many samples that I show them from past years - both good and not so good - that we look at and talk about. Then they make a sketch of the instrument that they would like to make, complete with a materials list.
- Describe your instrument. Include how you make a sound on it. What family does it belong to?
- What was one problem you encountered while making your instrument? How did you solve it?
- What was the easiest thing about making your instrument?- What did you learn doing this project?
- If you were to make this instrument again, what would you do differently?
Those questions for the basis of an oral presentation by each student. I then divide the class into groups -spreading out all the like instruments into separate groups and have them create a short sound composition. They enjoy this activity and even sometimes trade instruments to perform. I discourage making drums - asking them to create something alittle more challenging.
It's a nice activity that often parents get involved in because of the need for specific tools. The finished instruments are displayed until the end of June (June 25th for us!!!!!!!)
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I use my posters (verbally explaining the correct instruments in the strings poster daily) in the corners of my room. We play Music Four-Corners as a reward every time that the class gets four weeks of good behavior. It's just like four corners that the kids play indoors on rainy days, except our corners are strings, percussion, woodwinds, and brass. Instead of counting to 10, we sing the solfege when the players change locations. NO RUNNING - or you're out! I've added a new twist recently. Now IT chooses a card with an instrument name, and the class has to decide which family of instruments has to sit down.
BACK to Instruments of the Orchestra topics
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CURRICULUM
07/11 I use the Young Person's guide to the Orchestra (Instrument Safari) on the Carnegie Hall website.
http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/explore_and_learn/art_online_resources_listening_adventures.html
It was the main activity in my 2nd grade timbre unit. We took 5 classes to finish (the intro and once section per class, with follow-up activities) and the kids loved it. I also use A LOT of YouTube video examples. ----- Susan Simandle Music Specialist
BACK to Instruments of the Orchestra topics
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GAMES
06/15 HURRY TO THAT FAMILY!: I use the four family of instruments. Placed in 4 corners of the room/ Students have to stand in a corner, if they are still moving or in between corners they are out. Whom ever is the last standing gets to be the caller. I usually say 123 freeze. What's funny is if I call woodwinds then the next time they all rush to the woodwinds not realizing I can call it again and it gets lots of people out!!!!!! ----- Susan C. Harris
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06/10 SWAT IT! Make cards some with the instrument family name and some with the definition/characteristics. You could even have some cards of just instruments. Then make a sheet that has clues/answers. To play you will need something for the kids to swat with. I use fly swatters, but you could use boomwhackers. Lay all the cards on the floor facing up. Pick two students to go first. Each player will need a swatter/boomwhacker. Read a clue to them. For example: Instruments in which you shake, scrape, or strike to play. The two players must find the card that says Percussion family or you could just say "Percussion Family" they must find the card with the definition/characteristics. Whoever swats the correct card first stays up and the other player goes and sits down. Then call another student to go against the winner of the last round. A player stays up until someone else beats them. Students who can beat 4 or more
people gets the title "Master of the Orchestra". Then I give them a music sticker. It's amazing how they are so proud of themselves when they get a special title and a sticker. I use this game for all different kinds of review: rhythm, musical symbols, instruments, lyrics to songs, etc. – Tami Mangusso
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12/09 FOUR CORNERS: Each of the 4 walls in my classroom is labeled as an instrument family. I named them like streets (there is a street name sign generator here: http://wigflip.com/easystreet/)
I have a deck of instrument flash cards shuffled and ready to go.
I count backwards from 10 and when I get to 0, the kids have to be standing
on one of the "streets."
Then, I pick a card from my deck and announce what instrument it is. For
instance, I'll call out "TRUMPET!" and all of the kids standing on Brass Blvd. have to go sit down. Then, I repeat this until there is only one child left standing. Of course, before they play this, they have reviewed instrument names and families. --- Marti Rankin
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12/09 FOUR CORNERS: The way I did it when I was teaching elementary was to put an instrument family poster in each corner of the room. One person is 'it' and sits in the middle of the room with their eyes covered. I would then play a recording of some up-tempo music. Kids walk around the room, from corner to corner, until I stop the music. When the music stops, everyone stops in the closest corner. The kid in the middle (without peaking) calls out one of the families. Everyone in that corner goes and sits down in the middle of the room.
(The same "it" stays in the middle, and you play the music again, and the kids all move and separate out into new corners - you repeat the 'walk-stop-call a corner' until everyone is out but one - the kids who are already out just sit in the middle of the room and wait until everyone has been eliminated but one. So the first time, you lose approximately 25% of the class, then 25% of who was left the first time is eliminate the second time, gradually the numbers decrease.....repeat.....)
Play continues until all but one person is out.
With older kids, I had them call out an instrument, and all the people in that instrument's family was out. You can also do it where there is no 'it' and you play a random instrument sample from one of the families, and you call on a student to identify the instrument. If they are correct, they are immune from being out, even if they are in the corner of the family that is supposed to be out.
You could also use different vocabulary words for the corners (dynamic or tempo terms, note pictures (quarter, half, whole) etc). --- Cara Swenson
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12/09 FOUR CORNERS: Preparation:
1. Display a poster of the four instrument families in the four corners of the room.
2. Obtain a recording of samplings of instrument sounds ( I used Lavendar's Instrument Bingo track 6)
Play:
1. Teacher plays a 16 beat pattern on upp (I use claves) while the students choose a corner and move to it. They must be in a corner at the end of the 16 beats. (Eliminate a couple of students for infractions of this rule and your problem is solved.)
2. Play a sound example. Students point silently to the poster of the instrument family. At the end of the recording, call for a volunteer to identify the instrument and its family.
3. All the students who are standing in the corresponding corner return totheir seats having been eliminated.
4. Continue play until all but one have been eliminated. Winner gets to run the cd player. (Though I rarely play more than a round or two since it is our "last few minutes" activity. It usually only takes a few minutes to play a round.)
Comments: Kids LOVE the chance element. They try to predict what pattern the instrument sounds are being played in. Then the recording throws them a loop! --- Teresa Brown
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10/08 CARDS:
1) One game I used to play was to number them and hide them around the room, put kids in partners and give them a numbered piece of paper on which to write as many instruments as they could. -- Dana Edwards
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12/07 PARACHUTE GAME: One way I used for teaching the small percussion instrument identification with the younger grades was to borrow a parachute from the phys.ed teacher and go outside with the classes. I had the children help me carry out a collection of small percussion instruments at least 4-5 of each type instrument) and we placed them in the center of our very large circle on a grassy area. We then pulled the parachute over them so that all the children were hanging on to the edges. We numbered off so that no more than 3-4 students had that same number to prevent collisions later. We would then all hang on to the parachute and begin to lift and lower the chute so that it billowed into a large circus tent (with our hands all high above our heads). I would then call out a student number and then the name of the instrument they had to find. Students with those numbers had to run under the parachute, pick up that instrument, and return to the outside edge of the chute before the parachute came all the way down on top of them. Those students after we checked on whether they had made correct choices, those students then got to run under the chute again the next time we raised it to put the instruments back. We continued until each student number was called and each student had had a couple of turns at finding different instruments. The students had a great time with learning to match the names to the instruments and soon there were very few wrong choices.
This could easily be adapted to pictures of orchestra instruments, pictures of note values, or pictures of music symbols. It could also be played inside if you could get the gym when the phys. ed teacher was outside with students. Or in ideal situations where the music and phys.ed teacher could work together for a special learning opportunities.
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06/07 ONLINE: http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/ikb/golink.aspx?link=10024224&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Esfskids%2Eorg%2Ftemplates%2Fmusiclab%2Easp%3Fpageid%3D4 -- Cool & interactive
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ONLINE: http://www.thirteen.org/publicarts/orchestra/orchestra03.swf
http://tinyurl.com/ezgu6
Carnegie Hall Instrument Safari - you'll need several class periods to get through the whole thing!
Instrument locker room - some even have video clips of people playing the instrument
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10/05 I have used this game as a reinforcement for the instrument names after finishing an instrument unit. It is a version of the game ANIMAL. I have all the students sit in a circle on the floor. Every student then picks an instrument name. No instrument can be used twice. We go around the circle and say our instruments again. Then one person is it. They are in the middle of the circle with a rolled up piece of construction paper. One person starts the game by saying their own name then “wants” then a name of someone else. ( Flute wants Tuba) The person in the middle has to tap the person named (Tuba) on the knee before they say their name “wants” and then the name of someone else. ( Tuba wants Clarinet) If they tap the person, then they trade places and the tapped person goes in the middle. If the person says the line before being tapped the person in the middle stays in the middle. If you call your own name or the name of the person in the middle, you are automatically in the middle. Play continues until the students tire of the game. They love this game. It is their favorite. - Marcia Cole
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06/04 (See “Instrument Riddles” in this file for ‘clues’)
1. Scan pictures of instruments. Need not be big.
2. Cover the instrument with a piece of construction paper except for a small part showing to give a clue.
3. Create a fill-in-the-blank list and word bank on a sheet of paper. As many numbers as there are instrument clues.
4. Have the students work in pairs and move around the room to the instrument clues. Give them a set time period to deduce what each instrument is by figuring out the clue.
5. Return to seats and tally up the correct amount of answers.
1. Work with a partner.
Use reasoning and deduction.
3. Think creatively.
4. Enjoy while learning! -- Contributed by Theresa in IN
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01/03 GUESS THE INSTRUMENT
My kids love to guess the instrument. Put different instrument ornaments into a bag. Have a student reach in, and by touch identify the instrument. I usually follow with a sample recording of the instrument and a large poster with that instrument on it. An added touch: put something in the bag that is NOT an instrument, funny - like a reindeer or something unexpected like a shoelace!
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02/02 GO FISH
The goal is to make books of 4 of the same card. I made 4 cards each of various instruments. I made about 20 different instruments. I laminated them.
Put the left-overs in a pile in the middle of they group.
1 student asks another, "Do you have any tubas?"
If they do, they give them to the asker. If they don't, they say, "Go fish!"
The asker takes a card from the pile. If it is the card they asked for...they get to ask again. If not, it is the "ask-ees" turn. You continue to play until you are out of cards. (Or until it's time to go!) The person with the most books at the end wins.
It's a fun way to review the names, pronunciation and sight recognition of the instruments.
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01/02 ALA HARRY POTTER
To review my instrument unit (woodwinds and brass) I took the instruments I
had (fl, cl, sax, trmp, trmb) and laid them around the room. I let the kids
choose what benches they wanted to sit on as long as it was "even". then i
told them they had just chosen their "hogwarts" teams. Each team was to
then choose a "prefect". Then the fun began.
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5/01 INSTRUMENT BINGO: When we play Instrument Bingo grades 1-5, everybody wins a jolly rancher. The children earn the chance to play that game by earning points on a point chart for good behavior. It works out that they get to play about once every six weeks. They also get a jolly rancher if they get a bingo, but I like the idea of stickers after the first one. We play until we're about half-way through the card or until the clock dictates that we should stop. I allow at least 10 minutes for a game. They all get a jolly rancer when the room gets cleaned up and everyone is in their proper place. This game really does help the children learn the instruments. Nearly always I tell them the answer if they don't know what instrument it is. They can only whisper while the instruments play (that's whisper time.) They must only use their normal voices to say what instrument played. All bingos win, not just the first one. First graders may only play one game in a 45-minute period until they get good at it.
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INSTRUMENT ID GAME:
I have two sets of picture cards of the 24 instruments that correspond with sound clips on a tape. One set is on blue background and the other set is on white. I divide the classes into two teams. (I usually call them Teams A and B). The set up is two teams facing each other with all 48 instrument picture cards face up between them.
Each person on each team takes a turn. The first person on each team stands up and walks around while the first sound plays on the tape. They must choose and pick up a card within 5 counts after the sound clip ends. If the card is white, the team may identify the family it belongs to for an extra "bonus" point. This "bonus" point keeps the score from being tied all the time. I place 4 pockets with String, Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion written on them at the front of the game area---they just add the card(s) to the piles as they identify them.
If you need more instructions or have a question, please e-mail me at [email protected].
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INSTRUMENT GAME: You will all have an instrument taped to your back.
* You job is to identify the instrument by asking others yes or no questions about your instrument.
* When the game begins, you may ask each person only one question.
* Then...move on to another person and ask another question.
* Some example questions are:
Do I belong in the string family?
Do I have a high pitch?
Am I bigger than a flute?
* Remember to ask only yes or no questions.
Those who guess correctly (which should eventually be everyone) win a prize.
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AROUND THE WORLD (used in music to practice instrument i.d., also familiar to many kids from flash cards in math class)
My kids sit in rows, so the student on the end of the back row starts Around the World. He/she stands (Student #1), and the kid next to them stands also (Student #2). These two are "against" each other for the first round of the game. I hold up an instrument poster, and the first kid of the two that shouts out the correct answer wins (we'll call him the Winner Kid). Then the Winner Kid continues on "around the world"
by going to the next student in the row (Student #3). Student #3 stands now, and tries to beat the Winner Kid to the answer. Whoever of those two gets it right first becomes the Winner Kid and moves on around the room. Occasionally, neither of the students will get the answer within the span of a minute or so. Then, I open it up to the class and whoever raises their hand and first gives the correct answer then becomes the Winner Kid and moves on wherever the previous Winner Kid left off.
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MYSTERY INSTRUMENT
First, I gave each child a small card with the name of a string instrument on it. Then, I picked one child to take his chair away from the group, then stand with me and read a clue from a stack of clues cards that I made up. For example, one clue was " I am the smallest and highest member of the string family." All of the students who were holding a violin card got up and ran for an empty chair, as well as the student who read the clue. I had very strict rules about moving carefully and responsibly, no cheering or yelling, and you may not go back to the chair you came from.
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INSTRUMENT SOUNDS: IDENTIFY
I laminated the instrument pictures (black line masters) from my series and toss them all over the floor of my room, divide the class in half and line them up down the sides. Then I play a sound clip and the person who is up has to find the correct card by the end of the clip. If they find it, it is one point, if they can put it in the correct family envelope, two points. If the person who is up from the first team can't find the correct card, the other team gets a chance. I don't allow group answers and 'cheaters' automatically give a point to the other team, but you candecide what works best for your group.
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FOUR CORNERS
The corners of the room are designated as strings, woodwinds, percussion, and brass. I use orchestra posters to designate each corner.Students choose a corner to stand in as we sing the solfege (do-re-mi-la-etc). IT (a student) sits in the center of the room with eyes closed. At the end of the scale, IT chooses one of the corners. If IT chooses strings, the students standing under the strings posters are out, and sit down in the center of the floor. They assist IT in singing the solfege. The students who are still in the game change corners while we sing. IT chooses another corner (i.e.woodwinds), and those students in the (woodwind) corner are out. This method of elimination continues. When there are four or fewer students remaining in the game, they must be in different corners. When there is only one student left in the game, it is over. The last student standing will be IT the next time we play.The variation I spoke of requires a stack of index cards with instrument names on each one. Instead of closing his/her eyes and choosing a corner, it draws a card and shows it to the class. Students must determine if the instrument drawn belongs to their family, and if so, they sit down. Game continues as above until only one person remains in the game
The pictures are a bulletin board instrument set. It's all pre punched. Got it at a teacher's store, Moyer's or Scholastic. I'm from Canada. I don't know what the equivelent stores are in the U.S. The sticky tack is poster putty.
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FOUR CORNERS
I put the names of the inst. families in four courners, then I spread pictures or cutouts of the inst. upside down on the floor. In a sitting circle, everyone chooses one inst. and keeps it upside down in their lap. No peeking until I say go. They then have to put it in the approriate family (sticky tack on the back to stick it to the wall). When they've done that, they return for more until there are non left. Then we go around to each corner to make sure that everyone is in the correct family. Then we procede with the game as directed by Linda.
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WHERE DO THEY SIT? For my elementary class (mixed 1-4th grade), I made a set of pictures (enlarged and laminated) to use. I went by families, playing examples I pulled from my cd's. (Pictures you could purchase or copy from clip art or books and then enlarge, paste to cardboard and laminate) There are all kinds of tapes that have excerpts that you could use (play while showing picture) I made a skill building exercise where the kids (after covering all four families) had to match the pictures with the name of instruments. (In large classes you could do this on a worksheet.)
Check out the cassette: Leonard Bernstein's Introduction to the Orchestra. (I'm not sure of the title - but I borrowed it from the library) He is very articulate and pleasant to listen to. I understand what you mean about levels so I wrote worksheets that my kids could relate to. If you can borrow at least one instrument from each family and take it to school, the kids love it and get a thrill out of briefly playing it. I bought a poster of the instruments of the orchestra. That came with a 'seating chart' that could be reproduced. As a culmination, I copied the instrument pictures, made minature copies put them all on one sheet. Then the kids cut and pasted them into the seating chart. Here is the # for a catalogue (lot's of Audio-visual aids here): Music in Motion 1-800-445-0649
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FISHING FOR INSTRUMENTS
Materials: construction paper fish, each with a picture of an instrument on the back. (I reduced the ones that are in my Music and You set.) Also, a few fish with the word WILD printed on the back. Set Up: fish are attached to a bulletin board, picture side down. (Or scattered on the floor.) How to play: divide into 2 teams (I usually put boys against girls). Teams take turns sending a member to "catch" a fish. The student has to tell which family the instrument belongs to. Excitement comes when a wild fish is caught, because that team gets to take a fish from the other team. The team with the most fish at the end of the game is the winning team.
Materials: cut-out stars with point values on them: 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 points. Mine have been laminated and have magnets on the back - alas, I no longer have a metal chalkboard... Place stars in a bucket/container. Divide into teams. Ask students review questions - I let students "help" each other with the answer, but only one person can answer. That person then draws a star from the bucket and places it on the board (section for each team). Almost everyone answers correctly - sometimes with a lot of hints from me - but the fun part is not knowing how many points you'll get for answering. Helpful hint: If you allow students to put the star on the board themselves, watch out for sneaky ones who will try to "steal" a star from the opposing team. Total chaos when this happens and the game is usually over...
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INSTRUMENTAL FISH
INDEX: adapted from 101 Music Games for Children
MATERIALS: index cards with the names of instruments printed on them print one different instrument per index card master list of all names of instruments printed on index cards can be placed on board
1. divide the class into equal groups
2. give each individual an index card with an instrument printed on it
3. all individuals show their instrument cards to members of their group only
4. each group takes turns asking other groups if they have specific instruments
5. if the group has the instrument requested the individualholding that instrument card must join the group that successfully requested it
6. the group with the most individuals at the end of the game iS declared the winner
1. decide group playing order before play
2. select a group spokesperson for each group. The spokesperson is the only member that can request instruments. All group members can help make the decision of what group to ask and what instrument to ask for, but only the spokesperson can make requests.
3. Select a name for each group. In order to request an instrument from a specific group the proper group name must be used. This eliminates the arguement "No I didn't mean that group I meant THAT group."
4. Discuss the rules of play. Should individuals remain loyal to their orginal group and not tell any instrument identities of their orginal group?
1. To make it more challenging: Have individuals identify the correct instrument family before the individual can join their group.
2. Use other music subjects: composer names, music symbols, music vocabulary, popular music groups, song titles
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BASEBALL:
1. Set carpet squares out for 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, and home.
2. Divide class into two teams.
3. Have written (about 25) review questions on "larger" paper baseballs (about 4" in diameter). On (about 10)"smaller" paper baseballs (about 2" in diameter), I have written "single", "double", "triple", "home run", and "out" (one question per large baseball, and one hit per small baseball).
4. Team 1 comes to "bat." The student from Team 1 stands on home plate and is given a question, chosen at random, from the large baseballs. If the student misses the answer, it is an out for his team. If he answers correctly, then he chooses a smaller baseball to see how far he hit the ball, or if he hit a "pop fly" and is"out." Play continues for Team 1 until there are three outs. Then it is Team 2's turn.
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FOOTBALL:
1. I use small orange cones from our p.e. teacher for "yard markers."
2. Make 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, etc....(don't forget touchdown) signs to slip over the cones to represent the yardage on the football field.
3. Divide class into two teams.
4. Using the same principal as above in #3, I make review questions on the larger brown construction paper footballs, and make smaller footballs and mark them "10 yds.", "20 yds.", "30 yds.", etc. up to "70 yds." I also mark a couple of them "Touchdown" and a couple of them "Interception." (just to keep it interesting).
5. Player 1 from Team 1 is asked a review question. If he gets it wrong, that's a "fumble" for his team. Each team gets 3 fumbles before the ball is given to the other Team. If he gets the question right, he chooses a small football to see how far down the field he travels. He must stay on that yard line until a team mate sends him down the field with additional yardage.
6. I use a fuzzy football bought in the pillow section at Wal-mart for the kids to throw to each other as they move down the field.
7. A "touchdown" drawn by a student for a correct answer results in all the players on the football field scoring a point for their team. If a player chooses a small football marked "interception," the ball is immediately given to the opposing team and all the other team members on the football field must sit down.
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BASKETBALL
1. I use a small basketball goal (Little Tykes, etc...) set up in the front of my class room, and a small basketball or nerf basketball.
2. Using masking tape, mark 3 lines in front of the goal. The line closest to the goal will be the "1 point line." The middle line will be the "2 point line." The line furthest from the goal is the "3 point line."
3. Again, make the review questions on larger basketballs, and on the smaller basketballs, write "1 point line", "2 point line", "3 point line", "free throw", and "steal."
4. After dividing the class into two teams, have Player 1 from Team 1answer a question. If the answer is wrong, that is a "rebound" for that team....the team may earn 3 rebounds before they have to relinquish the ball to the other team. If the answer is correct, he may choose a smaller basketball to find out which line he must shoot the basketball from. "Free throw" means that he can choose where he would like to shoot from, and "steal" means that the opposing team gets the ball immediately.
5. If a player shoots from the 2 point line and makes it, his team receives 2 points, etc....
Each of these games is complete when all the review questions have been asked, or when time runs out, whichever comes first.
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KICKBALL:
1. Take them to the great outdoors....
2. Divide them into two even teams - physical ability-wise
3. Team members may kick the ball ONLY when they answer a review question correctly....
4. All the rules of kickball apply.
BACK to Instruments of the Orchestra topics
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BOOKS
BERLIOZ THE BEAR by Jan Brett -about a troupe of animals that play different instruments and must get to the concert on time but are delayed by wagon trouble
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09/03 I HAD A ROOSTER: With this book with several different characters i like to assign an instrument for each character. I got out a bunch of instruments and we decided which instrument would represent each animal, then I handed out instruments so that each child had one. As we got to that animal, the children with that instrument played along with what that animal said. This works with alot of elementary books and is a good way to keep the kids alert and familiar with rhythm instruments. - Contributed by Judy in WI
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MAMA DON'T ALLOW by Thatcher Hurd
01/03 MARSALIS ON MUSIC: The book is published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc 500 Fifth Ave. New York The ISBN is 0-393-3881-5 and when we bought it the list was 29.95. It comes with audio and the pictures are great to share with the class. I love the video series. It is really good for older kids. The young ones can do bits and pieces of it for a specific learning segment. There are 92 musical examples with explanations of what to listen for in each example
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MEET THE ORCHESTRA by Ann Hayes -introduces all families of the orchestra and individual instruments as well
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THE ORCHESTRA by Rubin & Daniel. It comes with a tape so the students can hear the instruments. We take about five days to get through it. The beginning is on sounds in general and then it goes into families of the orchestra. I have some beautiful instrument posters I got free from Share the Music series I use along with the book. On string family day, after listening to the book, I make a kleenex box banjo and we discuss string instruments. For woodwinds I make a toilet paper roll kazoo or a comb kazoo. Brass is not so easy, but I buzz into a tube. Percussion is simple. This year I used a film canister with beads and an oatmeal box drum. We also color a little instrument booklet they can take home and we watch "Tubby the Tuba". This year I'm going to have my son come down with the new school tuba and play for us.
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09/03 SING A SONG OF PIGLETS: A calendar in verse (months of the year to sing to Sing a Song of Sixpence; two verse of Sing a song of piglets make one full verse of Sing a song of Sixpence)Thank you Brother Bear by Hans Baumann illustrated by Eric Carle ( 2nd grade and up -make sound effects)Itchy itchy chicken pox (use sand paper blocks/tambourines, rain sticks/guiros) listen for the word “itchy”)But What Does the Hippopotamus Say? by Francesca Simon … Sounds animals make (do with paper plates with popsicles sticks attached as holders.)Cows in the Kitchen by June Crebbin (sing to Shoo Fly)There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout by Teri Sloat (There was an old lady who swallowed a spider.)The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle ( narrate the story but intersperse with rhythmical rap by the animals)Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern (narrate the story interspersed with rhythmical rap by the animals)Peanut Butter and Jelly illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott (hilarious version where elephants are helping .....also has suggested hand and body actions at back.)Take Me Out of the Bathtub and other silly dilly songs by Alan Katz (These do not have to be sung!)I’m Still Here in the Bathtub; brand new silly dilly songs by Alan Katz (These do not have to be sung!)Boy Can He Dance by Eileen Spinelli (great for teaching that boys can dance and for improvisation in movement)The Frog Who Wanted to be a Singer by Linda Goss (great for introducing scat singing and for showing if you try you can be successful. -- Contributed by Susan Michiels
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04/02 THE STORY OF THE ORCHESTRA by Robert Levine. It comes with a CD of orchestral examples. It's one of those books that can reach kids or adults. It starts out with ahistory of orchetral music, with examples from important composers. and some information about each. then it goes through each family of the orchestra and each instrument and gives lots of information. And some neat quotes. BACK to Instruments of the Orchestra topics
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CLIP ART
01/07 ***http://www.musicgraphicsgalore.net/
http://www.clipartguide.com/_search_terms/instruments.html
www.hasslefreeclipart.com/clipart_music/page1.html
http://www.1clipart.com/browse.php?p=music%7Cinstruments
BACK to Instruments of the Orchestra topics
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HISTORIES OF INSTRUMENTS
INSTRUMENT HISTORIES
ELECTRIC GUITAR
HISTORY: www.guitarsite.com/history.htm
HISTORY: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/enterprise_and_society/v006/6.3magoun.html
HISTORY: www.history-of-rock.com/guitarstwo.htm
HOW THEY WORK: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/electric-guitar.htm (this looks especially interesting)
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blguitar.htm (links to other sites)
www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texte/Electricguitar.html
CLARINET HISTORY: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Clarinet/History
CLARINET HISTORY: http://musiced.about.com/od/beginnersguide/a/clarinethistory.htm
ALL ABOUT CLARINETS: www.hypermusic.ca/inst/clarinet.html
ALL ABOUT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_guitar
FLUTE
HISTORY: www.flutehistory.com/
HISTORY: www.gemeinhardt.com/story/flute.html
ALL ABOUT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flute
TRANVERSE FLUTE: www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/tr_flute.htm
GUITAR
HISTORY-GUITAR: www.guitarsite.com/history.htm
HISTORY-CLASSICAL GUITAR: www.classicalguitarmidi.com/history/
HISTORY-ACOUSTIC: www.acousticguitars.us/guitars.htm
TIMELINE OF GUITAR HISTORY: http://www.learnclassicalguitar.com/guitar-time-line.html
HISTORY: http://sologuitarist.net/tablature.htm
BRIEF HISTORY: www.guyguitars.com/eng/handbook/BriefHistory.html
HARP
HISTORY: www.alisonvardy.com/harp-info/early-harp-history.htm
HISTORY: http://www.clarsachsociety.co.uk/clarsach-in-modern-scotland
ALL ABOUT: www.mountainocarinas.com/
BUY: http://songbirdocarina.com/
LISTEN: http://www.songbirdocarina.com/pages/hear-and-see-the-ocarinas
MAKING + CERAMIC INSTRUMENTS: http://clayz.com/fmtm.html
QUIZZES AND MATCHING GAMES:
www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/music/other_music/musical_instruments.html
PIANO
HISTORY: www.uk-piano.org/history/history.html
HISTORY: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpiano.htm
ALL ABOUT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano
HISTORY: www.cantos.org/Piano/History/technical.html
HISTORY: http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/piano.htm
HISTORY: www.concertpitchpiano.com/Pianostory.html
HISTORY: www.bestpianolessons.com/piano-history/piano-history.html
HISTORY: www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/recd/hd_recd.htm
ALL ABOUT (click on "menu" at top left) www.recorderhomepage.net/torture2.html
HISTORY: www.hypermusic.ca/inst/recorder.html
HISTORY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorder
http://gc-music.com/Recor.htm
MEDIEVAL INSTRUMENTS:
http://historymedren.about.com/od/musicalinstruments/Medieval_Musical_Instruments.htm
RENAISSANCE INSTRUMENTS: www.tapiasgold.com/instruments.html
COLORING: www.enchantedlearning.com/music/instruments/coloring/
GAME: http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/artsact.html
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SAXOPHONE
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmusic.htm
http://musiced.about.com/od/lessonsandtips/a/saxhistory.htm
www.hypermusic.ca/inst/sax.html
www.jlpublishing.com/SaxophoneHistory.htm
HISTORY: www.history.org/history/fife&drum/instruments.cfm
CIVIL WAR: www.ushist.com/props/musical_instruments.htm
BODHRAN: www.ceolas.org/instruments/bodhran/history.shtml (an older instrument like a snare drum)
TABLA : www.algorhythm.co.za/tabla.htm
BONGOSwww.artdrum.com/INSTRUMENT_HISTORY_LINKS.HTM
TABLA: http://batish.com/catalog/vidttr.html
MUSEUM: www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/rch/
VEENA
CARPENTER: www.asianart.com/articles/landsberg/index.html (about a veena carpenter)
: www.webindia123.com/music/instru/veena.htm (brief)
www.vishwamohanbhatt.com/veena.htm
www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/11/10/stories/2002111000330500.htm
HISTORY: www.theviolaworkshop.com/page5.html
HISTORY: http://coco.essortment.com/violainstrument_rfav.htm
HISTORY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viol
ARTICLES: http://www.viola.com/
HISTORY: www.soundjunction.org/theviolaabriefhistory.aspa?NodeID=1
HISTORY: www.sprengerviolins.com/e/violin_history.htm
HISTORY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_violin
HISTORY: www.prodigyinstruments.com/HistoryofViolinmaking.asp
HISTORY: www.violinonline.com/historicalbackgroundoftheviolin.htm
HISTORY: http://musiced.about.com/od/beginnersguide/a/halloween.htm
www.violins.on.ca/books2.html
BACK to Instruments of the Orchestra topics
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LISTENING EXAMPLES
07/11 STRINGS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DSTqp-bqFQ (audio with slide show pictures & facts about Mozart)
STRING FAMILY: 4th movement of Beethoven 9th symphony is good for strings - there's one section that starts with the low strings playing the "Ode to Joy" melody then middle strings play it then violins, or something like that - haven't listened to it lately but I know there's a part where the different groups of string instruments layer in. It also has the Turkish march section with bass drum, cymbals, and triangle for percussion. And the cool timpani part at the beginning of the second movement.
STRING FAMILY: Eine Kleine Nachtmusic, Mozart
VIOLA: Harold in Italy – viola
FLUTE & OBOE Grieg - Peer Gynt - Morning
Nimbus 2000 from Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone, John Williams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlfQlnZEDpM (audio only, no moving pictures)
BRASS & PERCUSSION: Fanfare for the Common Man, Copland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr6CnG5dmvM (audio only, no moving pictures)
They also played Also Sprach Zarathustra, Strauss, which is strongly brass & Percussion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyJwbwWg8uc (video shows each instrument as it is featured in the music)
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NAMES OF INSTRUMENTS
07/13 I usually bring instruments in and play them. Flute, sax, french horn, etc Strings, I demonstrate with boxes and rubber bands. Reeds I give them a strip of paper and we make reeds Brass, I just have them buzz then buzz and put their hand to their lips Percussion is easy. OR if you can invite people in to play you could do four corners using pictures of instruments instead of brass, strings etc. words Susan Harris
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12/07 OLD MACDONALD! I do a short unit with K and 1st on the main unpitched classroom instruments. With kindergarten, about a month into the school year, when I've gained their trust and they've learned how to sit and how to listen, we play Old MacDonald Had a Band. I tell them that Old MacDonald got tired of being a farmer; the animals were dirty, he had to clean the barn every day, he just got tired of it. So he thought about what he'd like to do instead. Well, he'd always wanted to be a music teacher, so he got a job directing band in a high school.BACK to Instruments of the Orchestra topics
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SONG
Mr. Music’s Band (tune: Bingo) to play instruments with – powerpoint, lyrics:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3431420/MrMusicsBandLessonSHARE.ppt --- Martha Stanley
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VIDEOS
01/16 DVD: "TUBA AND DRUM" 10/04 The Sesame Street video centers around Telly losing his tuba, and the Stomp crew showing how sounds can be musical, too--it's good, but I only show it to 1st, sometimes 2nd grades. Beyond that, kids 'kinda' groan if they hear its Sesame Street -- Judith Kilgore in MT
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"WOLFIE IN THE WINGS" I wanted to give a big thumbs up to the video It is offered through MENC and available through their magazines. This story is about a young girl whose mother is in an orchestra. She stays backstage while her mother rehearses. Surprise... this kid... Wolfie (actually the ghost of young Mozart himself) shows up to tell her all about the orchestra workings. You could have heard a pin drop in my room. An excellent tie in to our field trip.
1-800-295-5010
The videos are: Music Overview, The Brass Family, The String Family, The Percussion Family, The Woodwind Family, The Voice
I remember when we bought them that I thought they were pricey! I want to say around $300? They come with a small booklet of lesson ideas, too.
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08/02 I just received a shipment of new materials and in it was the video, A Child's Introduction to Musical Instruments. It's about a farmer, Ludvig van Vegetable, who dreams of conducting an orchestra. His fairy god cow suddenly appears and it seems that he may get his wish - but she finds it too expensive to buy him an orchestra. There is a surprise ending. Primary kids would love it. It's about 30 minutes, cartoon pictures, but not animated. It would be great for a sub. And it was relatively inexpensive.
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PETER AND THE WOLF BY JIM GAMBLE - Story told with puppets
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It's an exciting new concept in live entertainment. Brass, percussion, dramatic choreography, brilliant lighting, and special effects come together in this high-energy performance. This new genre of performance is unlike any musical theater or symphonic concert you've ever seen. The performers in BLAST! are in constant motion, staging intricate movements with music that is arranged to continuously stimulate and surround the senses and emotions. In BLAST! there are essentially three performing sections; brass, percussion, and visual ensembles. The brass instruments are pitched in the standard multi-keys. Drums, mallet instruments, and electronic keyboards make up the percussion section. And the visual ensemble adds an amazing touch by tossing and spinning unusual implements, as well as traditional sabers, colorful flags, and rifles in perfectly synchronized, ballet-like drills. This incredible program, which was taped at the London Apollo Hammersmith Theatre in April of 2000, features musical highlights like Maurice Ravel's Bolero, Appalachian Spring and Simple Gifts by Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber's Medea, "Land of Make Believe" by Chuck Mangione, and "Officer Krupke" from West Side Story.This extraordinary program will blow you away!
Available thru Plank Rd. Publishing. Video is 115 minutes. The soundtrack for this amazing program is also available on CD. It features the original London cast performing the astonishing music from the show. MP-V0800 Blast Video $19.95 MP-CD260 Blast CD soundtrack $17.95
I started showing at the point where Papa Bear and Baby Bear go to the orchestra hall and meet the Boston Pops players and conductor, who introduces each instrument used in the story. This part takes about 20 minutes and gives the kids a chance to process all this new stuff. After the viewing we discussed the characters/instruments, and the class named the characters. I wrote them on the board as if they were really contributing a new thought, but I was actually placing them into a special order to arrive at the following: "bird, cat, grand-pa, duck, Peter and the wolf" We spoke and clapped the words until the kids could tell me what rhythm to write: ta ta / ti-ti ta / ti-ti ti-ti / ta Z. "Hunters" became an ostinato: ti-ti Z.
At our next meeting, it was time for the actual concert (story). That was about 20 more minutes. After reviewing the characters and instruments again, the students copied the long rhythm pattern onto a paper, using standard notation, with which they were already comfortable. Using sol, mi, and la on their bell sets (G, E, and A) they then created their own tune on the given rhythm. We'll add the ostinato on another day.
The Sesame Street element didn't seem to bother the 1st graders at all. In fact, they had fun discussing who each character was and how their appearance had been altered to fit the story. Our 1st graders do "pigs," and hear assorted versions of "The Three Little Pigs." I had introduced this as one version of the story of Peter and the Wolf, as presented by our Muppet friends.
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WEB SITES, BULLETIN BOARDS, POWERPOINTS
07/13 CUTE ANIMAL/INSTRUMENT PICTURES TO COLOR: http://www.leapfrog.com/en/leapfrog_parents/preschool/language_and_literacy/printable__abc_animal.html
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10/12 YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO THE ORCHESTRA:
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/music/kamien9e/part01/chapter02/youngpersonsguide/brittenguideinteractive.htm
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12/11 San Francisco Symphony - Kids - Instruments of the Orchestra
You can explore and listen to the instruments that play in an orchestra. Then you can play some music on the online piano before you compose your very own masterpiece! http://www.sfskids.org/
- Lots of quizzes and games on instruments, naming notes, music terms, composers and many more topics of interest in the K-6 music class.----- Denise Gagne www.musicplay.ca Musicplay – the Sequential Text Series [email protected] 888-562-4647
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12/11 Classicsforkids.com - http://www.classicsforkids.com
Classical music's great composers come to life through music and stories. ... for the piano. It also has a great interactive chart showing the instruments and instrument families of the orchestra.
06/10 SORTING INSTRUMENTS INTO FAMILIES:
http://www.thirteen.org/publicarts/orchestra/orchestra03.swf
06/09 POWERPOINTS: http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/music/music.htm
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THEORY-INTERACTIVE: http://www.musictheory.net/ has note identification and much more
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06/09 Orchestra - Instruments made from car parts (Youtube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yuY78nLsg
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07/11 GAMES, INFORMATION: "instrument storage room" with images, descriptions and sound files for many instruments -
http://www.nyphilkids.org/lockerroom/main.phtml?
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12/07 THREE POWERPOINTS: http://www.pppst.com/index.html
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06/07 EARLY ELEMENTARY: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/music/instruments/
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NAME THE INSTRUMENT: http://www.artsalive.ca/en/mus/activitiesgames/
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CLASSROOM INSTRUMENT BINGO & ORCHESTRA BINGO: http://www.musick8.com/
In Orchestra Bingo and Classroom Instrument Bingo there are black and white reproducibles of the instruments. They are 1/2 a page in size, but could be enlarged on a copier. Most will work as coloring pages. These are bingo games, but include a lot of additional worksheets, games, activities and materials for learning to identify instruments and learn about instrument families. There are great assessment activities - written and aural. Orchestra Bingo and Classroom Instrument Bingo are by Veronica Harper, and are available from Plank. Orchestra Bingo has 16 instruments per card. Classroom Bingo has only 9 instruments, so can be used with younger kids. -- Denise Gagne www.musicplay.ca Musicplay - the Sequential Text Series [email protected] 888-562-4647
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01/07
Here's another instrument game, although it doesn't have pics or sound:
http://www.quia.com/hm/49087.html
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06/06 [This site presents] someone who makes flutes from vegetables. The carrot recorders and pan pipes are amazing. Go to this site and follow the links about the construction of these edible flutes and listen to them- just incredible! http://www.flutenveg.com/ -- Dianne Park
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06/06 Have you seen the website of Das Erste Wiener Gemuseorchester (I think I spelled that right) - the First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra? Kind of the same idea - they make their instruments from fruits and vegetables and then play them. http://www.gemueseorchester.org/ ~Ann Wells
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06/06 http://www.pitara.com/discover/earth/online.asp?story=109
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Philharmonic Orchestra Instruments, interactive games, sound samples, etc.,
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/home_page/
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06/06 http://orchestra.jwjonline.net/index.php
Preschool and Early Elementary (Click on any instrument and see it’s seat highlighted on the chart.)
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06/06 http://www.nsokids.org/ Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Composer bios for kids - interesting and brief
Bach, Bartok, Beach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Bernstein, Brahms, Carter, Copland, Debussy, Dvorak, Gershwin, Haydn, Handel, Ives, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Monteverdi, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Rossini, Satie, Schubert, Schumann, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Wagner
Point to instruments in a section and see the instrument name at the top of the screen.
Musical Terms and definitions
Play the keyboard (keys are in colors that correspond with colored notes on the staff)
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10/05 INVENTIONS: http://www.musicinventions.org/
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06/05 Here are some nice pictures of all four families (individual instruments) + world instruments: http://www.montessorimaterials.org/mus.htm /
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Complete Score for Overture to “The Magic Flute”
http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/scores.html
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06/04 INCREDIBLE INSTRUMENTS: http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery
My favorite was the nano guitar which is smaller than a red blood cell; you can only see it with a scanning electron microscope. You can hear what each instrument sounds like! -- Contributed by Ellen in FL
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MUSICAL MYSTERIES: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/4_11/music.shtml
This is a lively interactive site allowing pupils to have fun, while exploring basic musical concepts in sound, rhythm and mood. The site provides opportunities too for pupils to investigate a range of orchestral instruments. -- Contributed by Patricia Albritton
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09/03 GAMES: Great Kid Friendly Site of NY Philharmonic (Instruments of the Orchestra, Composition) http://www.nyphilkids.org/main.phtml? ---
My students love this site - they can design their own instruments, play music match games, listen to instruments, read about composers and performers.
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09/03 San Francisco Symphony Kids Site: www.sfskids.org
Here is what the ‘music lab’ has in store for kids:
Basics: Start here and meet the staff, the notes, and more; Tempo: Speed it up or slow it down; Rhythm: Hear patterns that make music move; Pitch: Play around with sounds; Harmony: Mix it up with the Harmonizer; Symbols: Make it louder, softer, or play it again; Instrumentation: Decide what the instruments will play; Performalator: Play a tune or two; Composerizer: Make your own tune.
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07/03 Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids' Page: www.DSOKids.com
05/02 Instrument Lab, Orchestra Pit, Activities and Games
http://www.artsalive.ca/en/mus/index.asp
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Website for National Arts centre Orchestra in Canada. has very detailed info on some composers and info, sounds and views of various orchestra instruments. If you have Quicktime Virtual Reality installed, you can rotate the view of the instruments.
http://www.artsalive.ca/en/mus/index.asp
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03/02 Four lessons on Defining Jazz (Jr. High/high School)
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4847.html
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Ellington/3 Lessons/grades 2-4 need online
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4743.html
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A Jazz Talk Show (grades 4-8 lessons)
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4745.html
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Jazz and Math; and Jazz and Math: Rhythmic Innovations;
http://209.15.142.32/cat223_morel.htm
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02/02 Music and You has a book that was put out around 1990 and it is called
'Musical Instruments for Bulletin Boards and Copying Masters'. It has most
of the instruments you would ever need in a music room. I shrink the
instruments down on the photocopier and make small coloring books according
the the instrument family. I am doing this right now with the K's. I read
stories to the children and listen to sound bites of the instruments to
accompany the coloring book. So far we have done the string family and
read, 'Berlioz the Bear'. The kids also pretend they are playing the
instruments and listen to songs that have a clear representation of the
instrument family we are studying. So far, it has worked very well. There
are other related pictures in the coloring books as well.
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INSTRUMENT GAMES: http://www.dsokids.com/activities-at-home/make-instrument/.aspx
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PRIVATE INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS
10/08 I was looking for some worksheets to use with my El Ed students for my summer course and came across this site. I've spent the last 1 1/2 hours surfing it and barely scratched the surface. For those of you who teach privately and want some interactive computer practice for your students while they are waiting for their lessons, or just for fun or as a reward, check out:
http://www.musictechteacher.com/--- Rose M. Grelis
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I too have used Mr. EVerybody for years and am amazed at how it catches the
kids' attention and how much they retain.
I also teach clarinet at my private studio and last fall a mother called and
asked if I would teach her son who is in second grade. I wasn't sure because
of his age, but I said Ok, let's try it. I've been using Mr. Everybody with
him and it is wonderful. He loves the stories and the songs are perfect for
a young beginning clarinetist. He is doing very well and can't wait for what
new Mr. Everybody song we will be learning each week.
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OTHER
12/09 HURDY GURDY IN CONCERT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZKQf-JIvRUD
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ORGAN:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/10/worlds-most-magnificent-pipe-organs.html
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09/03 Get some either paper sacks for each child or make cloth bags...put the child's name on the sack. Each week put a different instrument in the sack. They have to guess what the instrument is and show how to play it.
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09/03 Take a large picture of an instrument.. cutting it into a few pieces.. then displaying one at a time for a week or so on a bulletin board..... for the kids to try to guess what it was..just by the little portion of it showing...
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There is a well known group of four string instruments which appear in the Western "Symphony" Orchestra, but these are a part of another group of what must be at least four THOUSAND string instruments played in various cultures around the world. The string family chart you describe is in my opinion flawed because it is neither fish nor foul, it implies that the orchestra is not the whole story presents a skewed sample - if it was trying to present American culture why offend Hawaii? and leave out the Bluegrass mandolin? I would be looking for not only charts showing instruments from many different cultures, but some of the ensembles which have evolved in different cultures, to help give children an inkling of just how big the world of music is, and the tremendous variety of music, and how the various roles that music plays a role for every culture Just for the record this larger string family, which even include banjos(and I'kk leave our the obvious banjo joke here!!) has been named by ethomusicologists and there are only five such groups, which are...CHORDOHPONES (string sounding)IDIOPHONES (self sounding)MEMBRANOPHONES (skin sounding) AEROPHONES (air sounding) ELEXTROHONES (electronically produced sound)
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