ACTIVITIES
1. INSTRUMENTS OF THE ORCHESTRA
OBJECTIVE: This activity helps familiarize students with many of the musical instruments that make up a symphony orchestra. Students who are familiar with the appearance and tone quality of individual instruments often find performances more interesting because they can look and listen for specific and familiar, sights and sounds.
PROCEDURE: Ask the school or local librarian to help you identify age-appropriate books about the symphony orchestra and its musical instruments. Share these books with the students, or read portions of the books to the children during language arts instruction, music instruction, or library time. It is always helpful for the students to see pictures of orchestra instruments. Describe the sound of each instrument, or use recordings to demonstrate the sounds.
NOTE: You may wish to have students listen to a recording of Benjamin Britten's Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra or use the following concert pieces.
Flute: Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker Suite (Dance of the Toy Flutes)
Oboe: Mozart, Quartet for Oboe and Strings (F Major)
Clarinet: Copland, Clarinet Concerto
Bassoon: Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker Suite (Chinese Dance), or Dukas, Sorcerer's Apprentice
French Horn: Mozart, Horn Concertos
Strings: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Timpani (Kettledrum): Richard Strauss, Thus Spake Zarathustra
2. BOTTLE MUSIC
OBJECTIVE: To acquaint students with the concept of pitch. Different musical pitches make up the musical scale. Pitch can be high and pitch can be low depending on the size of the instrument making the sound. For example, the Double Bass is the lowest sounding and largest of the string instruments while the violin is the highest sounding and smallest string instrument.
PROCEDURE: Have each student fill a bottle with differing amounts of water. Next have each student blow air across the top of the bottle and hear the sound made. The students with a larger bottle, or less water will have a lower sound. The children should then stand in a progressive line with the lowest sounding bottle on one end, and the highest sounding bottle on the other end. Then have the students play a scale from the lowest note to the highest note and back down to the lowest again. Should blowing be too difficult, this exercise may be adapted for students to tap keys, scissors, or pencils on the side of the bottles.
3. OUR EARS
OBJECTIVE: To create awareness of the sounds of everyday life and how sound can affect our feelings and emotions.
PROCEDURE: The ears can hear an amazing range of sounds, from soft whispers to thunderous noises. Ask students to name some quiet noises. Can they name some very loud noises? Besides being soft or loud, noises can be pleasant or unpleasant. Have students think of some pleasant noises they have heard or can imagine. What are some unpleasant noises? Have they ever been frightened by a sound?
4. IN-CLASS PERFORMANCES
Invite older students who play musical instruments to perform for your class. The students can play an easy piece to describe how they play and practice. Also, invite parents who play an instrument to visit the class and talk about why they like to play, how they started, etc.