Music Craft: Y-Stick Tambourine

Y-Stick Tambourine

Materials Needed:

1. Dried Y stick
2. 12 metal bottle caps
3. Spray paint (any color)
4. Strong wire
5. Hammer
6. Nail
7. Decorations (e.g. feathers, beads.)

Instructions:

1. Peel the bark off the Y stick and paint the stick.
2. Cook the bottle caps on an out-door grill for 5 minutes (just until the bottle caps get hot, this step helps to remove the rubber liner inside the bottle caps.)
3. Remove the rubber liners in the bottle caps
4. Flatten out the bottle caps with a hammer.
5. Poke a hole through the bottle caps with a nail.
6. Cut the wire for the Y-stick
7. Thread the bottle caps onto the wire.
8. Tautly string the wire between the arms of the Y-stick.
9. Have fun!

This great craft idea is from familyfun.go.com.

Songs for Children

Here is a great song for those of you who wish is was still summer! (Today, I am participating in Family Moment Monday.)

Mister Sun

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,

Mister Golden Sun,

Please shine down on me

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,

Mister Golden Sun,

Hiding behind a tree

These little children are asking you,

To please come out so we can play with you,

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,

Mister Golden Sun,

Please shine down on me!

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,

Mister Golden Sun,

Please shine down on me

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,

Mister Golden Sun,

Hiding behind a tree

These little children are asking you,

To please come out so we can play with you,

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,

Mister Golden Sun,

Please shine down on,

Please shine down on,

Please shine down on me!

Music Events for Kids in Alaska

Anchorage Events:

Black Violin
Friday, April 03, 2009

Yuval Ron Ensemble: Middle Eastern Music
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Intersections: ADT & James Sewell Ballet
Saturday, April 25, 2009

Fisher-Price Songs and Games for the Road

A fun memory I have as a little girl was singing with my family in our van on road trips. (Singing as a family was where I started to gain my love of music.) Since, I have tried to keep the same tradition with my children; which is why I am excited to tell you about the new CD I discovered called Songs and Games for the Road by Fisher Price.

Songs and Games for the Road has almost an hour of fun songs to sing and games to play for your children. One great things about this CD is that the accompaniment is up-beat and fun to listen to along with the singing. My Daughter loves this CD and asks me to play it over and over again! I highly recommend this CD for kids ages 0-6.

Music Lesson: Time Signature

Rhythm Lesson #6 Time Signatures:

Review:

Review the meters lesson with your child.

Learning Objective:

Your child will be able to tell you what the numbers in a time signature mean.

Instructions:

Show your child the picture below and tell your child that the picture is a time signature (or meter signature). Tell your child that a time signature is made up of a top and bottom number. The top number tells us what the meter in the piece is, and the bottom number tells us what the note value for each pulse is. For example, in the picture below the time signature is ¾. The 3 tells us that the piece is in triple meter (there are three pulses per measure), and the 4 tells us that the quarter note gets the beat.

Exercise: Write the meter and note value for each time signature below:

Example:

2--duple meter
8--eighth-note pulse

3__________
4__________

2__________

2__________

4__________
8__________

4__________
4__________

3__________
2__________

3__________
8__________

4__________
2__________

2__________

4__________

Answers:

1) triple meter
quarter-note pulse

2) duple meter

half-note pulse

3) quadruple meter
eighth-note pulse

4) quadruple meter
quarter-note pulse

5) triple meter
half-note pulse

6) triple meter
eighth-note pulse

7) quadruple meter
half-note pulse

8) duple meter
quarter-note pulse

Exercise: Tell your child that a whole note/rest gets 4 pulses, a half note/rest gets 2 pulses, a quarter/rest note gets 1 pulse, and an eighth note/rest gets and eighth of the pulse. Review dotted notes with your child also. Now have your child write bar lines in the musical example below:

Beethoven Quiz

1. When was Beethoven born?
a. March 1695
b. March 1785
c. December 1770
d. December 1765

2. How old was Beethoven when he had his first public performance?
a. 6 years old
b. 8 years old
c. 10 years old
d. 17 years old

3. What 2 teachers did Beethoven study with after he left home?
a. George Bush and Franklin Roosevelt
b. Franz List and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
c. George Bush and Joseph Haydn
d. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn

4. What might have caused Beethoven to go deaf?
a. Tendonitis
b. Tinnitus
c. Elephant Titus
d. Defeatists

5. How many periods do scholars divide Beethoven’s music into?
a. 5
b. 7
c. 2
d. 3


6. Beethoven was one of the most _______________ and ________________ composers of his time.

7. Beethoven would often keep ____________ _________________ in the waiting room so he could compose.

8. During Beethoven’s third music period, his music started to become more:
a. Fun
b. Reflective
c. Sad
d. Bad
Answers:
1. C
2. B
3. D
4. B
5. D
6. Influential and Respected
7. Prince Lichnowsky
8. B

Wordless/ful Wednesday

What musical instrument am I?

Answer to last Wordless/ful Wednesday: Piccolo

A piccolo is like a small flute. The piccolo is made from wood, metal, gold, or plastic and is used in classical and marching bands. The piccolo is used as an ornamental instrument and plays an octave above the flute. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccolo)

Here is an example of what the piccolo sounds like (the music starts playing 45 seconds into the video) :

(Ayla Emanet on piccolo)

Songs for Babies and Children

Where is Thumbkin?

(Start with hands behind back)
Where is thumbkin?
Where is thumbkin?
Here I am
(Bring right hand to front,with thumb up)
Here I am.
(Bring left hand to front,with thumb up)
How are you this morning?
Very well, I thank you.
(Wiggle thumbs as if they're talking' to each other)
Run away
(Hide right hand behind back)
Run away.
(Hide left hand behind back)
Where is pointer?
Where is pointer?
Here I am
(Bring right hand to front,with index finger up)
Here I am.
(Bring left hand to front,with index finger up)
How are you this morning?
Very well, I thank you.
(Wiggle fingers as if they're talking' to each other)
Run away
(Hide right hand behind back)
Run away.
(Hide left hand behind back)
Where is tall man?
Where is tall man?
Here I am
(Bring right hand to front,with third finger up)
Here I am.
(Bring left hand to front,with third finger up)
How are you this morning?
Very well, I thank you.
(Wiggle fingers as if they're talking' to each other)
Run away
(Hide right hand behind back)
Run away.
(Hide left hand behind back)
Where is ring man?
Where is ring man?
Here I am
(Bring right hand to front,with fourth finger up)
Here I am.
(Bring left hand to front,with fourth finger up)
How are you this morning?
Very well, I thank you.
(Wiggle fingers as if they're talking' to each other)
Run away
(Hide right hand behind back)
Run away.
(Hide left hand behind back)
Where is pinkie?
Where is pinkie?
Here I am
(Bring right hand to front,with pinkie finger up)
Here I am.
(Bring left hand to front,with pinkie finger up)
How are you this morning?
Very well, I thank you.
(Wiggle fingers as if they're talking' to each other)
Run away
(Hide right hand behind back)
Run away.
(Hide left hand behind back)
Where is the family?
Where is the family?
Here we are.
(Bring right hand to front,with all fingers showing)
Here we are.
(Bring left hand to front,with all fingers showing)
How are you this morning?
Very well, we thank you.
(Wiggle fingers as if they're talking' to each other)
Run away
(Hide right hand behind back)
Run away.
(Hide left hand behind back)

Music Cupcakes

Now that we have learned about note values, a fun activity to do with your children is to practice drawing notes and rests on cupcakes!


Here are some great sites for cupcake and frosting recipes:


Cupcakes
Frosting


Have fun!


I am participating in Family Moment Monday.

Rhythm Lesson #5

Note Values Part II

Review:

Review with your child the Note Values Lesson Part I .

Learning Objective:

Your child will learn to write out the note pyramid and tell you how all the notes in the note pyramid are related. Your child will also write on manuscript paper the 5 common rests.

Instructions:

Show your child the note pyramid and tell your child to draw the note pyramid on a separate sheet of paper. Then, tell your child that all the notes in the pyramid are related. Ask your child the following questions:

1. How many half notes are in a whole note? (Answer = 2)

2. How many quarter notes are in a whole note? (Answer = 4)

3. How many quarter notes are in a half note? (Answer = 2)

4. How many eighth notes are in a half note? (Answer = 4)

5. How many sixteenth notes are in a quarter note? (Answer = 4)

6. How many sixteenth notes are in a whole note? (Answer = 16)

Rests:

Show your child the picture below, and explain to your child that there are 5 common types of rests:

1. Whole rest
2. Half rest
3. Quarter rest
4. Eighth rest
5. Sixteenth rest

Tell your child that a rest represents silence, and when a rest is seen in music, no music is played during the rest. Have your child practice drawing the rests on manuscript paper.

Dotted Notes:

Show your child the picture below, and explain to your child that when a dot is placed beside a note (as seen in the photo), the value of the note is worth the note's original value plus one-half of its original value. For example, if a quarter note is worth one beat, then a quarter note with a dot is worth 1 + 1/2 beats.

Stay tuned for next week's lesson on Time Signatures.

Musical Genius

Below are videos about a severely disabled and blind man named Derek Paravicini. Despite Derek's disabilities, Derek has become a musical genius. I was so inspired by Derek that I had to share these videos with you today.

Wordless/ful Wednesday

What musical instrument am I?

Answer to last Wordless/ful Wednesday: Electric Violin

Electric violins are usually made with a solid body and a built-in pickup to amplify the sound. Most electric violins have 5-7 strings. Electric violins have been around since the 1920's. Stuff Smith (a blues and jazz artist) was one of the first performers to play electric violin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_violin)

Today, electric violins are used in jazz, pop, hip-hop, rock, metal, country, new age, and contemporary classical music.

Below is an example of what the electric violin sounds like:

(Jerry Goodman on electric violin)

I am participating in Wordless/ful Wednesday.

Songs for Children

Little Raindrops is a song my kids and I like to sing and is a great song for babies and toddlers. This song is copyrighted so here is a link for it:

Little Raindrops

Enjoy!

Music and Health

I am over at Healthy Living Today.

Have you ever felt stressed, depressed, sad, or angry and then turned on some music, and immediately as you listened, your stress, depression, sadness, or anger left? Have you ever wondered why? ...

Read More

Tips for Buying Musical Toys

Walking through the toy store can be overwhelming when trying to find a musical toy for your child. Just walking through the toy store today I saw 10 toy guitars, 7 xylophones, and 15 singing stuffed animals. So how do you know which musical toy is the best? Below is a list of tips for buying a musical toy:

1. Look for a musical toy that best resembles the real instrument. For example, let's say you are looking at two different toy guitars. The first guitar will only play music if the guitar is strummed, while the second guitar will play music without the guitar being strummed. The first guitar is a better choice because the action of strumming to hear the music resembles a real guitar.

2. When buying a toy such as a piano and xylophone, make sure the keys sound correct. I have played toy xylophones that have sounded like every key was the same note! It may not seem like a big deal, but your child is learning from these toys, so the toys should sound accurate.

3. Research the musical toy first. There are many toys out there and doing a little research will save a lot of time when shopping. You can do research by visiting websites that have toy reviews such as Walmart, Toys R Us, and Google. Many parents will rate toys on-line and will write summaries about how functional these toys really are.

4. Make sure the musical toy is age appropriate and something your child can actually play with. A toy that is too advanced for your child could end up making your child feel frustrated.

5. Take your child shopping and let your child play with the musical toy first. This is a good way to see if your child will like the toy you buy him or her.

6. Make sure your child has fun playing with the musical toy. If your child has fun playing with the toy, then the toy may inspire your child to want to play the real instrument in the future.

Rhythm Lesson # 4

Note Values Lesson Part I

Review with your child:

Measures lesson

Instructions:
Show your child the notes shown below. Tell your child that some notes have stems, some notes have holes, some notes have stems and flags, and some notes are filled in. Below is an example of the 5 common types of note values:

Tell your child that when you put these notes together you get rhythm. Below is an example of rhythm. Notice also how the pulse stays consistent no matter what the rhythm is:

Note Pyramid:
Below is an example of a note pyramid. Explain to your child that at the top of the pyramid there is a whole note. 1 whole note is divided into 2 half notes. 1 half note is divided into 2 quarter notes. 1 quarter note is divided into 2 eight notes. 1 eighth note is divided into 2 sixteenth notes.

Exercise: Practice Drawing Notes:

Print out the picture below, and have your child practice tracing each note. Then, have your child practice drawing each note on a separate piece of paper. You may print staff paper here . You may also click here to print out a worksheet for note tracing.

Wordless/ful Wednesday

What musical instrument am I?

Answer to last Wednesday's instrument: vibraphone

The vibraphone is a member of the percussion family. The vibraphone is used in jazz and classical music. To play the vibraphone a player will push down the foot pedal and use 2-4 mallets to hit the keys.

Here is an example of what the vibraphone sounds like:

(Gary Burton playing vibraphone)

I am participating in wordless/ful Wednesday.

Songs for Children

If You’re Happy And You Know It

If you're happy and you know it, Clap your hands
(Clap, Clap)
If you're happy and you know it, Clap your hands
(Clap, Clap)
If you're happy and you know it,

Then your face will surely show it

If you're happy and you know it, Clap your hands.
(Clap, Clap)

If you're happy and you know it, Stomp your feet
(Stomp, Stomp)
If you're happy and you know it, Stomp your feet
(Stomp, Stomp)
If you're happy and you know it,

Then your face will surely show it

If you're happy and you know it, Stomp your feet.
(Stomp, Stomp)

If you're happy and you know it, Turn around
(Turn around)
If you're happy and you know it, Turn around
(Turn around)
If you're happy and you know it,

Then your face will surely show it

If you're happy and you know it, Turn around
(Turn around)

If you're happy and you know it, Do all three

(Clap Clap, Stomp Stomp, Turn around)

If your're happy and you know it, Do all three,

(Clap Clap, Stomp Stomp, Turn around)

If you're happy and you know it,

Then you're face will really show it,

If you're happy and you know it, Do all three,

(Clap Clap, Stomp Stomp, Turn Around)

(These are the lyrics my kids and I sing)

Music Craft: Maracas

The maracas are a percussion instrument usually played in pairs and are made of plastic, wood, or leather (Indians in Columbia made maracas out of clay 1500 years ago). The maracas are originally from Puerto Rico.



Maracas are played in Latin, pop, and classical music and are characteristic of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Brazil. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraca)


The maracas are played by holding a maraca in each hand on the handle and shaking the maracas back and forth.


Today we will be making a paper plate maraca.












Materials Needed:

1. Paper plate
2. Stapler
3. Beans or Rice
4. Decorations (e.g. streamers, paint or tissue paper)


Instructions:

1. Fold the paper plate in half










2. Staple the paper plate together 3/4 of the way












3. Pour in beans
4. Staple the paper plate together rest of way
5. Decorate as desired
6. Have fun!

I am participating in Family Moment Monday.

This craft idea was from Enchanted Learning

Great Jazz Site for Kids!

I found a great jazz site at pbskids.org. This site is interactive with jazz lessons, jazz history, and much more! I hope you have as much fun as I did exploring this fun site!

Rhythm Lesson #3

Summary:

So far, we have learned about pulse and meter--two important steps to learning how to read rhythm. Today, we will learn about measures.

Measures:

Teach this to your child:

When looking at music, you can see that it is divided into vertical lines called bar lines. From bar lines you get measures. It is much easier to read music in measures.

We can study measures from the last lesson we had about meter. Remember duple, triple, and quadruple meter?

When you add bar lines to these examples, you get this:

Double bar lines:

You will see double bar lines when you come to the end of a section or piece. Below is an example of a double bar line.

Do You Know What Your Teenagers Are Listening Too?

WFMW: Teen Music Survey
Today, I was going to post a list of music groups with clean music for your teens to listen to. In order to compile the list, I asked 5 teens what bands they would recommend for my site. I told the teens the music had to be clean and something your mother could listen to. I started with a list of 30 music groups. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find clean music! The 5 teens did recommend the cleanest bands they could think of; however, between swearing, bad lyrics, and references to sex, I could only recommend a few of these groups.

From conducting this research, I have to ask one question: Do you really know what your teenagers are listening to?



Why it is Important for our Teens to Listen to Clean Music?

Music can influence our teens' actions for both the positive and unfortunately for the negative. Can teen music be linked to violent crimes? Consider these findings: The two shooters in the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado regularly listened to heavy metal and Goth. Three 15-year-old boys stabbed to death a 15-year-old girl in San Luis Obispo, California after listening to the song "Alter of Sacrifice" by Slayer. A 13-year-old girl in Paddock Wood, Kent committed suicide after listening to the hard-core punk band EMO. There are also studies correlating rap music and teen pregnancies.


Ways to Monitor Your Teens Music:

1. Actually take the time to monitor you're teens music.

2. Let your teen know, from an early age, that you will monitor his or her music.

3. Don't think that because you're teen already listens to bad music that you can't monitor it or change your teens listening habits. Take control of the situation. If necessary, talk to a teen counselor or read up on helping teens make wise choices. I know parents who use two good, in fact classic, books on this subject called "Parenting Teens with Love and Logic," and "Back in Control."

4. Before buying your teen a CD, go on-line and find the lyrics to the songs. http://www.lyricsmania.com/ is just one of the sites to find lyrics.

5. Research the bands on the Internet. All bands have Web sites and My Spaces or other sites to peruse. At these sites you can learn about the bands and hear examples of the music.

6. Listen to clean music yourself. You can't expect your teens to listen to clean music if you aren't.

7. Watch what songs your teens download onto their personal computers, I-pods, and MP3 players.


What has worked in your home to help your teen make good music listening choices?

Songs for Children: Apples and Bananas

Apples and Bananas

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas

I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay-nays
I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay-nays

I like to eat, eat, eat ee-ples and bee-nee-nees
I like to eat, eat, eat ee-ples and bee-nee-nees

I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and by-ny-nys
I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and by-ny-nys

I like to ote, ote, ote oh-ples and bo-no-nos
I like to ote, ote, ote oh-ples and bo-no-nos

I like to oot, oot, oot oo-ples and boo-noo-noos
I like to oot, oot, oot oo-ples and boo-noo-noos

Music Activity: Music in a Bottle

Music in a Bottle

Materials needed:

1. 8- 20 oz glass pop bottles

2. Water

3. Food coloring (optional)

4. Tape or stickers

5. Marker

Directions:

1. Put a sticker or a piece of tape on each bottle

2. Number the bottles 1-8

3. Fill each bottle with the amount of water shown below:

Bottle #1 = 7 oz

Bottle #2 = 9 1/2 oz

Bottle #3 = 12 1/2 oz

Bottle #4 = 14 oz

Bottle #5 = 16 1/2 oz

Bottle #6 = 17 1/2 oz

Bottle #7 = 18 1/2 oz

Bottle #8 = 19 oz

3. Start playing music!

Example Songs:

Mary had a Little Lamb

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222355

3212333

322321

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

1155665

4433221

5544332

5544332

1155665

4433221

Old McDonald

4441221

665541

4441221

66554

1144411444

4444

4444

4441221

66554

Note: To make the bottle blowing easier use a tube to blow into.

I am participating in Family Moment Monday.

This activity idea is from www.familyfun.go.com.