Building own music intstruments
Mrs. Kaisa
Loponen
Music
teacher grades 2-6
The areas
of music teaching are among other musical innovation and playing the
instrument. 5th graders focused in these themes during the spring by
building their own instruments. The 21st Century Skills aimed to
were problem solving co-operatively, creativity in constructing and playing and
keeping a blog of the project. It also needed sustainability when making the
instrument playable and practice with it.
They
expanded their understanding about traditional instruments like piano, guitar
and flute to new dimensions finding out that you can make sound and play with
almost anything. If you can have an impact to volume and tune it makes the
playing more diverse.
Every
student made a kazoo and a drinking straw oboe. They also selected a third
instrument which could be a can bass, cow whistle or an ocarina made of
floorball. All the instruments were manufactured of material found from the
school and Pringles tubes brought from home.
They
learned to play with them and composed funny sounds like laughing fly, a ghost
or balloon going empty. The work included also making a story in groups and
composing a world of sound behind it.
The kazoos
were made of garden pipe. There is a hole in the middle covered with plastic
and when you sing in it makes a buzzing sound.
Can bass
was made of Pringles tube by adding a wooden bar inside. After that they made a
hole in the bottom and some thin rope. The other side of the rope was attached
to the wooden bar tightly. If you push the rope with fingers you can change the
tune like in real bass.
The most
excited students in the project were those who are not so active in musical
expression. The construction inspired also the active ones giving a challenge
like playing a familiar children song with the floorball ocarina.
The
students thought that this was fun and maybe we continue this with new ideas
next year!
