Music:

This week we will be exploring keyboard percussion instruments. Choose one or two of these activities to explore throughout the week:

• WATCH - Mr. DiFabio’s Instrument Spotlight about the Marimba (6:47)
• WATCH - Watch these videos to hear what the Piano (1:41), Accordion (1:43), Synthesizer (1:43) and sound like!
• WATCH - Watch I am the Music Man (3:56) and pretend to play the instruments! Which instruments are percussion instruments? What are some other instruments you know? Pretend to play them!
• PLAY - If you have a piano or keyboard at home, take some time to play today! Even if you do not play piano, take some time to explore the keys or make up your own song! If you do not have a piano at home, you can play a virtual keyboard HERE.
• LISTEN & CREATE - Choose one of the pieces below and listen to the music. How does the music make you feel? Is the music happy, sad, scary, silly, or a different feeling? DRAW a picture of what the music makes you think about.
  • Maple Leaf Rag (2:50) by Scott Joplin on piano
  • Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (9:20) by J.S. Bach on organ
  • Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations (10:27) by W.A. Mozart on harpsichord
  • Clair de Lune (5:13) by Claude Debussy on piano
  • Attraction (2:46) by Emmanuel Séjourné on marimba

Happy exploring!

Music:

This week we will be exploring keyboard percussion instruments. Choose one or two of these activities to explore throughout the week:

• WATCH - Mr. DiFabio’s Instrument Spotlight about the Marimba (6:47)
• LISTEN & MOVE - Carnival of the Animals (7:38) was written by a French composer named Camille Saint-Saëns. Each song sounds like a different animal! Listen carefully to the music and guess which animal the music is describing. Then, move to the music like the animals!
• PLAY - If you have a piano or keyboard at home, take some time to play today! Even if you do not play piano, take some time to explore the keys or make up your own song! If you do not have a piano at home, you can play a virtual keyboard HERE.
• LISTEN & CREATE- Choose one of the pieces below and listen to the music. How does the music make you feel? Is the music happy, sad, scary, silly, or a different feeling? DRAW a picture of what the music makes you think about.
  • Maple Leaf Rag (2:50) by Scott Joplin on piano
  • Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (9:20) by J.S. Bach on organ
  • Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations (10:27) by W.A. Mozart on harpsichord
  • Clair de Lune (5:13) by Claude Debussy on piano
  • Attraction (2:46) by Emmanuel Séjourné on marimba

Happy exploring!

Music:

This week we will be exploring keyboard percussion instruments. Choose one or two of these activities to explore throughout the week:

• WATCH - Mr. DiFabio’s Instrument Spotlight about the Marimba (6:47)
• LISTEN & MOVE - Carnival of the Animals (7:38) was written by a French composer named Camille Saint-Saëns. Each song sounds like a different animal! Listen carefully to the music and guess which animal the music is describing.
  • Can you move like the animals to the music?
  • Do you think Camille Saint-Saëns did a good job of describing each animal with music? Does his music make you think of a different animal?
  • Think about what music you would use to describe your favorite animal.
• PLAY - If you have a piano or keyboard at home, take some time to play today! Even if you do not play piano, take some time to explore the keys or make up your own song! If you do not have a piano at home, you can play a virtual keyboard HERE.
• EXPLORE - Choose two or more of the percussion/keyboard instruments below. Click on the name to learn more about them.
  • Harpsichord
  • Organ
  • Piano
  • Glockenspiel
  • Xylophone

Happy exploring!

Music:

This week we will be exploring keyboard percussion instruments. Choose one or two of these activities to explore throughout the week:

• WATCH - Mr. DiFabio’s Instrument Spotlight about the Marimba (6:47)

Now, let’s learn about instruments in the Keyboard Percussion category! We’ve explored lots of percussion instruments over the last few weeks. We have a few more for you this week. Please listen to some examples of piano, celeste, and a marimba ensemble.

• WATCH - Listen to accomplished musicians play:
  • Piano: Lang Lang- Rhapsody in Blue (2:34)
  • Piano: Jacob Koller- Mission Impossible (2:11)
  • Keyboard Specialist: Toronto Symphony Orchestra- the Celeste (2:20)
  • Marimba: Hilton College Marimba Competition- Adventure of a Lifetime (2:34)
• EXPLORE - Did you ever wonder how they make a piano or what instruments came before the piano? Check out the clips below to answer some of your questions. Then take a moment to watch a performance that includes a piano playing with an orchestra.
  • A Brief History of the Piano (3:26)
  • A brief history of the pianoforte (5:31)
  • Watch a performance that includes orchestra and piano (3:34)
• PERFORM - Try playing a few easy melodies by using this Piano App!
  • Use the labeled keys to play the following:
    • Hot Cross Buns:
      • E4, D4, C4,
      • E4, D4, C4
      • C4, C4, C4, C4
      • D4, D4, D4, D4
      • E4, D4, C4
    • Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star:
      • C4, C4, G4, G4, A4, A4, G4
      • F4, F4, E4, E4, D4, D4, C4

Happy exploring!

Music:

This week we will be exploring keyboard percussion instruments. Choose one or two of these activities to explore throughout the week:

• WATCH - Mr. DiFabio’s Instrument Spotlight about the Marimba (6:47)

Take a look at these interesting videos. Enjoy and if you have a keyboard/piano at home, you can experiment with different notes and create music! Or, explore the virtual keyboard posted below.

• WATCH - Piano Lessons for Kids: The History of the Piano (4:36)
• PLAY - Virtual Keyboard

There are many people who think that the piano is a string instrument. It is actually a percussion instrument because the strings in the piano body are struck with wooden hammers. Watch this next video to see exactly what occurs when you play the piano.

• WATCH - How A Piano Works: The Grand Piano (3:55)

Happy exploring!

Music:

This week we will be exploring keyboard percussion instruments. Choose one or two of these activities to explore throughout the week:

• WATCH - Mr. DiFabio’s Instrument Spotlight about the Marimba (6:47)

When was the piano created? What was its first name? This video will show you the history of the creation of the piano.

• WATCH - Piano Lessons for Kids: The History of the Piano (4:36)

We all know that you play the piano by pressing on the black and white keys to make sound, but do you know what the three pedals under the piano are used for? Watch this video and you will learn about the pedals of the piano.

• WATCH - What do the pedals on a piano do? | Cunningham Piano Company, Philadelphia, King of Prussia, PA (6:54)

“Pianos, keyboards and digital pianos can have one to three foot pedals that perform various musical functions. The most important pedal is the Damper or Sustain pedal, usually found on the furthest right on acoustic instruments. The Damper/Sustain pedal controls how long the notes can be heard after playing them. The second most important pedal is the Soft pedal, otherwise known as the Una Corda. This controls how soft the piano sounds, and is usually the pedal furthest to the left on acoustic pianos. The third pedal - usually the middle one - varies in function, depending on the type of piano. On grand pianos, the middle pedal is known as a Sostenuto pedal. This pedal only holds notes that have been "locked" with the fingers, keeping the other notes free to be controlled by the other pedals or with the fingers alone.”

• PLAY - If you have a piano or keyboard at home, take some time to play today! Even if you do not play piano, take some time to explore the keys or make up your own song! If you do not have a piano at home, you can play a virtual keyboard HERE.

Happy exploring!

Take your music learning further with these great resources:

• TED ED - [LINK] Here’s a playlist of all the TED ED talks about music on YouTube. These are best used by upper elementary and high school students.
• Mario Paint Composer - [LINK] This site enables students to create their own 8-bit music that sounds like it’s from an actual Super Nintendo video game. Students can also download their song as an mp3 to keep or to share. A great music writing site for all ages.
• Folk Ways - [LINK] A great site for upper elementary to high school students interested in world music!
• DSO Kids - [LINK] Dallas Symphony Orchestra website for students of all ages. It has pages for different composers and instruments including video and audio clips. Also has activities for students including coloring pages, practice tips, and ideas for making your own instrument.
• Classics for Kids - [LINK] Classical music for elementary music. Site includes music and information on composers, quizzes, games, and activities students can do at home.
• Brain Pop - [LINK] Great video resources about musical genres, making music, and MORE! Great for elementary - middle school.
• Teoria - [LINK] Ear training and theory resources for more advanced students.
• Rhythm Randomizer - [LINK] Here students can practice reading rhythms. Students can choose different note and rest values and the site will randomly generate new sight-reading exercises.