Instruments of the Orchestra Test

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The Notebook

No you're not going to find Ryan Gosling here but if you are absent a day or so, or need a place to study at home, here is the place to come. I'm starting a new area in the blog "The Notebook." Basically, you will find three things here; the journal for the day, our notes, and any activity/assignment that we have done. I will do my best to keep it updated as much as possible however I can't guarantee it will be an everyday thing. So, with that in mind, here is "the notebook" for today.

Instruments of the Orchestra

Strings

String Instruments: Any instrument that makes its sound by vibrating strings either by plucking the strings or using a bow.

Bow: A tool made of wood and horsehair. It is used to vibrate the strings on some of the string instruments.

Bridge: The part of a string instrument that supports and connects the strings to the resonator. 

Resonator: The large hallow section of a string instrument that enhances the volume and tone of the instrument by acting as a natural amplifier.

Types of String Instruments

Orchestral                  Folk

                                                               Violin                     Guitar

                                                                Viola                      Banjo

                                                                Cello                    Mandolin

                                                         Upright Bass

                                                                Harp

Instruments of the Orchestra

Woodwind Instruments

Coming Up...

Hey Guys,

I thought that I would go ahead and share what is coming up this coming week of February 7-11.

Monday: Make the Garden Hose Horn
        -Be sure to bring in an empty 20 oz bottle
        -Make a Sound on a Brass Instrument

Tuesday: Percussion Instruments and possibly make the rain stick
        -Bring an empty PAPER TOWEL roll.

Wednesday: Finish the percussion instruments and definitely do the rain stick project. We will also be going to the lab this day to set up our testing web page
        -Student Login

Thursday: Review game with Mrs. Ashley (I'll be out of town)

Friday: Test in the computer lab (again, I'll be out of town)

I'm sorry that I haven't updated the page in the past day or so but always check the page for something new. I'm going to put a link below to the website we will be taking our test on.

Test Page
Test Page Login

Instruments of the Orchestra: Make an Instrument Day!

Not much to say here except to remind everyone to bring a REGULAR sized shoebox for the box guitar project tomorrow. Yes, it will happen tomorrow.

Instruments of the Orchestra: The Woodwinds

Hello and Happy Groundhog Day!

Today was one of the more entertaining days that we have had this week. We continued our work with the woodwind instruments by finishing our notes by looking at the pictures, listening to sound samples, and even watching a live saxophone performance. However, the most entertaining part of the day was using a drinking straw to make an oboe. By the way if you want to try this project at home, I have listed the steps below. The reason that we "built" these instruments today was to see for ourselves how a double reed instrument works. It didn't exactly sound like an instrument but it did a pretty good job at making a double reed sound.

For those who missed today (Wed. Feb. 2):

Journal 8: "Describe how single reed instruments work."

Making a Straw Oboe:

Flatten the end of a regular drinking straw (McDonald's straws work best)

Cut the edges off of the flattened ends

Put the cut ends between your lips and blow

Tip: If you're having trouble getting a sound out, put the straw a little farther back in your mouth and bite harder.

Web Poll

Woodwind Instruments Web Poll

Instruments of the Orchestra: The String Family

Hello Everyone!

For the past few days we have been learning about the instruments of the orchestra. Right now we are looking at the instruments of the string family. These instruments are divided into two groups; orchestral (played in orchestra) and folk (non-orchestral). To help the students learn more about these instruments, we have looked at pictures of the instruments, listened to them play, and we will be making our own "box harp" using an empty shoe/tissue box, rubber bands, and two pencils. Within the next few days, we will also be learning about the instruments of the woodwind, brass, and percussion families. For each of these instrument families, we will build our own instrument to learn more about how these instruments work. To help everyone out, I have listed all of the materials that we will need for each of the projects. Also, I have provided several links to websites about the instrument families. These websites has loads of information, pictures, sounds, and even some activities and games to help us understand more about the instruments of the orchestra.

Materials List:
Empty 20 oz bottle of coke
Used papertowel roll

Links:
San Francisco Symphony Kid's Page
Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Kids