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Music Lesson - Week 8

The world of percussion

▪ What will I learn? You will:

■ discover and learn about the percussion family

■ identify percussion instruments

■ categorise percussion instruments

■ view percussion performances and venues.

You will need:

■ two pencils and a chair or cushion to use as a drum.

▪ Discover

What is percussion?

A percussion instrument is one that you:

■ strike (hit or tap)

■ shake

■ scrape.

Think about:

1. Where did percussion instruments originate? _____________________________

2. What was the first type of percussion? ___________________________________

3. What is the difference between pitched and unpitched percussion?

_____________________________________________________________________

There are two pitched percussion instruments on the next page. Can you colour them in?

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Can you think of any more percussion instruments? Add them to your list.

Name of instrument Describe how it is played

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▪ Identify

Watch this video of high school students performing Guyute in a percussion ensemble.

Follow this link https://youtu.be/QitLil5mVZA or search for “Guyute percussion”.

1. Put a tick next to the instruments below that are pitched percussion.

Hint: if you can sing along with the tune the instrument is playing, it is pitched.

(From back left)

bass drum glockenspiel snare drum tom-toms gong vibraphone timpani tambourine bell chimes marimba cymbal triangle

2. Are most of the instruments played by shaking, striking or scraping?

__________________________________________________________________________

3. How do the performers play the vibraphone differently at 5:10?

__________________________________________________________________________

4. Can you spot the string instrument that is not part of the percussion family?

__________________________________________________________________________

▪ Perform

Now it’s time to improvise and play along on the drums. Choose one of the online videos.

You will need a drum (or cushion, chair or table) and sticks (pencils, chopsticks, rulers).

1. Can you click your sticks along with the performers in “A Capella Drumming”?

2. Can you echo the leader’s rhythms on your own drum?

3. Try making up your own rhythms and play along!

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Music Lesson - Week 9

Discovering instruments

▪ What will I learn? You will:

■ explore different percussion instruments

■ identify percussion instruments

■ play percussion instruments.

You will need:

■ a pencil and objects to play as a drum and a shaker.

▪ Explore

Instrument name Material/s How it’s played

(shake, strike,

scrape)

Describe the

sound it makes

Simple sketch of

instrument

E.g. xylophone

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▪ Discover

Research 1 percussion instrument of your choice. Present in

You could research:

■ where the instrument originated (where it came from)

■ which genre it's often used in (e.g. Latin music)

■ how it makes sound

■ musicians who play the instrument.

▪ Who Am I?

Play a game of 'Who Am I?'

1. Person 1 thinks of a percussion instrument (write it down).

2. Person 2 asks up to 5 questions that can be answered by 'yes' or 'no'.

E.g., Is it pitched? Is it something you shake? Is it made of metal?

▪ Play

Choose two homemade percussion instruments to play along with the video below.

Search for ‘Musication Can Can 1’ or go to https://youtube.com/watch?v=x-YtK_EvmiY

Extension play along:

Radetzky March - Percussion

Trepak - Percussion

Collect two objects from around the house.

E.g. hand drum = cushion

tambourine = set of keys

claves = two wooden spoons

shaker = rice in a bottle

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Music Lesson - Week 10

Make it and play it!

▪ What will I learn? You will:

■ brainstorm ideas for making your own percussion instrument

■ plan how you will construct your instrument

■ construct your instrument

■ compose and perform with your instrument

■ reflect on your composition.

You will need:

■ a pencil

■ items and materials to create your instrument (ask before using them!).

▪ Get inspired You can make instruments in very creative ways! In this video, students in the “Recycled

Orchestra” use trash that would have gone into landfill: https://youtu.be/yYbORpgSmjg

In this STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) challenge, we are going

to create our own percussion instruments! We will be using recyclable materials to make

our instruments (for example, recycled bottles, tins, containers or cardboard).

There are 3 steps:

1. Brainstorm

2. Plan

3. Construct

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1. Brainstorm

Start by naming 2 percussion instruments that you are interested in re-creating.

Brainstorm what each would look like and what materials you would need in the table

below. Your re-created instrument does not have to look exactly like the original! You

could even create a fusion instrument or invent a new percussion instrument from your

imagination! Here are some examples: https://youtu.be/UWA1NAaRxhw

Instrument:

Sketch and

label à

List of

materials

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

2. Plan

Before you complete the plan on the next page, think about the following questions:

■ do I have (or can I easily get) the materials I will need?

■ can I construct this in time?

3. Construct

Construction time! Use your plan as a guide that you can improve along the way.

Make sure you ask an adult for help with any construction that is a bit tricky. Try to play it!

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My Instrument Plan

I am going to make a: ___________________________________________________________

I am choosing this because: ______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Materials Item How many Where will I get it from

Steps to create my instrument

1. ____________________________________

____________________________________

2. ____________________________________

____________________________________

3. ____________________________________

____________________________________

4. ____________________________________

____________________________________

5. ____________________________________

____________________________________

Final Sketch