Tag Archives: music projects all abilities

Irish Music For Kids!

St. Patrick’s Day is on the way!

Holidays are a wonderful time to explore both music and world cultures with your young child. Here’s a super-easy kids drum craft for St. Patrick’s Day – a drum that originally was a farm sieve for separating grain!  A kid’s size bodhran (pronounced bow-ran) can be easily made from a pie tin or a metal take-out container. And definitely make the “tipper”, too. It’s a special kind of drum beater that is tapped back and forth and it great for teaching motor skills to kids!  Step-by-step directions can be found in the tutorial below from the TPT website.

What do the classic Irish symbols mean? Naturally, you’ll recognize shamrocks as symbols of Celtic Knot USEgood luck. The Celtic Cross often represents religion and spirituality. A harp is often pictured because it is the national instrument of Ireland and the Claddagh (two hands joined by a crowned heart) is a beautiful symbol that represents the bonds of friendship, love and loyalty.

Wondering what a bodhran looks or sounds like? Watch these three young boys showing off their formidable drumming and Irish dancing skills. Plus, feel free to check out our round-up of Irish music-related crafts and posts for kids, listed below.

Links and Resources

MYO Bodhran and Tipper Tutorial: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Irish-Drum-Make-and-Play-Your-Own-Bodhran-and-Tipper-2410657

Whistle a Merry Tune – With A Tin Whistle http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/early-learning-with-music/whistle-a-merry-tune-with-a-tin-whistle/

Morris Dancing Bells For Kids
http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/early-learning-with-music/easy-morris-dancing-bells-for-children/

Easy Introduction to 10 Irish Instruments
https://makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/an-easy-introduction-to-irish-instruments/

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Posted in Family Fun, First Instruments, Holiday Songs, Homeschool Musical Fun, Multicultural Music, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments

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Easy May Day Jingle Sticks

Many cultures celebrate the Spring with music and festivities.   In The British Isles, traditional morris dancers have bells on their legs and sticks in their hands that they use as part of the choreography of the dance.  You can use the same ideas to celebrate the season or as part of music and movement fun; indoors or outdoors, any time or the year.

morris bells on kyraBells and Sticks

We’ll be sharing a post soon about a variety of different dancing bell traditions from various cultures – each with it’s own simple craft versions you can try at home.  For now, if you’re looking for an easy, wearable  “morris bells” craft, check out the resources and links below.

And what do you hold in your hands while dancing?  These bright and colorful jingle sticks are easy to make and fit perfectly in a child’s hands while they are dancing or moving – around a Maypole or during any dancing or movement activity.

morris jingle sticks suppliesA Few Supplies

To make these easy jingle sticks, you’ll need:

Pencils (unsharpened)

Pipecleaners (4 – 8 per stick)

Assorted jingle bells

Ribbon (optional)

morris jingle sticks - pencil and bellWrap it Up!

Start your stick by threading a jingle bell into the middle of a pipecleaner.  Then wrap both sides of the pipecleaner down over the pencil.  Take a second pipecleaner and wrap around the pencil until it is covered, adding jingle bells at regular intervals.  When the pipecleaner is too short to wrap, start with another one and wrap the end of the last one underneath.

Use as many jingles as you like and then tie on pieces of colorful ribbons as streamers, if desired.

morris jingle stick completeWhat Can You Do With Jingle Sticks?

You can use jingle sticks for playing music while seated at a desk in class in school.  You can make a pair and hold one in each hand during any form or movement of free form dance.  You can shake jingle sticks along with the beat of a favorite song.  You can practice, left hand and right hand patterns while listening to recorded music or create left hand and right hand patterns while singing.

Get creative and have fun!

morris jingle sticks 2 sidewaysResources

Easy Morris Bells Craft

http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/early-learning-with-music/easy-morris-dancing-bells-for-children/

Make Your Own Indian-Style Ankle Bells (from Teachers Pay Teachers)

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Make-Your-Own-Indian-Style-Ankle-Bells-or-Ghungroo-486879

 

 

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Posted in Classroom Music, Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Holiday Songs, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments, Special Needs/Kids of All Abilities

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Whistle A Merry Tune – With A Tin Whistle

Tin whistle sheet music

It’s wonderful when a “first instrument” is so simple that a child can begin playing melodies and making music right away!  For just this reason, the tin whistle makes a great wind instrument to share with a child – or learn along with your child.  Even adults who consider themselves “musically challenged” can surprise themselves with what they can accomplish on this basic instrument.

In other words, if you can read a simple chart and place your fingers over the holes of a tin whistle, then you can play this instrument.  And, with a little bit of practice, it can sound great!

A Whistle With Many Names

Also known as a penny whistle or an Irish whistle, the tin whistle has a plastic or wooden mouthpiece; called a fipple, and a metal tube for the body.  Although they are made in all major keys, the most popular tin whistles are in the key of D and C.  Best of all, the fingerings used to play any tin whistle are similar to those used on the clarinet, flute and saxophone, so exploring this instrument can be a wonderful “headstart” for any child who might continue on with other wind instruments in the future.

child and tin whistleHow To Hold A Tin Whistle

Here are a few tips for playing the tin whistle.  First, hold the whistle at a 45 degree angle, facing downward and away from you.  If you’re right-handed, put that hand on the bottom and use your left hand on the top.  If you’re a lefty, reverse that order. Thumbs hold the whistle from below and you cover the six holes with your fingertips.

Now…blow!

With the mouthpiece between your lips (not between your teeth), give a steady breath of air.  You’ll know if you’ve got the right technique immediately because if you blow too softly, you’ll hear an airy or all-too-quiet note.  If you blow too forcefully, you’ll hear a shrill pitch or a squeak. Some musicians recommend that you blow as if you were saying the word “toooooo!”

holding the tin whistleLet Your Fingers Do The Walking!

Once you’ve found the right way to blow a note, begin removing your fingers starting at the bottom and going to the top (until they all are uncovered).  You’ll hear the difference in the sound and you can begin to play these notes to form your own melodies.

And, then?

From there, you can jam with your tin whistle or learn to play specific melodies.  You can try some advanced techniques like blowing a bit harder and getting a second octave (a set of higher notes) out of your tin whistle.  You can try different whistles in different keys or look for books that share your favorite songs or traditional Irish music which is perfectly suited to this simple folk instrument.

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Prize Green tin whistle - key of D

Above photo of a young girl exploring the tin whistle is courtesy of from a blog written by an amazing percussive dance teaching artist named Malke Rosenfeld (www.malkerosenfeld.com).   You can read the full post here:
http://mathinyourfeet.blogspot.com/2012/03/all-in-good-time.html

Irish Music For Kids – Resource Round-up

MYO Bodhran and Tipper tutorial: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Irish-Drum-Make-and-Play-Your-Own-Bodhran-and-Tipper-2410657

Whistle a Merry Tune – With A Tin Whistle http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/early-learning-with-music/whistle-a-merry-tune-with-a-tin-whistle/

Morris Dancing Bells For Kids http://www.tinytappingtoes.com/early-learning-with-music/easy-morris-dancing-bells-for-children/

Easy Introduction to 10 Irish Instruments https://makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/an-easy-introduction-to-irish-instruments/

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Posted in Celtic Music, Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Holiday Songs, Multicultural Music, Simple Instruments, Special Needs/Kids of All Abilities

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Best Instruments For Quiet Time With A Child!

playing rainstick in the grassMost people associate making music with expressing yourself, having fun and making noise!  Although its great fun to sing, dance and play an instrument, there are also many world traditions that use music to quiet the soul, to learn to listen and to encourage rest, sleep or meditation.  Quiet time instruments or music are perfect for sharing with your children around naptime, bedtime or for a break during a busy  day.

The Rainstick

Originally, rainsticks were made from a special cactus whose long “arms” dried and fell to the ground. They were filled with seeds, beads or pebbles and as these tiny objects fell from one side of the cactus to the other, the sound that emerged was like a gentle rain or a quietly trickling stream. The sound of a rainstick (known in South America as palo de lluvia) is so peaceful and relaxing that it is often heard in meditation tapes or used as part of music therapy.

How do you play a rainstick?  You turn it up-side-down or hold it at an angle so that the contents can flow from one end to the other.  Notice the difference in sound when you hold it vertically or at an angle.  You can also “shimmy” the rainstick gently as it flows or hold it horizontally and shake it like a rattle.

How can you use the rainstick as a quiet time instrument?  “Play” the rainstick along with relaxing music until you feel like resting or try some of these games.

          A class or group of children listen to rainstick while a teacher turns it over.  When the last pebble falls, the first child with their hand up gets to be the new leader or wins that round.

          Try the above game with the children’s eyes closed.

          Try this game with young children at naptime in a preschool setting.  After each child has a chance to play the rainstick, they lie down to rest.  The teacher picks each student by seeing which one is waiting most quietly and giving them the first turns until everyone is ready to rest.

Use your own ideas and make up your own games or rainstick activities.  Don’t have a rainstick?  You can win one from DARIA’s world music for kids website or make your own version from simple, recycled materials, by checking out the links below.

The Ocean Drum

The sound of the surf can be so soothing.  And playing an ocean drum, can help you bring the quiet sound of ocean waves right into your classroom or home, creating a relaxing space to rest or refocus your energies.

What is an ocean drum?  It’s a two-sided drum with clear material stretched over a round frame.  Inside the drum are small round objects such as bee-bees or pebbles.  As the drum is tilted back and forth, the tiny objects move across the head of the drum creating a sound remarkably like ocean waves gently breaking on a beach.

By holding the drum at different angles, the player can control how the waves move – quickly and enthusiastically or softly and quietly.  Along with the repetitive sound, the look of the small objects moving back and forth can create a relaxing experience that is remarkably comforting for any child but one that is especially appreciated by children on the autistic spectrum.

Don’t have an ocean drum?  You can make your own version from a shipping box.  Find the simple instructions at the link below.

bronze singing bowl 2Singing Bowl and Tingsha

In the near future, we’ll do a detailed article on using these additional two instruments for relaxation and quiet time with small children.  In the meantime, you can to find more general information and a “Make Your Own Tingsha” post at the links below.

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Links:

Make Your Own Rainstick

http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/RAINSTICK%20Instructions.pdf

Make Your Own Ocean Drum

http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/Ocean%20Drum%20Instructions.pdf

The Singing Bowl

http://makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/gongs-handbells-and-singing-bowls-three-great-instruments-for-exploring-the-culture-of-china-tibet-nepal-and-asia/

Make Your Own Tinghsa

http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/MakeYourOwnTingsha.pdf

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Posted in Babies and Music, Early Learning With Music, Simple Instruments, Special Needs/Kids of All Abilities

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Make a Roly Poly Musical Thing!

roly poly things (3)There are so many great ways of enjoying musical play with a young child.  It’s a fun learning experience for kids of any age or ability and also a great de-stresser for mom, dad or caregiver.

Here’s a project that’s easy to make and provides an opportunity to take time out of a busy day to play and have fun with a little one that you love.

What’s A Roly Poly Musical Thing?

Anything you want it to be!  Start with any cylindrical container like these and gather a few supplies to decorate and fill them. Here’s a basic supply list.

roly poly suppliesSupplies

 Any recycled container that can roll.

Material to decorate: stickers, markers, colorful tape, etc.

Objects to fill: dried beans, rice, birdseed, jingle bells,

beads, buttons, macaroni, jingle bells, Q-tips, sand, salt, pebbles.

If your object is transparent – You may wish to add decorative objects that won’t change the sound but will add visual interest such as glitter, colorful puffballs or confetti.

Sturdy tape (such as electrical or duct tape) to seal the project.

Make Your Roly Poly Thing!

First clean and dry the container you’ll be using.  Then decide how you’ll decorate. You can do this as a coloring project, add stickers or apply colorful tape.

roly poly thingSince you’ll be playing with this homemade toy by rolling it, remember that it can be fun to create designs that will be interesting when they are rolled back and forth, like changes in color, various stripes, patterns or wiggly lines or different stickers that might appear like different “faces” of the roly poly thing.

If your object is transparent, consider what you might put inside to make interesting patterns when the object is rolled.

Next, add the items that will create sound as your object rolls.  Larger objects like dried pasta or large buttons make louder noises.  Smaller items like sand or seed beads make a quiet “whooshing” sound.

Once you are pleased with the look and sound of your project, you can seal it up.  Use a sturdy tape such as electric or duct tape and you’ll be ready to play.

Time To Play!rolling roly poly

There are lots of fun ways to play with a roly poly thing.  Here are some of our favorite ways:

Roll between two hands on the floor

Roll between two hands on a tabletop or at a desk

Roll back and forth between two players on the floor

Roll back and forth in time to music

roly on the tableRoll back and forth in time to slow quiet music

Roll back and forth in time to fast-paced, up-tempo music

Roll back and forth while singing or counting

Roll back and forth, rolling when music plays, stopping when music stops.

Make up your own games and your own rules.

Be creative and have fun!

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Looking for songs to “roll” along to?

Play Along With Any OF DARIA’s Songs on her Youtube Channel

www.youtube.com/user/DariaMusic

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Posted in Babies and Music, Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments, Special Needs/Kids of All Abilities

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