|
A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for
the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces
sound can serve as a musical instrument. The term "musical instrument",
however, is generally reserved for items that have a specific
musical purpose. The academic study of musical instruments is
called organology.Most musical instruments have a string, a
reed (a thin piece of wood or metal), or some other device that
vibrates creating sound waves. Musical sound or tone is made
when air vibrates a certain number of times a second. The sound
waves must be contained in some fashion so that the instrument
player can control the pitch, loudness, duration, and quality
of the tone produced. After visiting several of the websites,
complete one or more of these activities: Build/Invent Your
Own Musical Instrument. Get some ideas and plans at sites like
Building Musical Instruments, Instrument Builders Pages, Build
a Conduit-pipe Hammered-dulcimer, How to Build a Simple Hammered-Dulcimer,
Making a Hammer Dulcimer, and Virtual Museum of Music Inventions.
Then make your own instrument. You may want to follow a plan
or come up with your own 'original' creation. Complete a Musical
Instruments WebQuest. Follow or adapt the procedures found at
the Instrumental Information Inquiry (Grades 5-8) webQuest site.
History of a Musical Instrument. Select any instrument and use
online resources and the library to learn about its history
and development. If working in a large group such as a school
class, you could divide yourselves - - each person or a small
group looking at the instruments for the sections of an orchestra.
Present your information in a HyperStudio, PowerPoint, or other
type of presentation software where you can include pictures,
sounds, and graphics with your text information. An alternative
project would be to create a webpage using one of the HTML development
programs. Identify Famous People Who Play(ed) an Instrument.
Create a bulletin board display that shows well-known people
in varied career fields with the musical instrument that they
played - - for example, Carl Sandburg with a guitar. Investigate
the Science of a Musical Instrument. Pick and instrument and
investigate the science behind the sound. How does it Work?
How are different sounds produced. Create a diagram or poster
that explains what you learn to others. Compare and Contrast
Two Different Instruments. Investigate two very different musical
instruments. Compare and contrast the two in terms of their
design, the sounds they produce, the way that they are played,
their history etc. Musical instruments can be grouped in five
major classes: (1) stringed instruments, (2) wind instruments,
(3) percussion instruments, (4) keyboard instruments, and (5)
electronic instruments.
|
