4/2/20

Hello friends and welcome back to the music room online! I hope you and your families are well and that you are taking care of each other during this tricky time. This week we will be exploring the connections between music,science and art to get those creative brains of yours working in a different way!

As last week, we are still working in Google Chrome Music Lab. During this week I invite you to explore the next few labs – which one do you like best? Why? Was there one that isn’t really fun and again – why?  If you didn’t have a chance to try any of the offline suggestions, give them a try this week (they are again listed on the bottom of this page) Have fun musical explorers!  

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com

Musically yours, Mrs. Renauld

 

CHROME MUSIC LAB:  SPECTROGRAM

A spectrogram is a picture of sound. A spectrogram shows the frequencies that make up the sound, from low to high, and how they change over time, from left to right. With this experiment you can compare spectrograms of different sounds, or use the mic to see what your own sounds look like.

CHROME MUSIC LAB:SOUND WAVES

Sounds travel through the air like waves through water – but a lot faster. The blue dots represent air molecules bouncing back and forth as sound travels through them. Tap the magnifying glass to zoom in and see a red line graphing the position of one molecule, tracing the shape of the wave.

CHROME MUSIC LAB:KANDINSKY

This experiment is inspired by Wassily Kandinsky, an artist who compared painting to making music. It turns anything you draw – lines, circles, triangles, or scribbles – into sound.

Here are some off line ideas for all student ages for this week:

• Interviews: Have students interview family members about their musical backgrounds and interests. What is their favorite song right now and why? What instruments do they play? What does music mean to them? Who are their favorite artists? Students can record the responses they get and also answer the questions themselves.
• Instrument invention: Have students invent a new instrument. They could draw a picture of it and describe how it is played, how it’s constructed, and what it sounds like, or they could make one out of recycled materials.
• Hand-washing dance choreography: Have students choreograph a short dance routine incorporating the different ways we’re recommended to wash our hands (scrubbing nails, between fingers, etc). Check out this one for inspiration.
• Listening log: Have students write down music that they hear each day. Depending on the age, they can also record information about the songs, like the title/artist, genre, mood, time signature, tempo, instrumentation, etc., or they could draw a picture in response to the music.
• Singing log: Have students write down songs that they sing each day. They can sing along with a recording, sing by themselves, or sing with their family.
• Soundtrack of my life: Have students create an imaginary album that shows who they are. They can make a list of song titles, and for each song describe the music—this could be done either by asking students to come up with their own imaginary songs or by having students find existing songs that would describe aspects of their personality/life. Students could also design an album cover to go with it, write liner notes, etc.
• Instrumental / choral practice: Of course, if students have sheet music for choir songs, instrumental method books, recorder music, etc., then they can practice their music! Include tips for independent practicing, fingering charts, etc., to help students maintain productive practic