Making Music

Features

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Cover Type: Paperback with 96 pages
• Published by: Storey Publishing, LLC October 15, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1580175120
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1580175128
• Book Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Weighs: 12 ounces

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5--Using easy-to-follow directions and examples drawn from musical forms from around the globe, Wiseman and Langstaff invite children to explore the world of music by showing them how to create their own instruments and rhythms. The projects incorporate everything from forks and pencils to clay pots and drinking glasses. Unfortunately, many of the activities would best be completed with adult assistance, a fact that is not always made clear in the text, so careful reading by adults is advised. For example, in "Pot Cover Cymbals," readers are instructed to "Unscrew knobs from covers. Thread string through holes. Use knots or buttons to keep lids from slipping." This is no easy task for young fingers and perhaps an unpleasant surprise for unsuspecting parents hoping to cook with those coverless pots. In other places, children are told to "Drill or poke holes" or to "Hammer bottle caps flat," without any safety warnings. Still, with some help and a little patience, young musicians can create many types of percussion instruments, pipes, and even some stringed instruments. Old-fashioned black-and-red illustrations appear throughout; they help to clarify the steps and add a bit of interest.--Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
Duet for Zipper and Velcro. Sonata for Milk Carton Guitar. Kitchen Concerto. Every home and classroom is crammed with objects kids can use to make music. This book teaches kids, parents, and teachers how to see musical possibilities in everything from a crumpled sheet of paper to a stick tapped against Venetian blinds to thimbles glued to the finger- tips of a glove.Two of the most respected names in arts education for children have teamed to produce Making Music. With her imaginative projects and whimsical drawings, Ann Sayre Wiseman shows kids how to make rhythm, string, wind, and keyboard instruments from all kinds of ordinary household items and natural materials. The projects range from simple castanets made from walnut shells to a complex zither built from wood.John Langstaff, preeminent music educator, teaches children how to make music with their homemade instruments ? whether solo, in a duet with a friend, in a small family ensemble, or with a full classroom orchestra. He starts with rhythm games and then moves on to teaching kids such music basics as tempo. And he includes fascinating ?Soundscapes? exercises in which kids use their instruments to suggest a storm or a sunrise.

Making Music is a remarkable achievement. It gets kids excited about sounds, it shows them how to make their own instruments, and it helps them recognize that everything in the world makes its own music.

Reader Reviews
From tambourines to trumpets, walnut castanets to homemade drums, there's a wealth of music in the most ordinary 'instrument', and a quirky gathering of sounds from 'found objects' are the focus of Making Music. Two-color art accompanies step-by-step directions on finding and making instruments from everyday objects. Though full color would have added attraction, kids will still find the simple drawings and directions fun and inviting. Comment | | (Report this)