Category: Learning About Music

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The Yantra

Introduction

In this Museum of Amazing Musical Instruments Mat the Hat introduces the Yantra.

And if you’re wanting to do an activity whilst you’re visiting the museum, there’s an accompanying quiz for each minstrument and web links to explore.

 

The yantra is a gentle and melodic drum, and is my musical partner to the Hang drum. The notes ring loud and pure.

The yantra is a tank drum – it is made out of an old propane gas tank. It’s been cut down to this lovely shape, but you can still see the letters underneath. It was made by a man called Jason who lives in Newburgh, Fife, in central Scotland. How do I know that – because I asked him to make this drum especially for me!

The yantra is a really sturdy drum, one that anyone can play with any sort of sticks – it’sindestructible and a great drum to take to a party! I don’t even need a case for it.

Some people call drums like this a tongue drum because the musical notes are made by playing each of these tongues that have been cut into the body. Each of the tongues is tuned to a different note on the scale of F major. The yantra is a tuned drum that I can play with any other instrument, but I especially like to play it with my Hang because the notes are similar. In music, this is because the scales that the two instruments play are related – D minor and F major.

The yantra drum get’s it’s name because yantra is the Sanskrit word for a mystical diagram that is important to members of the Hindu religion. The tongues on the drum look like a picture that you might meditate on. I think it’s rather beautiful!

Links

Here are some other videos you can watch to learn more about the Udo, how is is played and made.

Yantra Wikipedia

Tank drums

How to make a tank drum

 

To see what the Big Drum Adventure is all about have a look at Mat’s website.

http://wherestheone.co.uk/big-drum-adventure.html

 

Learning ResourcesWhat Can I do Graphic

To download files right click on the links and then select either:‘

  • Save Target As’ (PC)
  • ‘Download Linked File’ (Mac

 

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The Berimbau

Introduction

In this second Museum of Amazing Musical Instruments Mat the Hat introduces the Berimbau.

And if you’re wanting to do an activity whilst you’re visiting the museum, there’s an accompanying quiz for each minstrument and web links to explore.

 

 

The Berimbau

The Berimbau is a musical bow from Brazil. Some bows shoot arrows, but this bow shoots musical notes! It produces a unique sound that’s both rhythmic and hypnotic.

You’ll never find a berimbau that’s been made in a factory – all the parts of this minstument either grow naturally, or are recycled. The big bow is made from the wood of the beriba tree and is strung with wire that comes out of a car tyre. The gourd slides over one end – in Brazil this part is called the cabaça.

The berimbau produces three tones – a low note, a high note and a buzz tone. You move the berimbau to and from your tummy to make a wah wah sound that brings the instrument to life.

Berimbau rhythms are called toques. You will usually find a berimbau played for a martial art called capoeira, which is a sport that is very popular in Brazil. The rhythms of the berimbau tell the capoeira players how to play, and everyone sings along.

You hit the berimbau with a stick called a baqueta, which is held with a caxixi in your right hand. Your left hand holds the instrument by balancing it on your little finger, which takes a little while to get used to. Your left hand also holds the dobrão, which is shaped like an old Portuguese coin.

The berimbau travelled to Brazil from Africa in the days of slavery. The African slaves were kept in terrible conditions and weren’t allowed to dance or have any sort of fun, so practicing capoeira and playing the berimbau had to be done in secret. Nowadays capoeira is popular all over the world – it’s a great way to keep fit and play music at the same time.

Pronunciation guide

Berimbau: beh-rim-bow

Capoeira: caa-po-wayra

Toques: toks
Cabaça: kabassa

Caxixi : caa-shi-shi
Dobrão: dobraow (as in a cat’s meeaow)

 

 

 

Link

Here are some other videos you can watch to learn more about the Udo, how is is played and made.

Berimbau solo

Capoeria in Brazil – fast style called ‘Regional’

Capoeria in Brazil – slower style called ‘Angola

 

 

To see what the Big Drum Adventure is all about have a look at Mat’s website.

http://wherestheone.co.uk/big-drum-adventure.html

 

Learning ResourcesWhat Can I do Graphic

To download files right click on the links and then select either:‘

  • Save Target As’ (PC)
  • ‘Download Linked File’ (Mac

 

The  Udo

This is the udu – a musical clay pot. How do you do, udu?

Udu pots originally came from Nigeria, Africa, but today they are made all over the world. The musical clay pot is popular in India, where it’s called a Ghatam.

In the Igbo language of Nigeria the word Udu means a vessel, but I think it’s also like the sound the instrument makes – ooo doo!

This udu is made of clay and has tiny grains of iron embedded in the clay to help improve the sound of the drum. You play it by covering the holes in the side or the top. If you bounce your hand over the hole, you make the ‘oooo’, if you place your hand you make a ‘doooo’.

Udu clay pots are a wonderful example of how something from the home becomes a musical instrument. Before they were made with a hole in the side, udu vessels would be placed under ground to store water or milk in order to keep the contents cool. They could be described as the world’s oldest refrigerator!

The udu is a quieter drum that’s nice to play on your own or with other softer sounding instruments. Some players put water inside the drum, which changes the pitch.

 

 

 

Link

Here are some other videos you can watch to learn more about the Udo, how is is played and made.

 An Amazing Udu solo by Rakitha Wickramaratne

African Udu – women perfuming a Song of Thanks Giving

Making Udu pots in Nigeria

Indian Ghatam women’s ensemble

 

To see what the Big Drum Adventure is all about have a look at Mat’s website.

http://wherestheone.co.uk/big-drum-adventure.html

 

Learning ResourcesWhat Can I do Graphic

To download files right click on the links and then select either:‘

  • Save Target As’ (PC)
  • ‘Download Linked File’ (Mac

 

 

 

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The Museum of Amazing Musical Instruments

 

Introduction

Mat the Hat is well know to our schools for his lively and engaging Big Drum Adventure that he has delivered with many of our pupils. Each week Mat has a special feature called the Museum of Amazing Musical Minstruments.

 

Mat introduces items from his own personal museum, a collection of amazing sounds and unusual ways to create music that he has built up on his travels around the world. So prepare yourself to step into the Museum, to be astounded by the marvelous, magnificent and mysterious musical Minstruments from as far away as Africa, South America and the Himalayas.

And if you’re wanting to do an activity whilst you’re visiting the museum, there’s an accompanying pdf with a quiz for each minstrument and web links to explore.

 

 

There are three instruments on out blog pages,

The Udu,  a clay pot which makes some amazing sounds.

The Yantra made from a  steel drum

The Berimbau, a stringed instrument

 

Link

 

To see what the Big Drum Adventure is all about have a look at Mat’s website.

http://wherestheone.co.uk/big-drum-adventure.html

 

Learning ResourcesWhat Can I do Graphic

To download files right click on the links and then select either:‘

  • Save Target As’ (PC)
  • ‘Download Linked File’ (Mac

 

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Show us the Rhythm!

Scrape, Tap, Shake and Ting

In this lesson we are going to learn to use the instruments we made in our last video.  We will use them with simple rhythm cards to introduce graphic notation, which is the first step to learning to read music.

The symbols are:  

 

 

 

In the videos Mrs Borthwick will  show you how to use the cards and try to play the sounds in orders. If you missed it you can watch how to make the instruments in the blog post here.

Part 1.  This video allows you to practise reading all the cards for each instrument one after another. You can try to make your own card with more variations and play them together.

Part 2 . If you have two players, this video shows how to mix up the cards using all four sounds.  You can share out the instruments so that between you all the sounds can be played without stopping

Part 3. Now we will try a series of cards working as a pair or in a bigger group with all 4 sounds.  Once you can play these cards confidently then use the different ones you have made at home.

Part 4. This video is much more challenging.    Each card uses a mixture of two or more sounds.  Again, once you have practised these examples you can create and compose your own rhythms.

Finally you can try creating your own grid with four lines of rhythm to play together and perform. We have an example of one here.

 

p;

 

 

 

 

 

Learning Resources

To download files right click on the links and then select either:‘

      • Save Target As’ (PC)
      • ‘Download Linked File’ (Mac

     

Scrape, Tap, Shake and Ting Project Guide

Rhythm Symbols

Rhythm Grid

 

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Make Your Own Percussion Instrument

Introduction

Mrs Borthwick shows us how to make simple instruments,  using objects you can find at home. We will use them in our next lesson Scrape, Tap, Shake and Ting to teach us about rhythm. The four videos show you how to make each instrument and introduce use the rhythm cards.  

You will need to collect a few things to make your instruments. Don’t forget to ask that you can have or borrow the items before you take them and ask for help if you need it.

 

The Shaker 

A small tub or box. We made our shaker from an empty container that was made for spices or gravy granules but you can use any thing you have to hand, such as a small milk bottle or tin.

Dry pasta. You can also try rice and dry peas for a different sound.

Pens, paint or stickers to decorate your shaker. Some sellotape to hold on the lid.

 

The Triangle

Some metal you can tap together. A metal spoon and ladle are ideal.

A piece of string or wool.

 

The Guiro

A plastic bottle, one with ribs on the side to scrape along and a stick or pen. to make the sound.  You can decorate Guiro in any way you like with some stickers, buttons, sequins  pens or  glued on paper.  Watch the video to see what we made!

 

The Claves

Two wooden spoons, two sticks or small pebbles. You could also try plastic pipe or pens but claves are normally made from wood.

 

Learning Resources

To download files right click on the links and then select either:‘

  • Save Target As’ (PC)
  • ‘Download Linked File’ (Mac

 

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