Sounds of Musical Instruments

Musical Instruments Sounds for Kids

More Exercise!

Read the article "HIstory of Drums and Percussion"

 and Complete the sentences

Click: Exercise 2 "HIstory of Drums and Percussion"

Musical Article 4

History of Drums and Percussion

By: Maeve Rich

The history of drums dates back thousands of years. Originally a primitive form of communication and making music, drums are a part of percussion instruments.

It's thought that drums have been around since 6000 B.C. It's believed that percussion instruments were the first musical instruments ever invented, largely because of their simplicity and easy accessibility. Drums were originally used as a form of communication, to send signals. Drums were used in Africa to communicate long distances and in Sri Lanka as communication between the government and the citizens.

Drums have long been an integral part of religious ceremonies. Drums were also originally used in China and Europe in the military. Eventually, drums made the jump from marching instrument to the orchestra.

When drums were first invented, they were made of natural materials. Hollowed out logs made the base of the drums, and animal skins covered the top. Drum sticks weren't around then, so people used their hands to play the drums.

Drums have historically been hit by different things to produce music. The body has long been a popular choice for the obvious reason that it doesn't require extra equipment. Drum sticks are probably the most popular modern choice because of the range in sound they can produce.

Today, advancements are being made in what was once a very simple instrument. There is a wide variety of drums, which vary depending on their purpose. Musicians are tinkering with drums to allow them to be tuned and drum sets are implementing new music technology and more complicated setups. 

Exercises!

Multiple Choice on Reading 

"Classification of Musical Instruments" (Music Article 1)

Click: Excercise 1. Classification of Musical Instruments

some idiophones...

some aerophones...

some chordophones...

Connectivism. Article 2

Connectivism:
A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

George Siemens

Introduction

Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environments. These theories, however, were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology. Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn. Learning needs and theories that describe learning principles and processes, should be reflective of underlying social environments. Vaill emphasizes that “learning must be a way of being – an ongoing set of attitudes and actions by individuals and groups that they employ to try to keep abreast of the surprising, novel, messy, obtrusive, recurring events…” (1996, p.42).

Limitations of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism

A central tenet of most learning theories is that learning occurs inside a person. Even social constructivist views, which hold that learning is a socially enacted process, promotes the principality of the individual (and her/his physical presence – i.e. brain-based) in learning. These theories do not address learning that occurs outside of people (i.e. learning that is stored and manipulated by technology). They also fail to describe how learning happens within organizations

Some questions to explore in relation to learning theories and the impact of technology and new sciences (chaos and networks) on learning:

• How are learning theories impacted when knowledge is no longer acquired in the linear manner?
• What adjustments need to made with learning theories when technology performs many of the cognitive operations previously performed by learners (information storage and retrieval).
• How can we continue to stay current in a rapidly evolving information ecology?
• How do learning theories address moments where performance is needed in the absence of complete understanding?
• What is the impact of networks and complexity theories on learning?
• What is the impact of chaos as a complex pattern recognition process on learning?
• With increased recognition of interconnections in differing fields of knowledge, how are systems and ecology theories perceived in light of learning tasks?

Connectivism

Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.

Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.

Principles of connectivism:

• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
• Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
• Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

Para ver Artículo Completo:

http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm

Connectivism. Article 1

                                    

          

  http://www.connectivism.ca/about.html

Connectivism is a learning theory for the digital age. Learning has changed over the last several decades. The theories of behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism provide an effect view of learning in many environments. They fall short, however, when learning moves into informal, networked, technology-enabled arena. Some principles of connectivism:

§  The integration of cognition and emotions in meaning-making is important. Thinking and emotions influence each other. A theory of learning that only considers one dimension excludes a large part of how learning happens.

§  Learning has an end goal - namely the increased ability to "do something". This increased competence might be in a practical sense (i.e. developing the ability to use a new software tool or learning how to skate) or in the ability to function more effectively in a knowledge era (self-awareness, personal information management, etc.). The "whole of learning" is not only gaining skill and understanding - actuation is a needed element. Principles of motivation and rapid decision making often determine whether or not a learner will actuate known principles.

§  Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. A learner can exponentially improve their own learning by plugging into an existing network.

§  Learning may reside in non-human appliances. Learning (in the sense that something is known, but not necessarily actuated) can rest in a community, a network, or a database.

§  The capacity to know more is more critical that what is currently known. Knowing where to find information is more important than knowing information.

§  Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate learning. Connection making provides far greater returns on effort than simply seeking to understand a single concept.

Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.

Learning happens in many different ways. Courses, email, communities, conversations, web search, email lists, reading blogs, etc. Courses are not the primary conduit for learning.

Different approaches and personal skills are needed to learn effectively in today's society. For example, the ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.

Organizational and personal learning are integrated tasks. Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network and continue to provide learning for the individual. Connectivism attempts to provide an understanding of how both learners and organizations learn.

Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning.

Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate impacting the decision.

Learning is a knowledge creation process...not only knowledge consumption. Learning tools and design methodologies should seek to capitalize on this trait of learning.

Activity. Connectivism

READ THE TWO ARTICLES OF CONNETIVISM AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

A.       What is connectivism?

B.       How is it different from other learning theories?

C.        What is it based on?

	Answer A	Answer B	Answer C
Article 1: “Connectivism. A learning theory for today´s learner”	El conectivismo es una teoría de aprendizaje de la era digital	Se diferencia de otras teorías del aprendizaje por su integración de la cognición y  las emociones	Principios: ·         La cognición y las emociones se influyen mutuamente. ·         El objetivo final del aprendizaje es el aumento de la capacidad de "hacer algo". ·         El aprendizaje es un proceso de conectar fuentes de información especializados. ·         El aprendizaje puede residir en dispositivos no humanos. ·         La capacidad de conocer más es más importante que lo que se conoce actualmente. ·         Saber dónde encontrar la información es más importante que conocer la información. ·         Fomentar y mantener las conexiones es necesaria para facilitar el aprendizaje.
Article 2:  “Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age”	El conectivismo es la integración de los principios del caos, la red y la complejidad  explorados por las teorías de auto-organización.	Otras teorías de aprendizaje se basan en que el aprendizaje se produce en el interior de una persona.  El conectivismo aborda el aprendizaje que tiene lugar fuera de las personas (el aprendizaje es almacenado y manipulado por la tecnología).	Principios: ·         El aprendizaje y el conocimiento se basa en la diversidad de opiniones. ·         Aprendizaje como proceso de conectar fuentes de información especializados. ·         El aprendizaje puede residir en dispositivos no humanos. ·         Facilitar el aprendizaje continuo. ·         Capacidad para ver las conexiones entre ideas. ·         La capacidad de conocer más es más importante que lo que se conoce actualmente. ·         La toma de decisiones es en sí mismo un proceso de aprendizaje.

The Classification of Musical Instruments: Changing Trends in Research from the Late Nineteenth Century, with Special Reference to the 1990s MARGARET KARTOMI

Music Article 3

Different Types of Pianos

By: Jaceson Maughan

Different types of pianos are sized and suited to particular events, so not just any piano will do. For personal playing and for classrooms, one piano is appropriate, while a different type of piano may fit better in a recital stage or concert hall. Sizes and tonal quality all vary from piano to piano as well. Depending on the use of the particular piano, learning about the different types available for purchase helps pianists hone in on what variations will best suit their needs.

Grand Pianos
Grand pianos need plenty of space in order to include it in any room décor. A grand piano includes the petite grand (usually under 5 feet tall) and the baby grand (from 5 to 5 ½ feet tall). The next size up is the parlor grand or medium grand, measuring around 6 feet tall. A ballroom size of grand piano is second largest, about 6 feet 4 inches, and a concert grand can top out at 9 feet tall.

Vertical Pianos
Vertical pianos are positioned upright with the strings running parallel to the back of the piano. These upright pianos are certainly the most popular, as they require less space and are generally less expensive as well. The spinet is the smallest of the verticals at around 37 inches tall, with the console being the next piano variety up. The console is generally the next size up at around 43 inches tall. Studio verticals (at around 48 inches tall) and professional styles (60 inches tall) are the tallest vertical pianos.

Electric Pianos
For those short on space, an electric piano has the advantage of being affordable and portable. While the electric piano won't sound as perfect as a stringed instrument, the convenience and price make the electric piano a viable choice. Electric pianos can also be used to generate other sounds, such as percussion accompaniments. Many people interested in learning to play the piano will start out with electric keyboards to decide if learning to play is something they'd like to pursue. This way, the cost is minimal in case the piano is just not the instrument for them.

Music Article 1

Classification of Musical Instruments

Sachs-Hornbostel System

By Espie Estrella, About.com Guide

Curt Sachs (1881 - 1959) was a German musicologist known for his extensive study and expertise on the history of musical instruments. Sachs worked alongside Erich Moritz von Hornbostel (1877 - 1935), an Austrian musicologist and expert on the history of non-European music. Their collaborative work is now known as the Sachs-Hornbostel system, a method of classifying musical instruments according to the type of vibrating material used to produce sound.

Classification of Musical Instruments

Idiophones - Musical instruments in which a vibrating solid material is used to produce sound. Examples of solid materials used in such instruments are stone, wood and metal. Idiophones are differentiated according to how you make it vibrate. Such as:

1.    Concussion - A pair of similar instruments that are struck together or struck against each other to create sound. Examples: cymbals, castanets

2.    Friction - Instruments that produce sound when rubbed. An example of these are musical glasses in which the musician rubs his moistened fingers on the rim of the glasses to produce sound.

3.    Percussion - Musical instruments that produce sound by striking or using a striker. Examples:xylophones, triangles, bells, gongs, steel drums

4.    Plucked - Also known as linguaphones, these are musical instruments that need to be plucked to create sound, such as the Jew's harp in which the player plucks the "tongue" of the instrument.

5.    Scraped - As the name implies, these are instruments that when scraped, produce sound. Examples of these are cog rattles and washboards.

6.    Shaken - Musical instruments that need to be shaken to create sound. A perfect example aremaracas which are believed to have been invented by native Indians of Puerto Rico.

7.    Stamping - Instruments that produce sound when stamped on a hard surface, such as the shoes used by tap dancers.

8.    Stamped - When sound is produced by the material itself that's being stamped on.

Membranophones - Musical instruments that have vibrating stretched membranes or skin that produce sound. Membranophones are classified according to the shape of the instrument.

1.    Kettle Drums - Also known as vessel drums, these are rounded at the bottom and may be tunable or non-tunable. The vibrating membrane is either laced, nailed or glued to the body and the player uses his hands, a beater or both to strike it.

2.    Tubular Drums - Are further classified into barrel, cylindrical, conical, double conical, goblet, hourglass and shallow. Tubular drums may either be tunable and nontunable. Like the kettle drums, it may be played by using both the hands or a striker and the vibrating membrane is either laced, nailed or glued to the body.

3.    Friction Drums - Instead of striking, the stretched membrane vibrates when there is friction. These are non-tunable and the player uses a cord or stick to create sound.

4.    Mirlitons - Unlike other musical instruments belonging to the membranophones, mirlitons are not drums. The membranes produce sound with the vibration of a player's voice or instrument. Mirlitons are non-tunable, a good example of this type arekazoos.

5.    Other membranophones are called frame drums in which the skin or membrane is stretched over a frame such as tambourines. Also, pot drums and ground drums fall under the membranophone category.

Aerophones - Music instruments which produce sound by a vibrating mass of air. This is more commonly known as wind instruments and there are three basic types:

1.    Brasswinds - Made of metal, particularly brass, these instruments create sound through the vibration of a player's lips on the mouthpiece. The air that passes from the player's lips goes to the air column of the instrument and thus creates sound. Examples:trombone, trumpet, tuba

2.    Woodwinds - Originally made of wood but now other materials have also been used. On reed instruments like the saxophone and the clarinet, a thin material is placed on the mouthpiece so that when the player blows into it the air is forced to go to a reed and sets it to vibrate. In double-reed instruments such as bassoons and oboes, the material placed on the opening of the mouthpiece is thicker. In woodwinds such as flutes, the player blows air into the edge of a mouthpiece thus creating sound.

3.    Free-reed - Refers to wind instruments that has a freely vibrating reed and the pitch depends on the size of the reed. A good example of this type of instrument is the accordion.

Chordophones - Music instruments that produce sound by means of a stretched vibrating string. There are 5 basic types based on the strings' relationship with the resonator. When a string vibrates, the resonator picks up that vibration and amplifies it giving it a more appealing sound.

1.    Musical bows - May or may not have resonators; the strings are attached and stretched over a wooden bow.

2.    Harps - The strings aren't parallel to the sound board.

3.    Lyres - The strings run through a crossbar holding it away from the resonator. Lyres may either be bowed or plucked.

4.    Lutes - These instruments have necks; the strings are stretched across a resonator and travel up the neck. Lutes may be bowed or plucked.

5.    Zithers - Have no necks; strings are stretched from one end of the board to another end. Zithers may be plucked or struck.

Chordophones also have subcategories depending on how the strings are played. Examples of chordophones played by bowing are double bass,violin and viola. Examples of chordophones that are played by plucking are banjo, guitar, harp, mandolinand ukulele. The piano, dulcimer and the clavichordare examples of chordophones that are struck.

Electrophones - Refers to music instruments that produce sound electronically or produce its initial sound traditionally and then amplified electronically. Some examples of instruments that produce sound electronically are electronic organs and electronic synthesizers. Electric guitars and electric pianos are examples of traditional instruments that are electronically amplified.

In conclusion, when we speak of music instruments of the Western orchestra we refer to them as brass, percussion, strings and woodwinds. But if we want a more accurate classification of music instruments we refer to the Sachs-Hornbostel System which categorizes each instrument according to how the sound is produced and what material is used to produce sound.