On Wednesday, Justin, one of our Middle School Teachers and most importantly an Owl's dad, came in to visit with the Owls. During the visit Justin brought in many different types of instruments for the Owls to explore. Justin began by teaching friends a very important word which explains how instruments make their sound. Ask your Owl if they remember what the word was. The Owls tested this theory by watching Justin pluck the stings on the ukulele. Friends watched as the strings vibrated back and forth and when the strings stopped moving so did the sound.
The first instrument that Justin took out for us to explore was the ukulele. Friends thought the ukulele was very silly because it just looked like a "teeny tiny" guitar. Justin explained to friends that the ukulele is like a guitar except the guitar has 6 strings and the ukulele has four. Next, Justin played the different strings, so we can hear the different sounds they make. Once we explored the different sounds, Justin and his duet partner played a song for us. Ask your Owl who was his duet partner.
The second instrument that Justin brought out for us to explore was the trumpet. Justin asked friends if they knew how the trumpet made its noise. All the Owls agreed that you just blow into the top. So Justin did just that and friends were shocked when nothing happened! Then the Owls strapped on their thinking caps and noticed that there was buttons on the trumpet. So friends asked Justin to try blowing into the trumpet and pressing the buttons! But it happened again! Justin blew into the mouth piece and hit the buttons, but nothing happened! That's when Justin explained to friends that they were on the right track, but you do not blow into the trumpet, you keep your lips together and make a "buzzing" sound. Finally, Justin "buzzed" into the trumpet, and it made a beautiful noise! The Owls all cheered with excitement.
Justin allowed some of the Owls to explore the trumpet as well. Before each friend tested their "buzzing," Justin disinfected / cleaned the instrument between turns.
The third instrument Justin brought out was the trombone. He explained to friends how the trombone works, and then he played a couple songs. Ask your Owl if they remember one of the songs he played for us.
The fourth instrument Justin showed us was the Kalimba. He explained to friends that in order to make sound on the Kalimba, you just have to bend the different keys. Some friends really enjoyed this instrument because it was not as loud as the rest!
The next instrument was a horn made from an Ox's horn. Justin told friend that this instrument is played just like the trumpet or trombone by making the buzzing noise into the mouth piece.
Next, Justin introduced the wind pipes. Justin told friends that you play this instrument by blowing over the top of the pipe and not into it like the other ones. Friends found this instrument to be a little tricky to play. But Justin told friends to pretend they were blowing out a birthday candle which seemed to make it a little easier for friends to play.
Continuing with the wind instruments, Justin brought out three different size whistles for friends to explore. Ask your Owl if they remember what size whistle made the highest sound and which made the lowest sound.
Lastly, Justin introduced us to the Sitar. Ask your Owl if they remember the two things you needed to do in order for a sound to be made.
Once Justin was finished teaching friends about the different instruments and the ways they are played. Friends were allowed to explore each instrument! The Owls did an OWL-tastic job at making each instrument "vibrate" to create sounds. Ask your Owl what their favorite instrument to explore was.
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