Curriculum Guide

"From Earth to Song Ocarina Project"

VOCABULARY:

• acoustic -- not using electricity.
• acoustics -- The science of sound. Musical acoustics distinguishes between tones and noises. A tone of sustained and equal pitch is generated by regular and constant vibrations of the air, these being generated by similar vibrations in the tone-producing body; whereas a noise is caused by irregular and fluctuating vibrations.
• bow -- a wooden stick, with horsehair on one side, that is used to play a string instrument.
• cello -- a string instrument in the violin family with four strings that are tuned in intervals of fifths. Sound is made by strings vibrating over a sound box. Different pitches are made by the fingers pressing on a fingerboard which extends above the sound box. Can be bowed or plucked. Evolved from the bowed lutes & the viols.
• clay -- maleable substance mined from the earth
• composer -- someone who writes music.
• composition -- creating a piece of music from scratch.
• duet -- where two parts sound at the same time. They can either be sung or played instrumentally.
• electronic -- using electricity.
• flute -- the soprano voice of the woodwind family. It is usually made of silver and/or gold. Sound is made by the lips of the player shaping and directing the air-stream over a "flue" (similar to blowing over the top of a bottle to make sound). Played transversely, or "to the side."
• form -- the purposeful organization of the composer's materials. A typical song form is AABB, made up of two contrasting sections, each of which is repeated.
• geometric shapes -- circles, squares, triangles, ovals, etc.
• harmony -- adds depth and richness to music.  It's like adding full color to a black and white painting or photograph.  Adding chords and accompaniment to a melody.
• melody -- series of tones arranged in order to form a recognizable unit. Hearing and recognizing melodies may be the single most important part of listening to music. 
• mode -- a type of scale used for a particular piece. There are seven modes used in Western music:  Ionian (also known as Major), Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian (natural minor) & Locrian.
• modulation -- changing to a different key, or mode, in the middle of a piece.
• mouthpiece -- on a wind instrument, the part where you blow into the instrument to make sounds.
• ocarina -- small wind instrument; one of the world's oldest instruments made out of clay. Originates in the early days of pottery. Made in many sizes to play all the different pitches. Also called "little goose" and "sweet potato."
• pennywhistle -- a small wind instrument, played to the front, not transversely. Also known as tin whistle, or Irish whistle. Popular in Ireland, it also became popular in the early 20th century in America.
• phrase -- like a musical sentence, or part of a sentence. It is a dependent idea within a melody. For example, when you see a comma in a sentence, you pause slightly. Those pauses would indicate the end of a musical phrase. As in speech (or writing), the pause doesn't necessarily indicate the end of an idea.
• pizzicato -- plucking a string with the finger. The name comes from an Italian word meaning "pinched."
• reed -- a tall swamp grass with jointed, hollow stalks. It also can mean a flexible strip of cane or metal used as a mouthpiece for a wind instrument.
• rhythm -- the organization of time in music. Usually grouped into equal segments, called beats. The gathering of beats into regular groups is called meter. The most common meter is four beats, with the stress on one: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).  Three beats to a measure is less common & used for minuets & waltzes.  (Can you spell rhythm?)
• strum -- when several strings on a string instrument are played at once (like a guitar is played.
• tempo -- the speed at which a song flows (or flies!) by in time (see rhythm).
• transverse -- played to the side (how a flute is played).
• whistle -- without an instrument, sound can be made by pursing lips together & blowing through them to make sound.  Examples of instruments used for whistles are a referee's whistle, police whistle or other whistle.  

Suggested Pre-Performance Activities:

• Locate several different countries where ocarinas were used on a map (Peru, Mexico, America, India, Austria).
• Draw several geometric shapes that will work as an instrument. Shapes can include simple circles, squares, triangles, ovals, etc. and include animal shapes, balloons, and any other creative shape. The key is: will the shape provide space for my mouthpiece, finger holes, etc.?  No small tubes or flattened areas.
• What are the four instrument families? (string, woodwind, percussion, brass) How do the instruments in each family sound? How are they played? How is the sound made?
• What are the elements of music? (rhythm, harmony, melody & form) Why is each important? Can you do each one? Clap your hands, stomp your feet, talk or sing to your friend, both of you talk or sing at once -- those are the elements of music!
• What are your five senses? (sight, sound, taste, smell, touch) Why is it important to be very quiet when you listen to music? (so you can listen to it, not just "hear" it) How many of your senses does music affect? (sight, sound & sometimes touch)
• Do a sound experiment. Ask your class to name all the different sounds in the room (clocks ticking, horns blaring, feet rustling, someone sneezing, breathing, etc.), then have your class try to sit and listen to all those sounds for two minutes. Do the sounds get louder? Do you hear even more sounds? Can you "tune out" some noises and focus on others?

Suggested Follow-up Discussion and Activities:

• What family of instruments is a cello in? Flute? Ocarina?  How does each instrument make their sound?
• As a class, choose someone famous or someone that has influenced your life and write a song on your ocarina for them. Is this person sad? happy? did they make you feel happy or not?
• Play your ocarina song for your parents, friends, teachers. Do they get the same feeling you wrote about?
• Get together with friends that also made ocarinas and play songs &/or write songs together.
• Play your ocarina as much as possible by yourself and for other people.