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You might associate the recorder with memories of a second grade classroom and sounds vaguely resembling the tune of “Three Blind Mice” or “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” While the recorder has become a popular instrument in music education, it also has an extensive and interesting history.

The post 10 facts about the recorder appeared first on OUPblog.

Tuba, trumpet, trombone...which one should you pick up this fall? Read below to learn what makes the trombone the right choice, and to find out a little more about this bass instrument's long history.

The post 10 facts about the trombone appeared first on OUPblog.

We’re excited to announce a new release from our recently acquired imprint, Shen’s Books: Summoning the Phoenix, a musical and informative journey through the history of traditional Chinese instruments.

In Summoning the Phoenix, author Emily Jiang and illustrator April Chu follow thirteen young musicians as they prepare to perform in a Chinese orchestra. In a starred review, Kirkus says that this is “a lively medley that will expand the musical boundaries of most young audiences.”

Happy birthday to Summoning the Phoenix! Here’s a fun video of a girl playing “Happy Birthday” on her dizi:

5 stars
All About Boats: A to Z
David & Zora Aiken
Schiffer Publishing
No. Pages:  32       Ages: 6 to 8
....................

Back Cover:  Boating time is family time as everyone often shares both the fun and the work. Even young children are eager to help. Their curiosity is roused and they’ll look for ways to learn more about boating. All About Books: A to Z shows the youngest crew members the purpose of the many things they see while boating. The book can prompt conversations about all aspects of boating as families develop their onboard teamwork.

All About Boats: A to Z is a unique alphabet book. For one, it is written for older children who already know their ABCs. A boating term, beginning with that page’s letter, helps a child learn about boats and boating terms. A rhyming verse explains the term in a light, easy tone. Finally, the illustrations add further explanation of the term.

For example, the letter K’s word is keel.

Most boats have a keel—

It’s part of the design.

A sailboat’s deep keel

Helps hold a straight line.

The illustration for letter K is a sailboat on transparent water, allowing the child to see the keel on the sailboat. This is a great way for anyone to learn something new. The more senses involved, the better the retention.

All About Boats: A to Z uses sight and sound, but in multiple ways. The child will read the letter and its word in bold type. Then they will read a short verse, which rhymes and includes the word’s purpose. Each illustration shows the child where the term is in relation to boating. Assuming the family owns a boat, the child can connect then term with the real thing.

I like the book’s multiple avenues for learning both the alphabet and boating terms.  Younger children can use this as an ABC book, especially if interested in boats. All About Boats: A to Z is written for the older child who wants or needs to learn the terms of boating. Each verse helps the child remember the purpose of each word. The important word is in bold type and always in the verse. The illustrations do a wonderful job of capturing the word, while still keeping the book’s feel light and airy, somewhat like boating itself.

I think kids will love to learn about boats by using this book. It is friendly, fun, and familiarizes the child to boats and their functions quickly. A young child, under the age of five or six may not understand all of the terms, even after having the verses read to them and looking at the illustrations. Still, I would not hesitate in giving this ABC book to a youngun (as my fellow book reviewer Erik, called young children in a recent review).

This is a book that can help a child prepare for a boating trip and then reinforce the boating term, part, and function while on the trip. Some adults, not accustom to boating on a regular basis, will learn much from this cute book. T is for transom,* which is the area on the back of the boat, where a boat’s given name is painted. I did not know that.

I like this book. Kids will enjoy the illustrations and learning about boats. I think girls will enjoy this as much as boys. Anyone with children, or grandchildren, who regularly boats, especially if they own a boat, will find this book valuable. Any child who loves boats, be it the large ones sailing the ocean or the small ones sailing the carpet, will want this boat, learn from this boat, and be thrilled to own this book. All About Boats: A to Z is a great book for many reasons—all of them kid friendly.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞♦♦♦♦∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

*One possible game that can be played to reinforce remembering a term, is to find that term on other pages of the book.  For example, the term transom, which I did not know until reading this book.  There are seven transoms with a name in this book. One boat has its name on its side, so I would think it does not count.

Those seven boats with names, when found by the child, will help reinforce what a transom is for. The last spread is a beautiful scene of all shapes and sizes of boats, yet not one has a name on its transom.  This is a missed opportunity for reinforcement of letter T’ and the word transom.

All About Boats: A to Z

Author: David & Zora Aiken
Illustrator: David Aiken
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing   website
Release Date: July 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7643-4184-7
Number of Pages: 32
Ages: 5 to 8
.......................

It’s time for Spring Strings Music Weekend! This Friday, May 7 through Monday, May 11, Please Touch Museum is celebrating all things strings. We will be taking a special look and listen to instruments that use strings to make their sound-- like the violin and the guitar!


Come check out the special ballet performances by the Rock School on Saturday, May 8, as they dance to music made by string instruments, or listen to the Run of the Mill String Band perform on Sunday, May 9. This special music weekend will engage children (and adults!) of all ages by providing unique learning opportunities. We will learn the importance of being gentle with musical instruments, hone our fine motor skills while strumming the auto-harp, and practice new vocabulary, such as vibrato and forte. Plus, in celebration of Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 9, all moms will receive FREE admission!

Music is the perfect tool for independent and cooperative play, so come join us for Spring Strings! For a detailed schedule, please visit our website here!

We're excited to kick off March with a bang! The Annual Rhythm Romp percussion weekend is taking place this weekend, March 5-7!

We'll have a diverse group of musicians performing everything from Afro-Cuban, Latin and African to Hip-Hop drumming. The goal of Rhythm Romp is to introduce children to the very diverse family of percussion instruments.

Tomorrow, March 5, our theme is Recycled Instruments. The University of the Arts' "Rumble" ensemble will perform at Noon and 2 p.m. This ensemble takes ordinary things that you would find in your home and turn them into musical instruments, like buckets and even trash cans! By seeing professional musicians use ordinary objects as instruments, we hope that our young visitors will be inspired to create music using everyday items as well, with adult supervision of course.

On Saturday and Sunday our theme is World Music. With a focus on Latin and African percussion, we hope to introduce our visitors to instruments that they wouldn't ordinarily see or hear. Fernando Valencia will be performing Latin percussion at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. in Hamilton Hall Saturday, March 6. He will be performing everything from Salsa to Tejano music.

The Universal African Dance and Drum ensemble will "rock the Hall" with performances that highlight the history behind the music of Africa and the instruments that accompany the dance and movements. One of the things that African and Latin music has in common is that drums are used as a form of communication. After watching these performers, our visitors will be able to "speak" the language of music loud and clear!

But that's not all! Other performances will feature Darius Mills on Saturday who will have a hip-hop drumming jam session in the City Park gallery space at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Daniel Schwartz will be performing Marimba in Hamilton Hall at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Music plays such a major role in many cultures all over the world, and we hope to give our visitors a taste of these cultures in a family-friendly environment, while staying true to our mission of creating learning opportunities through play.

It was a fun-filled family-friendly President's Day Weekend here at Please Touch Museum!

Please Touch Museum is a first museum experience for many of our visitors. The children may have seen their first theater show, watched their first live music performance, celebrated an author’s birthday for the first time or experienced a diverse set of art materials for the first time during this past weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday, Louie Miranda and Friends jazzed it up in the Please Touch Playhouse Theater with the help of 8 year old percussionist, Antoine. Kids not only had a chance to listen and dance to music, but could also join Louie’s Band, fueling future creativity. Louie always encourages parent participation in his shows making the shows family oriented, and memorable.

In addition, many visitors could be seen dancing along to the Northeastern University Concert Band with over 40 college musicians in Hamilton Hall. College students took the time before their performance to connect with visitors and show them how each instrument worked.

On President's Day, we celebrated author Norman Bridwell's Birthday, creator of the Clifford books. The Clifford series features a young girl named Emily Elizabeth and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Kids were ecstatic to meet their favorite big red dog in person at the museum. Character appearances gave children the chance to see the Clifford books come to life.

Young visitors also had the chance to connect literacy with art in the Program Room with Kid’s Best Friend: Drawing with Silky Sticks activity. We encouraged kids to tell us about their best friends, and illustrate them with our fun silky sticks. A silky stick is a versatile material that can be turned up like a glue stick; it is great because it can be used as a crayon when drawing on paper, an oil pastel when rubbed with your fingers, or a watercolor when painted on with some water. It all depends on how our visitors chose to mix the colors. By describi

As you know, the 18th Annual Junior Jazz Festival is in full swing here at Please Touch Museum!

Now through February 26, kids will also learn a bit of jazz history by taking in a Please Touch Playhouse performance of "Scat Cat's Junior Jazz Jamboree." Performances are Mondays- Fridays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Playhouse and are FREE with museum admission. I sat down with Alice Gonglewski, Creative Dramatics Manager at Please Touch, who told me all about this hip interactive show.

Pinky: What's this show about, Alice?
Alice: Scat Cat's Junior Jazz Jamboree is about an ordinary alley cat who meets a new friend, a roach named Max. Max Roach is a drummer and he teaches the cat all about a special kind of music: Jazz!

Pinky: How does this show tie into our Junior Jazz Festival and programming?
Alice: The Junior Jazz Festival strives to celebrate this expressive musical form by making it accessible to young children. Jazz nurtures experimentation and creativity, which is what learning through play is all about! The Scat Cat show explains in simple terms what Jazz is and where it came from. It also introduces children to many famous Jazz personalities in a kid-friendly way. For example, the Jazz club scene features Bunny Goodman and Piggy Lee among others. Several programs throughout the museum from Storyyimes to Art Activities to Music Playtimes will explore Jazz from a variety of angles and allow for a rich and multifaceted experience for children.

Pinky: What themes or 'lessons' can children (and adults, too!) take away from this performance?
Alice: We hope our visitors will experience delight in and pride for the unique American invention that is Jazz music. The show plants the seeds for recognition of some historical figures that helped make Jazz great, and it lets kids and families know that this music belongs to them-- everyone is welcome to play along!

Pinky: After kids see the show, how can they create a music-related “show” at home with/for their family?
Alice: The interactive segments in the show encourage kids to sing and play through call and response segments, scat singing, and instrument pantomime.

Hey all you hip cats!

Now through February 28, the 18th Annual Junior Jazz Festival will turn Memorial Hall into the biggest and hippest jazz club around! I sat down with Francis Coates, Music Coordinator at Please Touch Museum, who told me all about what goes into the planning of the festival and the educational value of musical expression.

Pinky: What's the Junior Jazz Festival all about, Francis?
Francis: The Junior Jazz Festival celebrates one of the most unique genres of music performed today-- JAZZ! Everyone at Please Touch Museum believes in celebrating all genres of music and since jazz incorporates other genres like 19th and 20th century classical, Latin, and even Country, it's a great starting point for children.

Pinky: Why does the museum celebrate music and jazz every year? Why is music important to children and their development?
Francis: At Please Touch Museum, we believe in celebrating music because it transcends language and age. No matter where you come from or how old you are, everyone can enjoy a great piano or guitar solo! Jazz is very special to the city of Philadelphia, too. A lot of jazz greats come from this city, including Ethel Waters, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. Jazz incorporates improvisation, which allows the performer to explore his/her instrument and create whatever sound they like. We're are all about improvisation and independent exploration of the creative arts here at Please Touch, so why not celebrate it every year?!

Pinky: What kind of special daily programming and performances are scheduled in celebration of Junior Jazz?
Francis: We will have live jazz piano and xylophone performances weekdays. We will also have our "PTM Jazz Club" program which allows children to play different instruments like the trumpet, piano, and drum set. It is very important for our young visitors to not only hear people perform on these instruments, but for them to explore the instruments themselves. On weekends, a wide variety of great jazz artists will take the Playhouse stage for interactive jazz performances that kids and grown-ups will surely be swingin' to!

Pinky: After they visit, how can parents incorpora

Here at Please Touch Museum, we make music in a lot of different ways. One fun way that we explore music is by putting together groups of instruments that are generally found together.

As you may know, February is "Junior Jazz" month at Please Touch Museum, so we will be having a "Jazz Café" in the Program Room made up of instruments that are typically found in jazz combos! There will be a little piano, a trumpet, a flute and, of course, lots of drums. Kids will have the opportunity to listen to some jazz music and play along, and even make up songs of their own! By doing this, they'll learn about the context surrounding different types of music, as well as hearing the differences between musical styles. Kids also be learning about how to produce different sounds and what different instruments look, feel and sound like-- all while having fun. It's the perfect example of how Please Touch Museum's mission of learning through play comes alive!

Besides exposure to different types of instruments and genres, music is important for early childhood education. Children learn by exploring the world around them, so music is a perfect introduction to math with emphasis on numbers and counting musical beats. Language and vocabulary skills are boosted as well when singing songs. In this particular music program, we will tie in geography and history by traveling around the world to explore music from other cultures. Making music is also one of the best ways to build our hand-eye coordination, self-expression, creativity, team work skills and foster self confidence and joy.

A great way that you can hold your own "jam session" at home after visiting the museum is by having a family band. You can use re-purposed objects like pots and pans and play along to different types of music, or just make up your own songs. Everyone can count off together and take turns singing verses, or you can all sing together-- however your band makes music, it's sure to be a harmonious experience for everyone!

On your next visit, be sure to check out all the different instruments and fun in the Program Room. Most Musical Playtimes take place Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 2 p.m., with the exception of special performance days. For details, check the "Today's Fun" signs on the gallery floor.

Today, I talked to Francis Coates, one of the two Music Coordinators at Please Touch Museum, who shared insights about the importance of performing and musical arts for children.




Pinky: So why are music and the performing arts so important for kids?
Francis: Music, dance, and theater teach us to be creative and think out of the box. Please Touch Museum is very dedicated to this, and my job as Music Coordinator is to provide an atmosphere in the museum where children can express themselves creatively through music.

Pinky: I love music! What new music programs are going on this month?
Francis: We just started a Drum Circle in Hamilton Hall! About 3 times a week, we meet in front of the torch and play different drums. Kids get to experiment with all kinds of cool instruments from around the world! Some of these include hand drums like the Djembe ,Congo, and Bongo from Africa. The drum circle provides children and adults an opportunity to play together as an ensemble, and everyone gets a solo! This means that we start with one person in the circle and everyone gets an opportunity to be a "featured performer" in the ensemble. Not only does this allow children to learn about drums and creating different rhythms, but it also supports the museum's mission of creating learning opportunities through play by letting kids explore their imagination, creative thinking skills and interpersonal relationships in an interactive, fun environment!

Pinky: Wow, I can't wait to check out a Drum Circle! How can visitors see what's going on the day they visit?
Francis: The easiest way is to check the "Today's Fun" signs located throughout the museum floor to see the time and location of different musical events. Music programming is at 3 p.m. in various locations throughout the gallery floor. You can also check our online events calendar.