Different Lengths make Different Sounds
This week, Rabbi B brought in a whole new family of instruments: Wind Instruments. He taught the kids all about them in the following ways:
A) Show and Share:
Rabbi B lets the kids touch and feel a real Trombone Rabbi B lets the kids slide the Trombone slide as he plays
Rabbi B brought in a penny whistle, recorder, flute, kazoo, duck call, harmonica, ram and kudu shofar and a trombone! He showed how, just like strings, when a wind instrument is long the sound (or pitch) is low and when the instrument is short the sound (or pitch) is high. This was particularly apparent with the two shofars. The ram's horn is much shorter than the kudu horn, and therefore has a much higher sound (or pitch).
Feeling our Vocal Chords Vibrate
Rabbi B also discussed how there are two things needed to make a sound in a wind instrument: air and vibration. He gave an example with our voice. Rabbi B had the kids feel their necks as they spoke and they could all feel their neck vibrating. He explained how the air from the lungs, the vibration of the vocal chord and the movement of the mouth and tongue all work together to produce the voice which allows us to speak and sing. The kids even got to play their own voices as we sang a song using different vowel sounds.
Rabbi B explained how wind instruments need the same two things to work: wind and vibration. Some make their own vibration, like a flute, while others need a little help. This help can come from something in the instrument itself or from the way we blow into it. The best example was the shofar. A shofar is a wind instrument that needs to be blown a certain way in order to work. You cannot just blow into a shofar, instead you must close your lips in front of the shofar and make an elephant sound by vibrating your lips.
To demonstrate this further, Rabbi B brought in pictures of other types of wind instruments and he played an audio sample of the sounds they make. The kids got to listen and hear how big and/or long instruments sounded deeper and lower than short and/or small ones. Rabbi B also told the kids which instruments made their own vibration and which needed to blown into like a shofar. The kids heard a french horn, bugle, trombone, saxophone, tuba, clarinet, piccolo, bassoon and an oboe! The kids were fascinated to hear the different sounds differently shaped and sized instruments made.
B) Experimentation:
Rabbi B helped all the kids make their own plastic straw flutes. When they blew in them, they made a very funny buzzing sound. As the straw was cut shorter, the sound (or pitch) got higher. Once the straw was very short, it made a very funny squeaky sound. The kids all enjoyed this sound the most.
Rabbi B gave everyone their own Kazoo to decorate
As well, Rabbi B made a kazoo out of a paper towel roll with the kids. He showed how the wax paper made the vibration when it is blown into and this vibration makes a funny kazoo sound. Then, Rabbi B gave each kid their very own Kazoo to decorate and keep. With the kazoos, everyone sang all their favourite Rabbi B songs as Rabbi B played the guitar, it was really funny!
Playing the Kazoo along with Rabbi B
Kazoos are a lot of fun to play!
C) Mitzvah Mashal (Jewish Lesson):
Rabbi B discussed how Hashem gave us all a body, and our bodies are like instruments that need to be taken care of. One part of our body that is a very important instrument is our voice. The voice can be played nicely and properly or not nicely and improperly. If we speak politely to one another by saying please and thank you, or say nice things to each other like compliments, then we are playing our voice instrument properly and it will sound good.
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