LEARNING TO STRIKE A CHORD\Visitors show students new world.Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer Rotating among seven rooms for 10-minute sessions, Meadows Elementary School elementary school: see school. students sampled enough instruments during Friday's music appreciation day to strike up a concert band. The students were able to examine many of the instruments and even play a few notes. Their instructors - a dozen parents and professional musicians - joined together in the afternoon to perform two concerts. "I think it gets them interested. They might find out it's not as difficult to learn as they might think if you bring the instruments into the classroom and they get a chance to play," said Jeanne DeMott, a Meadows parent and musician who instructed students on guitar, dulcimer dulcimer (dŭl`sĭmər), stringed musical instrument. It is a wooden box with strings stretched over it that are struck with small mallets. The number of strings may vary. The dulcimer is related to the psaltery and modern zither. and autoharp. "If it's one child in the school who connects with an instrument, then it's worth it" she said. Actually, many students said the day devoted to music opened their eyes and ears to instruments they wanted to learn how to play. The range of interests was reflected by a group of sixth-grade boys. The quartet of percussionists impressed Cyrus Towliat. "That was cool," Cyrus said. Ken McCarthy Ken McCarthy (born September 20, 1959) is an American activist, educator, entrepreneur and Internet commercialization pioneer. Early life and education Born in New Haven, Connecticut, McCarthy's father Francis W. gave his analysis of the difference between brass and string instruments This is a list of string instruments categorized according to the technique used to produce sound, followed by a list of string instruments grouped by country or region of origin. . "Dude, I play the trumpet. The other stuff is cool, but you have to learn to play notes." Mark Majdalani is a beginning clarinetist who knows he has a long way to go to become another Benny Goodman Noun 1. Benny Goodman - United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986) Benjamin David Goodman, Goodman, King of Swing , or even Sandy Langlois, the Meadows mother who performed for students. "I know how to play the clarinet, but not as good as her," Majdalani said. Instrumental music classes are electives that Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. elementary school students must pay for. The music appreciation day gave all 400 students at Meadows mini-lessons, capped off with a concert featuring brass, woodwinds, strings, piano and percussion. A studio drummer and timbales Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed drums, shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned. The player (known as a timbalero player who led the percussion section Noun 1. percussion section - the section of a band or orchestra that plays percussion instruments rhythm section, percussion section - a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class in the school cafeteria urged the students to follow their heart when choosing an instrument. "I fell in love with the drums at age 7," recalled Brent Brace, the percussion section leader. "I thought, that was cool, and I wanted to spend my life doing that." Larry Bowman, a percussionist with Rare Earth and Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band in years past, reminded students you're never to old to learn something new. "To this day, I never forget how to play and how to learn to play better," said Larry Bowman, who played conga and bongo bongo (bŏng`gō), spiral-horned antelope, Boocercus eurycerus, found in jungles and thick bamboo forests of equatorial Africa. Shy, elusive animals, bongos never emerge into the open and are seldom seen; they browse singly or in small drums Friday. The day was as entertaining for the instructors as for the students. "It's fun. They can ask questions and see how an instrument works," said Langlois, the Meadows parent and clarinetist. "When you go see an orchestra, you're sitting way in the back. The kids seem to like it." CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo (color) Fourth-grader Daniel Oettinger checks out Henry Gonzales Jr.'s bass violin at Meadows Elementary School's music appreciation day. Dusty Locke/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion