July 9, 2010

Electronic Musical Guest









On Tuesday we had a special guest who taught the kids about how electronic music is made. The children were in awe of the equipment. "So many wires!" They sat absolutely silent for about ten minutes, watching him set everything up. Then they were told the names of all the types of equipment, talked about how wires carry the electricity to make the sounds audible though the speakers, and so on. Then he gave a mini-concert and the kids danced with great exuberance! They kept asking, "is this music from outer space? Have you been to outer space?!"

At the end of the dance party, each child was given an opportunity that may have been once in a lifetime. They were welcomed to play a very unique handmade synthesizer that is one of ten that exist on Earth. It consists of seven pressure sensitive, wooden bars made from varying types of trees, that trigger sound when you press your fingers over them. The knobs at the base fluctuate the sounds up and down... fast and slow. It was a good test of coordination and really did sound like something you'd hear on another planet!