The Mini Page — 2006 Activities
Military Bands
Issue 21
May 20-26This week´s standards:Students understand music in relation to history and culture. (Music) Students understand customs and traditions of their own culture. (Social Studies: Culture) Activities:1. Look at the pictures of the horns, woodwinds and percussion instruments in today´s Mini Page. Now think about what a new kind of marching instrument might look like. Design your own musical instrument. Draw a picture of yourself playing the new instrument. 2. Make a list of the instruments shown in today´s Mini Page. Now ask family members and friends if they have ever played one of these instruments. If not, what instrument would they like to play? Which instrument was the most popular? 3. Find newspaper stories or announcements about musical events in your community. Write the events on a piece of paper. Next to each story, list the instruments you would expect to find at that performance. How many of the events involve marching bands? How many are about concerts in a park or community location? 4. Which instrument in today´s Mini Page (a) would be the easiest to carry, (b) would take a lot of strength to carry, (c) requires strong, quick fingers, (d) requires powerful lungs, and (e) would you like to play? 5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about one of the instruments in a military marching band. Use this questions to guide your research: When was the instrument first invented? Was it ever used for a military purpose? Who were some famous musicians who played the instrument? What other types of music use the instrument? Has it changed over time?
Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
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