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| Miss Lovingood explaining a Lap Dulcimer |
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Miss Lovingood enjoys playing a wide variety of instruments. She has played lap (mountain) dulcimer for years, and has recently added the hammered dulcimer and bowed psaltery to her arsenal of instruments.
The Lap Dulcimer, or Mountain Dulcimer, is easy to learn. Many children are taught to play by the numbers. In fact, sliding up and down the fret board reminds some students of a number line.
It is a diatonic instrument, using only the white notes of a piano. Since many American folk songs are diatonic or even pentatonic, the dulcimer is a good match.
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| Miss Lovingood plays a Bowed Psaltery |
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Bowed Psaltery is shaped like a tall triangle, with the longest string (lowest note) stretching from the tip down to the middle of the bottom. As the sides slope down, other strings are attached along the edge. The white notes are on one side of the triangle, and the black notes are on the other.
Psaltery is much harder to play than the dulcimer. The player must move the bow to another string to change the pitch. |
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| Miss Lovingood plays Hammered Dulcimer. |
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The Hammered Dulcimer is shaped like a trapezoid, or a triangle with its to cut off. Because of its many strings, it seems like it would be difficult to play. Yet it is fairly easy, once you catch the patterns.
As the strings (almost 50!) cross from one side to the other, they sound different on each side of the instrument; and they get shorter as they near the top of the trapezoid. Small hammers made of balsa wood are used to hit the strings, making a distinct tap dancing sound.
Hammered Dulcimer sounds good with many styles of music, particularly folk music and country dances.
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| Augusta Symphony Woodwind Trio |
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Professional Demonstration
Each year, members of the Augusta Symphony Woodwind Trio visit our school to play a short concert for our 4th grade students. These professionals play music from a variety of styles, explaining the stylistic differences from an historical standpoint.
They also explain how their instruments work. Woodwind instruments are basically hollow tubes with holes drilled into them. By covering or uncovering the holes, the player can make the tube act longer or shorter. So the pitch that the instrument plays depends on which holes are covered.
Although these instruments have a lot in common, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon are different from each other, too. They are different sizes, have slightly different shapes, and use different types of reeds to make their sound.
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| Augusta Symphony String Quartet |
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Professional Demonstration
Fifth graders learn about the string family of instruments each year, through a concert given by the Augusta Symphony String Quartet. Students learn how these instruments make their sounds, how they create high and low pitches, the materials they are made of, and some of the special effects they can play.
The violin, viola, and cello are basically the same instrument, but in a different size. Smaller instruments, such as the violin and viola, make higher sounds; and by placing their fingers on the strings, the players can play higher and higher notes. On the other hand, the cello is much larger, with longer, thicker strings, which make a low sound.
Not included in the quartet is the string bass, which is so large you have to stand up to play it. Its notes are among the lowest in the orchestra.
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