Instruments of the Orchestra with Peter and the Wolf

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In 1936 the great Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by the Central Children's Theater to write a symphony intended for children. The result of that commission, Peter and the Wolf, was a symphonic story piece with narration that could be used as a tool to teach the various instruments and instrument families of the orchestra. 

Aside from each character having a particular instrument assigned to them, each character has its own individual melodic material that is easily recognizable throughout the story. The work's beautiful, descriptive orchestration and engaging and varied story never fails to entertain. 

In December's group lesson, this worksheet was a nice way for the students to actively listen to the story and identify the characters and instruments:

There are endless great performances of the work. This one by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is great and can be found on youtube:

And a few years ago this animated version of the work was released:

The film isn't narrated, so you aren't told explicitly which instruments play which characters. Though some students said they thought Peter was a little scary looking, I think the film is absolutely stunning and thoroughly entertaining. (The film is available to stream on Netflix as well as Amazon Prime.) The students loved it when we watched part of the film during group lesson.  I think the work is a great introduction to classical music, but I am always pleasantly surprised how I have not grown tired of it after hearing it dozens of times over the years. 

A suggestion for anyone that would like to listen to more of Prokofiev's music: his 3rd Piano Concerto is one of my favorite concertos. Especially when performed by Martha Argerich. Deutsche Grammophon produced a cd with Argerich perfoming the Prokofiev 3 with the Berlin Philharmonic that can be found on Spotify. 

Enjoy! 

***illustration courtesy of David DePasquale at https://www.etsy.com/shop/daviddillustration?ref=pr_shop_more

My Picks: Note Reading Apps and Games

The three note-reading games in this list are included because they are by far the best ones I found and tested. Many of the music apps don't have user reviews with them so I hope this helps! I was fairly picky about the ones I ended up liking, so at the bottom of the post I'll list a few others that I didn't like as much, but are still fine. Second string, so to speak. :)

I had students try the different ones I bought and downloaded. (I downloaded a lot of apps...) It was incredibly helpful to watch students play the different games/drills, and I was able to get some verbal feedback from the students that was insightful.  

I used the following basic criteria to evaluate different apps for note-reading:

-User Friendly: it should be easy to begin, change settings, get around the program and of course, play.

-Range of Difficulty: how easily can it be used for a beginner as well as an intermediate student and be helpful for both?

-Fun vs. Frustrating: the game should be challenging but encouraging, not discouraging.

-Educational Value: does the game help students learn their notes, answer correctly and reinforce general note concepts?

So, here are the top three note-reading games I found:

3. Flashnote Derby ($1.99)

What I like: It's great for selecting certain notes to be drilled, so I used this the most for my really young beginning students because it allowed us to work on two or three notes at a time, rather than overwhelm them with more than what we've covered in lessons. That being said, you could use it for an older student, and just make them do all the notes, or most of them. 

You can load certain presets into it, making it easy to work on trouble notes again and again without having to manually re-select them. Also, there are options to change the race speed, as well as how they answer the flashcards: with alphabet letters, keyboard labeled with letters and an unlabeled keyboard. One extra feature this one has that the others lack is short videos the students can watch that talk about the different notes and how to remember them. These are found by selecting the light bulb button at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. 

What I don't like: The keyboard is a little awkward. It is distracting and a little disorienting the way it pops up and then is hidden after each subsequent note. The keyboard has a small range so you press the same E on the keyboard for different E's in the staff. Most of the time we used the alphabet letters to answer the flashcards, which has some drawbacks. One little thing: it wasn't totally obvious right away that I could change the settings/options so I didn't notice for a few days that those changes were even possible. And, last thing: I don't like the booing in the background. The crowd cheers when you get a note right, but boos if you get it wrong. (As if kids need something booing at them.) I ended up turning the volume down so kids couldn't hear it. 

2. Treble Cat HD (Free) & Bass Cat HD ($4.99)

What I like: Between the two games there are a lot of levels. They start off very simple and easy with plenty of hints, and get progressively more difficult. There is a practice mode, which allows you to practice certain notes, and then the game itself is called the 'challenge' mode. It has cute, modern graphics and fun music playing in the background while they play, so it's very engaging. The game takes a different approach to drilling notes than any other note app I have found so far, and I think it is a really great approach. Students have to visually place/find the note in the staff (similar to having the students draw notes on staff paper,) rather than name the note they are shown. 

What I don't like: The games should just be integrated into one app. It's annoying that the treble clef and bass clef are separated into two totally different apps. Treble Cat HD is free to download, and then you pay for the Bass Cat HD. (Don't just get the Treble clef one! Bass clef notes usually need the most work anyway!) Another thing, the later levels get unnecessarily difficult and the way the notes move at different speeds and therefore intersect with each other makes it easy to push two notes accidentally and make a mistake, even though you know the correct note to push. But, overall a great approach, and great execution.

1. NoteWorks ($4.99)

What I like: It's very user friendly. The way you customize the game and change things like speed, notes, clef, and answer method is very straight-forward and easy. The game is challenging but can be adjusted to accommodate beginning students. The graphics are cute and the keyboard is register-specific (middle C is marked with a little orange dot,) meaning they have to push middle C on the keyboard for middle C on the staff and treble C on the keyboard for treble C on the staff, etc. Students are given a second chance to get the notes they miss the first time, and I saw a great amount of improvement in student after only a few rounds. 

What I don't like: Because the keyboard has a large range, the keys themselves are a little on the small size. (Though I heard that they are working on an update that would include a slightly larger keyboard.) Most of the time it wasn't a problem, but some students did occasionally express some frustration that they "meant to push C but it said I pushed D!!!" However, I think it is far better to have the register specific keyboard, even if it means sacrificing size of keys a little.  

So.

I would definitely suggest buying Noteworks as well as Treble Cat and Bass Cat. Flashnote Derby can (mostly) be replaced by these other two, but is still a great game. Noteworks and Bass Cat are kind of expensive as far as apps go, but worth the money. It's clear a lot of time and thought went into them. The programming is great, the graphics are cute and modern and colorful, and they don't sacrifice educational value. 

Some other note-reading apps I liked okay, but not as much: Staff Wars, Piano Monkey, Music Tutor. Staff Wars is appealing to kids because it's programmed to look like you are in a star wars movie, shooting down the correct notes. It's a bit difficult though, because you can only miss three notes before game over, and I found most student got really frustrated because of this. Piano Monkey is cute, but quite simple and not as fun as the ones I listed in my top three. And Music Tutor is very no-nonsense and has an awkward keyboard I didn't like. 

I'll be posting again soon about other music apps that are for theory, rhythm and ear trainging, but if you have used some note-reading music apps that I didn't list anywhere here and liked them, can you leave a comment and tell me which ones you've used? Thanks!

Neurological Benefits to Playing an Instrument

This short informative video discusses the neurological benefits to playing an instrument. What many musicians love about playing their instrument is that the act of practicing and performing stimulates and satisfies so many aspects of our brains' capabilities. To put it simply, it is a task that involves the intellectual, the emotional and the physical. 

Anita Collins, TED-ED

Getting Kids to Practice-Without Tears or Tantrums

By Anastasia Tsioulcas

"Regular practicing is a path towards self-discipline that goes way beyond music-it's a skill that has hugely positive ramifications for personal fulfillment and lifetime success. But the trick is that self-motivated discipline isn't exactly first nature for most kids, so it's up families to help create positive, engaging and fun ways to practice as a path towards self-motivation."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2012/06/18/155282684/getting-kids-to-practice-music-without-tears-or-tantrums