Lesson ideas
I have used this lesson between the Orchestra Instruments unit (5th / 6th graders) and the Invented Instruments unit.
- Ethnomusicology = the study of world music
- Explain that they just finished reviewing 4 families of the orchestra, and that ethnomusicologists have categorized the world’s instruments into families, which are similar, but not the same.
- Display pictures of instruments from around the world. As they think through what some of the instruments have in common, guide them to put them into categories based on what vibrates on each instrument.
- Introduce the ethnomusicology terms:
- aerophones = air vibrates
- chordophones = strings vibrate
- membranophones = stretched skin vibrates
- idiophones = solid material vibrates
- electrophones = electronics
- When the students build their own instruments, tell them to inform you what category/ies their instruments fit into. (I don’t require them to memorize these terms.)
Posters, Visuals, Handout, Worksheet / Assessment
(See downloads at bottom of page.)
1
2
PowerPoint
(See downloads at bottom of page.)
5 slides
YouTube
- Printable & Digital Visuals, Ethnomusicology Categories Handout, Identify Ethnomusicology Categories Worksheet / Assessment
- Instrument Alphabet
