The Triangle

Whereas there are kids who will insist, on catching a glimpse of my dulcimer, that I have brought along a guitar there is no mistaking the triangle. And while 'kokiriko' is a name that is rarely remembered, 'triangle' is never forgotten.

Triangles have been used in European orchestral music since the 18th century. Like any instrument it is difficult to play well, in spite of its simple appearance. It is now used in popular music, too, and is very much a part of the Latin percussion collection. Good quality instruments are made of carbon steel but school instruments tend to be made of stainless steel. Probably the finest triangle I have ever come across was made of hammered brass. It was at one of Michael Deason Barrow's Tonalis workshops and was just one of a truly wonderful collection of instruments.

In orchestral situations tone is everything and the triangle must be suspended by a piece of string to prevent damping. To stop the instrument from spinning when hit with the beater, this piece of string needs to be an inch or so long (2.4cm). Tying a short length of string between the handles of a large bulldog clip will provide a secure mounting for the triangle as well as a way of holding the instrument. The clip can be held in the hand or attached to a stand. A metal beater is used to strike the side opposite the open corner.

The application in Latin music is much more rhythmic, the tone being secondary. A larger triangle is used and it is suspended over the index finger of the hand you don't write with. This hand is used to allow or damp the sound as required by the rhythm being played by the other hand. Damping is achieved by simply gripping the instrument with the rest of the holding hand; this has the effect of stopping the metal from vibrating.

Children are frequently underwhelmed when presented with instrument, looking wistfully at whatever has been given to their peers on either side. However, a quick demonstration of the damping technique will give them something to think about. They should master Pattern A without too much trouble. If you really want to impress them, master Pattern B and play it at speed. My own triangle seems to have been confused with a school collection so, for the time being at least, you must make do with the dots. When I either reclaim or replace the missing instrument I will post an audio demo.

As it is not a great expense you might like to buy a variety of sizes. An 8" instrument will cost you less than than £5 (pounds sterling) and a 4" less than £3.

The dulcimer

This steel-strung dulcimer has to be one of the most popular instruments I have ever taken into a school. It's a sure-fire hit with both children and teachers. It can be sourced from Hawkins Bazaar in the UK where they give it the less than specific name of 'music maker'. Mine says it is a zitabo and was made in China. I notice the new ones are called cymbalas and appear to come from Russia. The build specifications of the new model appear to be identical to those of my own and the writing on the box assures me that it meets European Union and American safety standards.

It really does have a beautiful sound. It is also fairly robust and the plywood sound box is unlikely to get broken. I have had two strings broken in two years of taking it to sessions. On each occasion it was when a child tried to extract too much volume. I no longer include it in the 'let's all explore the instruments at once' sessions that I still, against my better judgement, find myself involved in from time to time. Fortunately it comes with two spare strings. After that I am confident that guitar strings could be pressed into service.

Along with the spare strings, there are two plectrums (or plectra if you prefer), some rubber feet and, most importantly, a tuning key. I have never stuck on the rubber feet and this means I can teach the children about the damping or enhancing effects of playing the instrument on different surfaces. The tuning fork allows the instrument to be tuned to suit the occasion. Mine is tuned to E Major but many other scales suit it very well. I particularly like a pentatonic scale that, in Norfolk at least, passes for Japanese. This goes EFABCE.

Actually, the tuning on mine is wayward having just had two strings replaced as well as a hammering from various workshops. Tuning is a challenge as a very slight tweak with the key will make a great difference to the pitch. The new strings, one of which broke unexpectedly, keep slipping but this is probably to be expected. All the guitarists I know suffer from this problem when they change their strings. But it has a wonderful tone and natural reverb and it is these that make it a winner.

Finally there is some sheet music, written like none other I have ever seen, and some tuning tips and re-stringing instructions.

At just under £20 (pounds sterling) it is exceptionally good value. I have no idea what sort of working conditions are enjoyed by the people who make these instruments but console myself with the knowledge that they must be better off than the poor folk working in the firework factory down the street.

April's free music game

This month's featured free music game is called Duets. It's a good way introducing a collection instruments to a large group in a short space of time. It works even better with a smaller group and a longer time frame but the point is that it does work with a large group. And it works well. I have found it a very useful ingredient when running taster sessions.

Amazing music machine

A friend of mine sent me a video yesterday. It shows an amazing machine that sends balls, presumably using air pressure, in the manner of a tennis serving machine. These hit various pieces wood and metal and even strings to produce a very listenable jazz-rock score. According to the accompanying blurb the machine is made from components used in farm machinery, is displayed at the University of Iowa and is to be donated to the Smithsonian.

Watching a small image on my computer I was taken in for a while. It is still a wonderful piece of work and well worth watching but is actually a CGI animation. If you would like to see it in Real Player or similar send me your email (email me via my website if you'd prefer) and I'll send it on. It seems to be doing the rounds as a hoax so hopefully I'm not offending anybody's copyright.

It is a remarkable 'invention', makes jazz-rock accessible and will, I am sure, inspire some real instruments in a similar vein. Enjoy.

Nose flutes? Saints preserve us!

Some children, on getting hold of the latest copy of The Beano, will go straight to the characters they like the best: The Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger or whoever. Despite the dangers of confiscation by a teacher, or appropriation by an older child, I would always start at the beginning (Biffo the Bear back then) and work my way through, enjoying the anticipation, until eventually I reached Dennis the Menace on the back page. So when first I opened Polynesian Sound-Producing Instruments by Richard Moyle and discovered there was a section on nose flutes I resisted the temptation to go straight to it, much as it appealed to my inner ten year old.

If you live in north-west Europe the fact that nose flutes never really caught on here will need no explaining. The damp climate creates a perfect host for the common cold and noses are frequently either blocked or running too freely. When I even tell young students about the existence of a flute you play with your nose their lips curl with distaste and they treat the information with the same suspicion as when I tell then how Lady Greensleeves got her name. young children are obsessed with bodily functions and secretions and those that emanate from the nose, being not 'rude' but still disgusting, have been a gift to purveyors of comics and other low humour for generations.

Perhaps this European distaste contributed to the decline of the nose flute in Polynesia. On many of these islands the instrument was used to serenade one's lover - it made the music of love. It steadily lost ground to the ukulele when this arrived with European visitors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The ukulele has the advantage that you can croon along as you play.

When the Europeans arrived in the paradise that was the Pacific islands they brought missionaries who set about trying to improve the place. Catholics introduced the concept of original sin (guilt) and Protestants brought the work ethic (more guilt). They frowned on many of the rituals and pastimes practised by the indigenous peoples and many were prohibited. In museums there exist instruments from as recently as the nineteenth century whose music and purpose are lost forever. Moyle, whose book was published in 1990, describes curious instruments called sounding boards used to accompany a particular dance on Tonga and Samoa. (Not to be confused with either the sounding boards of Bellona Island or those used in the manufacture of pianos or other European string instruments.) The 19th century Christian missionaries on the islands regarded the dance as 'heathen' and it was outlawed, never to be seen, or heard, again.

Bellona, part of the Solomon Islands, has a different type of sounding board. Whereas the Tongan and Samoan boards had a hinged slat that rattled when the board was struck, the board from Bellona has no moving parts. It is a crescent shaped piece of hardwood beaten with two sticks. Although I speak of it in the present tense, Moyle writes that the 'heathen dances' are under threat from the Protestant church which is very powerful on the island.

Back to nose-flutes, it would be a pity if the Polynesian type disappeared altogether. There are other nose flutes to be had and a quick search of the web reveals modern, brightly coloured examples in hygienic plastic that can be mail-ordered. I'm sure they are worth a sniff and I shall not be put off by their Christmas-cracker-freebie appearance.

Polynesia is not the only part of the world where cultural diversity is threatened by bland commercially driven homogeneity or prudish evangelism. Whether any attempts to preserve its dances and rituals can be successful, once the culture that gave them meaning has been destroyed or diluted, is uncertain.

Before I finish with nose flutes (Anglo-Saxons: you are allowed one last snigger) I have a question. Answers on a postcard, or in a comment, please: What is the nasal equivalent of an embouchure?

Sad but true

I posted some time ago about the bell tree, one of my favourite instruments. A couple of year three classes (7 & 8 years old) are doing some imaginative work involving magic potions and I have been developing ways of supporting this with music. The bell tree is just right for this; it gives the perfect sound for the casting of a spell.

I don't have a bell tree of my own so was delighted to come across one in the school's music cupboard. It is a fine example, reminscent of a Victorian laboratory or a film set for a Sherlock Holmes movie. Unlike the one in the picture, borrowed from another school for a short while last spring, it is mounted in a hard-wood frame making holding it unnecessary and reducing the chances of it being dropped on some poor child's foot. Including, as it does, a fair amount of heavy brass in it's make-up it would hurt a lot and parents would be bound to ask where that nasty bruise came from.

So many schools I visit have very poor storage facilities for instruments. In this particular school the cupboard was big enough for what they had but the instruments were in disarray and the space was being encroached upon by unrelated materials and equipment including an enormous television on a trolley that made it hard to reach many of the shelves. Various objects, including an ornate wooden conductor's stand, spoke of former glories and present neglect.

I wasn't surprised to discover that the year 3 children had never seen the school's bell tree. They had only been there for a few months after all. What did surprise me was that children in year 5, who had spent more than two years at the place, had never seen it. I know a lot of primary school teachers shy away from music because of the noise and apparent chaos. Speaking to practitioners in other fields suggests that there are teachers equally reluctant to explore drama and even art, preferring to stay within their comfort zones but this is unnecessary.

While I can sympathise with this 'anything for a quiet life' attitude it is possible to explore music with children without ending up with over-excited children, frosty looks from the person trying to teach in the next room and splitting headache. It doesn't have to be a chaotic free-for-all and I shall share some approaches and techniques in the March edition of Playing With Sound, the free newsletter I put out once a month. In the mean time I intend to make the most of what's left of the half term holiday.

Divine Retribution

Even though most of the snail mail I get nowadays comprises bills, bank statements and unwanted invitations to insure my life and chattels, I still look forward to the arrival of the postman. Once in a blue moon, perhaps three times since 1978, he brings me something special and earlier this week he did just that. Opening an unassuming padded envelope I discovered a copy of Polynesian Sound-Producing Instruments by Richard Moyle. My brother found it somewhere and thought it might interest me.

It was published in 1990 but has a very seventies look to it. The only colour photograph is the one on the cover. I'm no photographer myself but I would guess the chemicals used to develop it were last sold some time in the late 1960s. It shows four nose flautists serenading the Queen and Prince Philip at dawn on a visit to Tonga in 1953. The book is full of delights that I will share with you from time to time and describes many unusual instruments in detail.

My favourite part so far stresses the importance of avoiding bum notes. Music is the food of the Gods in Polynesia and They take a keen interest: "...any performance error was construed as an insult and therefore likely to produce some form of divinely caused misfortune to one's self, family or village." Perhaps if I practise more the Gods will reward me with more pleasant surprises in the post and fewer bills. Perhaps my performance errors, and not Christmas overspend, are the cause of all January's demands for payment. Or perhaps the local spirits in Norfolk are thicker skinned (or have learned to lower their expectations) than their Polynesian cousins.

Homemade drums etc

So now you've made your beaters let's find something to hit. At this point I should really mention health and safety. Although my own view is that health and safety policies are a curse and a kill-joy, nevertheless I realise that saying so in court will do little to reduce my penalty. I once asked a class of 12yr olds to 'bring in a home made instrument next week'. When next week came I was met with tin cans with jagged edges and glass bottles played with heavy sticks. In the event there were no breakages or injuries but I should have seen it coming. So if you are working with young children you may which to take reasonable precautions against injury.

In Europe the ubiquitous 2ltr (about 70 fluid ounces) plastic bottle makes an excellent first drum. When empty and without the cap it makes a satisfyingly resonant sound when struck with your home made beater. Compare the sound of the base with the side and do you prefer to used the rubber head of the beater or the wooden end? How about using the side of the stick? And when you hit the bottle hard does the sound just get louder or change in other ways? Experiment with the bottle and find the best places to hit. You could mark the 'sweet spots' with a permanent marker pen.

The great thing about plastic bottles is that they can be held fairly firmly without damping. Some materials, metal in particular, can have their natural resonance restricted by holding. However, too strong a grip will have an impact on your botle so again, experiment and find the optimum firmness.

If you hit the bottle hard enough, often enough, the plastic will lose its 'memory' or suffer punctures. Your students will have fulfilled the urge to test the instrument to destruction and it can now be recycled in the usual way. Replacement will not impact on your pocket or departmental budget.

Smaller plastic bottles tend to be too thin. A half litre bottle, hit on the side, requires subtlety and will not give much volume. The base, however, is surprisingly strong and gives a higher note than a larger bottle. Bigger plastic bottles, like the 5ltr (gallon) one in the picture are usually more robust although I prefer round sided bottles to this flat sided example.

Here is a recording I made this afternoon of the 5ltr bottle (lid left on), 2ltr and 500ml bottles (lids removed). Ignore the loose drumming and enjoy the sounds of the bottles played together. Just to be clear, I didn't play them all at once but overdubbed them using a trial version of Ableton Live. And I used my home made beater throughout.

Twang on a can

Here, as unwisely promised yesterday, is a clip of me twanging the ring-pull of an aluminium fizzy drink can whilst simultaneously filling it with water. What do you think happens to the pitch of the note?

My own, subjective and non-scientific, opinion is that the pitch stays the same. The note seems to get higher because the upper harmonic partials are increasingly favoured as the can fills. If I were to blow the can like a flute then I would hear the air inside vibrating. Less volume of air, as the water replaces it, means a gradual rise in pitch. When I twang the can it is the can I hear resonating. The water dampens (no pun intended - 'deadens' might be a better word) the sound of the lower partials.

Today I went for a long walk by the sea so no sonic experiments. But tomorrow I shall continue to explore the seasonal debris and make some more rubbish instruments. If you would like to join in then hang on to all sizes of bottles, both glass and plastic, tin cans of various types, wrapping paper and anything else you think might produce a noise.

These instruments are rubbish

Before you consign the debris from your seasonal festivities to landfill and the recycling banks why not have some fun with it first? That is certainly my own intention and I'm starting with some fizzy drinks cans. I had a grand plan which I'll reveal tomorrow but on the way I noticed a thing or two. You may know that all plastic bottles of the same size play the same note if blown like a flute. Well aluminium cans are the same although it is not nearly as easy to produce a sound in this way. However, when you twang the ring-pull (which remains attached to the modern can after opening) the pitch varies betrween cans. Of the five cans I tried the pitch varied between G and Bb. These cans were all the same brand from the same multipack. Although the cans all contain the same volume of air there must be other variations in their construction.

The next thing I did was to twang the ring-pull as I gradually filled a can with water. It requires a steady hand. (Using a funnel has a deadening effect.) Why not try this now? I'll post a movie of my own experiment tomorrow. Before you begin, though, what do think will happen to the sound as you pour in the water? Does experience tally with your prediction?

Sustainable technology

It has been said, although I can't remember by whom, that renaissance man (and presumably woman) understood his world completely. And although I can't help thinking it something of an exaggeration there is no doubt that it was far truer then than now. Since the industrial revolution we have become increasingly specialised creatures, a point brought home to me whenever a piece of hi-tech equipment fails. The most recent instance was the failure of my computer's motherboard. I imagine the 15th century equivalent was having a quill snap; easily remedied, either by oneself or by someone to whom you could explain the problem. I am no stranger to computers but, beyond the fact that mine didn't work, I didn't even know what the problem was.

When a piece of hi-tech gear stops working the first question is whether or not it is cost-effective to effect a repair and this often requires the opinion of a specialist. Often the parts are too expensive to replace or the item itself has become obsolete. In theory it can be recycled by poorly paid workers risking their health in the developing world but in practice it usually ends up as landfill.

So it was with no little joy that I read of some 15th century church bells in Suffolk being re-mounted and rung again for the first time in 25 years. I may even make a pilgrimage to hear them. They are testament to the enduring nature of acoustic instruments. I still play a soprano saxophone that is close to a hundred years old. Somehow I doubt either the software or hardware I use now will be anything like as long lived. Even if it survives it is unlikely to be considered fit for purpose. The life-span of electronic instruments is short, regardless of how well they are looked after. Something worth bearing in mind when deciding how to spend the departmental budget.

What is an ocean drum?

Some years ago I helped to set up a 'music and movement' project with the grand ambition of bringing sessions to a 'culturally deprived' rural area. At least that's what it said on the funding application: one has to choose the language and buzz-phrases of the moment if one wants to get the gig. Our client base included adults with learning difficulties and Downs Syndrome and I wanted to get satisfyingly tactile and chunky instruments, both for them and for the other beneficiaries of the scheme. Amongst the kit I amassed was a 22" ocean drum made by Remo.

As a child did you ever roll marbles or pebbles around on a metal tray? There is something fascinating about the way in which the weight shifts as they roll or slide about the surface. And of course the sound. To be honest, and with apologies to Remo and other manufacturers and suppliers to the music stores of the western world, it never really said 'ocean' to me. Even now it's a name that rankles slightly - too literal and too leading.

The main problems with a tray of marbles from an educational point of view are firstly, it's not especially portable and secondly, there's a strong chance of spillage and all that entails. Enter the ocean drum, the shape of a bodhran but with a skin on both sides. There are dozens of ball bearings inside the drum and these roll around to make distinctive sound. They come in various sizes with 12", 16" and 22" being common, at least in the UK. although the 22" (About 55cm) never fails to impress primary aged children, by virtue of its size alone, they can find it rather unwieldy. Children also seem to like the ones with pictures of sea life visible inside. Personally I find them rather kitsch (Finding Nemo anyone?) and even more prejudicial to proper listening than the name.

Five interesting facts about ocean drums:

• They actually originated in Nepal, a land-locked country in the Himalaya and a long way from the sea. The intention was, however, to imitate the sound of water.
• You can hit them with a soft beater like the one in the picture. You cannot hit them hard with a drumstick without risking splitting the skin. Treading on them is also out.
  
• If you hold one in both hands and shake the ball bearings vigorously between the two skins it produces a loud sound like thunder or crashing waves.
• They can have a very calming affect on fidgety or agitated children and those with SEN (special educational needs). They have a mesmerising quality. Lying down and watching the ball bearings roll around from underneath is rather like being under water.
• Although they are given all sorts of aquatic associations, don't leave them in a cold damp place for any length of time. I did and the ball bearings went rusty. It still sounds as good but, if you lie underneath, it feels more North Sea than Mediterranean.

June's Game of the Month

Every month I post a new, and absolutely free, music game at www.playwithsound.com where clicking on 'this month's free game' will take you right to it.

June's free music game is called Echo Me and is highly adaptable. It can be played with voices or instruments, can be made harder or easier and can be played educationally, but enjoyably, with children from five to one hundred and five. So versatile is this game that it can be played in a few odd moments as a filler or can be stretched for as long as your group has an appetite for it. And this can be a long time if you build it up in steps, as suggested, and add instruments to the mix. Have a go and let me know what you think.

A taster session

I've just finished a busy but rewarding week in which, with other artists, I accompanied a bunch of kids to Wells-next-the-Sea. Two groups, two consecutive days. The main thrust of the visit was to introduce the concept of land art, as made famous by Andy Goldsworthy, and provide a great location in which to try it out. While half the children were given a start on this in the pine woods, the other half were taken off to a sand dune for a short game of adjective charades, using the dune as their stage culminating in a descent in the manner of the adjective they had chosen for us to guess. The adjectives were along the lines of happy, angry, sad etc. After this they went back into the woods to learn all about land art.

Friday, back at school, was a taster day in which each of four artists gave a session to a quarter of the year group in turn so all the kids got to do some movement, some music, some book making and some kite making. Time was very short and of the two afternoon sessions, fifty minutes long in theory, the first was cut short by fifteen minutes because of registration. It felt a rush to get through to some meaningful work with instruments but I wanted to build on the adjective charades by adapting a game of Colour to five emotional states: excited, happy, sad, irritated and angry. We went through a round of names then played Hide and Listen (a big hit and May's Game of the Month) and a couple of games of Detective for familiarisation with the instruments I had provided.

Finally I could split them into four groups of three or four children and flash them the name of an emotion written on a card. Then they could choose their instruments, compose their piece and finally perform to the others, who had to guess which emotion was being portrayed. As expected, one or two children had to play a particular instrument at all cost, even asking to change the emotion to make it easier to incorporate their vehicle of choice. (Imagine trying to convey anger on a delicate (non hammer-) dulcimer.) But in general I was impressed by how many children preferred a mundane instrument, like a stick tambourine or coconut shells, over something more exotic because it was better suited to the mood they were expressing.

I have mentioned the sweet shop syndrome in the past and I think that had all the children had better exposure to the instruments in the past all their choices would have been driven by the requirements of the sound they were trying to create. But that's the nature of a taster session - and a taste is no substitute for a full meal.

Instrument etiquette

Why are so many instruments in schools in such poor condition? I have heard poor storage facilities cited as an excuse and, while there is certainly some truth in that, I believe the problem has a cultural basis. Why? Because from the time I went to high school, and was first exposed to instruments that were neither pianos nor pictures on record sleeves, I have come across instruments that have been mistreated and misunderstood regardless of the space given over to their storage. Like social attitudes to death, sex, children, gender, race and class the prevailing attitude to musical instruments will take time to change. If we want to see that change in our lifetimes we must start now.

Those of us familiar with gamelan music will know that the term 'gamelan orchestra' refers not to the musicians, who come and go during a performance, but to the instruments in a particular set. Each gamelan has a soul that resides in the large gong, 'gong ageng', of which there is one in every set. The instruments of a set are all made at the same time and their tuning, taken from gong ageng, is unique to that orchestra. When the orchestra is ready it is inaugurated with much ceremony. The gamelan is used in religious and social rituals and is accorded due reverence. Children grow up respecting the instruments of the orchestra and this attitude has endured for generations.

I am certainly not suggesting a cult of musical instrument worship. I know many musicians who have a very close relationship with their chosen instrument but this is more akin to that between craftsmen and their tools. But ask any carpenter why tools are abused and they will tell you it is a lack of proper education. A carpenter only looks after the tools of the trade. A music teacher, on the other hand, looks after a lot of instruments they don't play and possibly don't even like. But they must still treat them with respect and teach that respect to their students and colleagues who will learn best by example.

So what brought this on? I gave a workshop in an infant school the other day and neglected to lay down the ground rules. Fortunately the children were very well behaved but I was forever playing catch-up in terms of conveying what was acceptable behaviour. So, to remind myself, I will list some below. Please feel free to add to them.

1. Treat the instruments with respect, they are expensive
2. Wait until an instrument is passed to you, never try to take one from someone else
3. Explore the instruments to see what sounds they can make but don't treat them roughly
4. Place instruments carefully on the floor (or table) when you've finished with them, never drop or throw them
5. Walk around the instruments, never try to step over them (Stepping over a gamelan instrument is considered a mark of disrespect bordering on sacrilege. The rule prevents damage to instruments and players alike.)
6. At then end of the session, put the instruments away properly

It always surprises me how many secondary school children (and indeed adults) demonstrate a lack of awareness of any of the above. Either they were never exposed to instruments in their first years at school or they were set a poor example. There's a sense in which the music department/cupboard resembling the physics lab would be no bad thing.

Norwich Puppet Theatre

I've just visited one of my favourite venues, Norwich Puppet Theatre, to play for Indefinite Articles' Pinocchio. Steve Tiplady is a fine performer whom I've worked with many times. His shows always give the impression of barely managed chaos, Pinocchio being no exception, and this alarmed me at first. Now I realise that it's just his way and he can bring the audience back in the blink of an eye.

For this show I play as the audience enters the auditorium and is seated. This can take ten minutes or so. I used to use soprano or alto saxophone for this but now I favour the clarinet. It can cut through a din if it needs to but can also play right on the edge of audibility. This is a great opportunity to play whatever I'm feeling; whatever the space suggests. For young children I usually start of in a major pentatonic - calm and unthreatening - but by the end I might be running through a klezmer tune or two. The show itself also features Tibetan temple bells and, for the first time today, a rather strange instrument that I used to use when touring with Baobab Theatre. Always a favourite with children it's very good for making the sound of frogs, crickets and squeaky doors. However, if you hold the stick and twirl the little drum (really just an amplifier) on the end of the length of fishing line it roars like a hurricane or strange beast. I wish I could remember its name.
The wonderful thing about the Norwich Puppet Theatre is that it also acts as a puppet museum with puppets from the last thirty years of shows displayed and hung from every available piece of wall. A truly magical place to visit, although the thought of staying in there on my own for a night gives me the shivers. It is hired for seances from time to time, if that's the right word, and is popular with ghost hunters too. Some very brave souls work there.

Pyramid

This month's free game at playwithsound.com is called Pyramid. It is a way of using instruments to demonstrate relative note values. Because the sounds sustain it is well suited to chime bars: the group gets the sense of playing semibreves, minims, crotchets etc, so it is a good way of introducing this terminology. When played with chime bars it can be very soothing and that's no bad thing. Of course it does rather depend on your choice of notes. (And, it goes without saying, if you have more than one player to a part then you should give them the same note as the others playing that part.)

Getting out the instruments – 10 points

If you work with children, how was your last experience of working with musical instruments? Did it border on chaos? Were you left hoarse and exhausted with a splitting headache? I'm talking here about 'real' classroom instruments from the percussion trolley or cupboard. I've witnessed and officiated over stressful lessons with electronic keyboards too but I'll save my thoughts on those particular delights for another time.

So the worst case scenario goes like this: You get out the instruments and hand one to each child. While you are doing this the children are either experimenting with or complaining about the instrument they have or, if they are still waiting, begging for one of those yet to be distributed. By now you are tense and irritated and begin issuing threats and administering sanctions. The 'good' kids get nervous and frustrated. The 'bad' kids sense an opportunity. And you haven't even started. The lesson continues in the same vein and you don't get through half what you had hoped. And you vow never to put yourself through that again.

Consider the following:
1. The only other school equipment that is given the colour scheme of a toy shop or sweet shop is found in the gymnasium. It's far less noisy for a start and the kids get to run off their excitement. (Are the computers in the IT room given the rainbow treatment? I don't think so.)
2. The excitement generated by the sight of all this wonderful gear is in inverse proportion to the opportunities to use it. And then some. It's basic economics: scarcity increases interest. The less often you get the stuff out the worse it's going to be when you do.
3. The sweet shop analogy is very apt. Perhaps the only difference is that sweets make less noise to begin with and are enjoyed in relative silence. But children want to know what they all taste like.
4. Decide what activity, game or exercise you want to share and which instruments you are going to use.
5. A class of about thirty children is going to be unmanageable. The only way to make it work is to rule with a rod of iron but this will crush the spirit of exploration and is likely to turn many off music for ever. Music should be fun.
6. So split the group into as many groups as you have responsible adults. This should take your group size from about thirty down to about fifteen. If you are the only adult the following exercise will be more challenging, less than ideal but not necessarily impossible.
7. Clear away the tables and chairs and have everybody sit in a circle (or circles) on the floor. Circles give a sense of belonging – everyone is included and everyone can see what's going on and when their turn will come. Allow them to kneel if they prefer – it's a more dynamic posture. Have the circles as far away from each other as possible.
8. Take two of the same instrument and, if there is anything you think they might not discover easily for themselves, demonstrate it to the group. Pass one to the person on your left, the other to the person on your right. Ask each person to explore the instrument for a moment and pass it on. Some may take longer than others and this is OK. Peer pressure will usually prevent anyone taking too long. When the instruments meet across the circle take them back and put one of them 'away'.
9. Tell the group you will make a sound on the instrument and pass it on. You want each person to try to make a different sound from the person who gave to them. The group may only think of two different sounds and this is OK. Just let them alternate these. It forces them to listen to the sounds that are being made and watch the others as they try to make them.
10. Repeat these two processes with all the instruments you intend to use. Think of it as a tasting session. If the instruments were food items you would want to try them individually. Children are likely to cram their mouths with all manner of conflicting flavours if given free rein in a sweet shop: it's only natural. You are helping them develop a more sophisticated sonic palate.

Now you are ready to hand out the instruments and get on with your lesson plan. The children may still be disappointed with their allocation but at least they will have had a go on everything and will less desperate to sample everyone else's.

Remember to take everything slowly, step by step. The more gradual the process, the more relaxed you'll feel. If you are not enjoying yourself, ask yourself why. As with any other activity, your confidence and sense of wonder will inspire your students.

Touchy feely

Some years ago I was involved in developing a project in a 'culturally deprived' rural area. The object was to provide an opportunity to explore the relationship between sound and movement. It was to be implemented by a group of local musicians and dance teachers.

One thing we were keen to do was free participants from their preconceptions about dance and music. On a movement level this meant exploring responses to sound other than the usual disco clichés. On a sound level we wanted participants, mostly with very limited previous exposure to music-making, to feel they could create a valid soundscape. There was no point giving them instruments like violins, flutes or guitars. These come with large amounts of cultural baggage about how, and how not, to play them; about the sort of sounds they should make. They are intimidating and can stifle creativity. Instead it was decided that we would present them with instruments that would allow for genuine exploration. Odd instruments from around the world that participants were unlikely to have seen played before; that had no obvious right or wrong way of playing; that may even inspire dance and movement just by their appearance and tactile qualities. And, most importantly, provide a level playing field for all.

It fell to me to choose the instruments. This all happened just before the turn of the millennium and the dissemination of information was not what it is now. However, a catalogue duly arrived from Knock On Wood in Harrogate http://www.knockonwood.co.uk/ full of exciting looking items from all corners of the globe. Our budget was tight but we managed to procure an enormous ocean drum, a kokiriko, a couple of tongue drums and one or two other things the names of which I've forgotten. Perhaps the biggest hit was the Indonesian angklung (pictured) which took ages to set up but was so different from anything anyone had seen before that it was always worth it. Also popular were the mbira (East African thumb pianos), large and small, that I tuned to a Japanese scale, one an octave higher than the other. A cursory glance at Knock On Wood's online catalogue shows that, while not everything we bought is currently available, there is plenty of new stock to browse.

The workshops were, in my opinion, a great success and justified their funding. Of course it's hard to be objective about these things (and there were fewer self-assessment forms to fill in then). What pleased me most about the project was that it encouraged a sonic exploration of objects, from violins to milk bottles, objectively and without prejudice or fear. This is an approach that a classical education encourages all too rarely. My book, Adventures in Sound, contains a number of games devised with just this purpose in mind and December's free game, Copycat, at playwithsound.com is an example.