A Mighty Fine Sound: Instrument Demos

I have a sound . . . a mighty fine sound . . . and it sounds just like this.

Oh the perennial favorite, the Instrument Demo!

Cymbal. Gong. Slide whistle. Rainstick. Tongue drum. Wood block. Slapstick. Guiro. Vibraslap. Den-den drum. Glockenspiel, and more. We’ve got ’em!

This is one of our favorite moments in a Kindermusik class because of the WONDER it brings to your children. When we pull out a new, interesting, unfamiliar, or unexpected instrument your children always respond with shining eyes and rapt attention.

Your educator sings a cue, letting the children know to focus on what’s coming next. Anticipation builds as the new instrument is revealed. Childlike awe is expressed as the instrument is played and its timbre (or sound quality) is revealed.

Then, usually, your children swarm the educator with pleas to have a turn and give it a try. Often the highlighted instrument is available for everyone to try. Your educator instructs them to return to their grownup to wait their turn.

Think for a moment about what is going on developmentally in this moment. Children are practicing:

• Active listening skills as they listen to the new instrument’s timbre.
• Visual tracking skills as they watch how the instrument is played.
• Inhibitory control as they wait their turn.
• Fine and gross motor skills as they, for example, reach, grasp, and strike the instrument.
• Sense cause and effect as they calculate how hard or soft, fast or slow they strike manipulates the sound that is produced.

It’s magical! And it is a developmental FEAST for their brains.

What is YOUR favorite instrument you’ve experienced in class?