~ MMGM STEAM MAKE:MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ~

~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADE
MONDAY S.T.E.A.M. FEATURE ~

--  'MAKE: MUSICAL INVENTIONS-

DIY INSTRUMENTS TO TOOT, TAP,

CRANK, STRUM, PLUCK and SWITCH ON'  --

AUTHOR KATHY CECERI

LEARN MORE ON GOODREADS  

ABOUT THE BOOK {from Amazon}:

People have been playing music on homemade instruments for thousands of years. But creating new instruments is much more than an art form. When you want to make a note sound higher or lower, you have to change the sound waves coming out of the instrument. That's science! When you explore the way different materials produce different sounds, that's engineering. When you speed up or slow down a song, you're counting beats -- using math. And technology makes electronic instruments and devices to record and play back music possible. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from Goodreads}:
Kathy Ceceri is the author of activity books for kids and families including "Musical Inventions," "Paper Inventions" and "Making Simple Robots" from Maker Media, and "Robotics: Discover the Science and Technology" and "Video Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure" from Nomad Press. Online, she was the Homeschooling Expert for About.com (now Thoughtco), a founding editor of GeekMom.com, and a top writer for the GeekDad blog. When she's not busy writing, Kathy presents hands-on STEAM workshops based on her books for kids and educators.

MY REVIEW:
This well-organized book covers the science of sound, the history of and science behind music, the science behind making musical instruments, and the art of instrument design. It also includes stepped-out instructions for over two dozen projects for middle-grade students and older to make using recycled materials or items one can find at a hardware or thrift store.

Some of my favorite features in this book are the author's interviews with individuals who make musical instruments along with numerous sidebars about historic musical inventors such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi and Nikola Tesla, Pythagoras, and Vincenzo Galelei {father of Galileo Galelei}. 

I played an instrument from fourth grade through junior high and don't remember ever being introduced to the five instrument families. The Sachs-Hornbostel system presented by the author documents how instruments are divided into five families based on the way they vibrate and produce sound. Chordophones, Aerophones, Membranophones, Idiophones, and Electrophones are defined and examples of the instruments included in each family are given.

As with all of the books I've read by this author, the projects are outstanding! Favorites from this book include:

• 'Pickle-O, a Vegetable Ocarina' made using either a small cucumber, large carrot, sweet potato, zucchini, or regular potato;
•  'Stick -on-Top 3-String Strummer' {Guitar};
• 'Cookie Tin Steel Drum';
• 'Wrenchophone' {Xylophone};
• 'Thumb Piano';
• 'Experimental Music Box';
• 'Manila Record Player'; and
• 'Pizza Box Radio'.

Highly recommended for teachers, parents/grandparents, youth group and scout leaders, teens and adults who love music and sound, and DIYers who are looking for some worthwhile activities to keep themselves occupied on rainy or snowy days!

DISCLOSURE FROM BLOGGER:  I received a copy of this paperback from the publisher in exchange for an honest review of the book. I received no compensation to post my thoughts here or on any other site. This book will be donated to my local public library for addition to their children's non-fiction catalog.

Find the links to read more great Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts from middle-grade authors and bloggers at Greg Pattridge's 'Always in the Middle' Blog.  

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COMING UP SOON ON 'READING, WRITING & STITCH-METIC':

--  Friday, September 7th:  Book Blitz for an inspirational romance with some suspense entitled, 'The Cost of Glory'. Tour organized by JustRead Publicity.

--  Monday, September 10th:  Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday feature:  Title TBA.

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