Music Crafts for Kids: The How-To Book of Music Discovery - Softcover

A grab bag of 80+ craft projects related to sound and music, with mini-lessons about early instruments, musical notation, famous musicians, etc. A third of the projects are purely decorative (e.g., a mobile incorporating musical symbols); most of the rest are sound-producing, can be made quickly with inexpensive materials (a juice-can drum; a double-reed instrument from a drinking straw), and are surprisingly functional. A few are ill-conceived: It takes a gale to produce sound from the screws and nails in the wind chime; the hole in the knot popper soon enlarges, making it unplayable. One or two projects are more labor than they're worth: The limbo pole requires messing about with plaster of Paris, when two people and a broom handle are all that's really needed. The b&w drawings and diagrams are adequate, but several examples are incorrectly notated or captioned (e.g., on page 57, joined eighth notes are mislabeled as quarter notes). There are enough other editorial lapses and inaccuracies (a meaningless explanation of sharp and flat signs; an ``Irish harp'' shaped like a Greek lyre; etc.) to make the book unsuitable for its target audience, though it may have some use as a source for adults. But see Helen Drew's My First Music Book (Dorling Kindersley, 1993) for more detailed, better illustrated instructions for making instruments. Index. (Nonfiction. 5-10) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 3-6-Teachers, day-care providers, and scout leaders will find a wealth of material in this ambitious volume. Using a folksy approach with the personified notes of the scale (do, re, mi, etc.) as guides, the Fiarottas present bits of music theory, history, and appreciation as well as a variety of crafts. The projects include simple instruments as well as creative, thematic tie-ins. Suggested activities vary from listening to the sounds of nature and making wind chimes, to making clay whistles and bagpipes, to composing songs and writing them on sheet music, to dance and other forms of entertainment. All use readily available materials and have step-by-step instructions, clearly stating when adult assistance is needed. Illustrations appear to be original pen-and-ink drawings along with a variety of black-and-white clip art. Helen Drew's My First Music Book (Dorling Kindersley, 1993) is more colorful in presentation, but is strictly a how-to book, and lacks the background theory found here.
Beth Irish, Orange Public Library, CA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.