Grade 8: Instrument Research Assignment

In this assignment you are required to do research on your instrument. This will give you a better understanding of the history of your individual instruments, as well as some helpful tips to keep you improving in your musicianship.

There are two main parts of this assignment.

• First, your Preliminary Research. Preliminary Research has three sections of questions that are detailed below. Make sure you answer them fully.
• Second, Dig Deeper. Your Second is your Dig Deeper section. This requires that you find at least two websites for EACH of the categories listed below. Each website must also include a short paragraph presenting a summary (this means in your OWN words) of the research in each category. For the categories that require you to get videos, you need to have at least two for EACH of the categories.

Preliminary Research

Before you begin your website research, answer the following questions. You can either type the question and then the answer, or use the question in the answer. For example, if the question is how many trombones in are in a typical orchestra, your answer could be, “In a typical orchestra there are usually ____ trombones”.

Section I: Family Ties, Size, Shape and Differences

• What family is the instrument in (strings, woodwinds, brass, or percussion)?

• What is the instrument made of (brass or other metal, wood, etc.)?
• How is it shaped?
• How is it different from other members of that family (Size, shape, range, how the sound is started)?

Section II: Sound Production and Changing Notes

• How is it played (how held, mouth or hand etc.)?
• How does the player start the sound (how is the initial vibration made)?
• How do you make the different pitches to play a melody on the instrument (different fingerings, valve combinations, moving fingers up and down the neck, or maybe the instrument is unpitched) ?

Section III: Use In The Orchestra and Interesting Facts

• What is the instruments role in the orchestra (melodic or supportive, how many usually found in the orchestra)?
• Where do players usually sit in the orchestra?
• What is something interesting or unique about the instrument?
• What are some accessories you might need to play it (mouthpiece, bows, mutes, rosin, reeds, mallets, etc.)?

Dig Deeper

Your task is to find and submit ten (10) Web sites/video URLs related to your instrument. Wikipedia is NOT considered a reliable source, however it may be a good place to get some initial information to broaden your search. Your assignment submission needs to include:

Two sites for each one of the categories listed below, and a short paragraph presenting a summary of the research in each category. The categories are:

• History and/or Manufacturers:

Information about well-known makers and the instrument's history. This can also include the best brands of your instrument and why they are considered top of the line.

• Famous Performers:

Find a performer famous for playing your instrument. You are not restricted to any particular period or style. I would highly recommend before you research the first name that pops up in your google search, you also check YouTube to see if you enjoy the way they play.

• Repertoire:

What are the most famous pieces written for your instrument? Submit a list of five famous pieces written for the instrument, and two (2) sites that were sources for the information. Here's a site that might help: www.naxos.com

• How To Videos:

Find some how to videos on YouTube that you would recommend to someone who wants to learn to play your instrument. This might include how to put the instrument together, how to play (what embouchure to use), what the fingers are, how to get started, all the things you think are important for a beginner to know. Make sure you include a description of what these videos are about and why you feel they are useful above each video. How To For You: Finally, choose something you are having difficulty with (fingering, high notes, low notes, breathing, rhythm, etc) and see if you can find videos/websites that will help you overcome this problem. Detail what issues you are having and how the video addresses these issues.

Webpage Setup:

To present your paper you are going to create a website! Your websites have already been set up for you and your passwords chosen. Your website will consist of FOUR pages which you are to create:

1) Biography - tell me something interesting about yourself. Tell me who you are, where you were born, how old you are, where you’ve lived, what you are studying, what you want to do when you graduate, anything interesting you might read in someone’s biography. Be sure to include something musical! Please leave out anything identifying, like your last name.

2) Preliminary Research - answer the questions in Sections I, II, and III below, right on your website.

3) Dig Deeper - For each of the headings History/Manufacturers, Famous Performers and Repertoire you need to submit a paragraph and the links where you find your research. Include these under the appropriate headings on the Dig Deeper Page.

4) Videos - Finally, your last page will include your How To Videos and your How To For You. Be sure to include descriptions.

Website Creation

1) First, go to students.weebly.com ​to sign in to your website. Click on Edit Site. Start with your first page, your biography. Slide your mouse to the left hand side of the site. Drag the element you want (start with a title) over to your page. Click on it to edit and add your title.

2) Now drag a text box from the left hand side under your title and in this box you will complete your biography.

3) weebly.com does save everything automatically but every so often you should hit Publish in the top right hand side, to make sure your page is published to the web.

4) Once it’s complete, move to your Preliminary Research page by clicking on it at the top. Once on this site, follow the same steps using the Title and Text boxes. Feel free to add pictures where you think they will add to your assignment using the image feature.

5) Next, move to Dig Deeper and complete the first three items using the Title and Text features. Be sure to add your links as your references.

6) Finally, on your videos page, use the Title and Text features to explain what your video is about and why you are showing it. Then use the YouTube feature to insert your YouTube videos into your site. This can be a bit tricky so the instructions are below.

7) Make sure your site is published!

8) Any time you want to delete an element just click on it or hover over it and click the X to delete it.

9) You can also use the divider elements to make sections within your web pages.

Inserting YouTube Videos

1) To insert a YouTube Video, drag the YouTube element over to where you want it on your site. In another tab, open the YouTube video you’d like to insert. Copy the URL. Go back to your website and in the little box paste the URL in.

2) Click in the grey area beside that and your video should pop into the frame above. Now publish your site again.