diwali.mp3India is bordered to the North by China and to the west by Pakistan. To the south of India is the Indian Ocean. The Bengal Tiger is native to India. Native people put masks on the back of their heads to stay safe from the tigers.

There are several instruments that are from India. The Tabla Drums are two drums that you play together. One is made out of metal and one is made out of wood. Both have leather drum heads.  You play these drums with your hands, and you sit on the floor.

The sitar is also from India. You play this instrument while sitting on the floor also. It is kind of like a guitar because it has tunable strings that you play like a guitar. It is much larger than a guitar, and has a longer neck.

The violin was adopted by India as a native instrument in the 1600’s. It is just like the American violin, but they play upside down and tune the strings differently.

The Tala is the meter they use in India. That is how they count and conduct their music.

The Diwali festival is a festival in India. It is like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, and New Years all at the same time. It happens in late October. It sounds like a great time! We learned a song about the Diwali Festival and recorded it. Please click on the Audio MP3 file to listen to the recording.

Welcome to the second grade Music Around the World class from Conn Active Learning and Technology Magnet School! We learning so many things about music, instruments and the world we live in. We are so excited to share the things we have learned with you.

Please make a comment on our blog by clicking the “comments” link at the top of each post. We would love to hear your comments or answer any questions you have! Also, we have recorded a song that we learned from each country. You can listen to our recording by clicking the “Audio MP3″ link for each post. If you want to listen to our written entry, you can click the “Listen to this podcast” link at the bottom of each post.

danny.mp3Ireland is across the Atlantic ocean. Saint Patrick’s Day began in Ireland. They have a huge parade and celebrate every year. Music is and important part of their celebration!

In Ireland we learned about the Bodhoran Drum. This drum has one head and the player holds it in their hand. The drum head is made out of goat skin leather, and there is useually a picture of a family seal on it. A family seal is a picture that represents your last name.

We also learned about the accordian. It is an instrument that has a keyboard on one side of it. The player makes sounds by squeezing the accordian to pull air in and push it out. We really enjoyed listening to the Irish instruments!

We learned how to dance the Irish Jig in class. The Jig is a fast dance and the footwork is fast too. The steps to this dance are step, point toe, back, two, three, four. We had fun doing the Jig!

We learned the song “Oh Danny Boy.” This song is an Irish Ballad. We recorded ourslves singing this song. Please click on the ”Audio MP3″ link to hear our recording.

cherry-trees.mp3Japan is an island in the Pacific Ocean. The island has a lot of Cherry Trees called Sacura. We learned how to sing the Japanise national anthem ”Sacura,” and recorded ourselves singing it. Please click on the “Audio MP3″ link to hear our recording.

There are many instruments that are from Japan. We learned about three. The Taiko Drum is a large drum that you play standing up. The players look like they are dancing while they play this drum.

We also learned about the Bamboo flute. The player blows air into the flute and it makes an airy sound. The sound of this flute makes us feel calm and sleepy.

The Shamisen is a Japanese guitar. It is similar to the American guitar, but it has only 3 strings.  

We learned a fun singing game from Japan called “Se, Se, Se.” This is a game that is similar to the Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot game children play at our school.

We made a cup out of paper. This is an art from Japan called origami. We had a lot of fun drinking out of our paper cups.