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Music mixer
There are five compositions to experiment with. Select your monster orchestra with the numbered buttons at the top.
Drag the monsters up and down to adjust their volume. When they are in the lowest position they are off. You can also click/tap a height for each monster.
Discussion points
- Which sound do you like the most?
- Can you make a loud sound with your voice or body?
- Can you make a quiet sound with your voice or body?
- What do loud sounds remind you of?
- What do quiet sounds remind you of?
- Can you make a loud and then quiet sound using your body or an instrument?
- What do you like about the music you created?
- What does the music remind you of?
- How have you used dynamics (loud and quiet sounds) in your music?
Teaching tips:
This activity gets children listening with increased attention to the dynamics of sounds. Ask children to create just loud or just quiet sounds with the creatures before mixing them up. Which do they prefer? Do they like it when they are mixed together?
Children could show loud and quiet sounds using their bodies. They might crouch down small and low for quiet sounds and jump out wide for a loud sound. Get them moving around the space and changing their bodies to suit the music.
Offer children a selection of percussion instruments and display the words ‘quiet’ and ‘loud’. Point to one and then the other, see if children can play their instrument accordingly. Swap between the two or point to both at the same time and see what children come up with.
Children could play ‘Which sound?’ to continue developing their listening skills.
Children could show loud and quiet sounds using their bodies. They might crouch down small and low for quiet sounds and jump out wide for a loud sound. Get them moving around the space and changing their bodies to suit the music.
Offer children a selection of percussion instruments and display the words ‘quiet’ and ‘loud’. Point to one and then the other, see if children can play their instrument accordingly. Swap between the two or point to both at the same time and see what children come up with.
Children could play ‘Which sound?’ to continue developing their listening skills.
After exploring dynamics using the creatures and how these work together to produce music, children could try using body percussion to create loud and quiet sounds and listening to the effect when they are combined together.
Show loud and quiet sounds with body language: children could curl up small for quiet sounds and stretch out big and wide for loud sounds.
Offer children a selection of instruments and ask them to experiment with making loud and quiet sounds. See if they can swap between the two or use body percussion as well as instruments. This will also expose children to the different timbres of musical instruments and which ones work well together.
Show loud and quiet sounds with body language: children could curl up small for quiet sounds and stretch out big and wide for loud sounds.
Offer children a selection of instruments and ask them to experiment with making loud and quiet sounds. See if they can swap between the two or use body percussion as well as instruments. This will also expose children to the different timbres of musical instruments and which ones work well together.
Discuss dynamics as the volume of music and how words/symbols in written music tell the player how to play and lots of them are Italian. For example, forte means play loudly, fortissimo means play very loudly, whilst piano means play quietly and pianissimo means play very quietly.
After exploring dynamics using the creatures in each of the five settings, children could try experimenting with dynamics using instruments.
Give children the job of being ‘music producers’ and see if they can create a mix of creatures which they think sounds appealing for others to listen to.
Children could be given the task of creating a theme tune for a new cartoon or advert. Children will need to consider the dynamics as well as the timbre of the sounds working together to create the texture of the music. For example, they could advertise a new tropical fruit drink using composition 1, or a new theme park using composition 2.
Children could use the ‘Busy writer’ tool to note some ideas down or write more about what they want to advertise and then present it to the class as a sales pitch!
After exploring dynamics using the creatures in each of the five settings, children could try experimenting with dynamics using instruments.
Give children the job of being ‘music producers’ and see if they can create a mix of creatures which they think sounds appealing for others to listen to.
Children could be given the task of creating a theme tune for a new cartoon or advert. Children will need to consider the dynamics as well as the timbre of the sounds working together to create the texture of the music. For example, they could advertise a new tropical fruit drink using composition 1, or a new theme park using composition 2.
Children could use the ‘Busy writer’ tool to note some ideas down or write more about what they want to advertise and then present it to the class as a sales pitch!
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