Ideas for teaching high and low sounds to grades 1-5?

Question

for summer music classes

Answer 1

Following up on kcgodzillo's idea, I think similar sounds in different pitches are what you should be looking for.

Boomwhackers are a great tool (and musical instrument) they're fairly cheap brightly colored sets of plastic tubes that can be struck "blue man group" style to make melodies ...

If you can't afford (or choose not to buy) them, you could go the the hardware store and buy a length of PVC sprinkler pipe and cut it into various lengths (even spend some time tuning them, if you like) and use that for the same purpose.

Rubber bands stretched across a shoebox or other "soundboard" to make it more audible is an other method to try. Teach them strings early! ...

"The Little Brown Jug" method of teaching pitch also works. Blowing across the top of a bottle to produce sound. Two varrients -- I'd employ both.

First: An empty 1 Gallon milk bottle and a 12-16oz sports water bottle; LOW and high.

Second: a bunch of 2 liter, 1 liter, and smaller plastic soda/water bottles. Fill them with however much water to tune them. Have a little band going --- you could certainly have them playing (like your english hand-bell ringing buddies) a simple melody in an hour or two. With some practice they could even do some harmony.

Speaking of bells, as a treat, you could get a few of your compatriots together and have a mini-concert for the wee-tikes, perhaps toward the end of the summer session.

Answer 2

find items that make high and low sounds. for example, for high sounds you could have like a sports whistle, and for low sounds you could have like a drum.