Resource 5: Ideas for judging each instrument

Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

1. These are some questions pupils could ask about each instrument. Brainstorm a list of questions with your class.

What is it made of?

How old is it?

How robust (not easily broken) is it?

Does it need to be kept in a special place?

How easy is it to carry around?

How do you make a sound?

How do you make the note higher? lower?

How do you make a quiet sound? loud sound? Is this easy to do? Can you hear the quiet sound?

What is vibrating?

How easy is it to learn to play?

How much does it cost?

2. Decide which of these questions are important when judging the instrument. We suggest that pupils in your class choose a maximum of five criteria/questions to judge each instrument.

3. For each of the five criteria or questions your class has chosen, develop a scoring scale out of 5. The maximum for each instrument would then be 25.

4. As each group presents their instrument, the class gives them scores for each criterion.

5. These scores could be recorded on the chalkboard or a large sheet of newsprint on the wall.

Each group should summarise their work by saying:

The final score for our instrument is:

Our instrument is a good choice because … (strengths)

Our instrument might not be a good choice because … (difficulties and problems with the instrument)

Resource 4: Ami Koita

Resource 6: Traditional musical instruments