Tools of the Trade

Have you ever wondered what "tools of the trade" a percussionist might carry around with him?
Check this out!


The carrying case is called a "stick bag" and in it, one can find mallets of various shapes, sizes, colors and degrees of hardness; one can also find several varieties of drum sticks (thick, thin, wooden tipped, plastic tipped); and one can find a metal striker, just in case said percussionist is called upon to play the bells. So began Mr. Winslow's final lesson for his Field 1 class with my first-graders last week.

For his third and final lesson, Mr. Winslow was required to teach what is commonly known as a "critical task" - a lesson that the music teacher must teach to cover a particular music standard. We decided that he would plan a lesson covering the Instruments of the Orchestra and focus his attention on the percussion section, since this was his specialty area.


He presented an overview using a PowerPoint presentation which covered the Strings, Woodwinds, Brass and Percussion families of instruments. Then he taught the sub-categories which relate only to the percussion family (wood, metal, shaker, membrane).

He brought an interesting wooden drum with him called a "cajon" and allowed each student to play it. He also brought a ship's bell as an example of a metal and a roto-tom (tunable drum) to demonstrate what happens to the pitch when the membrane is tightened by the turn of a crank. These instruments were very unusual and my students were fascinated by them.

Nolan with the ship's bell


Teaching the lesson

His assessment included a segment devoted to comparing and contrasting the different percussion instruments and placing them in their respective categories. The lesson concluded with a "matching" game to see whether or not the students could correctly label a wood, a metal, a shaker and a membrane and could properly place it in the correct sub-category. My students were thrilled with this hands-on experience and I was very appreciative of Mr. Winslow's willingness to share his expertise with them.

As Spring semester comes to a close at the University of North Florida, we must bid farewell to Mr. Winslow and his highly-specialized content knowledge. Because he is only here six hours a week and is limited in the number of classes he can teach, I have engaged a percussion ensemble from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra to come to Chets Creek during Cultural Arts Week and bring the larger instruments like the timpani, the concert xylophone, marimba and vibraphone along with them. They will be performing two 30-minute concerts for our entire student body next month. I can't wait!!

Until next time...