Category: Music

Classroom Project, Education, Maker Eduation, Maker Project, Music, Small Projects, Woodworking1 Comment

This Week in the Classroom: Cajón Drums

woodshopcowboy

Cajón drums are wood drums native to South America with deeper roots in the Africa.  The cajon is a wood rectangular prism, with two thin faces.  One of the thin sides, usually the back, has a large hole to allow sound to travel out.  The front face can be struck with the hand, mallets or brushes to create different sounds. Construction couldn’t be simpler.  Cut out four sides of a box using whatever means you have from a sheet of plywood.  I use a table saw now, but my students and I have used jig saws with guides, circular saws … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Cajón Drums

Classroom Project, Education, Maker Eduation, Maker Project, Making a Makerspace, Music, This Week In the ClassroomLeave a comment

Making A Makerspace: Top 10 Tools in a Maker’s Classroom (2012)

woodshopcowboy

This year was a big year in the STEaMworks (STEM focus, art driven, work/project centered: the STEaMworks), my self-styled Maker classroom.  We (and the Math/Sci Team) built a lot of projects: rockets, rocket cars, derby cars, catapults, simple robots, box-making, bench-making, bridge-building, sail-testing, music making, spirographs, pendulums, 3D prototyping, CAD models, Arduino projects, Alice computer programming, Art Cars, shed construction, a digital STEM Fair and more.  I’ve just typed that up and still can’t believe it!  Nine months and so much sweat, math, science, art and tears.  How did we (my co-workers and rock-solid team, my students and my very … Continue reading Making A Makerspace: Top 10 Tools in a Maker’s Classroom (2012)

Classroom Project, Education, Music, Outdoor & Environmental, This Week In the Classroom1 Comment

This Week in the Classroom: 2×4 Xylophone

woodshopcowboy

I ended the year with an exploration of music.  I used xylophones, pendulums and windchimes to explore frequency, wavelenght, pitch, volume, etc.  I probably should have found a way to incorporate physical waves, but a trip to the beach was out of the question and I met disaster in my attempts at building a wave pool.  We did, however, create a pretty sweet 2×4 xylophone and frame. Make it safe & keep the rubber side down this weekend. Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: 2×4 Xylophone

Classroom Project, Music, This Week In the Classroom1 Comment

This Week in the Classroom: Why Mothers Hate Me On Mother’s Day

woodshopcowboy

As a parent, I know that art projects can be a mixed blessing.  Some are breathtaking.  Most should go in the circular file.  Worse still are things my kids build – they fall apart and break.  They take up space. God save me if my sons bring home noise-making pieces of art they have built. As a teacher, I conveniently ignore my own good sense.  I present wind chimes built in preparation for Mother’s Day as part of our “building music” unit. Make it safe and keep the rubber side down. Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Why Mothers Hate Me On Mother’s Day

Classroom Project, Furniture, Music, This Week In the Shop1 Comment

This Week in the Shop: End of Summer Program

woodshopcowboy

The summer program wraps up today.   Our summer program acts as an experimental zone, a transitional buffer and a slice of consistency for both teachers and students.  Personally, I love summer programs – no grades, no pressure, just the chance to provide as fun and therapeutic educational experience as possible.  Anyways, this summer saw the return of the butterfly bench.  Students took all four group projects home to their families.  Notice the recurring butterfly motif from last go-round.  I think I’ll be making some linoleum stamps with this design on them at some point  soon. This summer has been a wild … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: End of Summer Program

Classroom Project, Music, This Week In the ShopLeave a comment

This Week in the Shop: The Cajon Drum

woodshopcowboy

This week, I prepped for this summer’s woodshop classes.  The students will be building these benches, mending and designing chairs and constructing Cajon drums.  I’ve secured enough lumber for the benches, pulling plywood chair designs from various sources and built this example project.  Look to the above link for construction details. I finished the sides in Miniwax Polyshades.  Acrylic paints cover the top and rear . And how it sounds! Continue reading This Week in the Shop: The Cajon Drum