It's always bittersweet when I come across a book that I know my mom would have wanted to read. Maria: A Novel of Maria Von Trapp by Mi...

From animal noises to musical instruments, these noisy books for toddlers are designed to spark your child's imagination and curiosity.

We will create 2 songs for you based on your requests. The more details you give, the better and more custom the song will be. We can also use your lyrics to make any style of song you would like. The sky is the limit, just tell us what genre, and we will provide 2 separate versions for you to use however you would like. Let's make music together! Both songs will use the same lyrics with a different sound in the same requested genre for you to have options and hopefully love one or the other if not both!

I have been singing this song since my own kindergarten class way back when. Every time I look up at the starry sky this melody runs through my head. Notation from Beth's Notes I took my Orff Level 1 classes last summer and received a huge binder full of activities-some we used, others we didn't. But looking through that binder 8 months later was like digging through a treasure chest! I found a familiar melody that made for beautiful calming music by my kindergarteners. Actually, kindergarteners CAN certainly make beautiful, calming music if they are sequenced correctly and with the right atmosphere. I've been using my stretchy band a lot with Kindergarten lately so we processed through the original melody with high and low sounds. Hands up are high, hands down is low. Can't get any simpler for a kindergartener! My next step was different for me as a music teacher, but my kindergarten aid LOVED it. I added snaps and had the students figure out that I was snapping on the rhyming words. I'm learning that Orff often uses patterns from the lyrics to inspire the music. We practiced snapping (or light tapping for those who couldn't snap yet) on the rhyming words a ton. You'll notice (as my kindergarten aid did) that it's not as easy as it sounds! We then transferred our snaps to triangles and it was super smooth. Starting with speech then moving to body percussion and percussion instruments is the main philosophy of Orff that I have begun to develop this year. Unfortunately, I don't have enough triangles for everyone so we would "air triangle" as the instruments got passed around. As students became comfortable with the triangles on the rhyming words, I added in handchimes to help with our high/low pitches. My students have working with handchimes in the past as chordal accompaniments in Christmas Carols or train whistle clusters in the spring concert. We figured out which sound was higher and which sound was lower, then decided which one went first. The chimes aren't necessarily playing the rhythms, just the steady beat (which happens to alternate sol-mi). The kindergarteners were surprisingly quick to keep the steady beat and alternate sol-mi. But even if they played at the wrong time with the chimes, it sounded quite beautiful! While students practiced chimes, I started playing the bass xylo open bordun and then hand selected students who I knew were usually successful keeping a steady beat. Not all students got a turn on the xylo (I don't have the patience for that!) and that wasn't my objective. Oops! Did I forget the random ringing of triangles? We explored the word random and learned that it meant "with no pattern". I demonstrated random ringing, being sure to demonstrate a lot of SLOW random ringing. I certainly knew they knew how to randomly ring loud and fast! So the whole picture was random ringing, song (with triangles on rhyming words and chimes) then random ringing again. A student asked if we could use the windchimes too so we added that at the beginning and end. When do we see stars? Are the loud? Do they twinkle in patterns? How many stars do you see? These are all questions that we explored to set the mood. It wasn't long before a little hand raised and asked if we could turn the lights off. (I LOVE when students have better ideas than me!) So obviously, I didn't do this all in one day; it was split up over about 4 classes. Here's a breakdown of what I did each class: I was really pleased with the product put out by kindergarteners. I can't wait to see what a few more years of musiking with these students will create!

A sound story activity to accompany the book "I Got the Rhythm" by Connie Schofield-Morrison! Use classroom instruments to bring the story to life, then see how well your students remember what they heard! Incorporate literacy into your music lesson with this fun activity!

Nutcracker musical jigsaw puzzle: Featuring four 10-second sound clips of an orchestra playing from Tchaikovsky’s original score, a perfect gift for music lovers and aspiring ballerinas Sturdy gift box contains: 48-piece puzzle (44 regular pieces, plus 4 shaped pieces with cutouts that give access to the musical buttons on the included frame) and an educational poster; finished puzzle measures 29.7 × 21 cm / 11.7 × 8.3 in. 4 musical buttons to press: Complete the puzzle to see how the story ends and press the musical note inside the shaped pieces to hear the music Edutainment for ages 4–7: Includes a puzzle frame that gives a concise retelling of The Nutcracker story and a double-sided poster with information about the composer, music and the story’s ending on one side and the full puzzle image on the other Piece together the magical adventure of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet with this unique musical jigsaw puzzle.

Join Arthur and Holly on an adventure to save Christmas accompanied by 10 sound clips of beloved carols. Learn about the music and stories of Christmas carols in the third book of The Very Young Person’s Guide To… series.Pull on your mittens and follow our heroes as they explore beautiful scenes inspired by some of the best loved Christmas carols, including Silent Night, Good King Wenceslas, Carol of the Bells, Once In Royal David’s City, and O Holy Night. Original illustrations capture the beautiful story of the carols, while the sound button brings the iconic music pieces to life. Every spread features fascinating facts about festive carols and their origins and is guaranteed to delight and inspire.

Love this movie? You need to read this review of the Panorama Sound of Music tour to visit all the Salzburg Sound of Music locations!

25 Rarely Seen Photos from THE SOUND OF MUSIC SetYou’ve seen the photos of Julie Andrews twirling in the hills of Austria, but the Rodgers & Hammerstein archives have much more to explore from the classic 1965 movie musical. Here are 25 rarely seen photos captured while filming the movie!CREDIT: RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN/20th CENTURY FOX1/25Before She Says “I Do”Julie Andrews ... Read More

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Hey... Have you ever wondered why are the most NYC Taxicabs yellow? Why not green, red or maybe white? Read in the NYC Yellow Cab Story.

Precious Hanging Angel without OR with holding a REAL DRIED EDELWEISS Flower BLOSSOM, Angel Gift, Christmas Ornament, Angel Figurine Home Decor, Anniversary Gift, Birthday Gift, Home Decor You choose! Perfect German Swiss Alps Austria heritage keepsake Made with love, from soft plush faux fur, wood beads, jute, and feathers to a sweet angel. Without or with a beautiful real edelweiss flower blossom! Free Shipping on order totals $35+ The Romantic Myth of the Edelweiss: Not much is known about the Edelweiss flower here in the United States. Most people when the think of Edelweiss, think of the song made famous by “The Sound Of Music”. But there is a romantic story behind the lovely flower. “In German, “edel” means noble and “weiss” means white. The symbolic meanings of the edelweiss flower are daring, courage and noble purity. These meanings are derived from the plant’s ability to grow in harsh mountain climates and from its white coloring.” Edelweiss is a protected plant in many countries; including Poland, Italy, Serbia, Austria and Germany. It is explained the reason the flower is protected is because it is only grown in inaccessible places, in many dangerous alpine regions. Young men would climb the Alps often in the most dangerous paths to bring some edelweiss to their special girl. It was a symbol of true love. For the lucky young women whose handsome man would return with a flower, she would dry and press it and often times frame it to be used as a pendant – to remember the man who had found this flower and presented it to her to show his devotion. There were many stories about these men who died while climbing the mountains in search of this romantic flower and their abiding love and devotion for their one true love. It was these stories that created the romantic myth of the Edelweiss. Edelweiss Song featured in SOUND OF MUSIC Makes a Special Gift! Treat Yourself too! Love! Enjoy!

Water play – it conjures up visions of children scooping and pouring, floating things and sinking them, measuring and washing and splashing and laughing. Huge fun, and there are a thousand things …

I have been using this wonderful book by Karma Wilson with my kindergarten and first grade students for almost a decade now and it is still one of my favorites! This is a great lesson for introducing and exploring the concepts of timbre / tone color, sound sources, instruments (and their names), sound effects, and communicating meaning and emotion through music / sound. *this post contains affiliate links* First of all, the book itself is wonderful. If you aren't familiar with it, please go check it out. Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman have also done several other books featuring the Bear as the main character (like "Bear Stays Up" and "Bear Feels Sick", plus many more), so I've had homeroom teachers use some of the other books for read-aloud's in their class after the students did the lesson with me. You can get the book on Amazon here: The story includes many different interesting sounds that are easy for younger students to identify, so this is a great way to introduce students to the idea of sound effects or soundscapes. In my lesson, I start off by reading the book and ask students to find the one sound that is repeated over and over. Usually they know what it is before I even read it (it's in the title and all!), and they say the repeated line, "but the bear snores on" with me throughout the story. Once we've read the story, I ask the students to remember other sounds they heard in the story. Then we go through each page of the book and identify all the sounds we can find. I put a sticky note next to each one they choose. Since I am usually doing this with multiple classes in a grade level at the same time, I use different colored sticky notes for each class. When I'm having them identify the sounds, I don't show them the page so they aren't swayed by the other class' opinions. It's always interesting to see what the students pick- some pick more abstract items like the sun peeking up, while others stick strictly to sounds that are identified in words in the story. Before the next class period, I write down the names of students on each sticky note (I usually just do a simple rotation through all of the names by seating chart). The whole class does the sound of the bear snoring together (which helps keep students engaged in between turns). In the second lesson, I have each student choose how they will make each of their sounds. If I know they have a good understanding of timbre and sound sources, I tell them they have to use one of each different sound source category (instruments, voice, body percussion, found sound/object). I make a small note to myself of what they choose on the same sticky notes (like "clap", "pencil on floor", or "guiro"). The next class period we make a video recording of our story. I read the story out loud and the students add their sound effects when I get to each of their parts. Bonus concept: when they do the snoring sound together, I have them keep snoring while my hand is open, then I do the circular conducting motion and close my hand to have them stop. The students love putting their story together, and I have consistently gotten positive and enthusiastic feedback from parents, homeroom teachers, and librarians too! Have you ever used this book in your music classroom? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments.

A collection of children's stories with links to their perfect Classical Music pairings, great for inspiring imaginative movement.

Sound activity for We're Going on a Bear Hunt

I just love this book. The art is fantastic as well! One of the first things my kindergarteners do when they walk by my room is to point at my instruments and beg to play them. I don’t blame them one bit. That’s what music is when you are 4-5 years old; instruments in your hand, making noise. Enter a book I recently found at Goodwill and love: The Wide Mouthed Frog! I use the popup version by Keith Faulkner and Jonathan Lambert; you can get it from amazon here. (There is also a similar book here that uses different animals.) In the book, a wide mouthed frog (who eats flies) meets a bird, a mouse, and a big green alligator. The kids love the pictures, and it is a good opportunity to have them create sound effects. We read the book without sound effects, then read the book again with sound effects to compare and contrast the two versions. What I use in this lesson: the book, animal cards, and instruments After students have read the book and know it fairly well, I pass out cards that represent the sound effects we make during the story. The groups I used were the frog, the flies, the bird, the mouse, and the alligator. There is also a giant splash at the end of the story, which I have everyone do. We read the story again, with each group only making sound effects for their animal. This helps minimize mistakes later, when students get instruments. The next step is instruments. This was the first time my kindie kids had instruments, so we talked a LOT about instrument respect before handing out the goods. J We then did the book with instruments. We do the book several times and switch spots each time, so students have opportunities to try more than one instrument. With the instruments in my room, I use a frog guiro for the frog, shakers for the flies, triangles for the bird, sand blocks for the mouse, and castanets for the alligator. The final step is to record students playing during the book, and having them listen. Students get so excited! I will also make a big deal of e-mailing the recording to their teachers. Hope you and your kiddos enjoy this fantastic book! I love that it all fits in my big blue box!

From trick fountains to scoping out spots that appeared in The Sound of Music, here are some of the quirky, fun spots to see in Salzburg Austria.

Lomax, the subject of a new biography by John Szwed, spent more than a half-century recording folk music and customs around the world. In 1990, he spoke to Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the decades he spent compiling sound recordings from around the world.