Songs and Rhythm
Primary 2 · Creative Arts
Songs and Rhythm
Lesson 3 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
On the way home, Ishimwe finds an empty plastic bottle lying in the grass.
He does not walk past it. He picks it up, and he smiles. He knows a secret.
That bottle is not rubbish. With a handful of dry beans, it can become a musical instrument. Today you will make one too.
Everything on that list is something a family already has. You do not need to buy anything.
Hold the shaker still. Listen. Silence.
Now move it. Inside, the beans fly across and bang into the wall of the bottle. Each little bang is a tiny sound. Hundreds of tiny bangs together make one big shhk!
So the sound comes from the seeds hitting the sides. No moving, no hitting. No hitting, no sound.
Uwase wants the loudest shaker in the class. So she fills her bottle right up to the top with beans, and tapes the lid on.
She shakes it hard. She hears... almost nothing. A dull thud. She is very surprised.
Why? Think about the beans. They are packed in so tight that they cannot move. They cannot fly across, so they cannot hit the sides. No flying, no sound.
So Uwase pours half of the beans out again. Now the beans have empty space to fly through. She shakes: SHHK! Loud and bright.
So here is the rule, and it surprises everybody: a shaker needs empty space inside. A little bit of beans and a lot of room sounds much better than a bottle stuffed full.
Dry beans are big and heavy. They give you a strong rattle: chak chak chak.
Rice is small and light. It gives you a soft hiss, like rain on a roof: shhhhh.
Make two shakers if you can, one of each. Now you have a big voice and a small voice to play with.
Shake with a big strong arm: loud. Shake with a tiny wrist wiggle: soft.
Shake quickly: fast. Shake slowly: slow.
The shaker never changes. Only your arm changes. You are the one making the music.
Now the real job. A shaker is not for waving about. It is for keeping the beat.
Count out loud in fours and shake once on every count:
1 (shake) - 2 (shake) - 3 (shake) - 4 (shake)
Do that twice through and you have made 4 + 4 = 8 shakes.
Keep every gap the same size. Do not let it speed up! Sing your favourite song and shake right along with the beat.
Then try it a different way: shake only on the 1, and stay still on 2, 3 and 4. In two counts of four, that is only 2 shakes. It sounds completely different, and it sounds great.
One last trick. A shaker keeps rattling a little after you stop. To finish cleanly, hold it tight against your chest and it goes quiet at once.
Warning
Stay safe. Tin edges can be sharp, so ask a grown-up to help you with a tin. Tape the lid shut properly, and keep your shaker away from babies and small children, who might put the seeds in their mouths.
Tip
Beans need room to fly. Fill your bottle right up and it goes quiet. A small handful, plenty of empty space, and a tight lid gives you the best sound of all.
What actually makes the sound inside a shaker?
Answer: The seeds hitting the sides of the bottle as it moves.
Uwase stuffs her bottle full to the top with beans. She shakes it hard and hears almost nothing. Why?
Answer: The beans are packed too tight to move, so they cannot hit the sides. She should pour half of them out.
Why must you dry the bottle before you put the beans in?
Answer: Wet beans stick to the sides. Stuck beans cannot fly, so there is no sound.
You count 1, 2, 3, 4 twice and shake once on every count. How many shakes is that?
Answer: 8 shakes, because 4 + 4 = 8.
The song becomes quiet and gentle. How should you shake now?
Answer: Softly, with small gentle shakes. Big strong shakes would drown out the singing.
What you learned today
Quick check
Make a shaker. Put the steps in order.
Tap the cards in the right order.
