SoundLab Episode 4: The Golden Record

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Recognize timbre as the unique character of a sound that allows us to discern one instrument or voice from another
• Recognize a spectrogram as a tool for visualizing timbre
• Describe today’s world through sound
• Create a sonic time capsule to save and share their creations
• Understand music as a tool to represent ourselves and our society

Activities

All activities are presented in Google Slides.

• Activity 1: Spectrogram [STEAM, Music] – Chrome Music Lab’s Spectrogram allows students to explore the timbre of different instruments and their own voices. A series of questions in the Google Slides deck guides students to make observations about frequency and timbre.

• Activity 2: Timbre [Music] – Using composer Franz Danzi’s Allegretto from Wind Quintet in G Minor and the SLSO’s Instrument Playground Online, students explore the unique timbres of the instruments in a traditional wind quintet. Questions throughout the Google Slides deck prompt students to describe the timbres and paint their own picture of Danzi’s musical composition.

• Activity 3: Sonic Time Capsule [Music, SEL] – Following the example of the The Golden Record, students describe their world through sound and create a sonic time capsule using Soundtrap or a similar program. Complimentary Soundtrap accounts for educators may be available through Breach.

• Activity 4: Bach and Beyond [Music, SEL] – Students listen to J.S. Bach’s Gavotte en Rondeau from Partita for Violin No. 3 and respond, in writing, to questions about how music can represent ourselves and our society.

Vocabulary

• Frequency
• Musical notation
• Sound energy
• Spectrogram
• Soundwave
• Timbre
• Vibration
• Wind quintet