The Sound Books series is a picture book collection that brings together visual and aural imagery in an exploration of vocal and instrumental skill building and conceptual understanding. Designed to visually represent musical concepts for young and novice learners, its original artwork is created and arranged to clearly depict sound ideas with few or no words required. The unique approach encourages students to bring together visual and aural imagery and creativity in an exploration of vocal and instrumental skill building and conceptual musical understanding. Designed for interactive use between parents and children, teachers and students, each book focuses on a particular skill and/or concept area and provides strategies for effective use.
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PLAYING WITH SOUND:
A Sound Books Anthology
Playing with Sound: A Sound Books Anthology is designed for use in teacher-education settings, as part of a music or integrated arts education course. It works equally well as a resource for both novice and experienced educators who are interested in creative approaches to sound and music exploration with their students. The anthology is a compilation of the first six Sound Books: Up and Down Sounds, Big and Small Sounds, Sections of Sound, Layers of Sound, Grouping Sound, and Moving Sound. In a classroom or group-learning setting, this anthology would best serve as a teacher guide, alongside the individual concept-specific books, which are recommended for use with students.
MOVING SOUND
Musical sounds move in time! Follow the artwork with your voice, body, instruments, and sounds created from objects around you to see and feel how rhythm, beat, and meter work together in keeping the music moving.
Moving Sound is the sixth publication in the series and focuses on the relationships between beat, rhythm, and meter in music. Through simple and engaging images, rhythmic ideas are presented visually on top of the beats and meter systems within which they work, and allow for a wide range of opportunities to explore and internalize these intertwined musical concepts.
GROUPING SOUND
Musical sounds are grouped in patterns! Follow the artwork with your voice, body, instruments, and sounds created from objects around you to develop your expertise with musical meter.
Grouping Sound is the fifth publication in the series and focuses on musical meter—the ways in which we organize strong and weak beats within musical compositions. Through straightforward and compelling visual images that depict bigger and smaller sounds in organized collections, both common and less common musical meters are introduced. Learners are encouraged to use their voices, instruments, bodies, and found sounds to create and combine the beat patterns to develop a wide range of metrical possibilities and expertise.
LAYERS OF SOUND
Musical sounds can grow in layers! Follow the artwork with your voice, body, instruments, and sounds created from objects around you, as you create your own layers of musical sound.
Layers of Sound is the fourth publication in the series and focuses on musical texture - the layers of sound that combine to make musical compositions. Through a range of images, which begin as single lines and develop into more complex layers that begin, end, and move together or independently, learners are encouraged to explore connections between the images and create musical lines to work with them.
UP AND DOWN SOUNDS
Musical sounds go up and down. Follow the artwork with your voice, body, instruments, and found sounds as they lead you to high sounds, low sounds, and all the sounds in between!
The first book in The Sound Books series, Up and Down Sounds focuses on vocal exploration of high and low sounds, and all sounds in between. Through a range of images, which begin as seemingly random patterns and develop into more sophisticated images that resemble traditional music notation, learners are encouraged to explore their vocal capacities as they sing what they see.
SECTIONS OF SOUND
Musical sounds are organized! Distinct components alternate, repeat, and vary in creative combinations. Sections of Sound brings those components to life in bright colors and beautiful designs. Can you find the form that matches the music you're listening to? Can you create new music to match your favorite patterns? The possibilities are endless!
Sections of Sound focuses on the organization of sounds in musical compositions. Elementary children and older students will find the content clear and effective in its representation of musical form in existing works and provide a creative structure within which to create their own music.
BIG AND SMALL SOUNDS
Musical sounds can be BIG and small! What kinds of sounds can you see in these images? Use your voice, body, instruments, and sounds created from objects around you, to make the BIG and small sounds you image!
Big and small sounds focuses on big (loud) and small (quiet) sounds. Pairs of unique oil paintings in vibrant colors and shapes are laid out in each 2-page spread to visually represent musical dynamics. Children are encouraged to explore sound possibilities for each with their voices, instruments, and other sound-makers in their environment.