Music – OZTHOUGHTS

As I discussed a couple of days ago in a post about odd musical instruments, the world is full of apparently totally insane individuals who feel a drive to invent weird and wonderful instruments. This set me off in a hunt for more such inventors. and one I have come across is obviously a serial inventor of ludicrous – but fun – instruments. A guy by the name of Len Solomon, who is responsible for such extraordinary instruments as The Bellowphone, The Oomphalopompatronium and the splendidly named The Emphatic Chromatic Callioforte.

These, and a myriad of other equally odd instruments are things he has created over the last 40 or so years, and which he uses in his performances as a solo musician in schools, festivals and other venues.

Before I entertain you with a couple of videos of him performing on some of his creations, here are a couple of photos to give you an idea of what his instruments look like……

So now you know what both he and some of his instruments look like, it is time to hear what he creates with them. So here we go, have fun……

Continue reading “More Strange Musical Instruments”

Occasionally I get overwhelmed by a desire to help teachers – probably owing to the fact that my mother was a teacher, and my wife is a teacher. When this hits me, I simply go with it and see if I can find anything that might be a help.

So today’s offering will take the form of several static images that I feel might spark off a stream of creative writing, a curious and powerful video that might equally give rise to some ideas worth putting on paper, and as the cream on the cake, a piece of music that will assuredly get under your skin and make it unavoidable that your students will be moved into a totally different plane of experience when they hear it… and thus cause them to produce such flights of fantasy that you will be astounded. Or at least that is my fervent hope.

So let us begin with the static images. I have selected three types in the hope that one at least will give your students the start they need to create a story that will take off and be fun to read and consider…..

Continue reading “A Couple Of Teacher’s Resource Offerings”