Why Things Hum: teacher key

Music and Instruments, grade 4 edition, written for 4th grade. Every instrument makes sound by shaking. Find out how strings, air and drums each start the shake, and what the oldest flutes were made of.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What is pitch?
   • How loud a sound is
   • How high or low a sound is (answer)
   • How long a sound lasts
2. Why does a string instrument have a hollow body?
   • It makes the strings longer
   • It keeps the strings warm
   • It makes the sound louder (answer)
3. What does a flute use to make sound?
   • Air blown against an edge (answer)
   • A single reed
   • Two reeds
4. What kind of tube plays a lower note?
   • A shorter tube
   • A wetter tube
   • A longer tube (answer)
5. How old are the bone and ivory flutes found in caves in Germany?
   • About 400 years
   • About 40,000 years (answer)
   • About 4,000 years
6. Which group of the orchestra does a piano count with?
   • Percussion (answer)
   • Brass
   • Strings

Words

• vibrations: fast shakes
• pitch: how high
• reed: thin cane
• percussion: hit instruments
• flute: wind instrument