Music Notation Solutions: Note-able Font and Music Notation and Symbols Clip Art

Over the years, I've spent countless hours scouring the internet for good music notation clip art and music fonts to insert into music worksheets, flashcards, and presentations. (Yes, I do use music notation software, but sometimes music educators simply need to include music notation in word processing or presentation files.) I organized folders of various note, rest, clef and music symbol images I found on the Net, but their styles and sizes were inconsistent. I also found that I could insert some notes and symbols from my music software into text boxes, which was useful but non-intuitive and very time-consuming. I eventually purchased a rather archaic music font, and although it wasn't my dream come true, I was glad to have consistently sized and shaped symbols. While I kept wishing for something more user-friendly and efficient, I learned to work around or live with its limitations: (1) its preset note-spacing made it very hard to control document layout, (2) it wasn't intuitive, and (3) when I typed beamed notes for combination rhythms, the 'seams' showed.

Fast forward... A few years later, as I was studying clip art and font design, I realized I could solve my music notation frustrations and provide for my own needs! And now my resulting projects are available to others via the Web (TPT and Etsy). I figure it's time to 'toot my own horn' here on my blog and let readers know about these products since I'm receiving such great feedback about them.

In this post, I present my Note-able Font and music clip art packages.

                              Sample page from user's quick-start guide. 
          Clicking on pictures will take you to a webpage where these are available for purchase.

This TrueType font set (for use on Mac/Apple or PC) allows a user to easily combine text, rhythm notation, articulations, Curwen hand signs and stick notation to create flash cards, music manipulatives, assessments, slides, posters and visual aids. This package includes two fonts: (1) traditional notation (notes, rests, articulations, etc.) and (2) Kodaly and Orff-style notation (stick rhythms, Curwen hand signs, icons, etc.) for a total of 175 sharp, professional music notes and symbols for personal, classroom and small commercial use. No additional commercial use license is required as long as you include credit and a link. The package also includes a detailed user's guide with instructions, keyboard charts, helpful hints and practice guides. 

     A few things that make this font different/better than others:

Beamed notes are single figures/keystrokes.
The user controls spacing between notes.
Ties and articulation marks can be inserted.
Traditional and Kodaly/Orff-style notation is included.

Intuitive layout, quick and easy to learn.
Detailed tutorial and charts are included.

Only $16.95 versus $20, $25 and $40 for others.

Here are some quotes from my TPT feedback page regarding my Note-able Font Package:

“Love this. It's an answer to so many questions and needs as a music teacher who likes to create her own teaching aids and materials! Thanks for sharing this!”  

“ Where has this been all my life? User friendly and so helpful!”

 “Fantastic! I've tried several music notation fonts and this is by-far the best one I've found.”

“Instructions on how to load the font were a great help and the charts are incredibly handy. Thanks so much! I am using it already.”

I am grateful to Tracy King for recently reviewing my Note-able Fonts on her excellent blog: http://mrskingrocks.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-music-font-for-music-teachers.html

                        Additional sample pages from the Note-able Font Package:

At times, music clip art is a more effective way to go. I created this set to meet this need. It also includes a handy user's guide and templates.

And last, but certainly not least, I have created this clean, colorful set of music notation clip art. These images are great from creating posters, classroom decorations, and bell or Boomwhacker charts.

Samples

These files are also available in my Etsy Store and in my TeachersPayTeachers Store. 

Christmas Bells for Primary Grades

Wow, December is upon us just like that! Celebrating Thanksgiving so late in November seems to have shortened the Christmas season a bit, so some of you may be looking to simplify holiday lessons or performances. Here's an easy, fun (yet worthwhile) activity I'll be doing with K-2 classes at several schools this month.

 

Practice chanting the poem to a steady beat first. Then have students play assigned bells on the beat, and sing all syllables that belong to one beat on the pitch the designated bell produces. I have several of these I hope to add to my TPT store soon. For now, here's a freebie 4 U. Enjoy it with your kiddos! : )

   

 

 

 

I'm back : )  I finished the set of

Rhymes and Chimes for Christmas Time, and I'm having so much FUN with this! I designed this material for myself, K-3 classroom teachers, music teachers, home-schoolers, and families. There are some great language fluency skills that come with this 'spoon full of sugar,' and the language concepts and activities flow into musical ones so easily. Also, this is the easiest way to put together a musical performance with bells and young children. Here are some sample pages:

 

I created five pieces with five options for each:  poem text, poem text with accented syllables (the ones bells will be played on), colored text, colored text with bell icons, and actual notation for teacher reference or older students. (Teachers and students don't need to be able to read the music notation to be successful with this.) I've also included a sheet of printable labels to color-code plain chimes or bells.

You can click on a sample page to go to my store and purchase this set of five piece set (20 pages of printables or projectables).  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Learning Hundreds of Names

Elementary music teachers have the unique opportunity to teach and touch the lives of nearly every child who attends their school. This creates a special challenge: learning students' names.

 

Name games are a great way to welcome and engage students at the first of a school year, while at the same time, provide opportunities to connect faces and names and assess in-tune singing.

 

Here's a fun name game for younger students that's worked well for me. I'm posting this as a FREEBIE on TPT for my followers and blog visitors in hopes you will find it a useful and joyful way to build rapport during the first quarter of the school year.

This 7-page packet in PDF format includes two singing games, detailed lesson guides, and printable/projectable graphics to enhance the lessons. I have used my Note-able Font and Colorful Music Clip Art to create this and demonstrate these products in action. Enjoy : )

 

 

 

Another very useful technique for getting to know students' names is to create seating charts for each class.

Yes, this takes time, but it's so worthwhile to see a child's face light up when you call him/her by name! (And after calling a student by his/her correct name a few times, I find I can remember it). Here is a unique  elementary music seating chart/roll template I developed in an effort to keep everything on one page - seat boxes for names with record keeping boxes attached to each 'seat.' The chart is laid out as the teacher sees the room from the front, and it groups students for quick teaming and collaborative work. I always keep an aisle down the center of the rows to facilitate proximity/behavior management and easy movement. Even though elementary classes involve a lot of movement and activity, having assigned spots makes classroom management much easier. Students know where to go as they enter the room, and I'm able to quickly record attendance, pass-offs, behavior issues, etc.

 

You can print the sheet I'm posting here (just click on it to save and print), or you can find an editable template in Word format here: All-in-One Seating, Roll and Record Chart - Editable Template

 

 

 

What do you think of this? Would it work for you? Have you developed a seating/record keeping system you'd like to share? If so please describe it in a comment box. 

 

 

 



Making 'Glassical' Music - Glass Hand Bells

Glass can create such pure, musical sounds! Here's one of my 'glassical' music projects. These hand bells are easy and inexpensive to make, and they always fascinate students, colleagues and friends.

 

I've always been intrigued with musical sound. I remember discovering the pitch of our vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, and junk items as a child. So making found-sound instruments is a passion of mine and a FUN music education tool.

As for musical-sounding glassware, I've collected it over time, bought a set of crystal at an estate sale for a 'song', and turned the glassware aisle at my local thrift store upside down a few times (fastest method and inexpensive for a project). 

 

Materials List: 

       Stemware sorted by pitch
     Wooden beads
     String or strong thread
     Quick-grabbing clear glue
     Acrylic paint (optional, to color-code the pitches if desired)
 Tools: scissors, toothpick, permanent marker, bottle lids (or something of similar size)

Here's a picture I took during a visit to my local second-hand charity store. I was delighted with the quantity and variety of stemware they had. As I tapped pieces that interested me, I gathered the pieces of best quality and tone and placed them on the floor. Then I organized them according to pitch, from lowest to highest. Next, I narrowed my selection by choosing my fundamental note (G below middle C) and glasses that produced the pitches of the G major scale. I used my phone app tuner to check intonation. As you can imagine, all this tapping drew an intrigued audience, and I think a few customers gained a new appreciation for found-sounds : )

 After you've gathered materials (see above list), cut a piece of string for each 'bell' you'll be making,  measuring about twice the height of each glass. Thread a string through a bead, placing the bead at the half-way point of the string. Then tie the string in a square knot around the bead as shown.
(Repeat for each instrument.)

Next, holding the string ends together, dangle the wooden bead in the glass about 1" above the bottom, and use a marker to mark the string adjacent to the rim. (Note: This will be the distance from the rim where the bead strikes the bell. 3/4 of cup height is a 'sweet spot'.) Holding both ends together, make a knot at this point. (This will 
a good contact point
for the glue. Trim string ends. 


(At this point, you will need to work on one 'bell' at a time.) Put a generous drop of glue inside the cup at its base and use a toothpick to poke the knotted end of the string into the glue. Hold the bead for a minute or more while glue begins to set.







Invert the glass, placing the bead on a bottle lid (or something of similar size, even a piece of wadded-up paper) to keep its weight from pulling the string out of the glue. Let glue dry/set for a couple of hours.





 
Using a permanent marker, label the base of each piece of stemware with its note name. If desired, color-code the notes to match Boomwhackers (R) or hand bells by painting the wooden beads with acrylic craft paint.


I bought a small child's suitcase at the thrift store ($2) and created cardboard dividers to protect, store and transport these instruments, but I usually leave them out on a bookcase for display and easy access. Of course, I'm careful with these, but I've had the set in the top pic for four years and not had to repair or replace a note.

 

How to Create Boomwhacker-like Instruments out of Cylinders

I've had a lot of interest in my home-made Boomwhacker and boom pipe instruments, so I think readers might be happy to have these basic guidelines for making Boomwhacker-type instruments out of almost any cylindrical material.



Some of my home-made pitched cylinders created with double-walled drain pipe,

shipping tubes, PVC pipe, fluorescent light protectors, hollow table legs, & electrical conduit

 



Illustration depicting Pythagoras demon-
strating harmonics from Franchino Gafori,
Theorica Musice (Milan, 1492)

Pythagoras (Greek mathematician, musician and philosopher, circa 570 - 495 BCE) figured out the theory of music harmonics about 2500 years ago (amazing!), and his formula remains our basic guide when constructing instruments from common or junk materials. Although we have access to technical information about tempered and just tuning, (and I note differences below), Pythagoras' formula is adequate for homemade instruments, and it's easier to teach/explain to students. 






I always cut my material slightly long and then trim it to fine tune, using reference pitches or an electronic tuner (available as a phone app). Be warned that if you cut a cylinder too short, it will be impossible to correct, and you will have to simply cut the piece shorter for a different, higher pitch.   

Depending on the material you're using, you will need an X-acto knife, small saw, or paring/pocket knife to cut and trim. I used a paring knife to fine tune my boom pipes (large white example above) because the plastic is surprisingly soft.  Warning: PVC dust is harmful to your health, so take your measurements to the hardware store and have them do most of the cutting; then wear a mask if you need to fine tune. 

If you have a limited amount/length of material, simply create a limited tone set such as a pentatonic scale or only the tonic and dominant of a key for use as a bordun.

OK, here's how to figure out the lengths you need:
(1) Find or create your fundamental note (prime, tonic, 'do') by comparing a long but musical-sounding length of your material to a reference pitch or use an electronic tuner (or phone app). Determine what note it is. It will likely be flat or sharp and need trimming. (Remember: longer = lower; shorter = higher.) The note you identify can be the fundamental pitch of your set, or you can trim the cylinder to be the tonic of the key you want. (Hint: middle C is often about 25" long, and the C below is usually around 51".) Note: as with Boomwhackers, if you cap one end, the pitch will drop one octave.

(2) Once your fundamental note is in tune, measure its length carefully (centimeters is best). Divide this measurement by the decimals below to determine the lengths of additional notes.

  Scale   Interval            Ratio      Divide by      Tempered
                                                                                                                      (for comparison)
  do        Prime                1:1        1.0             (1, 1)

   re         Major second     8:9       1.125          (1.22, 1.125)  

   mi        Major third         4:5       1.266          (1.260, 1.250)

   fa         Perfect fourth     3:4       1.333          (1.335, 1.333)

   so         Perfect fifth       2:3       1.5             (1.498, 1.5)

   la          Major sixth        3:5       1.688          (1.682, 1.667)

   ti           Major seventh   8:15     1.898           (1.888, 1.875)

   do'         Octave              2:1        2.0            (2, 2)
BTW, I'll be posting instructions for making a variety of instruments this summer (while I and other teachers have a little more time to explore).

 

Make a Bop-o-phone for Boomwhackers

This little invention has been a hit with kids as well as teachers. I first created a Bop-o-phone out of desperation for additional xylos. The frame/box costs basically nothing, and it adds some versatility to a set of Boomwhackers. Here are easy instructions and pictures. Please post additional ideas or feedback. Enjoy!

 

 

Materials needed: an empty, sturdy box that contained a case of 8.5" x 11" copy paper (usually easy to find in the faculty workroom), wide tape, a meter stick, a marker, sturdy scissors, and a about six feet of yarn or soft string. For each mallet, you will need a pencil or 10" length of 1/4" diameter  dowel, a small rubber ball (party favor or from 25 cent vending machine), and glue. 

  



Step #1

(1) Begin 2 cm from the left side of the box and mark along the top edge 4 cm wide by 1 cm deep arcs, 1 cm apart. Repeat markings on opposite edge.
Cut out the arcs. (Cutting from each side and meeting in the middle will give cleaner results.)              





Step 2


(2) Gently pull the glued seams on one side of the box apart and lay the end flap flat. Mark a line through the center of the bottom of the box from the open edge to 7" from the opposite side. Then mark a "V", extending from the center line to each corner of the box. Cut along these lines.


Step #3

(3) Fold the bottom sections over each other with the "V" on top (inside), narrowing the width of the open end of the box to about 8". Then fold the end flaps up, trim/square them up, and tape your seams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Place Boomwhackers in the 'cradles' in diatonic order. (You can leave some off for pentatonic activities). Tie two lengths of yarn around the box and tubes lengthwise as shown in the top picture. Tape yarn in place on bottom of box to keep it from sliding around. The yarn will keep tubes in place, and it doesn't really inhibit tone.

 

   
(5) Make a mallet by carving/drilling a hole in a rubber ball, applying glue to in the hole and on the end of the dowel or pencil, and inserting the stick into the ball. (Soft rubber balls actually sound better than hard ones.)









You can use the Bop-o-phone as an Orff-type instrument for ostinatos or as a melody instrument. It's very easy to convert Boomwhackers to and from this mallet format.

Here's a link to my digital song collection of color-coded melodies (with ostinato suggestions), which you might find very useful and versatile: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-BIG-BOOK-of-FOLK-SONG-FUN-for-Bells-or-Boomwhackers-466033

Boom Pipes Recipe

Boom Pipes

Instructions for Boom Pipes 
                                                                            by Jeri Crosby

Boom pipes are a novel yet musical addition to my Orff instruments (substituting for bass bars) as well as to my Boomwhackers and home-made instrumentarium. Students (of all ages) LOVE these!

Use four-inch, double-walled drain pipe (white plastic with black inner lining, which usually comes in ten-foot lengths). Buy a four-inch end cap for each pipe and some adhesive. (Three ten-foot lengths will make a full set. You can make a basic ‘bass bar’ set from two lengths.)

These measurements are approximate. (It is best to cut a tiny bit long because a pipe that’s too short will be sharp and difficult if not impossible to correct.) After initial cuts, check pitch with a tuner or match to a piano. Sand or carefully shave with a paring or pocket knife to fine tune.

C       50 ½ “          128.3 cm       (Cut from piece #1.) D       45 “              114.3 cm      (Cut from piece #2.) E       40 ½“           102.9 cm       (Cut from piece #1.)

F       37 ¾ “            95.9 cm       (Cut from piece #2.)

F#        35 ½ “            90.2 cm        (Cut from piece #3.)

G       33 ½ “            85.1 cm        (Cut from piece #2.)
A       29 ½“             74.9 cm         (Cut from piece #3.)
Bb        28 “                71.1 cm          (Cut from piece #3.)
B       26 ¼“              66.7 cm         (Cut from piece #1.)
C       24 ¾“              62.9 cm         (Cut from piece #3.)

‘Boom’ on carpeting or other soft surface. If you’ll be using these on cement or tile, glue a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet to the bottom (cap) of each tube. The range of these instruments is from two octaves below middle C to one octave below middle C. (This is the same as bass Boomwwhackers with Octavator caps applied, but the volume and timbre are bolder.) A printable version of instructions and picture is available here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Boom-Pipes-Recipe-Instructions-for-Making-Home-made-Bass-Set  For color-coded music and activities, please check out my TeachersPayTeachers store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Musical-Magic I'll be posting more home-made instrument ideas soon : )