Project 83: Music!

This week's project was prompted by the fact that we want to get the new Nintendo Labo VR kit, but first we had to finish the variety kit we already had and the last piece to be made was the piano.

Nintendo Labo Piano

The Labo piano is the biggest of the builds in the variety kit, with an estimated build time of 2.5-3.5 hours, so we spread it over a couple of days. The suggested age range is 6+, and while Solomon (6) kept his focus during the build, Monica (4) had a tendency (understandably) to get a bit bored after an hour. As with the previous Labo builds, they're fiddly to make, but the kids love playing with them:

• Labo motorbike in Project 44: Mario
• Labo fishing rod in Project 59: Designing a computer game

Similarly, there was a guitar build in the LEGO Boost set that we hadn't made yet, so we decided to build that this week too. 

LEGO Boost  Guitar

In this case, the guitar links to a tablet which plays different chords depending on where you place the capo on the fret board and how you 'strum' the lever. The recommended age range for the LEGO Boost is 7-12, but whereas the Labo requires a lot of supervision, they can work through the Boost on their own. 

Of course we also looked at more traditional music and musical instruments. They watched  brief history of  (Western) music, that provided some nice context to modern music. 

They watched the BBC House of Sound videos about different types of instruments, explored Handel's Zadok the Priest, and learned how to read music. 

They also played some musical instruments themselves, playing recorders at home, and then the ukulele at the Peterborough Centre for Young Musicians. They really enjoyed the trial session, and we plan for the ukulele lessons to become a more regular thing. 

Next week: The Emergency Services