Paddle Drums, Boomwackers and Recorders Oh My!

Good morning! Thank you to everyone who sent Valentine’s Day greetings! Fortunately, assessments were finished before the holiday. We have spent a lot of time playing paddle drums, boomwackers and recorders in the last week. Paddle drums and boomwackers are among the newest instruments in the school music scene. Paddle drums are drum heads in a frame that looks very much like a small tennis racquet. They are held by a foam covered handle and played either with the hand or mallets. We choose mallets for the assessment activities. Boomwackers are brightly colored lengths of 2” lightweight plastic pipe. Each length makes a different sound as the pipes are tapped on the floor or other hard object. We did some scale activities with these as well as some beat keeping. Third and fourth graders have begun to play the recorders. Vowles School owns enough recorders for each student to have their own to play. These are washed after each use. Germs are one thing we try not to share in the music room.