Indholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2021 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Robyn picked up her first violin when she was 7 years old. She now plays the viola (a kind of larger violin) in orchestras, and makes violins. To learn how to be a luthier, Robyn first apprenticed with a violin-maker. Then she spent three years at the Chicago School of Violin Making. She has been making violins for 17 years. Even today, all violins are still made by hand. Some are crafted in small workshops like Robyn’s. Others are made in factories where each person does a different step. But every violin is unique. Robyn builds violins much the same way that luthiers did hundreds of years ago. It takes Robyn about 250 hours to build a new violin. Robyn starts by looking at lots of violin designs. She makes…

Musical instruments are always changing, as musicians search for interesting new sounds. For this month’s contest, find, construct, or dream up an entirely new instrument you’d like to play. It might be made out of found objects, or a new shape of horn, or a new way to play a piano, or anything you like. Draw us a picture of you playing your new music maker, and we’ll share a symphony of the most sonorous in an upcoming issue of Ask. Contest Rules: 1. Your contest entry must be your very own work. Ideas and words should not be copied. 2. Be sure to include your name, age, and address on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed,…

Farm cows haven’t always been around. Thousands of years ago, humans started keeping hairy wild cattle called aurochs. They took care of the animals and put them to work. Over time, aurochs evolved into today’s tame cows. (Dogs evolved from wild wolves in a similar way.) Wild aurochs are extinct now. But scientists can see how big their brains were by measuring auroch skulls in museums. Scientists compared these skulls to skulls from hundreds of modern cows. They saw that today’s cows have smaller brains than aurochs did. The scientists also compared brain size between different types of modern cattle. Tamer, friendlier breeds, like milk cows, have the smallest brains. The cattle used for bullfighting have larger brains.…

Some things never change. Kids have been learning to play instruments since the first prehistoric mother gave her baby a bone rattle. Mozart had to practice. Beyoncé had to practice. Even Marvin practices. It’s the only way to get good. But while practicing hasn’t changed, instruments have. So, the next time you sit down at the piano or pick up your guitar, just be glad you don’t have to practice an instrument called the sackbut. Strings Ah, sweet music. To the ancient Greeks, the lyre represented wisdom and beauty. It was the favorite instrument of their sun god, Apollo. Starting around age six, most Greek boys, and some girls, learned to sing and play the lyre in music classes. The typical lyre had seven strings stretched on a frame, set…

A Violin Bow To play beautiful music on a violin, you also need a bow. Modern violin bows have a special shape, invented by bow-maker François-Xavier Tourte around 1790. The stick is made of a strong, springy wood called pernambuco. The part that touches the violin strings is a flat line of 175-250 horsetail hairs. Why horse hair? The microscopic scales on tail hair trap and hold rosin, a powder made of dried pine sap. The roughness of the rosin sets up a continuous vibration as the bow passes over the strings. Bow-makers carefully choose each hair in a bow, looking for round shape and even thickness. Only about one in ten hairs is suitable.…

Marvin Likes: Pranks, inventions, whoopee cushions Quote: I didn’t do it. Listening to: Everything Elvis Likes: Poetry, dictionaries, mirrors Quote: Brains AND beauty—I have both. Listening to: Flight Opera Plush Pottom Likes: Rule books, binoculars, nice orderly lines Quote: I know what’s best for you. Listening to: The Well-Tempered Clavier Whatson Likes: Long chapters, the first page Quote: I just read that somewhere. Listening to: Silence Bot Likes: Data, batteries Quote: Your wish is my command. Listening to: Heavy Metal Avery Likes: Acorns, hollow trees Quote: Waste not, want not. Listening to: The Nutcracker Puck and Sisyphus Likes: Best friends, pearls, tiny red shoes Quote: Two heads are better than one. Listening to: Whale song duets Bone Pony Likes: Encyclopedias, hay Quote: Did you know that…? Listening to: Lithophones Zia…

Beganna A cousin of the Greek lyre, the beganna is still played in Africa. Balalaika The Russian balalaika is a popular folk instrument. It has only three strings. Sitar The tall Indian sitar is played sitting down. Double strings and a hollow bulb on the back give it a shimmering sound. Erhu The Erhu is a small two-stringed fiddle with a body shaped like a drum. It is popular in Asia. Didgeridoo Australians use wood hollowed out by termites to make long horns called didgeridoos. They blow a deep, haunting sound. Serpent Can you guess how this curvy medieval horn got its name? Longer horns can play deeper and louder, but they’re hard to hold. So horn-makers bent them around. Ocarina Round pottery flutes have been played since ancient times…

Do you play an instrument? That’s one way to make music. But when I feel the musical muse, I open up my computer, and lay down some tracks in a music program. Want to see how it’s done? Let me show you around! Which program to use? Whichever you like—they all help you make tunes. Most have similar tools. And there are plenty of how-to videos online if you get stuck. Find Your Beat Where to begin? Sometimes I start with a bit of tune that gets stuck in my head. Sometimes I start by playing around with beats. Most programs come with libraries of drum tracks. Open one up and play around. You can change it by clicking on a grid to add different sounds. Make it your own!…