成人快手

How do you create music with technology?

You can make music in lots of different ways:

  • with musical instruments
  • with found sounds
  • using body percussion
  • using technology

Technology includes things you might find in your home or school. It could be devices such as smartphones, tablets or computers or even other machines made just for making music.

Cartoon showing a girl playing bass guitar, a younger girl playing an upturned plant pot with beaters, a girl doing body percussion clapping and stamping and a young boy playing the theremin.
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Watch - Music technology with David Bowie

Let鈥檚 see what Ben, Mia, Lottie, Ajay and Akshay find when they journey from their classroom into space, to visit famous singer and songwriter David Bowie.

There were lots of examples of music technology in David Bowie鈥檚 spaceship.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 5, A cartoon image showing a modern touchscreen synthesizer., Synthesizer This is a special type of musical keyboard that creates electronic sounds that can sound like real instruments.

Some of these instruments can be quite expensive.

However, there are some great apps and webpages, that offer free samplers and synthesizers you can play with.

Ask a trusted adult to help you find some.

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Watch: Playing a theremin

The theremin uses electricity to sense the position of your hands. As you move your hand away from the antenna (the metal pole on the right hand side of the theremin), the pitch of the note gets lower.

The height of your hand above the hoop on the left hand side allows you to play louder or quieter notes.

Watch Naomi have a go at playing a theremin.

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A cartoon boy clapping his hands and stamping his feet in time with music.

Watch: What are samplers?

Samplers are a fun way to create sounds and loops.

You can use free apps on a smartphone, tablet or computer to get started. There are lots of free apps available. Ask a trusted adult to help you find one.

Watch Naomi record her own samples and put them together into musical loops.

A cartoon boy clapping his hands and stamping his feet in time with music.

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A cartoon girl standing smiling under the word 'remember'.

And remember鈥

Music technology is a really powerful tool for your music making.

Pieces of music technology are just another way of creating and organising sounds for your musical compositions.

Make sure you use and explore them alongside your voice, body, found sounds and musical instruments.

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Activities

Quiz

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Glossary

Here's the meanings of some important words.

Pitch - How high or low a sound is.
Theremin - An electronic musical instrument.
Samplers - An electronic musical instrument that records and plays sounds.
Compositions - Music that you have created.
Found sounds - Sounds made with objects found in the environment around us.

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Fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art and design, computing and modern languages.

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