Creature Feature

Can notes really leap, creep, and dash? They do in Creature Feature, a unique and learning filled introduction to the nuts and bolts of music for children. Cheetah, gorilla, frolicking frogs and other creatures demonstrate some of music's special effects— dynamics, tempo, articulation, register and melodic motion— and introduce the symbols of standard musical notation along the way. Companion CD contains the story Making Real Music plus 11 original creature feature pieces featuring melodies by young musicians.

• 32 pages of full color illustrations.
• Notated melodies to familiarize children with standard musical notation and symbols.
• Companion CD contains the story “Making Real Music” plus 11 original creature pieces from young musicians.

Creature Feature began as a guided composition project to introduce 3rd grade students to music notation and the relationship between sound and symbol. The goal of this project was to teach students about the music staff and stylistic elements such as dynamics, articulation and tempo as well as to introduce them to the basics of music theory (the “math” in music). With the help of simple expressive tools, along with a little imagination, the children's notes came to life as leaping frogs, creeping slugs, and fluttering hummingbirds.

The following are original melodies created by 3rd grade students from a local elementary school. Accompaniments are by Jane Singhal. A selection of these melodies are featured in the book Creature Feature to demonstrate that the magic of music goes well beyond notes on a page.