Music of Latin America
Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite have an amazing adventure to another dimension in today’s episode. They explore all kids of cool instruments used in Latin American music. Conga, maracas, cajon, oh my! They also compete in a cool game show hosted by Jerry Slapdash (who thinks he’s really handsome). We hope you enjoy today’s adventure learning about the music of Latin America!
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(Transcript)
Let the music begin in 3, 2, 1... Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite, exploring along with you. Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite love hanging out with you. The Music Podcast for Kids!
Hello and welcome to The Music Podcast for Kids we're your hosts Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite - Music educators extraordinaire! The Music Podcast for Kids is a fun and educational podcast where we learn and explore the best subject ever - music!
And now, the music joke of the day. We love jokes, so if you have a joke, please visit our website themusicpodcastforkids.com to submit your joke. And guess what? It doesn't even have to be a music joke; it can be any joke. We will read and enjoy your joke on the podcast and also let everyone know who it came from and where you are in this great big wonderful music world.
Our joke of the day is:
Bill: Welp, I think it’s official.
Bruce: Official?
Bill: Yup, officially lost.
Bruce: No way….. I know exactly where we are going. It’s up there, straight ahead. The fastest piano player in the west
Bill: Well, alright, I sure hope you're right it’s getting hot out here and my back is kinda hurtin’. Gonna hop off this horse and take a break for a minute. (Hops off and walks but there is a shaking sound)
Bruce: Umm, what is that sound?
Bill: (scared ... ) you mean that rattle sound…
Bruce: Yes, that rattle sound…. It gotta be a rattler!!
Bill: (shaking and shivering scared) Ohhhh no, where is it? Can you see it?
Bruce: Just relax, I can’t quite see it yet,
Bill: Relax? How can I relax? There's a rattler near me.. oh it’s getting louder!
Bruce: I don’t really see that rattler but yeah just relax and don’t move…
Bill: don’t move? I can’t stop shaking…. I’m just too scared of rattlers!
Bruce: wait a gosh darn tootin second here…. what you got in that bag?
Bill: What does it matter what’s in my bag… there’s a rattler near me! I don’t wanna get bit! I wanna see the fastest piano player in the west!
Bruce: (gets off horse) now get on over here and let me see that bag.
Bill: No stay on your horse! Save yourself, save the horse!
Bruce: Give me that bag!.... (takes bag) Yup, just what I thought…. a bag of maracas… there’s your rattler for ya.
Bill: aw well shucks I... I knew that… forgot about that bag of maracas...
Bruce: Well that’s enough drama for one day, let’s get a move on.
Bill: Sounds good, just take a swig of this here water can and get back on my horse and……(rattle sound)
Together: Rattlers!!!
Make sure to send in your jokes by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com a link to the website can be found in the show notes.
And now, the music word of the day.
Bill: Before we get to our main subject of the day, Music from Latin America, let’s check out the music word of the day: Conga!
Bruce: Congas are drums that are tall and narrow. You can play them by sitting down, but many times you will see them paired together and mounted on a rack.
Bill: It’s important to not get the congas mixed up with the bongos.
Bruce: That's right, bongos are like a mini version of the conga drums. Congas are big and bongos are small.
Bill: Conga drums are used in all types of music but originated in Afro Cuban Music.
Bruce: The conga drum became more well known after the popular Conga Line tune and dance came about.
Bill: Oh yeah I love the conga line. That's the one where everyone gets in a big line to form a circle to follow some fun three step shuffle.
Bruce: That's right, and that's the word of the day
Together: Conga!
The music podcast for kids is brought to you by Mr. Henry's Music World YouTube channel. If you are interested in learning how to play the piano with a fun and engaging curriculum geared towards kids please subscribe to Mr. Henry's YouTube channel called mr. Henry's Music World. Links will be found in the show notes. Again, we thank you so much for tuning in.
Thank you so much for listening. We hope you are enjoying the show so far. Please subscribe to the podcast to receive the latest episodes and leave a review through iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Also get updates on what we are up to Facebook and Instagram by finding us at Music Podcast for Kids. Links will be found in the show notes. On to the show!
And now, the main subject of the day.
Bill: (as if behind a door, while trying to open up a door) I don’t know Mr. Fite, I don't think there are any instruments up here anymore, they may have been sold at a garage sale…(door opens up)
Together: Woooooaaaaahhhhhh
Bruce: Gee, it’s a little dusty up here in the attic.
Bill: Sure is! Wow, there is a bunch of stuff up here.
Bruce: Ok, there has got to be some instruments from Latin America in here somewhere.
Bill: I don’t know Mr. Fite, but we can certainly look.
Bruce: Whats this small box thing here?
Bill: Oh man, that's my pre-tendo.
Bruce: Pre-tendo?
Bill: Yeah, it's where I get to pretend to play video games, oh man I remember my most favorite game of all…. shmelda.
Bruce: Shmelda? Are you sure you don’t mean...
Bill: Ahh yes, shmelda, where you try and guess the smell of the...
Bruce: Oh wow, look over here! I think I found something.
Bill: Oh cool. What is that?
Bruce: Its the...it’s the…. maraca!
Bill: Nice! So maybe the instruments were not sold. Sweet! You found one, is there another?
Bruce: Lets see here….. Umm…. eeshhh…… yup here it is!
Bill: Awesome! Let's hear the sweet sound of the maracas!
Bruce: Yup, these will do just perfectly for our presentation on music from Latin America.
Bill: Sure will. What's the story about with these instruments?
Bruce: Well first off, the maracas is made from a tree fruit in Puerto Rico called the higuera.
Bill: From a fruit? Oh I’ve heard about this before ...and I’m pretty sure that doesn't work...I tried to make a maracas with apples the other day and it just turned into a bunch of mushy apple… sauce….
Bruce: Oh no no… this type of fruit has a hard shell, and once the pulp is taken out of the fruit, the hard shell sits until completely dried out, then seeds or pebbles are put inside and it is closed on up with a handle and boom, you have a maraca.
Bill: Sweet!
Bruce: Yeah, there are all different types of maracas that are used in particular parts of latin America. This one is made with cuero, which is a type of animal skin which are often found in the Carribbean.
Bill: Cool! Let's find some other instruments from latin America. I’m going to check back here.
Bruce: Sounds good, I will keep looking through this box…..dum da dum…..aghrghgh… oh what could this be? Hey Mr. Henry I think I found something...
Bill:.Ummmm Mr. Fite? Uhhhh I think I found something as well….. I don't think you are going to believe me though.
Bruce: oh well, what is it?
Bill: No seriously, I think you need to come see this…
Bruce: Oh come on, just tell me!
Bill: Well ok, it looks like a portal to another dimension!
Bruce:What? A portal to another dimension! Come on Mr. Henry, stop playing around..
Bill: I’m not playing around! You gotta see this….
Bruce: (walking towards) Mr. Henry, I’m pretty sure its not a portal to another dimension that's impossible, plus check out this instrument I just found its the gui…… (blast sound)
Together: (epic music playing..) Wooooooooooaaaaaaahhhhhhhh
Bill: See, I told ya Mr. Fite. I opened up this door that said “portal to another dimension”
Bruce: Why would you open a door that ever says that!?
Bill: You’re joking right? Why wouldn't you open a door that says that! Come on we gotta check this out!
Bruce: Oh no...no way...I’ve seen this in movies before, it doesn't seem to ever work out quite right. There is usually something that will end up chasing after you, and you have to run a bunch and I already did my morning run, so I am set to….
Bill: Oh come on, nothing bad will happen. We may even be able to find more instruments from Latin America for our presentation!
Bruce: Oh boy...well...that's true I guess…
Bill:. Ok, cool..let's get going ... (portal music plays and crashes in)
(music from a game show is playing)
Bruce: Woah, that was crazy….
Bill: Yeah it was….
Bruce: What is going on….
Slapdash: (in background) Hahahaha! Welcome! Oh boy I am looking handsome today…. Welcome, welcome!
Bruce: Mr. Slapdash?
Bill: Yeah Mr. Slapdash? What is he doing here?
Bruce: Oh boy...already regretting going through that portal.
Bill: Oh no...it’ll be fine...I’m sure Mr. Slapdash has become a better game show host since the last time we saw him….
Bruce: Yeah lets hope
Slapdash: Step right up Mr. Fite and Mr. henry! Great to see you both! You two seem very confident and totally in tune with what's going on
Bruce: Ummm no Mr. Slapdash, we have no idea what's going on...I mean we just stepped through some wierd portal and now, bam, here we are talking with you...
Bill: Wait did he say we are “totally in tune”...haha… I get it
Slapdash: Right! Well, welcome to the instrument identification game, where you will listen to these instruments from Latin America and figure out which instrument it is.
Bruce: Wait, did you say instrument from Latin America? This is perfect! We were just talking about instruments from Latin America
Bill: yeah, this is perfect. See I told ya so Mr. Fite.
Slapdash: Ahh right! Let’s get on with the game today! And it appears we are out of time!
Bruce: What? Out of time? We just started
Bill: Yeah Mr. Slapdash, we didn't even get to start the game yet..
Slapdash: Ahhh right LOL, JK…(clears throat).... Ahhh ok. You will listen to two different instruments. One is from Latin America and the other is not. You must tell me which one is from Latin America, and write a 32 page essay about that instrument. You have 10 seconds...here...we ….
Bruce: Wait, did you say write a 32 page essay with only 10 seconds of time?
Bill: Yeah mr. Slapdash that's impossible.
Slapdash: Ahh right..uhhh.. Did I say that? Oh whatever...just figuring out the instrument will do just fine. Ok...here ...we ...go! Number 1 instrument: (plays) Number 2 instrument… which one is from Latin America?
Bruce: Umm, I think i’ m going with the second one. Sound just like the conga drum!
Bill: Yeah totally does. Good thinking Mr. Fite. We are going with - the conga drum!
Slapdash: No sorry, that is not my favorite instrument, actually my favorite instrument is the nose harp...it just twangs along so nicely..
Bruce: Mr. Slapdash!
Bill: Yeah Mr. Slapdash… we are not supposed to be picking your favorite instrument; the nose harp…
Bruce: Wait..did you just say picking the nose...har…
Slapdash: Hahaha just JKing you both there ...You are correct! The conga drum! From Latin America! (music plays, audience claps)
Bruce: Oh great!
Bill: Sweet!
Slapdash: Ok, onto the next question. Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
Bruce: What?
Bill: Oh boy….
Slapdash: Haha.. Ok, here is the next listening challenge. Which is from latin America. Is it number 1 (plays) or number 2 (plays)
Bill: I’m going with number 1. Sounds like the steel drum!
Bruce: Yeah, I think you're totally right Mr. Henry. The steel drum can also be called the steel pan.
Slapdash: Why would you want to steal a drum or a pan. That doesn’t seem like a good idea you know, you could get in big trouble...
Bruce: No no, Mr Slapdash, the steel drum or steel pan is spelled S T E E L.. like the metal material “steel”.
Bill: Right! The steel drum can actually be made from a 55 gallon industrial drum. They carefully craft each part of the steel to have different pitches to create that cool sound.
Slapdash: Ah well right...let me see here...I am going to look over here to pretend like there is someone to check that answer and it looks like, yes Bob, is that correct…. Ummm (continues in background…)
Bruce: Who is he looking at? I don’t see anyone…
Bill: Yeah..there is no Bob.. In this room… oh boy
Slapdash: Ahah!, Well yes, that is the answer! The Steel Drum! (music plays audience claps) And you are today's winners!
Bruce: Wooohoo! Awesome.
Bill: Yeah for sure, what do we win?
Slapdash: Well, what do you have for them Johnny? Ummm johnny?
Bruce: I don't think there is a johnny…
Slapdash: Ahh right of course… well...guess what, you get a fantastic trip to the Caribbean to learn more about the instruments from latin America!
Bill: Oh sweet!
Slapdash: Yes! And right over here is the teleportation zaporoonie 3000 s model
Bruce: Oh no, remember Mr. Henry, we already tried this thing… I’m still trying to get all of my hair back…
Bill: Oh, I think they have updated the system since then. I’m sure there is nothing wrong with the teleportation zaporoonie 3000 s model now. Right Mr. Slapdash?
Slapdash: Oh yes, of course, nothing will happen..yes, they have ...umm...upgraded the system, the only thing I have seen is some folks come back in mini form...
Bruce: Mini form??
Bill: Oh I’m sure he means we feel so small in this great big music world..right Mr. Slapdash?
Slapdash: uhh well, are you familiar with the size of a spoon?
Bruce: Well of course Mr. Slapdash.
Slapdash: Well yes, uhhhh you would be able to walk on the spoon
Bill: Yikes, so that kinda mini form.
Bruce: Nope no way am I getting into that machine
Bill: Oh come on there is no way we will shrink, the chances are probably like 1 in a shma-zillion.
Slapdash: One out of four.
Bill: And plus we won this...for free! Lets celebrate by checking out more music from Latin America!
Bruce: Wait did he just say 1 out of 4 get shrunk down to a sp…
Bill: Put in the coordinates, buckle up the seats belt and fire this bad boy up... (ride music)
Bruce: Oh no...look that spoon is huge...it happened we shrunk down...oh no…
Bill: (Reading) Here lies the biggest spoon in the world. 200 feet long. Oh no Mr. Fite, we are still normal size,...it just so happens they have the biggest spoon ever here. Oh what's that noise?
Bruce: Oh, sounds like those conga drums we heard earlier.
Bill: Awesome, so what's the deal with the congas?
Bruce: Well, the conga drum originally came from Cuba.
Bill: Cool!
Bruce: Yeah, and it can be played in a bunch of different ways. We call each way a different “tone”. There is the open tone, bass tone, muffled tone slap tone and rim shot tone.
Bill: Wow, so you can create five different sounds on one drum? I just figured you just hit and with your hand and that's it.
Bruce: Actually, you can play variations of just one of those tones. So, you could play the open tone in three different ways!
Bill: Wow, that seems tough.
Bruce: Sure is, so you could have 15 different types of sounds on the conga drum.
Bill: Wowzers, that would take some serious practice.
Bruce: Now, in an elementary school you may only learn two types of tones on the conga drum. The “low tone” which sounds like this…… and the “high tone” which sounds like this.
Bill: Cool. It looks like the low tone is played in the middle of the drum with a cupped hand.
Bruce: You got it, and the high tone is played on the side of the drum with a flat hand; using the fingers and high part of the hand.
Bill: Sounds fun! Boy, I’m getting kinda tired. I am going to sit down on this box chair here for a second.
Bruce: Oh wow! Cool, check it out, you're sitting on the cajon!
Bill: Cajon? Ummm… it's just a box.. How is this an instrument?
Bruce: Well, that's no ordinary box, although it does look like a box made of wood. It's actually a really cool instrument. The cajon is a box drum.
Bill: Hmm , so how do you play this box drum thingy….
Bruce: It’s kinda played like the conga drum but you sit on it while performing. It does have a bunch of tones, but if we focus on the low and high tone, you would play near the middle of the cajon to get a deep, low sound...it almost sounds like a bass drum.
Bill: Wow, thats awesome!
Bruce: Then, if you play towards the top it sounds like a snare drum.
Bill: Neat! How does it have that rattle sound to it?
Bruce: Well, there are these wires called snare wires which are of course found on a snare drum. They use those same wires and put them in between the wood.
Bill: Wow, it's like a drum set in a….box!
Bruce: Yessir!
Bill: So many cool instruments from Latin America.
Bruce: For sure, well it's getting kinda late and I’m getting kinda hungry..
Bill: Yeah samezees. Ok, lets get back to the teleportation zaporoonie 3000 s model.
Bruce: oh great….
Bill: Ok, put in the coordinates.. “Mr. Henry's Dusty Attic”, cool, emergency break off, buckle up…. (ride music)
Bruce: Did we make it back? Wow... I don't remember you having such a large dusty couch in your attic…
Bill: Hmmm. ….yeah that's a pretty large cup of water there… i mean I’m thirsty, but that's a ton of wa…..
Bruce: Mr. Henry! You shrunk the music teachers!
Bill: Oh I’m sure we can reverse this...let me get the manual let's see….just turn this knob here and do the cha cha slide while clucking like a chicken, then three turns.
Bruce: (crying) I don't want to be tiny! I don't want to be tiny I don't want to be tiny (fades away with dreamy sequence)
Bruce: (as if sleeping with a bad dream- drooling mouth open saying): I don't want to be tiny I don't want to be tiny.
Bill: Hey Mr. Fite, wake up wake up… you're having a bad…
Bruce: Ahhh ghhghagah Oh… boy. I was having a crazy dream about Mr. Slapdash, and learning about all the cool instruments from Latin America, but then getting shrunk into a little...
Slapdash: Hahaha..did you say my name? Don't I just look so smart today and good looking...
Bill: Come on Mr. Fite, we are about to go onto the Music Listening Challenge game! The winner gets a trip to the Caribbean!
Time to wrap it up folks! Thank you so much for tuning in to the Music Podcast for Kids. We hope you enjoyed the show, and most importantly, learned something cool today about music. Remember to send in your jokes or even a topic in music you would like us to discuss by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com. If you are interested in awesome educational and fun songs for your kids to listen and sing along with, please visit brucefite.com. Music is available to download with iTunes, CD Baby, and Facebook streaming platforms like Spotify and Amazon Radio. Links will be found in the show notes. If you are interested in learning how to play the piano with a fun and engaging curriculum geared toward kids, please subscribe to Mr. Henry's YouTube channel called Mr. Henry's Music World. Links would be found in the show notes. Please visit iTunes to leave a review of the podcast and also share the podcast with friends, relatives, aliens, whoever! Again we thank you so much for tuning in!
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