Week of September 14th, 2015

THE GUIRO!

This month in music class, we are learning all about the wonderful Latin-American percussion instrument, the guiro!

Traditionally made from hollowed out gourds with carved ridges, the guiro is played by rubbing a stick or "pua" across the grooves to produce an awesome sound that you may recognize from quite a bit of Latin-inspired music, such as bossa nova (one of my absolute favorites!)

Check out this neat video that shows you some of the cool sounds a guiro can make:

To experience this instrument, we took a look at many different guiros--some made of wood, some shaped like a frog, some made of plastic, and even one large makeshift guiro from a coffee can! The kids got to practice making music with them, and we also sang "La Cucaracha" in Spanish and English while using the guiro.

Everyone enjoyed the neat, vibratory grooves of this rhythm instrument today. Check out the pictures, videos and extender questions below! 

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1. What is a guiro?

2. How do you play a guiro?

3. Does a guiro feel bumpy or smooth?

Week of March 26th, 2013

The Guiro!

About the “guiro”…

The güiro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡwiɾo]) is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound.
The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role in the typical rhythm section of important genres like cumbia and salsa. Playing the güiro usually requires both long and short sounds, made by scraping up and down in long or short strokes with a “scraper”, sometimes referred to as a “pua”.
The güiro, like the maracas, is often played by a singer. You can make your own guiro at home using an empty plastic water bottle with ridges and a popsicle stick or pencil!

The kids enjoyed learning about this Latin instrument and singing "La Cucaracha" and "Diez Amigos" (a fingerplay) with the guiro. We were able to experiment and try manipulating the scraper, as well as watch a video of cartoon dancing cockroaches (see below) playing the guiro to "La Cucaracha"! I also taught the children a bit about Latin America and showed them the involved countries on the map. Check out the Youtube video below of "Diez Amigos" with our combined toddler and twos classes! Children from toddler ages and up received a guiro coloring sheet. Look in your child's cubby for their coloring page and a condensed description of this rhythm instrument!