Do you follow rabbit trails easily? Do you know what I mean by rabbit trails? What I mean is when something you are studying creates a secondary area of interest to you or your children. Do you follow that interest and learn more about that?
Yea. We do. And that is why it takes us so long to complete studies sometimes. We have been following a rabbit trail for a couple of days now related to a music study we are doing. We have been studying Schubert from the Music Appreciation: Book 1 for the Elementary Grades by Zeezok. (Review is now up. – 5/9/16) It mentioned that he enjoyed playing the hackbrett, or piano. But in our workbook, it was noted that a hackbrett is not actually a piano but a hammered string instrument, similar to a hammered dulcimer.
We own a hammered dulcimer so the girls asked if we could get it out. So, out it came. We have played a few songs. The girls have played some on it. We have sung along to it and talked about how the notes are produced on it.
We have also done a bit of online research about the hackbrett, finding out how it is different from a hammered dulcimer. What we have found is really interesting.
- It is a traditional Austrian instrument.
- Each pitch has 3 or 4 strings.
- The strings are struck with a small mallet, called a hammer.
- It is nothing like a piano, except for the fact that a hammer hits a string.
Add in a few random tips like Austria is the country where the Sound Of Music takes place, where it is in relation to Germany and the Netherlands, and other composers who lived there and we had a lot of information flying around as we ran down that rabbit trail.
We have also looked up some links in YouTube of folks playing the hackbrett. These two have been my favorite.
Video 1 – man giving demonstration of hackbrett; lots of technique in his playing
Video 2 – girl playing hackbrett; gives great view of strings and bridges at the beginning
This has been a fun rabbit trail and taught us things we didn’t know.
Don’t be afraid to follow those rabbit trails that present themselves. You might learn something you didn’t know and your children will learn that it is okay to follow those ideas when they pop up. That is how some of the most amazing inventions come about – someone followed an idea.
Here’s to the rabbit trails that come up in your education!
At Home.
Past posts in this series:
Change is Good?
Make Time
Structure vs Flexibility
Looking for more great ideas and tips? Check out other Review Crew members who are sharing tips all week long. Today, I encourage you to go visit these friends:
Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine
Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind
Jennifer @ Faithful Homestead
Joelle @ homeschooling for His Glory
Joesette @ Learning Curve
Kari @ Random Acts of Boyhood
Katie @ Katie’s Daily Life
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized
Kim @ Homestead Acres
Kylie @ Our Worldwide Classroom
Tagged: education, encouragement, music, TOS
At Home 
It seems like some of our best learning happens when we follow “rabbit trails”!
Following rabbit trails is something we always relished in, but it seems over the years this has gone by the wayside. Thank you for the reminder.
[…] And, definitely go check out all that The Old Schoolhouse has to offer. Their products are worth the cost, even if you don’t have a coupon code to use. Also, head over to the Review Crew Facebook page and give them a “like” if you don’t mind. You’ll get lots of great encouragement from that page. At Home. Previous Posts in this series: Structure vs Flexibility Make Time Change is Good? Follow the Rabbit Trail […]
[…] additional study on this instrument and other closely related instruments. We even pulled out our hammered dulcimer and we learned a bit about playing it.) We studied about the Vienna Boys Choir, though back them it […]