Cricket Band

The Cricket Band is an activity in JumpStart 2nd Grade. It is accessed by clicking on the Cricket Band button on the Elevator. It is designed to teach basic music skills for second grade.

Description
Here, the player can record and play their own tunes. The player can click on each of the crickets on the musical keyboard to play a sound. The player can select which kind of sound they want the keyboard to make by clicking on one of the six buttons at the top of the screen: Piano, String Instrument, Electric Guitar, Spooky Sounds, Futuristic Sounds, and Pipe Organ.

Below the keyboard, there is a set of seven buttons: Song, Stop, Load, Save, Play, Rec, and Memory.

The Song button allows the player to choose from five songs to listen to:, , , , and. The Stop button can be used to stop the current song from playing.

The Load, Save, Play, and Rec buttons are used for the player's recorded songs. The player can press the Rec button to start recording, and then click on the crickets to make a musical sequence. When the player is done, they can play back their recording by pressing the Play button. The player can save their song with the Save button, and load a saved song with the Load button.

The Memory button allows the player to play the Memory Game. A few crickets will hop up and down on the keys, and the player must replicate the sequence of notes. This is the only part of the activity that awards points.

Difficulty level differences

 * Scout: In Memory mode, the player must memorize a sequence of three notes.
 * Explorer: In Memory mode, the player must memorize a sequence of four notes.
 * Trailblazer: In Memory mode, the player must memorize a sequence of five notes.

Digital manual description
Have fun making songs and listening to the Cricket Band! Click on the crickets on the keyboard to cause them to play individual notes.

Recording Your Own Tunes


 * To record your own song, click the REC button.
 * Click on the Cricket Band keys to play your song.
 * After finishing your song, click on PLAY to hear the Cricket Band play it back.
 * If you want to save your song, click on the SAVE button. Edison, the sound engineer, will drop into the scene and ask you to click on a blank CD. It will highlight to indicate that you have recorded your music.
 * If you want to load a song you've already saved, click on the LOAD button, then click on one of the highlighted CDs.

Buttons at the Top of the Screen

Click on the Instrument Buttons along the top of the screen to select the instrument you want the Cricket Band to play. You can choose from the Piano, Strings, Electric Guitar, Spooky Sounds, Futuristic Planet, or the Pipe Organ.



Buttons Below the Keyboard


 * Song: Lets you choose any of the following:


 * London Bridge
 * Old MacDonald
 * Row Row Row Your Boat
 * Three Blind Mice
 * Twinkle Twinkle Little Star




 * Stop: Ends a song that is playing.
 * Load: Loads Songs that you've already recorded.
 * Save: Saves Songs that you have recorded.
 * Play: Plays songs you have recorded.
 * Memory: Starts the Memory Game.
 * Rec: Records your song.

Play the Memory Game


 * Click on the memory button to play the memory game.
 * The crickets will play a musical sequence.
 * Click on the same notes, in the same order to win the game.

Levels

1. Scout: The Simon round is 3 notes.

2. Explorer: The Simon round is 4 notes.

3. Trailblazer: The Simon round is 5 notes.

Educational and Developmental Benefits

This whimsical activity provides an introduction to musical instruments, melodies, the scale and reading music. The child has the chance to associate tunes with sheet music and the names of notes.