Music Blocks

Electronic instruments like synthesizers and computer software use electricity to make sound. They've also changed music. The electrophone instrument family expands the range of musical colors in a composer's toolkit. In this episode, check out how musicians like Dua Lipa, T La Rock and Yellow Magic Orchestra infuse their pieces with all kinds of electrophone tones and color.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

What makes electrophones sound interesting to you?

What kinds of electrophone sounds might you use to create a piece of music?

Ready to explore more colorful electrophones? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of six Music Blocks episodes exploring your favorite sounds and the instrument families that create them. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional editorial support: Emily Williams, Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Kibwe Cooper

Editor & Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and Scott Clemens at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, María Juliana Pinzón, Arielle Wilson, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

People can make amazing music using their voice. In this episode, it’s all about the power and range of the human voice. Get ready to hear all kinds of vocal techniques – from beatboxing to scatting to yodeling. You’ll hear how musicians like Bobby McFerrin, Sarah Vaughan and the Baka people use these techniques to connect with their cultures and add meaning to their songs.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

Which vocal timbre stood out to you? Which was familiar? Which was unfamiliar?

What are ways that you use your voice when interacting with music -- singing, speaking, beatboxing? What other ways can you think of?

Ready to explore more vocal gymnastics? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of six Music Blocks episodes exploring your favorite sounds and the instrument families that create them. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional editorial support: Emily Williams, Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Kibwe Cooper

Editor & Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and Scott Clemens at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, María Juliana Pinzón, Arielle Wilson, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

In this episode, we check out instruments that musicians use to deliver some amazing rhythmic impact. Idiophones make sound from the vibrations of an instrument's body. A lot of the time, musicians whack them or shake them rhythmically. Let’s talk about how musicians like Ruth Brown, Los Angeles Azules and Queens of the Stone Age use idiophones to give us exciting percussion parts full of accents and syncopation.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

Have you ever made an instrument out of a desk or a table? What are other ordinary things that you can turn into instruments?

What materials that the idiophones were made out of stood out to you?

Ready to explore more rhythmic idiophones? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of six Music Blocks episodes exploring your favorite sounds and the instrument families that create them. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional editorial support: Emily Williams, Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Kibwe Cooper

Editor & Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and Scott Clemens at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, María Juliana Pinzón, Arielle Wilson, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

In this episode, the spotlight is on membranophones! Membranophones make sound from the vibration of a tightly stretched material. Think of drums that you strike to make a sound. But there are other cool membranophones. Let’s get to know more about these instruments and the musicians who bring us the beats, like The White Stripes, Bomba Con Buya and Ciara.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

How does a membranophone contribute to a piece of music? What do you think makes composers or musical artists choose to include a membranophones in making music?

What membranophone do you want to learn how to play?

Ready to explore more beats and soundings of membranophones? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of six Music Blocks episodes exploring your favorite sounds and the instrument families that create them. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional editorial support: Emily Williams, Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Kibwe Cooper

Editor & Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and Scott Clemens at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, María Juliana Pinzón, Arielle Wilson, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

Musicians who use the power of air breathe life into the music they play. They create beautiful and ear-catching melodies. The instruments they play are called aerophones. In this episode, we talk about aerophones and the musicians like Astor Piazzolla, Harry Styles and Francis Bebey who use these instruments to create gorgeous notes and melodies.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

Which aerophone do you want to play? What aerophone sound appealed to you?

What aerophone would you use to write a melody?

Ready to explore more melodious aerophones? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of six Music Blocks episodes exploring your favorite sounds and the instrument families that create them. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional editorial support: Emily Williams, Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Kibwe Cooper

Editor & Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and Scott Clemens at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, María Juliana Pinzón, Arielle Wilson, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

All around the world, musicians use stringed instruments to make music. The way musicians play these instruments creates beautiful and distinctive sounds. In this episode, say hello to chordophones! Chordophones are instruments that make sound from the vibration of strings. Checkout how musicians like John Legend, Michiyo Yagi and Johann Strauss II have made chordophones sing with different articulations.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

Which articulations stood out to you when listening to the chordophones? Are there articulations you want to hear again?

Can you name other instruments that are chordophones that were not discussed in this episode?

Ready to explore more chordophone sounds? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of six Music Blocks episodes exploring your favorite sounds and the instrument families that create them. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional editorial support: Emily Williams, Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Kibwe Cooper

Editor & Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and Scott Clemens at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, María Juliana Pinzón, Arielle Wilson, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

Music Blocks, the music appreciation podcast about the building blocks that make up your favorite sounds, returns Sept. 19 with a fresh batch of exciting musical explorations!

In Season 3, hosts Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez dig into the instruments themselves. We’re talking about instrument families!

People all over the world have created distinct instruments that make sound in similar ways. Instruments in the chordophone instrument family -- like the koto from Japan, the violin from Italy, and the nyatiti from Kenya -- all make beautiful sounds using the vibrations from strings.

Music Blocks is a music appreciation podcast that spans genres, cultures and decades. Developed with input from educators and students, each episode runs about 5 minutes to fit easily into family time or classroom instruction. Every “lesson” explores a different type of musical storytelling and is accompanied by a playlist and discussion questions to inspire more sonic exploration. We designed the show with middle schoolers and high schoolers in mind. But anyone can listen and enjoy.

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio. If you’re excited about the show, have questions or want to tell us about how you’re using Music Blocks, please drop us a line: [email protected].

Sometimes you need a little extra motivation, and music is a great place to look for it. A well-crafted song can tell a story that makes listeners feel confident, carefree or powerful. If you love uplifting choruses and pounding beats, check out these empowerment anthems by artists like Run-DMC, Koji Kondo and Jane Zhang.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

What kinds of sounds are empowering to you? How would you include them in a song you are creating?

When you want to feel empowered, what song is your go-to? What story does it tell?

Ready to explore more empowering musical stories? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of eight Music Blocks episodes exploring how musicians use sound to tell stories about our lives. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional production and editing: Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Emily Williams

Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and David Ginder at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Clara Shelton, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

We all struggle with how to cope when we lose someone we care about. So how do musicians use those universal feelings to tell stories about death and grief? This episode looks at some moving examples, including music from songwriter Chalino Sánchez, composer Benjamin Britten and the musical Dear Evan Hansen.

And just a quick note: this episode is a little sadder than most of our episodes, so you might feel some strong feelings if you listen.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

What musical sounds represent death to you? How might that be different from another person you know?

Which song from the episode stands out to you as a way to think about death?

Ready to explore more musical stories about death? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of eight Music Blocks episodes exploring how musicians express emotions through sound. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Rebekah Romberg and Luis Antonio Perez

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional production and editing: Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Emily Williams

Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and David Ginder at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Clara Shelton, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.

Protest music is about highlighting problems in society and calling for change. And telling a story through music is an especially powerful way to move a listener to action. Check out some potent sonic storytelling about human rights, the environment and anti-colonialism from artists like Yothu Yindi, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Joni Mitchell.

Content warning: This episode covers some topics that might be unsettling for some younger listeners. It’s the kind of material you might learn in a high school history class, rather than in elementary school history. You might want to listen to a different episode of Music Blocks if you’re around younger ears.

Stuff to think about after you’ve listened:

Is there something you want to protest? What sounds would you use to communicate your protest?

What songs do you know that would support something you want to protest?

Ready to explore more protest music? Check out our playlists on Spotify or Apple Music.

This is one of eight Music Blocks episodes exploring how musicians use sound to tell stories about our lives. You can listen in any order. Find more episodes, discussion questions and playlists at MusicBlocksPodcast.org.

Tell us how you're using Music Blocks in the classroom or at home, or share your playlists and music creations inspired by the podcast! Email us: [email protected]

Music Blocks is a production of Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.

Hosts: Luis Antonio Perez and Rebekah Romberg

Lead producer: Rebekah Romberg

Education Advisor: Carla Aguilar, Ph.D.

Additional production and editing: Jo Erickson, Erin Jones, Emily Williams

Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Thank you: Monika Vischer and David Ginder at CPR Classical, Willobee Carlan at Indie 102.3, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Mia Rincón, Clara Shelton, Hart Van Denburg, Jon Pinnow, Doug Clifton and all the teachers, parents and students who listened and helped us develop this podcast.