By Laura Dukes Times Correspondent \u2013 Carroll County Times<\/p>\n

He called himself \u201cThe Junkman,\u201d but on Monday, Donald Knaack delivered lessons to Sandymount Elementary School students that many would consider golden.<\/p>\n

During the PTA-sponsored presentation, Knaack, a Vermont resident, taught students how to appreciate reused products as musical instruments. He delivered a few anecdotes about life on the side.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic is actually the only thing in the world that people agree on,\u201d Knaack said to Sandymount third-graders, asking them why they thought that was.<\/p>\n

The answer: Music is inside of everyone as evidenced by the beat of a heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour body is about rhythm and water, essentially. Without it, you\u2019re not here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Knaack divided the students into teams with each group getting a chance to stand in the center of a circle and \u201cplay\u201d items like old wooden boards, frying pans and bottles. The teams that were not \u201cjamming on some junk,\u201d as Knaack said, were asked to clap and stomp along with the beat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your body is fluid, you will be fluid. If your body is stiff, you will be stiff,\u201d Knaack told the students. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not just in music; that\u2019s in life, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandymount Elementary Guidance Counselor Andy Yount explained that the school\u2019s PTA usually sponsors some type of school-wide workshop related to either music or drama. Since third-graders made their own instruments out of recycled products in the fall, Yount said the Junkman was a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the teamwork part of it. This especially gets the kids working together\u201d Yount said of Knaack\u2019s presentation.<\/p>\n

Knaack explained to the students that percussion music is when something is rubbed, shaken or struck to make a sound. However, he said people need to be mindful of what they are using to strike an object.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people believe when you play percussion you pick up things and you strike stuff. That\u2019s how you break stuff,\u201d Knaack said, using the example of an empty bottle that would need to be struck by something soft.<\/p>\n

A lot of Knaack\u2019s presentation also related to concentration. He assigned each third-grader a number, then he pointed to each student so they could say their number back to create a beat. If a student wasn\u2019t looking at Knaack when he pointed at him or her, the beat was lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers could use this as a lesson for the classroom to stay with the beat,\u201d Yount said. \u201cAnd that constant theme of teamwork keeps coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandymount Elementary Vice Principal Mary Gauker said she hoped that through Knaack\u2019s presentation, the students would gain a deeper appreciation for music, imagination and recycling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all an idea of re-using and re-making,\u201d Gauker said.<\/p>\n

While all grades saw Knaack\u2019s presentation at some point during the day, a select group of third-graders were picked to eat lunch with the Junkman.<\/p>\n

Gaunker said these third-graders were chosen because their own recycled instruments particularly exemplified out of the box work.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can make instruments out of everything,\u201d said 8-year-old Hannah Choplick.<\/p>\n

Hannah said she made a banjo\/drumstick\/scraper last fall out of rubber bands, a drumstick and a ruler.<\/p>\n

Third-graders Joshua Staubs and Sara Hawley said they both made their own drums last fall.<\/p>\n

Sara, 9, said hers consisted of one large can with a smaller can inside of it and beads inside the smaller can.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of made a bang when you hit it. I hit it with a stick,\u201d Sara said.<\/p>\n

Joshua, 9, said that Knaack\u2019s presentation taught him that anyone could make music just by stomping and clapping to a beat.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think you play music from up here,\u201d Knaack said, point to his head. \u201cIt\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told the students that instead, you play from your heart and your gut.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you learn the mechanics, you free yourself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Link to original article: http:\/\/www.carrollcountytimes.com\/news\/local\/sandymount-students-make-music-with-the-junkman\/article_a059549c-a19e-55d0-94ac-d9d96f362782.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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