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Renaissance period musical instruments

“That’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had at school,” said sophomore Cyprian Way after just two days of Renaissance week. Mr. Alan teaches general education and AP World History here at Sahuaro. In order to help his students understand more about how people during the renaissance period lived, he decided to have a week of fun activities.

On Monday classes learned about different musical instruments of the Renaissance period, how they came to be, and what they have developed into now. They also learned what these instruments are made out of, how they sound, and why they make those sounds. Students got to hold Renaissance period clothesline pins, which can also be used as clips to hold down sheet music. Mr. Alan’s dad, who came in to show all of these instruments, also played several instruments that he plays in his Renaissance music group.

After Monday learning about different instruments and listening to music, Mr. Alan’s classes headed down to Sahuaro’s dance room to learn a Renaissance dance. After they learned the dance, they had the opportunity to perform it for the class for extra credit.

On Wednesday and Thursday, students dug into their creative talents and designed their own coat of arms, which is a way of identifying who people are on the battlefield. The intention of these is so that soldiers would know who to kill and who is on the same side as them. Some students chose to draw their coat of arms on paper, while others used a website, coamaker.com to make theirs. Each coat of arms was required to have at least two colors, and one charge or symbol.

Sadly, on Friday, Renaissance week came to an end. However, students got to enjoy a renaissance fight. Mr. Alan bravely battled Sir Cosmo and was gracefully defeated. These battles are played in a best-out-of-3 round. Mr. Alan took the first, Sir Cosmo the second, and again Sir Cosmo for the win. Since the fighter wants to live to see another day, they use weapons that are dulled and have protective gear. The fighting system is based on honor, so when a fighter is struck, they admit that they were, and give the win to their opponent. Our guest, Sir Cosmo said that this type of fighting is, “…the safest way to fight without risk of injury… and a lot of fun.”