I used to collect Perrier bottles. The idea was to fill them with different amounts of water so that students could experiment with pitch or find tunes or make things up. This went on for a while until I noticed the bottles weren’t getting much attention and had begun to gather dust. No sooner had I disposed of them (Excuse me – recycled them), than the questions began. “Where did the bottles go?” The children seemed to consider this a heartless act. Apparently the bottles were old friends, used or not. I’m quite fond of Perrier, so pretty soon I’d acquired enough new lemon-lime bottles to construct a scale, plus a few more as a demonstration of good will. Here, Kyra, for whom improvising is second nature, gives them all the attention a Perrier bottle could hope for. And she’s quite patient with her partner, who isn’t nearly as relaxed in this activity as Kyra is!

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