Sound Advice
S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g your material……..
One of the things you learn as a teacher over the years is to make economical use of ones material. Just as an idea can have a range of possible applications, so an activity can be ‘milked’ for what it can offer to the busy teacher. I am always saying to my students “ It’s not a matter of how many ideas and activities you have ‘under your belt’ but rather how you use and ‘progress’ an activity by coming at it from a number of different angles. Let’s take this simple chant:
One for the elephant
Two for the bear
Three for the monkey
Who goes there
- Chant the lines rhythmically as a class
- Use on of the lines (e.g. Who goes there) as an ostinato to company the rhyme
- Divide the children into four groups. Give each group one line. Children chant ‘their’ line in turn
- Layer the lines. Bring one group in at a time. Each group repeats their line until you bring them off
- Play the ‘conductor game’. Bring the groups in and out in different orders. Include silence
- Get one of the children to be the conductor – this ‘organisation’ of the lines is a form of composing
- Try 2-5 using a simple melody e.g. two notes such as G E (soh me)
- Clap the rhythm of one of the lines - can the children tell you which one you’re clapping?
- Clap the rhythm as a class (with words)
- Clap the rhythm as a class (no words)
- Decide on a different form of body percussion for each group e.g. One for the elephant (clap) Two for the bear (click) Three for the monkey (slap) Who goes there (stamp)
- Perform the lines with this body percussion
- Repeat 2-5 with body percussion
- Repeat 9-11 but this time transfer to instruments
- Write each of the lines on the board or on cards. Point to each in turn (sometimes repeating a line). The children clap the rhythm
- Line the children up in 4 lines one behind the other. Ask the person at the back to choose one of the lines to tap on the back of the person in front of him (this should be a silent activity!). Each person in turn taps the line they ‘receive’ and taps it on the back of the person in front of them. Can the person at the front clap the same rhythm that was ‘sent’. (This is a musical version of Chinese whispers and a rare silent activity in music!)
- Choose just the animal names (elephant, monkey, bear) and use the rhythms as ‘raw rhythmic material’ for a group composition
- Each group performs
- Listen and appraise – can you identify when and how the group used each of the animal name rhythms?
- How could they notate their ideas?
This material could last over a series of lessons and would involve the children in all the musical processes: listening and appraising, performing and composing – all out of a four line chant