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3 engaging practice activities for your music classroom
Comments Off on 3 engaging practice activities for your music classroomRead on for ideas for how to use these engaging practice activities along with links to some examples across several concepts, available via the Music Teachers’ Digital Library (note, these are only accessible with a subscription).
The MTDL has a wealth of practice activities, detailed within concept strategies, but also setup as generic resources you can apply in any context, across rhythm, melody, metre and more.
You can search for these using the side menu tags and toggle options to narrow down what type of activity you need and at what stage.
We’ve also got them organised via main pages like this one for Ways to Practice Rhythm. This houses a collection for early, mid and late rhythm practice activities, as well as the various types – aural, visual, written & creative.
There’s similar pages set up for both Ways to Practice Melody and Ways to Practice Metre. So, let’s explore some example activities now.
Metre Practice Activity: Bar Improvisation
In this activity, students improvise two-beat rhythms to fill bars in abstract Duple Metre rhythms.
- Students are given an abstract 2-4 rhythm on the board.
- When the rhythm is written on the board, all students say the rhythm names while tapping the beat.
- Using a given rhythm set (e.g. Crotchets, Quavers & Crotchet Rests and Semiquavers), students take turns to improvise each bar that is missing two beats by individually saying rhythm names while the class continues keeping the beat.
Melodic Practice Activity: Student Melodic Sightreading
In this activity, students read (and create) abstract do re mi so patterns from students “being” the notes.
- The teacher invites students to come up to the front and face the students in a line – one student per note in the tone set being practiced.
- The first student on the left is do, the second from the left is re, the third from the left is mi and so on.
- The class must decide how best each student is positioned to show their note best e.g. if do sits crossed legged on the floor then re could be in a half kneel (kneeling with backside down onto heels), mi could be in an upright kneel and so on.
- Keeping a steady beat, the teacher points to, or lightly taps, students in turn (and rhythm if desired) creating melodic sightreading exercises for the class to sing back in solfa showing handsigns.
Rhythmic Practice Activity: Pass The Rhythm
In this activity, students sing known songs with the rhythm names and take it in turns to clap the rhythm on beats of the song.
- The class sit in a circle and sing a known song with the words and then in rhythm names, while tapping the beat on their knees.
- The class sings the song again, tapping the beat on their knees while the first student claps the rhythm on the first beat of the song, the student on their left claps the rhythm on the second beat of the song and so on.
- Continue around the circle until all students have had several turns.
Let the Music Teacher’s Digital Library (MTDL) offer you many more practice activities!
Happy exploring, everyone! – Deb
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Top 6 Tips for Kodály-Inspired Teaching: Rhythm Names
Comments Off on Top 6 Tips for Kodály-Inspired Teaching: Rhythm NamesRhythm Names, also known as time names, rhythm syllables etc, are functional rhythm! Rhythm names give a VERBAL rhythmic language that sounds correct when spoken.
This means you are learning the SPELLING for rhythm so when you hear a rhythm you know how to SPELL (write/say) it.
Rhythm syllables were developed so that students could have a musical way to read rhythm.
The idea is that this system could get away from mathematical counting (which feels unmusical) while still showing durations and relationships between notes, so let’s explore!
DEB’S TOP 6 WAYS TO IMPROVE MUSICIANSHIP WITH RHYTHM NAMES!
1: Rhythm names are real.
By far the biggest win they have going for them is that rhythm names actually “sound” like the rhythm they represent and last for the same amount of time. For example, “to-o” for a minim/half note and “ti-ti” for a set of quavers/eighth notes.
2: Rhythm names are relevant.They give you a tangible thing to say and think for rhythm, just as solfa – do re mi etc. – give a tangible thing to say or think when representing pitch. This is a game-changer in an ensemble rehearsal for helping everyone read, count and understand rhythm.
3: Rhythm names are internal.In the same way as they offer a tangible language for rhythm, this also means you’ve got a way to internalise (or inner hear) rhythm, ideal for sightreading or silent practice!
This Rhythm Names Rhythm Set Guide is available in full within the Music Teacher’s Digital Library 4: Rhythm names are empowering.
Have you ever gone to sightread a new piece and not known where to start? Maybe you’re trying your hardest to practice a difficult bar or two but you’re not sure how to unpack what’s causing the stumble. Separating rhythm out in this way, or making it the first thing you try when sightreading is a great start.
5: Rhythm names are revision-ready.They can also help you recognise and transcribe rhythmic patterns! Understanding what the rhythmic grouping is called and having a naming system to use, gives you the tools to say, count and keep it in your memory banks for when you hear (and need to write it!) again.
6: Rhythm names are powerful.Overall, they can aid in lots of music-making skills, including reading, writing, memorisation, dictation, practice, and performance!
There’s plenty of ready-made activities, songs and games in the Music Teacher’s Digital Library to get rhythm names rollicking in your spaces.
Happy rhythm-naming, everyone! – Deb
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Analysis Series: Repetition & Transition
Comments Off on Analysis Series: Repetition & TransitionRead on for examples for teaching & practicing repetition & transition, along with links to some great activities, available via the Music Teachers’ Digital Library (note, some are free, but others are only accessible with a subscription).
Repetition
As the name suggests, this is where musical material (e.g. idea, phrase, section etc.) occurs more than once, or is repeated.
Identified by the Victorian Curriculum & Assessment Authority (VCAA) as a compositional device, repetition is “a musical pattern or idea is established and used again”.
It is worth noting that it differs from another compositional device— variation—defined by VCAA as “changes/modifications to established musical ideas and patterns, while retaining significant recognisable features”.
Access the full list of techniques and processes that could be used to explore repetition from VCAA on page 16 of the VCE Music Study Design 2023-2027.Repetition Example
Work: ‘I Am the Doctor’
Composer/Creator: Murray Gold
Performer: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Album: Doctor Who Series 5: Original Television Soundtrack (Silva Screen Records, 2010)- a series of repeated patterns feature in the harmonic accompaniment of this excerpt – the first pattern is established on strings and repeats, with syncopated stabs on woodwind as another repeated motif enters, retaining the same crisp articulation to create a sense of excitement and energy
- the second repeated accompaniment pattern introduced later in the excerpt (at 1’41”) brings a plucked guitar to the foreground of the texture, building momentum
- the first main melodic idea, a sustained and noble series of chords, is presented in upper brass and is a repeating melody that is heard soaring above the texture, before returning in repeated form with gradually increasing dynamics and density of texture
Transition
VCAA identifies transition as ‘the shift from one musical idea or section to another.’
Taking VCAA’s definition, we then have to identify and explore transition as a passage that links one section of music to the next, sometimes introducing new musical material.However, transition also occurs through changing key, modulation or using effects such as snare drum rolls, vocal riser transitions or more.
Access the full list of techniques and processes that could be used to explore transition from VCAA on page 16 of the VCE Music Study Design 2023-2027.Transition Example
Work: ‘Enterprising Young Men’
Composer/Creator: Michael Giacchino
Performer: Hollywood Studio Symphony
Album: Star Trek: Music from the Motion Picture (Varèse Sarabande, 2009)- the main theme is first established in this excerpt on flute and is then presented by the full orchestra in brass and strings, before entering a transitory passage with dramatic changes in phrasing from 2’18”, with a sudden shift in texture, instrumentation and dynamics
- during the transition passage, at 2’43”, a repeated pattern from upper strings establishes the tempo of the new section, adding a suspenseful and exciting character as a new melodic idea is introduced at 2’48”, building to the end of the excerpt
Let the Music Teacher’s Digital Library (MTDL) offer you many more listening activities & sample answers!
Happy exploring, everyone! – Deb
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Ways to gamify melody in your music classroom.
Comments Off on Ways to gamify melody in your music classroom.Melody and pitch is the cornerstone for a lot of what our students need to do aurally, and it fosters several skills at once.
This means there’s a bunch of different ways we can approach practicing it in our Kodály-inspired spaces which increases the likelihood ALL of your students will have the time and means to understand melody.
So, here’s a few suggestions for gamifying melody in your classroom, available via the Music Teachers’ Digital Library (note, some are free, but others are only accessible with a subscription).
Poison Solfa Knockout
Let’s start now with this generic practice activity which gamifies melody by explicit design!
Step 1. Choose a poison note out of all known notes e.g. so
Step 2. Students stand in their places with their eyes closed.
Step 3. The teacher sings a note (either do re mi or so) and students show the handsign of the note they heard, unless it is the poison note in which case they put their hands behind their backs.
Step 4. If correct, the student remains standing. If incorrect they sit down but continue playing the game and when next correct they can stand up again.
Step 5. To increase difficulty, the teacher sings two notes for students to show and so on.
Step 6. Last student standing is the winner.
Brodie!
This song is great for practicing so as well as just being loads of fun!
- Students stand in circle facing inwards. One student moves around the inside of the circle facing the other students.
- On the words ‘run-ning in the’ tap rhythm on knees
- On the words ‘park it’s’ clap rhythm
- On the words ‘Brodie! Brodie!’ student in middle and person they are facing clap right hands together then clap own hands then clap left hands together and clap own hand (pat-a-cake). All other students clap the rhythm.
Once students know how to play the game they can:
- Sing in solfa while playing game
- Sing in solfa INNER HEARING (link to resource) all sos
- Sing in solfa INNER HEARING (link to resource) everything EXCEPT the sos
- NOW it gamifies melody!
The steps change with the following phrases, so why not watch the video to see them in action!
do re mi so Bingo
This activityis perfect for gamifying melody, as students use bingo cards to practice recognising do re mi so
Hand out laminated bingo cards & a whiteboard marker or 9 tokens to each student.
Teacher or a student claps a rhythm from the master sheet (which is then crossed off from the master sheet).
Students clap the rhythm back (no rhythm names).
Students mark (with marker or token) the rhythm off if on their sheet.
Class say rhythm with rhythm names as a teacher/student writes on the board to check.
Note: To win BINGO a student must have any three across, down, or diagonally or for the longer version – all!
And remember…
Practical games and activities like those above use singing and teach aural perception and musical memory.
The takeaway is that as well as being lots of fun, your classroom is also inclusive and open to any musical (or non-musical) background of your students.
Happy gaming, everyone! – Deb
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Top 6 Tips for Kodály-Inspired Teaching: Inner Hearing
Comments Off on Top 6 Tips for Kodály-Inspired Teaching: Inner Hearing“We should read music in the same way that an educated adult will read a book: in silence but imagining the sound.”
~Zoltan KodályInner hearing (or audiation) is the process of thinking sound. It is the ability to hear sounds when they do not exist out loud.
In other words, inner hearing is the ability to “see what you hear” (be able to imagine music you hear written on the staff) as well as “hear what you see” (be able to inner hear the music you see written on a staff).
Kodály-inspired teachers consider inner hearing one of the most important skills for all musicians to have. Alongside this is the fact that inner hearing is an extremely useful teaching technique!
DEB’S TOP 6 WAYS TO IMPROVE MUSICIANSHIP WITH INNER HEARING!
1: Inner hearing through movement.
Games such as I’ve Got a Car help students understand what inner hearing (or singing inside your head) actually means. They perform movements as they’re inner hearing, which supports this.
2: Inner hearing in halves.Call and Response type songs such as Hill and Gully Rider can be great activities using inner hearing, with half the class singing the call out loud while the other half inner hears it. Then they swap halves. With practice, the entire group can move to all singing one part out loud and inner hearing the other.
3: Inner hearing with repetition.After students know a song really well, choose a word (or words) for students to sing inside their heads. Begin with songs with repeated words e.g. sing the song Tideo, singing the word “Tideo” inside their heads (inner hearing it) every time it is in the song.
4: Inner hearing particular pitches.
A great way to teach and practice new pitches, is to isolate them via inner hearing.
Or, as an extension of the activity above, use notes that are repeated e.g. sing the song Catch a Flea, but they are only allowed to sing pitches once out loud. If the are repeated they must be inner heard. If they were singing the song this way with the words they would be singing “One” out loud on do, then inner hearing “two, three,” in their heads as these are also on the note do.
5: Inner hearing with instruments.Once students are familiar with the concept of inner hearing, you can use it in a variety of settings. For instance, as part of your warm-ups in an ensemble. Instruct students to play through a warm-up scale or exercise, and select a specific pitch to be inner heard.
You could even control this in the moment, by having a hand gesture or signal for ‘out loud’ and a different one for ‘inner hear’.
6: Inner Hearing visually.Another terrific musicianship-extender once the concept of inner hearing has been established is visual recognition of a song from its melody being shown in handsigns. The teacher can handsign a known song, melody or passage and have the class inner hear and guess what it is.
There’s plenty of other ready-made activities and games in the Music Teacher’s Digital Library to get inner hearing happening in your spaces.
Happy inner hearing, everyone! – Deb
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Top 10 Videos for Clever Echo
Comments Off on Top 10 Videos for Clever Echo
In order for students to feel engaged with their learning, and understand whether they are progressing, they need immediate feedback. At the same time, teachers benefit from activities that allow instant assessment of student understanding.
Thankfully, the aural Kodály-inspired approach of clever echo does both brilliantly. If you’re interested in investigating clever echo a little further, click here.
The other great thing about clever echo is that students (and teachers) can get used to similar formats and ‘patterns’ for each concept, as their basic steps are the same each time.
To give you a bit of a starting point, here are 10 videos that combine teaching, learning and the application of all that—theory into practice.
DEB’S TOP 10 DSMusic Clever Echo Practice Videos
Start with a few for rhythm.
Try beginning with the concept of time signatures –
why we use them and what they tell us, starting with simple time.Then get stuck into intervals.
Move on to melody.
Get cracking with chords, chord progressions & clever echo in canon.
How can DSMusic help?
If these ten videos aren’t quite enough to cover your music practice needs,
remember there’s a bunch more available for free, so carve out some time to
deep-dive on the DSMusic Vimeo & YouTube channels!Happy watching! – Deb
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3 melody-based instrumental activities for your rehearsals
Comments Off on 3 melody-based instrumental activities for your rehearsalsRead on for ideas for how to use these melody-based activities in lessons, rehearsals or practical classes on instruments.
These activities are adapted from singing-based versions available via the Music Teachers’ Digital Library (note, only accessible with a subscription).
Melodic Practice Activity: Forwards & Backwards Melody
In this activity, students play the melody or passage of a known song, given on the board in stick notation, forwards then backwards.
Step 1. A known melody or passage is on the board in stick notation (rhythm and solfa).
Step 2. Students identify the melody or passage and sing it with the words, then in rhythm names, while keeping a steady beat, before playing it on their instruments.
Step 3. Students then play the melody or passage again, forwards then backwards.
Melodic Practice Activity: Question & Answer Melodic Composition
In this activity, students compose a four beat melodic answer to a question set by the teacher or taken from a known song, melody or passage.
Step 1. Sing a phrase or passage that has a clear question and answer, and look at the ‘question’ and the ‘answer’ portions.
Step 2. The teacher writes a four beat ‘question’ on the board which students sightread on instruments.
- Step 3. Students then create their own four beat answer to this question using only Crotchets, Quavers & Crotchet Rests + do re mi in Bb concert pitch
- Step 4. Working in pairs, students take turns either keeping a steady beat or playing the question followed by their own answer. They then discuss whether it is a satisfactory answer (feels finished etc.) and if not, how to improve it.
- Step 5. All students then play the question while the teacher keeps a steady beat and selected students play their answers.
Melodic Practice Activity: Melodic Snakes
In this activity, students improvise notes to add to a melody created as a melodic snake composition.
Step 1. Students sit in a circle, keeping a very slow steady beat.
Step 2. Teacher sings (or plays) two notes (using only do re mi or so) on a neutral syllable e.g. d r in Bb concert pitch. The group repeats as a whole by playing on instruments.
Step 3. The student sitting on the teacher’s left plays the teacher’s two notes and adds two of their own e.g. d r m r
Step 4. The group repeats all four notes as a whole.
Step 5. This activity continues around the circle with each student adding two more notes to the snake, until the notes can no longer be remembered or are played incorrectly, when the game begins again.
Students can be asked to play the last four beats of melody at any time – this is a great way to keep students who are further round the circle engaged.
Let the Music Teacher’s Digital Library (MTDL) offer you many more melody-based practice activities!
Happy practicing, everyone! – Deb
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3 simple song & canon activities for your music classroom
Comments Off on 3 simple song & canon activities for your music classroomRead on for ideas for how to use these simple songs & canons along with links to some great activities, available via the Music Teachers’ Digital Library (note, some are free, but others are only accessible with a subscription).
Speak Kind Words
Let’s have a look at a new take on an old classic—Speak Kind Words which uses the melody and rhythm of Hot Cross Buns.
Use the available audio, which is pre-recorded with me singing the song with the words, in solfa and in rhythm names.
You can also expand the activity possibilities with the ready-to-print flashcards.
Within the downloadable PDF you can how this song can be used to prepare or practice concepts. Give this tired tune some new life with the Speak Kind Words lyrics!
Movement Canon
I love teaching my students to sing canons.
Often this can lead to really fun and collaborative opportunities, as well as ratcheting up the challenging aspects of concepts for practice.
As a great entry point to canons, let’s start with Canon Hunting.
It’s a simple, four-part canon using only do re mi and so along with crotchets, quavers and crotchet rests.
Start your students off learning this one to get their heads around the concept of canon, before progressing onto a movement canon activity like this one.
- Divide the class into two separate circles, one in each half of the space or room.
- Students in the first group begin singing the canon and walking (on the beat) in a clockwise direction around the circle.
- When this first group/circle begin singing the second line of the canon (2.) the second group/circle begin singing the song in canon (from the beginning, 1.) while walking (on the beat) in a clockwise direction around the circle.
- When each group/circle finish the canon and begin singing it through again they change the direction they are walking in.
Watch The Water
Are you looking for a great way to practice so and triple metre or 3-4 time?
Well, I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Watch The Water, even though I wrote it!
It comes with a flashcards set as well—perfect for practicing crotchets, quavers and crotchet rests and do re mi so —simple and engaging!
There’s also three lots of pre-recorded audio with this resource too, which is ideal for providing a pitch reference for students, or to help you out when you’ve got no voice left after a full day!
Let the Music Teacher’s Digital Library (MTDL) offer you many more simple songs & canons.
Happy exploring, everyone! – Deb
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Analysis Series: Contrast & Variation
Comments Off on Analysis Series: Contrast & VariationRead on for examples for teaching & practicing contrast and variation, along with links to some great activities, available via the Music Teachers’ Digital Library (note, some are free, but others are only accessible with a subscription).
Contrast
Identified by the Victorian Curriculum & Assessment Authority (VCAA) as a compositional device, “contrast is achieved where significant new musical material is introduced or where significant changes are made to established musical patterns”.
Access the full list of techniques and processes that could be used to explore contrast from VCAA on page 16 of the VCE Music Study Design 2023-2027.
Other ways VCAA suggest you consider ‘contrast’ include the role it plays in the structure of music—or the organisation of music on a micro or macro level—and when comparing performances of the same work for listening and interpretation. Lastly, ‘contrast’ is a key compositional device when creating your own music.Contrast Example
Work: ‘The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)’
Composer/Creator: John Williams
Performer: London Symphony Orchestra
Album: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Universal Music Group, 2018)Instrumentation
- this excerpt begins with low strings and percussion, before the entire brass section enters with the main melody, strings and woodwinds adding flourishes, contrasting with the section from 0’47” where the brass completely disappear and are replaced by woodwinds and strings
Melody/melodic contour
- the opening features repeated notes, with the main melody remaining steady but very fragmented, before contrasting ascending and descending melodic movements, while the section from 0’47” features a melodic contour that rapidly ascends and descends in pitch across string and woodwind registers, with fragmentation that has slightly greater length and less definition
Variation
Variation, as defined by the VCAA, differs from contrast: “variation is changes/modifications to established musical ideas and patterns, while retaining significant recognisable features”.
Taking VCAA’s definition, we then have to identify and explore variation as when a section or idea returns but is not identical to when last it was heard. Particularly, that some components of the section or idea are the same or similar, so we can recognise it, however that other aspects are altered to create variety.
Access the full list of techniques and processes that could be used to explore variation from VCAA on page 16 of the VCE Music Study Design 2023-2027.Variation Example
Work: ‘Davy Jones’
Composer/Creator: Hans Zimmer
Performer: Conducted by Pete Anthony
Album: Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest (Walt Disney Records, 2006)Instrumentation
- the melodic idea is presented first on a celeste-type or music box-type instrument which has a mournful and innocent character, before a variation occurs and the same idea is performed by organ, shifting the character and mood considerably to become more aggressive and sinister
Dynamics
- the melodic idea on the music box-type instrument and accompanying strings are presented at a soft or piano dynamic, with a sudden and dramatic variation to a loud or forte dynamic as the organ enters
Phrasing
- the melodic idea on the music box-type instrument has fairly consistent phrasing, with accompanying string lines connected in a smooth and legato way, varying when the organ enters to instead have the phrasing punctuated by heavy low brass/organ thudding attacks
Let the Music Teacher’s Digital Library (MTDL) offer you many more listening activities & sample answers!
Happy analysing, everyone! – Deb
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Ways to gamify metre in your music classroom.
Comments Off on Ways to gamify metre in your music classroom.A real strength of the Kodály-inspired approach is that it is includes kinaesthetic, auditory, and visual learning modes in every aspect of teaching.
This means there’s multiple ways to deliver concepts, broadening the learning opportunities for students who are more inclined to a particular approach.
So, here’s a few suggestions for gamifying metre that demonstrate these learning modes. The activities are available via the Music Teachers’ Digital Library (note, these are only accessible with a subscription).
Give Me A Hut
Let’s start now with Give Me A Hut, a traditional Australian folksong, with actions created by me. It’s a fun way to unconsciously prepare and practice triple metre for the lower levels. Upper levels love it too as a brain break for those long Friday afternoon doubles!
Students sit in a single circle holding their hands out in front of the people beside them. Their left hand should face up under the person’s hand on their left and their right hand should face down on top of the person’s hand on their right.
Beats 1 to 6: using your right hand, tap your neighbour’s left hand then your right knee, your left knee, under your left hand then tap on top of your left hand twice.
Beats 7 to 12: using your left hand, tap your neighbour’s right hand then your left knee, your right knee, under your right hand then tap on top of your right hand twice. Repeat to the end of the song.Bounce The Ball
This song is great for introducing and practicing the 2/4 or duple metre.
- Students stand in circle facing inwards with enough space between each student for a bounce pass. One student holds a small ball.
- On the word ‘bounce’ the student holding the ball bounces it on the floor in front of the student on their left (a “bounce pass”).
- On the word ‘the’ this student catches the ball.
- On the word ‘ball’ this student then bounce passes to the next student on their left—this student catches the ball, on beat four (a crotchet rest).
The steps change with the following phrases, so why not watch the video to see them in action!
Metre Build It Up
This generic metre practice activity is pure gamification! Students create the rhythmic patterns of known Duple Metre songs using flashcards with individual rhythms, clearly showing the metre of the song by the placements of the rhythms. The trick is they’re competing in teams against the clock!
Step 1. The students sing a variety of known songs.
Step 2. Divide students in teams and provide each team with the set of flashcards here.
Step 3. The teacher announces the name of the song and starts a stopwatch. The teams begin to create the rhythm of that song using the cards, clearly dividing the beats into correct bars.
Step 4. The clock is stopped and all teams cease working when one team thinks they have it.
Step 5. The team that thinks they have it must clap and sing the rhythm names of the song. If correct, they win, if incorrect, the clock is started again and the activity continues until one team has the song correctly.
And remember…
Using songs like those above to introduce and reinforce different metres is key in a Kodaly-inspired approach.
This allows multiple practice opportunities–the aim being to consolidate the different metres by engaging with them in a variety of formats.
Happy gaming, everyone! – Deb