Carmina Burana by Carl Orff is the perfect piece to listen for short and long sounds. I love the sharp rhythm patterns that start in measure 5 and repeat throughout the first couple of minutes. It is highlighted in this YouTube video (complete with sound and score!): CLICK HERE.

So what can you do with it in a short period of time?

First Class for 10 to 15 minutes

  • Listen to the beginning 2 minutes and 40 seconds of the piece with class
  • Ask what movements would go really well with the sounds they hear.
  • “Let’s try it out!”
  • “How about another movement?” (you can keep this part going for as many classes as the kids would like!)

Second Class for 10 to 15 minutes

  • Review chosen movements and music from last class
  • Now listen to it and ask kids to raise their hands when they hear the long sounds (such as in mm 10, 11 and 12)
  • Ask what movements kids can do to show when they hear the long sounds?
  • “Let’s try it out”
  • “How about another movement?” (you can keep this part going for as many classes as the kids would like!)

Third Class for 10 to 15 minutes

  • “Let’s show our short sounds in Note Knacks. Which one should we choose?” (Don’t worry if they choose the sixteenths or the eighths. The idea is only to be able to distinguish between long and short)
  • Determine number of short sounds we hear in the first phrase ~ put chosen blocks in a row in front of children to show them
  • “Where does the long sound go?” (the end), Ask which block can show the long sound? (They will most likely show the whole note. Again, that is fine.)
  • Put the long block at the end of the row of short sounds.
  • Do the same for the second phrase

At this point you can ask kids to work together to trace the blocks and show the 2 phrases on paper or you can leave it at that.

For older kids, showing the score will be fun, as the time signatures are quite cool! This piece is perfect for getting kids out of their comfort zone and seeing that a quarter does NOT always equal 1 beat!!

I hope you have a lot of fun with this lesson! Let me know how it goes by commenting below!