5 More Ways To Save Time!

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Awhile back I wrote a blog called 5 Simple Ways to Create More Time in Your Day!. I was so excited about it that I created a whole session ~ Teaching Music Basics When Time Is Against You!! around it for the Texas Educators Music Conference! So, in this spirit, I give you 5 MORE ways to squeeze more out of your day!!

1. Using the Hello Extended Lesson ~ In this lesson you can add even more elements to reinforce concepts you are covering throughout the year! Instead of having kids only say or sing their names, they can say them using a fortissimo or pianissimo voice, a presto or adagio voice, etc… They can clap their name or beat it on a hand drum that they pass around Etc… The possibilities are endless!!
2. Take a lesson and spread it over many classes ~ For the last 2 newsletters, I gave you lessons that you could easily build on. For both lessons, you could do 1 step per class to spread it out or continue to change it until it becomes its own piece. As you cover more concepts and elements that can be added to music, kids can feel inspired to change it as it goes!
3. Utilize TALA for any and all songs to interject into compositions and other creative activities ~ I learned about TALA from Mary Knysh a few summers ago and have been using it ever since! Essentially it is creating rests within a piece of music. You play or sing a piece and when it is appropriate, you add a count of 8 or however many beats of rests you would like. Use your hand flipping it back and forth to indicate these beats of rest. At first, use it as rests, but then add in improvisation or a written composition within that time. Again, this is perfect for taking a rhythm and changing its dynamics, pitch or timbre. Use it over and over and build on it each time!
4. Use trivia questions whenever possible ~ morning announcements, to gain passage into class or to line up, etc… ~ this is perfect for a quick assessment! What is the time signature or such and such piece? What composer wrote ….?
5. Echo patterns when kids get instruments or clean up! ~ Sing or chant a pattern and have kids echo it back. The busier the kids are, the less time they have to fool around!!

4 Simple Music Activities For Parents!

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In thinking about how we can “build our brand” as a vital member of a child’s education team, I thought about parents and how we can better connect with them. My hope is that if we give them simple ideas to try at home with their kids, they will not only have fun and bond with their children, they will also have an opportunity to see the benefits of music firsthand. There is study after study that espouses the benefits of what we teach, but parents think that one must be born with “the gift” in order to participate and create. Let’s obliterate this idea!

SIDE NOTE: Presently I am in the middle of the book This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Levitin is passage in it that talks about a friend who visited an African village. When he was asked to join in the celebration with song, he declined stating that he does not sing. The villagers looked perplexed and said that if he can walk and talk, he can sing and dance! I LOVE THIS!!!

So, in this spirit, I offer you 5 simple activities that parents can do with their kids at home:

1. Encourage parents to sing with their children….it doesn’t matter what! They can sing along to their favorite tunes, sing songs they remember from their childhood or make up songs as they go. Assure parents that created songs do not have to be fancy ~ no one is there to critique them, and the words can be 1 sentence repeated or any sentence put to music. I have a whole song that repeats the words “the piggies and the toes and the toes and the piggies” …..great music it is not, but my daughter and I have fun with it, so who cares?

2. Encourage parents to dance, as well! We love our Amazon Echo! Every night before bed, my family has a mini dance party. My daughter’s favorite song at the moment is “Faith” by Stevie Wonder from the movie SING. If they want to take it a step further and add old scarves to add to their dance, then go for it!!

3. For little ones, utilize their bead maze, like the one shown above, by moving your voice higher as a bead moves higher ~ or lower, if the bead is sliding down. Of course, one must hold the bead as one sings, otherwise it will go too fast. Eventually a little one will do it on their own!!

4. Play a game! Today I checked my email only to find a fun lesson by Lynn Kleiner (https://musicrhapsody.com/). She took out her sopranino recorder and when she played, her students were to play their xylophones. I love this! I often do starts and stops with kids, but never in this way. Parents can make a game out of it at home and play any “instrument” they have in the house…..from homemade drums or egg shakers to a wooden spoon and a pot….and have kids move or play another instrument while parents play and stop when they stop.
a. Parents can utilize instruments they bought their children but have no idea what to do with them!!
b. Have kids just learning the recorder be the leader so that when they play, the parent moves

 

GMEA Part 2: The Pig’s Rondo

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If you haven’t had a chance to read The True Story of The Little Pigs As told by Jon Scieszka , here is your chance! It is hilarious!! It is the story of the three little pigs from the point of view of the wolf…..he claims he was framed and that it was a simple misunderstanding over a cold and some sugar… It is not only a fun book to read, it is perfect for highlighting points of view and how instrumentation makes a difference in a piece of music!
Here is a lesson that can create a bridge between you and the classroom teachers while answering the question “Does instrument choice make a difference when composing?”

NOTE: Throughout the year, I bet you have highlighted instrumentation in pieces that you have listened to with the kids. You can either review those pieces and what was discussed or choose new ones.

Objective: Create a composition:

  • A Section ~ using “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” and “Little pig, little pig, are you in?”
  • B, C and D Sections created by small groups

Methods:

  1. Read both books
  2. Discuss similarities and differences
    • Why point of view matters ~ can link to school incidents and why teachers need to hear from all who are involved
  3. Have kids notate “Little pig, little pig, let me in!!”/ “Little pig, little pig, are you in?”
    • (M I M I | I I I Z)
  4. Discuss the difference in tone between these 2 very similar phrases
    • Have kids choose different instruments for each
    • Discuss why instruments like the triangle may not be the best choice for the angrier version
    • Decide on order and put them back to back ~ this will be your A Section
  5. Next, put kids into small groups and have each create a 4 mm composition paying special attention to instrumentation.
    • Each group can create a story around their composition and choose instruments and creative elements accordingly. Example: one composition could be about the first pig running around his house in fear. What is his point of view at this point? What is he thinking? Does it make sense to use short sounds or long ones? Several or just a few? Would it be loud or quiet? What instrument in the classroom will create the desired effect? Etc…. Each group needs to have this discussion and choose how they want to proceed. Then when they present their composition to the group, they can explain either before or after it is performed what it is about. (Can the others guess?)
    • Each group will create the B, C, D etc… Sections for the piece, as it will be in rondo form. (Discuss as a class what order they like. Also, it doesn’t have to be in rondo form. Maybe they want to put it in a specific sequence ~ its up to them!!)
  6. Perform the final composition!

I am about to start this process with my second grade for the spring concert. I will share the final piece! …..and please do the same! If you try this lesson or any others, please let us know how it goes and post at #noteknackslessons!

The Wild Rumpus

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Where the Wild Things Are By Maurice Sendak

Objective: Create a short composition to fill in picture only portion of book with no words~ what does a wild rumpus sound like?

      1. Ask the kids “what sounds would you hear at a wild rumpus?”
        • Growling
        • Sneering
        • Howling etc….
      2. How long would each sound last and would it be repeated?
        • Example 1) growling could be the length of the grey (we are in Phase 1 and so there is no beat counting. You simply drag your finger across while one makes a growling sound and it ends when your finger comes to the end of the Note Knacks block or magnet.)
        • Example 2) Same thing as above, but a student may choose several yellows in a row to represent sneering. Child makes sound while you drag your finger across the Note Knacks block or magnet.
        • Remember the sound needs to start when you cue and it continues until you come to the end of the Note Knack.
      3. Stack them to create a polyphonic A section
        • Next ask students what instruments are in the classroom that sound like growling, sneering, etc… and replace voice with instruments
        • Try it out and make adjustments as necessary.
        • Because there are many parts playing at once, use a rhythm stick to conduct. Lay it flat against page and drag it across all parts at same time. Parts will come in as needed.
        • This will become your A Section.
      2. Divide class into 4 groups and have each create a sound and choose a length for that sound
        • These will become your B, C, D and E Sections.
      3. Play the class composition in Rondo Form
      4. Have class record it by tracing Note Knacks on sentence strips to create a class piece!

 

Mindfulness In The Music Classroom

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“Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” – Mindful.org

Last Saturday I attended a workshop by Brenda Barr on this topic. It was perfect timing as the holiday season is upon us and things get super crazy, but it also got me thinking about our classes and music in general. It can be useful, not only to calm down a class or a particular student, but also in composition activities and evaluating others’ works.

In our classes, how can we utilize this technique to encourage our students to be more thoughtful ~ mindful ~ of the work they create while also seeing it in others’ works?

Music….great music….occurs when a series of sounds come together in various ways to craft something beautiful, thought provoking, inspiring, etc… Composers are “mindful” of each sound they put on the staff (for the most part) and how those sounds work together. Our job, as teachers, is to encourage our students to do the same ~ to think about what sounds they are placing together and what expressive elements they can use to provoke a particular thought or feeling.

A great place to start is in the first few minutes of class! In the workshop, Barr spoke about utilizing our senses to get in the moment. We can begin a “mindful minute” where we stop and be present for 60 seconds. Kids are encouraged to focus on the their breathing and clear their minds. This reminded me of when I taught in an elementary school; I would start every 3rd -5th class with breathing exercises. I found that it not only got students ready for singing, but also it helped the class calm down and get ready for the lesson…..as it did for me. Once everyone is calm, I could begin my lesson.

Composition is different than putting sounds down on paper. In the beginning it is important for young children to understand the concept, but once that is in place, the next step is for them to compose~ to put together in a thoughtful way. How do we do this? We model it.

We can go through the composition process together like in this lesson or we can show kids our work and go through how we do it (look for that process next week). Either way, it is important to show kids that there is a process ~ composition doesn’t mean to choose some sounds, slap them on a sentence strip or staff and call it a day. A composer cares what goes down on the page.

Once it is on the page, it is important to evaluate it. Did I communicate my ideas effectively? Do my listeners understand what I was trying to accomplish? Creating a Composer’s Chair it the perfect way to answer these questions. It is during this time that an audience can ask questions and make the composer think about his/ her work. Of course, in the end, it is up to the composer, but feedback is always helpful!

Stay tuned for this process……

Let us know what you think below!!

Photo credit:Foter.com

Shoo Fly Part 2 ~ Separating Eighths in 2nd??

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In second grade we figured out the rhythm to Shoo Fly. We clapped it both with saying the words and without. We then used NK Magnets to show our rhythm!

When we did this, we had to talk about syllables and that for every syllable, there needs to be a note ~ of course we did not get into the exceptions… 🙂 How many sounds do you hear for the first phrase? (Fly’s in the buttermilk, Shoo, Fly, Shoo). They immediately understood that each word was one syllable and therefore represented one note, but when we got to buttermilk, there needed to be some discussion. This, of course, is what I love about teaching! We talked about it being 1 word, but 3 syllables. We had to clap it in order to figure it out. Ahhhh….I could see the light bulbs go off!! ~ each syllable = one note. SO when we put a magnet under each syllable, it made sense…..and was reinforced when they wrote a note under each. We did the first phrase together, but I had them fill the rest out themselves. As you can see in the photo, the eighths are separated…blasphemy!!!

Now, before you freak out completely, know that the following week we will talk about how and WHY we bar them….and I will show them the written music.

I know some of you are still skeptical ~ how could I separate the sacred bond between 2 eighths or worse….4 sixteenths???

Simple. Think of how you learned how to read ~ each letter represented a sound. Teachers would never dream of teaching each word in its entirety; can you imagine having to learn a ton of sight words without ever learning how to figure out how to read for yourself? Although this isn’t the perfect analogy, it still holds merit. Kids must understand that a bar only joins sounds together, it doesn’t change the music. They must learn that one sound = one note. This helps them do that. When you take a closer look, this child wrote one note for Darling. Because I had them do it on their own, one of two things happened: 1. she saw that each phrase ended with a half note and decided that must be correct or 2. she didn’t clap it out, as it is one word, so it must be one note. For me, this further shows that we must teach that one single standing note needs to be under each syllable.

Also, why are we teaching them the short hand before the long hand? In math, common practice is to show 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 8 BEFORE they show them 2 x 4 = 8. Multiplication is the shorthand.

CRAZY, I know, but I encourage you to take this out for a spin…see what happens. You will be amazed at how much better your kids will understand notation.

Let me know what you’re thinking below!

Mixing It Up With “Shoo Fly”

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The first graders have been working on long and short, so this week I wanted to offer an activity that they could not only have some fun with, but could also apply what we have been talking about. The 2 goals I had in mind were to first, identify the long sounds in the song and second, change where those long sounds occurred. As is typical, the long sounds were at the end of a each phrase, so I thought it would be fun to see what it would sound like if we put a long sound somewhere else. The kids and I experimented with a long sound under almost every syllable! We had a blast! …and a lovely side effect was that it offered an opportunity to discuss the “one note per syllable” concept!

* Choose a song they know well and sing as is ~ I chose Shoo Fly because it is well known and it offers a variety in note lengths. I can see using this song for lessons to come!!
* Separate lyrics by syllables ~ (4/4 is easier). (this is also a lesson on syllables… your welcome regular ed teachers!

* Demo with first line ~ “Fly’s in the but-ter-milk shoo fly shoo”

  1. Where’s the longest note?
  2. Place a cutout of a long rectangle (like a NK) under the longest note
  3. Drag your finger across as you sing the note. Sound sustains for as long as you are dragging your finger
  4. What if we changed it? What if we made another syllable a long note?

 

* Place the long rectangle under that syllable you want to change. As you can see, first we sung it under “milk” then we put it under “fly

* Again, drag your finger across as you sing the note. Sound sustains for as long as you are dragging your finger.

* Try it with another syllable (This is where kids might try to put it under “butter”. I asked my student today if she could tell me how many claps in the word “butter”. She said 2, so how many sounds does it get? 2… and we went from there!!

* Send kids off into small groups or use as center activity with the all of the lyrics on a page.

* The directions were for each kid to put a blue line under the syllable they wanted to be long. Here are some examples!

Getting Back To Centers: A Listening Activity

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This activity you can do as a center, in small groups or as a whole class. For the center activity, you will need listening center equipment, which can be expensive, so opting to do this as a whole class or in small groups makes sense! The goal here is to take the skill of identifying long and short and to put it in the “real world”. We’ve been exploring long and short movements, sounds and objects to help solidify the concept, but what does it sound like in a piece of music? Click below to find out!

OBJECTIVE:

  • Students will identify the long sounds in a piece of music

MATERIALS:

  • Music, preferably one that you have been working on and is familiar to them
  • CD player or any device to play music (…or you can play it, if you would like J)
  • Print out of words for those that can read

METHODS:

  1. Review meaning of long and short
    1. It helps if you use hand gestures to distinguish between long and short sounds. I move my arms in a continuous circle for long sounds and fist bursts into a stretched out hand for short sounds.
  2. Sing piece of music that you have chosen
    1. Our church choir is singing Mungu Ni Mwema With God Is So Good By Mark Burrows
  3. Play again and ask kids to listen to it, rather than sing it
    1. Ask kids to put in their detective ears and to listen for the really long sounds
  4. Tell kids you are going to play it again, but this time kids can:
    1. Raise their hands when they hear a very long sound (for those that can’t read)
    2. Circle the word that has a very long sound (for those that can read)
  5. Play it a fourth time (and as many times after that as you would like) for kids to be able to check their work.
  6. For kids that are having a hard time, I used the hand gestures to “show” the sound. This helps solidify the concept for all learners.

ASSESSMENT:

  • Did students identify the correct long sounds by either raising their hands or circling the correct word?

POSSIBILITIES:

  • Once kids have gotten the hang of it, you can ask kids to raise their hands when listening to new music or for the old favorites that you sing throughout the year!

 

A Long And Short Scavenger Hunt

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After your kids have had some fun with the Name Game Extended Lesson, now we can take it even a step further!!! In this lesson, students will be on the hunt for long and short objects that they can find around the room. Not only will they have a blast doing this, they will be learning how to compare length (your welcome math teachers!!) and linking it sound!

Objectives:

  • Students will learn how to identify long and short objects
  • Students will learn how to sing a defined length of sound

 

Materials:

  • Several objects with different lengths scattered around your classroom

Methods:

    1. Review the Name Game Extended Lesson that they have done earlier and ask kids to define long and short
      1. How did we show a long sound? Short sounds?
    2. Tell students that now we are going to look for objects around the classroom that can be considered long or short (it helps if they are thin, as well, but not necessary)
      1. You can bring in items, if you need to
  • Give them about 3-5 minutes to find 3 items

 

    1. Come back to a circle
    2. Have each child share the item or items they found and ask them to tell the class if they are long or short.
    3. Choose a long item and ask students, “If this item had sound, would it have a long sound or a short sound?” (Answer: long sound)
  • Teach the children how to determine the length of sound:
    1. Hold the item in one hand
    1. Place one finger of the other hand at the left-end of the item. (Reading left to right)
    2. While dragging your finger across the item, make a “LA” sound. (The sound should be continuous.)
    3. When your finger has reached the end of the item, the sound stops.
    4. Demonstrate using a long item.
    1. Do the same with a short item.

 

  1. You will want to demonstrate fast and slow so when children do this, they use a constant speed. (I have found children will generally choose a speed and stick with it.)Ask the children to choose one of their items and to do the same when it is their turn.

Assessment:

  • Can students define long and short?
  • Can students sing a long and short sound using a specific object to show length?

Thoughts On Creativity And A Lesson

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Well, apparently , I got ahead of myself. I was all set for today’s center lesson ~ fired up about what materials I needed and how I was going to set it up. The activity was so cool that of course the kids were going to love it!! ….then a question came to mind ~ what meaning are my students actually going to get from it? “It will make a great center”, I thought “…..but students will not benefit from it at this time, as they need a bit of a lead up to it”; so I will do this activity (and share it) at some point, but not yet. First, I need to set the stage.

I still think centers are a great idea, but I want to start with a play activity instead. I have seen my 1st grader girls only once so far due to holidays and weather, so I have a chance to start all over again. Rest assured, we will soon get to more center activities, but first, let’s create!

My mother, a preschool teacher for many years, said that in her time teaching, she saw a decline in creativity from the children. In the beginning, kids would take their time and craft beautiful art projects that they would be proud of. In later years, kids would rush through projects just to get on to the next thing.

Quick and simple. Isn’t this what we are about nowadays? Posts on Pinterest boast the easiest ways to do just about everything and Facebook isn’t much of help either ~ we get short synapses of people’s lives. The more “connected” we are, the lonelier the world seems to get. This isn’t to say that I don’t love some of these posts….perhaps I have been guilty of posting one or 2 myself….perhaps…, but I do think that within that context, we must dig deeper, at least on occasion. (For those of us that see so little of our students).

FUN LESSON: SO this is what I did instead: We had fun playing on our instruments and coming up with ways to say our names with them (an activity I learned from the brilliant Mary Knysh):

  • Sit in a circle
  • Hand out instruments
  • Model saying your name while playing your instrument
  • Have kids echo you a couple of times
  • Have the person sitting next to you create a way to say their name
  • Repeat it
  • Then have group say your name the way you did and then the next person’s name the way they did
  • …and so on….

As expected, most kids simply tapped out the syllables to their name. A couple of kids got creative and spelled their name or played around with how they tapped it out. The next step needs to be modeling a silly way to say my name and ask the kids to try out silly ways to say their names. Of course I ran out of time…..aaack!

As I thought about how this activity went today, my mom’s story came to mind. We have to encourage kids to be creative. They aren’t allowed to be most of their day and so hold back. They want to make sure that they are either doing exactly what they are supposed to or they rebel and be as outrageous as possible. We’ve gotten to the point in education where there is either too much or too little discipline, never just the right amount to allow for creativity within reasonable parameters. We are always too much in a hurry.

So where does this leave us?

  1. Encourage creativity as much as possible so that when we do get to the composing portion of our curriculum where they are actually writing down their musical thoughts, they are armed with a plethora of ideas.
  2. Remind kids that it is not only ok to be a little outrageous (within reason for those outliers), but encouraged! This can be tough considering the difficulties of disciple these days, but you know your kids and you can adjust accordingly. The only trick here to let them see you having fun, but bringing them back when they need it.
  3. Remind kids that it is ok to make a mistake and look a little silly. As I have shown here, we all make mistakes and the key is to let it go and move on…while thinking about how you can do it differently next time.

What do you do to help your kids be creative?