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Reading Readiness 4

Last new part of “Introducing G” is learning the concept of naming the alphabet  –up and down beginning with G, to find the names of other lines and spaces in a music staff.

Check out the video:  Introducing “Start With G”  which demonstrates finding the names for several additional lines/spaces.    Remember  —its the concept of including both lines and spaces while moving up and down in the alphabet that is the focus (not all the ABC names of lines/spaces)!

The pdf that goes with the video includes templates for making your own flashcards to continue drilling the concept here, as well as recognizing the second line in a staff as “G”.

Continuing to drill on the alphabet patterns, “G” and how to climb or descend the staff lines/spaces will ensure a solid foundation for future music reading.     Keep the drills short, and varied for fun.

Reading Readiness 3

Forwards and backwards in the musical alphabet conquered!      Now its time to connect the ABC’s with a musical staff.    I like to make a big deal out of the “G”.    Its easy to find on a treble clef staff because the clef circles around its line.    I add the colour “green” because  –well, you know, G is for green.    And I build up to it with a few reminders about written music.

The method is outlined in the “Introducing G” video found in the warm-up lists.    Its true, I could just point at the line and say  “This is G.”   But for children whose only exposure to written music is in school  (and that maybe only once a week), I find adding as many hooks for the mind and memory as possible helps ground the idea.    Knowing how to find “G” by looking for clues, gives a cornerstone for adding other letters to lines/spaces.

Eventually, hopefully, knowing the second line is “G”, just by looking at it will be yesterday’s news.   In Grade 3, there’s no pressure to learn everything at once, so add ideas with lots of repetition, explanation, and practice.

If your students have had access to Orff instruments, try asking them for the name of a musical instrument with a “G” written on it.

Next week:   adding more letters to the musical staff

 

Reading Readiness 2

“So-mi‘s” are for singers.                                                                     “A B C D E F G‘s” are for instruments                                    (including the human voice).

Weather is calling us outside, so this week’s songs are for marching or walking.    As you walk/march, try using the musical alphabet;   A B C D E F G A B …    forwards and backwards!

Going from A to G is easy for most of us.   Musicians also need to be able to go from G to A ;  G F E D C B A G F …     Students who have conquered the backwards musical alphabet will find it easier to learn how to read notes on the musical staff because music goes forward (up) and backward (down).

Begin by keeping a beat with your hand.    Name a musical alphabet letter    e.g.    “D”,  move your hand down for “C”, down again for “B”,  again for “A” and again for the hardest jump  “G”  etc.

In the beginning you may want to have a printed, vertical copy of the musical alphabet to help students name the moves.   Challenge your class by removing the written aid for a few trys.

Keep to the backwards alphabet for a few days and then, re-introduce the forwards alphabet as well.   Students now need to switch directions with the moving hand.    Include 3 or 4 letters before changing direction to make it easier to catch on.

Vary activity with walking as the letters are named.    Students walk forward with each letter going forward (up) in the alphabet, and backward for each letter going back (down) in the alphabet.    It will be difficult at first, but can be turned into a game students might play during recess.

Game:   Leader names the beginning letter  “E”.    Leader names an adjoining letter  e.g.   either  “F”  or   “D”.    Rest of players either take a step forward (for “F”)  or backward (for “D”).   Leader calls out any player who steps in the wrong direction.   Last person in gets to be the leader next time.

A little bit of time creating these patterns in student memories will have a big pay off for reading music.

 

Reading Readiness

So-mi‘s” are for singers.                                                                     “A B C D E F G‘s” are for instruments (including the human voice).

By Grade 3, most students will have seen, used and manipulated  rhythm symbols  (ta, ti-ti, etc.), melody shapes (either by connecting notes on a musical staff or by drawing shapes in the air or on paper  e.g.  roller coaster ride warm-ups), reading simple songs using solfa (so-mi-la) and seen at least a few of the songs they sing in standard musical form.

In Grade 4, students are going to be  confronted with  reading music notes on a 5-line staff using alphabetical names instead of solfa or rhythm names.

Now is the time to consolidate readiness for music reading.

Check here each week for reading readiness activities that may be included during lesson warm-up time or as a quick break between lesson activities.    A few extra minutes at the end of the lessons   — pull a reading readiness activity out from your music bag for extra practice.

Music Readiness 

The music reading alphabet goes   “A B C D E F G A B C”.               Try saying it.    Takes a bit of practice to go straight to “A” from “G” eh?

Introduce the idea of a musical alphabet.

Simple warm-up activity.    Using different beats (kept by tapping something), students say the musical alphabet, round and round, til a signal is given to stop.

Won’t take long to get the rhythm.    Vary the beginning letter,  e.g.  start with “D”    …

Keep tuned: Next Week ideas for tackling the backwards musical alphabet!

 

February Valentines

If you haven’t tried a reading song with your class, take a look at Valentine, Red and Blue.    With only “so”,”mi” and “la”, it works for beginning students and teachers.

The songvideo teaches the song following a basic reading path  …    1.   do the rhythm      2.   sing solfa      3   add words

Before showing the video, warm-up students by using the handsigns for the solfa that will be needed.     Show the written music inviting students to explore the song.

What is the title?

Find two words that rhyme.

Find a word that fits   “ti-ti ta”   answer:  “Val-en-tine”

The first word is on “so”.   Find another word on “so”,  etc.

If the songvideo is used to teach the song,  use handsigns where the solfa is sung.   Research has shown that the use of handsigns enhances learning pitch (the highs and lows) in music.

Just for fun  …  make up a few new first lines, and challenge students to complete new couplets.

e.g.   Valentine, Valentine, are you true

or     Valentine, Valentine, red and white

In a follow-up class time, review learning the song without using the mp4.    Is there a student who is ready to conduct?

January “too”

In 1748, my great-great … great Grandfather left Scotland for northern New Brunswick.   Family lore says it was because of sheep stealing, but that soon after the Jacobite rebellion, chances are they were running from the English for more than one reason.    Having a bit of Scotland in the family tree  gives a great excuse for celebration in the doldrums of January.     Robbie Burns Day is January 25.

Robbie Burns wrote about the ordinary things in life —farming, a mouse in the field, love, being poor. He
emphasized that a person needs to be measured by who s/he is, not by what s/he has, the family s/he was
born into or who s/he is married to. Burns became the “peasant’s poet.” His works were quoted often by
Russian peasants as well as the poor in many countries.

We don’t really know if “Bonnie” is a woman or a man!
Maybe Bonnie’s husband has emmigrated to Canada, and she is still in Scotland. Or maybe Bonnie and her
family have emmigrated to Canada, and her boyfriend back in Scotland is missing her. Or maybe the  Bonnie  is
talking about a prince from Scotland named Charlie. Scotland and England were fighting and Charlie had to
leave Scotland. He was called the “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. Who ever you think Bonnie was, enjoy the song with its traditional actions of standing/sitting every time a “b” is sung.      More background information about Robbie Burns, Scotland and bagpipes is found in the  pdf for this song.

 

Now celebrated around the world is another late January – early February holiday,  yes —Gung Hay Fat Choy!!    Another chance to ring in the New Year with Chinese tradition.

January

Lockdown again?    If you’ve been teaching on-line, nothing much has changed.   If you’ve been teaching in a classroom, with children in front of you  —everything just changed again.   The good news is, music includes singing with the kids at home!     Choose 3 or 4 songvideos, introduce them during on-line time and challenge students to be ready to sing by heart (without the words or music) for the next on-line music time.

Memorizing exercises the brain,  aids in development of neural pathways  …  music memory includes both sides of the brain working language and math basics.    If students aren’t used to memory work, it will be a real challenge in the beginning, but it does get easier with practice.

When students have learned a song by heart, in the next on-line music time, try the radio game.

Radio Game:   students/mp3 are the radio,  begin with both playing/singing   …   partway through, turn the radio off with a hand sign (turn down the volume on the mp3)   …  after 10-15 seconds, turn the radio/singing back on.    Since the radio station continued to play the song when your radio was off, the music picks up further along than it stopped.    If students have internalized the beat of the song,  they will pick up singing at the correct place.    Since students are singing at home, they can enjoy their success,  or wince at failure to keep the beat without worrying about an audience.