The Music Handbook Beginners

The Music Handbook Teaching music skills to children through singing Beginners

Cyrilla Rowsell & David Vinden

• No music reading needed • 6 CDs with performance tracks included

Lesson 7

1

Summary:

➤ Continue work on pitch, voice types and pulse. ➤ Learn the rhymes Chop, Chop and Slowly, Slowly. ➤ Distinguish between a song and a rhyme.

Materials:

➤ Inky and Teddy (or other) puppets. ➤ Snail and mouse puppets, made using templates on pp.94–95.

Hello

p.100

• Perform greeting with puppets several times, using two pitches at random

➤ Bring out Inky and Teddy and ask the class if they remember who sang with a high voice (Inky) and who sang with a low voice (Teddy). ➤ Sing hello as Inky and Teddy several times, using a high voice for Inky and a low voice for Teddy. Do not move the puppets or give any clues as to which of them is singing. The class must listen to the pitch and answer accordingly. (Hello, Inky if high, Hello, Teddy if low.)

Encourage the class to copy the pitch of the puppets’ voices when they anwer. See if you can catch anyone out by repeating the same voice once or twice. 2: 1 Hello, everyone Hello, [Inky/Teddy] (several tim es at random)

2

‘Yes we can’ Game

p.102

• Play game as before, but introducing ‘louder voice’

➤ Play the Yes we can game: using the appropriate voice each time, ask the following questions and see if the class will remember to answer in the same voice as the question. 2: 2 Can you use your speaking voice? (spoken ) Yes we can, yes we can.

Can you use a louder voice? (spoken louder) Yes we can, yes we can.

Can you use a whispe ring vo i ce? (whis pered) Yes we can, yes we can.

Can you use your singing voice? (sung) Yes we can, yes we can. ➤ One of the voices is new. Can the class tell you which one? (Louder voice.)

2

CD 2: tracks 1–18

Lesson 7

3

Rhyme: Teddy Bear Rhyme: Soft Kitten

p.129 p.128

• Revise the rhymes; define rhyme

➤ Ask what the class know so far with a speaking voice (Teddy Bear, Soft Kitten). ➤ Sing: Stand up! 2: 3 p.101 ➤ All perform Teddy Bear and Soft Kitten with their speaking voice. ➤ Explain that Teddy Bear and Soft Kitten are rhymes because we use our speaking voice.

4

New rhyme: Chop, Chop

p.104

• Teach the rhyme

➤ Sing: Come and sit with me.

2: 4 p.101

➤ Tell the children that you are going to teach them a new rhyme. ➤ Teach Chop, Chop a line at a time 2: 5 , then two lines at a time 2: 6 , then in full 2: 7 , using the signals for teacher speaks and class speak: Chop, chop, choppity chop, Chop off the bottom and chop off the top.

What there is left we will put in the pot, Chop, chop, choppity chop.

5

Song: Cobbler, Cobbler

p.105

• Define song; review Cobbler, Cobbler • Volunteers improvise actions for class to copy • Discuss heartbeat; perform song at faster speed

➤ Explain that when we use our singing voice it is called a song.

The Music Handbook: Beginners

➤ Hum Cobbler, Cobbler and ask if anyone recognises the song. 2: 8 ➤ Invite volunteers to sit in the singing chair and sing Cobbler, Cobbler with their own made-up actions with shoes. Ask the class to copy the songs and the actions when the volunteer has finished. ➤ The actions go in time with something.

What? (Heartbeat, beat or pulse.) ➤ Discuss what makes your heart beat faster.

(Running around, hurrying.) ➤ In the song, the cobbler must mend the shoes by a certain time. Ask the class when this is. (Halfpast two.) Discuss what he might have to do if he didn’t have much time to finish. (Hurry, hammer faster.) ➤ All sing Cobbler faster, this time doing the 2: 9 Point hammering actions on shoes. out how the heartbeat actions are faster too.

6

New rhyme: Slowly, Slowly

p.126

• Perform, then teach the rhyme.

➤ Ask the class if they can think of any animals that move quickly or slowly. ➤ Say Slowly, Slowly, tapping the pulse on your knee with the snail puppet in the first half and the mouse puppet in the second. Speak the snail lines slowly and the mouse lines quickly. 2: 10 Slowly, slowly, very slowly, creeps the garden snail,

[ ]

Slowly, slowly, very slowly, up the garden rail.

[ ]

Faster, faster, so much faster, runs the little mouse,

[ ]

Faster, faster, so much faster, round my little house.

[ ]

➤ Ask which voice you used. (Speaking.) Is it a song or a rhyme? (Rhyme).

2: 11 , ➤ Teach the rhyme a line at a time 2: 12 then two lines at a time , then in Music Corner

full 2: 13 , using the signals for teacher speaks and class speak. ➤ Discuss which creature moves quickly (mouse) and which slowly (snail).

7

Song: Oliver Twist

p.117

• Review song and different pulse actions • Perform song, suiting pulse actions to words

➤ Hum Oliver Twist and ask if anyone recognises it. 2: 14 ➤ Invite a volunteer to sing Oliver Twist in the singing chair. ➤ Sing: Stand up! 2: 15 p.101 ➤ Remind the class how they did several actions in Oliver Twist last time to show the pulse.

Can they remember what they were? (Pat knees, tap on toes, clap hands.) ➤ All sing Oliver Twist three times, doing different pulse actions each time.

(Clap, then pat knees, then tap on toes.) ➤ All sing Oliver Twist again, but this time tell the class to do each pulse action only when the words of the song tell them. (Pat knees twice, touch toes twice, clap hands twice.)

8

Tick, Tock / Goodbye

pp.132, 100

• Perform Tick, Tock as usual • Sing Goodbye with puppets several times, using two pitches at random

➤ Sing: Come and sit with me.

2: 16

p.101

➤ All sing Tick, Tock twice through 2: 17 with the actions. ➤ Inky and Teddy sing Goodbye, everyone several times, and the children answer, copying the pitch each time. Repeat the same voice sometimes, as you did at the 2: 18 start of the lesson.

Goodbye, everyone Goodbye, [Inky/Teddy] (several ti mes at random)

➤ Inky and Teddy puppets. ➤ Toy hammers and shoes. ➤ Snail and mouse puppets.

The Music Handbook: Beginners

Lesson 7

3

Cuckoo Puppet Templates

1. Decorate the cuckoo and cut it out.

2. Cut a strip of paper big enough to wrap round a child’s finger.

(For small children you can cut out a longer strip to fit around all five fingers.)

96

Puppet templates

3. Fold the strip into a circle and stick the ends together to make a paper ring.

4. Stick the cuckoo onto the ring.

The Music Handbook: Beginners

Cat Puppet Templates

1. Cut out the cat.

2. Cut a strip of paper big enough to wrap round a child’s finger.

(For small children you can cut out a longer strip to fit around all five fingers.)

The Music Handbook: Beginners

3. Fold the strip into a circle and stick the ends together to make a paper ring.

4. Stick the cat onto the ring.

Puppet templates

97

Old Mister Woodpecker

CD 6: track 71

Action:

Activities Performing the pulse The children tap the pulse while you sing the song, using different pulse movements including the pecking action shown here. Lesson 15 The class (or a volunteer) sing the song, showing the pulse with the pecking action. Lessons 15, 16, 17, 27

Improvising a word or sound in a rest Individual children suggest words (e.g. peck!), sounds or movements to go in One hand is the tree; the rest at the end of each line and the class try out the different suggestions. the other is the beak, Lesson 17 and taps against it in You perform the song, saying peck! in the rests at the ends of each line.

Lesson 27

time with the pulse

The class perform the song, saying peck! in the rests at the ends of each line. Lessons 27, 29 The class sing the song, putting their fingers to their lips in the rests instead of saying peck! Ask them how many rests there are in the song (two). Lesson 29 The class sing the song, with each child performing his or her own idea for a silent movement in the rests. (If a child cannot think of an idea, she can put her finger to her lips.) Lesson 29

100

Resources

The Music Handbook: Beginners

Oliver Twist

CD 6: track 63

Actions:

Lines 1 and 2: Clap hands together and then against a partner’s, to the pulse.

‘Pat your knees’: Pat twice to pulse

‘Touch your toes’: ‘Clap your hands’: Touch twice to pulse Clap twice to pulse

‘Around you go’: Turn around

Activities Note: When the song is first taught, the children learn only the actions for the second half.

Performing the pulse The children find the pulse by quietly tapping on their knees while you sing the song. Lessons 5, 6 The children sing Oliver Twist three times, each time using one of the pulse actions suggested by the words – patting knees, touching toes or clapping hands. Lessons 6, 7 The children sing the song, doing the appropriate pulse actions only when the words of the song tell them to (i.e. pat knees twice, touch toes twice, clap hands twice). Lesson 7 The children stand in a circle and turn to face a partner. They sing the song, doing the first three actions when the words tell them to (pat knees twice, tap toes twice, clap hands twice). On the words and around you go, they turn round to face a new partner, then repeat the song with the actions as before. Repeat several times. Lessons 10, 11 Teach the clapping actions for the first half of the song, getting the children to do them them first without, then with a partner. The children perform the first half of the song with actions. Lesson 12 The children perform the song with partners in a circle as above, but this time with the pulse actions for the whole song. Lessons 12, 13, 21, 22 A pair of volunteers perform the song with all the actions. Lesson 13 The Music Handbook: Beginners

Resources

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