I've Been Impaled!

How do you teach solfa?  How do you get your kids to remember it?  I am a Kodaly teacher at heart, so I love the sequence of teaching these notes, but sometimes my kids would still struggle with remembering which ones go where on a staff.

I teach that my solfa notes live on a magical mountain called "Melody Mountain."  (Next door is "Rhythm Valley" for when I teach rhythmic concepts).  I've seen other people use "Music Street" or "Pitch Hill" kinds of ideas - and these are great.  I love the mountain concept because it helps the kids remember which notes are higher than others - because they can see it visually.

Last year, I had an entire bulletin board specifically for Melody Mountain.  I wish I still had that.. My principal also doesn't want us hanging stuff on the walls because of holes/residue....anyway, I'm trying (still) to figure out how to get it up without a bulletin board.  I'm supposed to get one eventually....

I made the rise on the hill smaller for mi-fa, and again for ti-do (this really helps my kids with half steps).

When I introduce a new note, I tape one of these guys up on a house:

I don't know if you can tell (so sorry about the picture quality), but I alternated girls/boys with them.  Do is a girl, Re is a boy, Mi is a girl, etc.  I did that for one main reason:  lines and spaces on the staff!  My kids used to really struggle with this, but now, they are so, so good.

I make up silly little stories about each note.  For example, "do" is a girl who just really loves rocks.  Her favorite music is "rock and roll," her favorite candy is "pop rocks," and her favorite game is "rock paper scissors."  She always does "rock," of course.  And, because she built her house out of rocks, it is pretty heavy, so it has to be at the bottom of the mountain.

Each of my stories helps the kids remember where the note is in relation to the others, as well as the hand sign with the note.  Then, the kids remember that when do is in a space, all of the other "girls" are in spaces too, and when do is on a line, all of the other "girls" are on lines as well.  This quickly resolves which note goes where.  All the kids do is find do, or look for the do clef, and they are all getting great at alternating lines and spaces on the staff.

This technique has worked pretty successfully for me for a few years, and then came along the movie "Frozen."  For some reason, this little clip stuck with me:

My kids love this part!  We talk about how when notes live in spaces, they don't even really touch a line, but when they live on a line, they are "impaled" by that line.  The kids just giggle about that - they love it so much :)

Whenever I show a "mystery measure" on the board when the students come in, sometimes the first thing I hear is:  "Oh, look - the girls are impaled today!"

Or - "The girls are in spaces, so the boys must be impaled today!"

It's just these little things that make me happy :)

Pizza!

Who doesn't love a good pizza?  Many of you probably know this song:

My kids absolutely love this song!  I have used it successfully with my younger and my older students.  The melodic structure is very easy - uses just the pitches so, mi and la, but in a way that if you use this with older kids they won't think it's too "baby-ish."

I also find that my older kids just get really nervous singing in front of others.  However, if you give them a really fun call-and-response song like this, they don't really notice that they're singing a solo, and it gives you a chance to individually assess them in a non-threatening environment.

Last year, I was looking around on Pinterest, and I found a blog post about this song with some fantastic improvisation ideas:  Pizza, Pizza, Daddy-o improvisation.  The authors of this blog, Janet and Laura, came up with a great improvisation worksheet that I have used countless times.  My kids love it too - plus it incorporates a little bit of that "writing" technique that many of us now have to use with the Common Core stuff....  (printable version of this worksheet on their blog)

After the kids come up with their different movements, each student leads the class in what they came up with.  Side note - as a proud music teacher, I love that the group above used "compose it."  Made my day :)

Anyway, another extension idea I found was on Teachers Pay Teachers.  A new seller, Megan Bracciano, came up with these adorable pizza composition worksheets.  You cut out red circles for the "pepperoni" (my school has a die cut machine that is perfect for these) and the kids can glue them on.  It helps them practice writing music left to right, placing notes on lines or in spaces, etc.  She has 3 versions of these worksheets you can download for FREE!

One is with "high/low" - you can use this with your kiddos who haven't labeled "so-mi" yet:

Another version is with just "sol/mi":

And finally, this is the version I will be using with my 2nd graders, as we have just labeled "do":

After they glue on the pepperoni (or just color them on if you want to go that route), you can have them color the rest of the pizza with other toppings, or whatever you want to do.

So cute, right?!?!?!

Going back to the "Pizza, Pizza, Daddy-o!" song, I made some files for Teachers Pay Teachers (you can find it here) for my kids to practice the melodic patterns found in the song, both on and off the staff.

Off the staff:

On the staff, where do is in a space:

On the staff, where do is on a line:

I also made some printable tone ladders, both in color and black and white:

And I even added a steady beat chart, though I don't use this song for rhythm as it contains some complicated syncopation:

Improvisation slide:

Game/dance instructions:

A couple of other great places to find extension ideas on this song:

Beth's Music Notes

State of Utah music games

I also found another really cute song called "Rico's Pizza Restaurant" on Beth's blog that would be great for practicing "re" and using some improvisation!

Rico's Pizza Restaurant

Have lots and lots of fun with this song!  My kids LOVE it!

Just for funsies for you music teachers - love this clip by Brian Regan!  :)

Beriozka

You have probably all heard the Russian folk tune called "Beriozka," or more commonly, "Little Birch Tree."

It is a really beautiful little folk song!  I love that it is in minor, and that it is very rhythmically and melodically accessible to my kids.

I'm using this song this year to present "tom ti" to my 5th graders (dotted quarter, eighth).  It happens only in 2 places (both loo-li-loos) with otherwise very simple rhythm, so it is in a great place to point it out.

Basically, this is the sequence of how I work my transitions from rhythm icons to actual notation:

We discuss things at every step, while the students are discovering where the beat falls and why we need to have the tie (the note is held out for 1 1/2 counts).  Finally, I introduce the finished rhythmic notation:

This song is also absolutely wonderful for reviewing l,t,drm.  I don't use it to present low ti, because I like presenting that in a way that goes ti to do, but this is a great review.  I also have melodic practice slides that I love using:

You can find my whole Teachers Pay Teachers file here.

Did you know that Tchaikovsky used this little melody in his 4th symphony?  It is in the 4th movement.  After I have taught my kids the song, they love listening for how many times the melody occurred in the movement, and how Tchaikovsky changes it a few times, with different dynamics, different embellishments, different instruments, etc.  So much to discuss!  You can find a great recording on YouTube.  Note - the movement is almost 9 minutes long, so you really probably want to make this a guided listening example.

I just finished my 5th grade program, and they sang this song.  I found a great unison choral arrangement by Mary Goetze.  It has a beautiful flute or recorder ostinato.  This would be a great piece for an elementary chorus.

Here's an example of Fort Wayne Children's Choir singing this piece:

The Composer Is Dead and technology coolness

Lemony Snicket, the author of the "Unfortunate Event" series, wrote a book called "The Composer Is Dead."

It is hilarious and is a great way to review, or even introduce, instruments of the orchestra.  I love that it groups them into families and adds just the right amount of humor.  The premise is that a composer was found dead and an inspector comes to interview the orchestra to find out "whodunnit."

This is a great book to leave for substitutes, as it even has a CD recording you can get with it, so all the sub has to do is push play and turn pages :)

A few years ago, I was surfing YouTube, and I found this great recording of the story.  It is in 3 different parts (a wmv file) so you do have to click "play" 3 times, but it is great!  I guess the girl who made it did it for a music education class in college or something.

My kids have always enjoyed watching this.  However, I must add a disclaimer that last year (and this is the first year this has happened) I showed this to my 2nd graders and I had 2 of them that were frightened by the loud music and images in certain parts.  I guess I would just suggest using caution.

A fun technical tip I have found is that if you want to show YouTube videos without all of the ads or even the suggested stuff at the end or down the sides, just go to this link:  safeshare.tv
All you have to do is paste the YouTube link in the box, click "Generate Safe Link," and it will pull it up in a new window, without all of the ads.  Amazing!  I love this so much!  There is also an option at the end to save your recording as either MP3 or MP4 - I haven't tried this yet, but it might be a great way to put something like this on a blank DVD for a substitute to use :)  Try it and see.

Just Dance!

I don't know about you, but I rarely have time left at the end of class.  I tend to over-plan, because I just love keeping busy.

However, in those rare times that I have a few minutes at the end of a class - or when they just need a brain break, I have discovered something magical.  Kids LOVE it.  It's a game called "Just Dance."  You have probably heard of it, and probably played it, but I have found that there are so many videos - free on YouTube - and the kids love it.  I do these only a couple of times a year, but it's always a big hit.

The week before Christmas is always crazy - I feel it's way more about crowd control than anything else - but in the last 5ish minutes of class, I've put on one of these videos, and the kids walk away from my class smiling.

Here are a few Christmas favorites:

This one is "Bollywood."  As my theme this year is music from around the world, it really fits in!  However, it is at the advanced level, so it is best used with upper grades.

This one is "Crazy Christmas Santa Clones."  It is great because it uses several different styles of music, and you can talk about them.

This one - "Jingle Bells" - is great for your K-1 kids!

And last, but not least, is "Let It Go."  I actually found it funny that my boys had more fun with this than my girls, who were still having fun :)

Happy Dancing!

Bach Badinerie - pie rhythms!

One of Bach's great pieces to work on ti-tika and tika-ti is his "Badinerie."

I went to a workshop a few years ago in Savannah, Georgia when I was living there (oh, how I miss the sunshine) where Darva Campbell presented a lot of great Orff ideas.  She has a great body percussion lesson with this piece - you can find it here.  Also, in her conference notes from the menu on the top she has lots of other great ideas to use with classical music :)

Anyway, as I am still focused on Thanksgiving and using the Orff training I received this past summer, I added the following words to the A section of "Badinerie."

I split up my class into 5 groups to work on their section.  First, they clapped the rhythms, then figured out their own body percussion with these rhythms.  They had so much fun!

Finally, we added their body percussion to a recording of "Badinerie," and performed with the recording!  We also identified the B section as stuff they don't know yet.....I plan on going back and having them help me create lyrics to that section.

For any Kodaly people, this is at the stage where we are practicing these rhythms.  I think adding the Orff stuff helps cement things, especially during the practice stages.  I love that this piece isolates the tika-ti in one measure, and the ti-tika in another, keeping them separate but distinct.

I love incorporating both Orff and Kodaly ideas in my classroom.  They really work so well together - you just have to get creative :)

Thanksgiving Dinner walk

Have you ever had your kids walk the rhythm to their songs?  It is such a great way to practice and internalize rhythms.  My kids absolutely love to do it.

Recently, I've been teaching my 3rd graders about Bach, especially through his music.  I've used some of Amy Abbott's great ideas on teaching Musette in D from her blog post here.  She also has some great tech tips on how to use Audacity to slow down YouTube recordings.  Read it!  You'll be glad you did :)

Anyway, I had the opportunity to retake Orff Level 1 this past summer.  I'm so glad I did.  The first time I took it, I hadn't even graduated or started teaching yet, and though I loved it then, it was so much more valuable this time as I've been teaching for a few years so I have some background.  I decided to use Amy's ideas but throw in an Orff twist.

I created the following words for Bach's Musette in D that go along with Thanksgiving:

The kids walk the rhythms and say the words.  It also helps when I play recordings of the piece - they can immediately identify the form (so helpful).

I then threw in a Thanksgiving twist.  I created some food cards and laminated them, and spread them around the floor (the cute clip art comes from mycutegraphics.com).  I used 9 different "food stations."

Some examples:

The kids walked the rhythms to the piece (I occasionally play them on the piano, but not always - I really want them to internalize them) and have to stop on a food station.  I then drew a card with a food word on it, and the students on that station, as well as the food are eliminated.  The game continues until only one station is left - and those students are declared the winners!

Sounds so simple - but my students absolutely loved this activity.  I extended it to 5th grade, where we are talking about micro beats and macro beats, and they would have to sing a song and walk either beat - depending on what I said.  When I blew a signal on my recorder (which I wear as a necklace at all times), they had to switch to the other type of beat.  When the students were eliminated in this grade, they came to the side, chose a rhythm instrument, and had to play either the micro or macro beat, depending on what was indicated.

You could extend this so many different ways - but my kids had a great time.  Hope you can use this!