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:

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!

Old Roger Is Dead

I'll admit - I feel that I can teach rhythm pretty well, until we get to 6/8 meter.  I've always loved so many songs in 6/8 meter but it has been hard for me to verbalize it.

I found this adorable picture on Pinterest using big lego-type blocks to teach macro beat:

I love that it separates 6/8 into 2 groups of 3 - what a great visual!  All of a sudden, 6/8 time doesn't seem so daunting.  All you have to do is talk about macro beats and micro beats, and you're set!

Last year, I learned the song "Old Roger is Dead" at a workshop.  I had never heard it before.  It is the PERFECT song for Halloween time that is not about Halloween:

It reinforces 6/8 meter, it is a really good one to introduce anacrusis (pick-up notes), and even ti because of the s-l-t-do pattern.  You could also extract high do for 3rd grade from the first couple of measures.  There are several different versions of this song floating out there, but this is my favorite because of the melodic elements.

I loved it so much, I made a whole presentation about it that you can find on Teachers Pay Teachers here.

There's a lot as part of this:  

Steady beat:

Iconic rhythm:

Discussion of macro and micro beats:

Introduction to anacrusis/pick-up notes:

Melodic practice and introduction to ti:

Also on a staff:

But really, the best part is really the game.  Basically, the game is that you dramatize the words.  In my classroom, I call this game "Silent Movie."  This is, without question, my students' absolute favorite game.  They have to act out the lyrics of any given song (or sometimes, just the story line for something instrumental, like "In the Hall of the Mountain King").  Since the lyrics for this song involve a guy dying, a woman picking apples near his grave, and then the dead guy getting up and giving the woman a shock, this song becomes an instant October favorite.  (Zombies!)  You can play by having "Roger" chase the old woman around the circle, a la "Duck Duck Goose," or just getting up and shocking her.  Even when I have talking problems in my class, one mention of the word "Silent Movie" gets every student to shut their mouths and truly listen to the song.

I usually play Silent Movie with a certain group acting out the lyrics, while everybody else is singing, so they can truly appreciate the "silent" part of "silent movie."  Sometimes, we'll take turns with everybody showing off their performance to the rest of the class.

Other student favorites to play "Silent Movie":

• In the Hall of the Mountain King (I have one person creep into the Mountain King's lair, then get chased out by trolls)

• Don Gato (the kids love that the cat falls off the roof, dies, and comes back to life)

• Oh, Susanna! (crazy lyrics will do it every time)

Try it!  I guarantee your students will like it!

Oh, and just so you have the choice, here's another popular version of this song:

Dum-dum!

Today was my 3rd official day with students.  I do something new with them on the first day of school every year.  This year, I'm actually really excited about - more to come on that later.

Dum-Dums!

Anyway, as an attention-getter this year, I found this really fun youtube link:  Minnesota Boy Choir Dum-Dum.  I love it so much, and can think of so many ways to use this in my special chorus, general ed classes, and just for fun.  However, I learned the song more like this: 

I'm using this song with my 3rd through 5th graders right now, and they are loving it.  They are also coming up with different ways to change the actions, but especially the tempo.  (They absolutely love going as fast as possible).  It is a great quick transition song, great attention-grabber, and I can see myself using this a lot this year.

More fly swatters!

A few weeks ago I was at Dollar Tree (I really should by stock in that store since I get a lot of stuff there) and found these awesome fly swatters:

Just for an idea on how big these really are, here is my 4-year-old daughter holding one up:

My students absolutely love them!  One student told me that these were big enough to "whack an elephant!" 

Love it!  You must go buy them now!

I have blogged before about my "fly swatter" games that I like to play in class.  I have recently uploaded a few products to Teachers Pay Teachers (some free) that would be great to use these with:

1. Rhythm flash cards (one set is free, the others are a bundled set).  I like these because they are color-coded by rhythmic concept. I include large flash cards for large-group practice, and smaller flash cards that you can print, cut out, and laminate for small group practice, fly swatter games, memory games, etc.

You can get the ta ti-ti set for FREE here:  Ta ti-ti flash cards

You can get the bundled rhythm set here:  Bundled flash card set  Not free, sorry - but $4 gets you lots and lots of flash cards for all of the following rhythmic concepts:  

ta, ti-ti, ta rest

half note, half rest
sixteenth notes (tika-tika or tiri-tiri)
sixteenth/eighth note combinations (ti-tika, tika-ti or ti-tiri, tiri-ti)
syncopa
dotted quarter, eighth note (tom ti)

Here is an example of what a flash card looks like:  Simple, but effective

2. Rhythm Fly Swatter game:  you can get the ta, ti-ti, ta rest set for FREE here:  Ta ti-ti rest bug swatter game

Here is an example of one of the printable pages.  You cut them out, laminate, and swat away!

3.  I don't just advertise my own stuff.  I would be nowhere without the examples and help from other music teachers.  One of my heroes - never even met her - is music teacher Amy Abbott.  Read her amazing blog here:  Amy Abbott's music blog.  Anyway, she has recently uploaded a lot of "fly swatting" games to TpT - with rhythmic, melodic, and recorder skills.  She has them for sale individually, in bundles, and more.  Check them out here:  Amy Abbott's fly swatter games.