Inner Hearing Games

Hello this is Lindsay Jervis from Pursuit of Joyfulness. I hope you are all enjoying your summer. I have exactly two weeks before I am back in my classroom. Where did summer go?!? I still have so much to do!

Today's Topic: Inner Hearing

What is inner hearing? Inner hearing is the ability to hear the music inside our heads without the aid of an outside sound source.

Why is it important?

Kodaly believed that inner hearing was a vital part of developing the musical literacy of students.

How do we help our students get there? PLAY! Inner hearing games are a great way to assess if you students are thinking the music inside their heads even when they don't hear it.

Here are a few to try:

1) Sing a word inside your head:

After students know a song really well, you can chose a word (or words) for students to sing inside their heads.

I've heard this song sung more than one way, so I know there are variants on it, but for whatever version you use, you can have students put a word inside their head and substitute it for an action. OR do it it opposite and give them a few words that they can sing such as "chestnut" and "tree". 

2) Hand puppets

Meet Shelly:

Shelly the snail is a staple puppet in my classroom. Possibly one of the most beloved puppets I own. She is really shy and hides in her snail on the first day I present her to the kids. They sing to get her out of her shell and she can only hear when we use our singing voices. 

When I am working on inner hearing with my kids, I use her with the song "Snail Snail". When Shelly is out of her snail they sing, when she is inside the shell, they sing the words inside their heads.

I also use pop up puppets like this:

When the puppet is down we do not sing: 

And when we can see him then we sing: 

3) Signs

I created some really cute signs that I am going to use to get my students to quickly switch from singing to inner hear (or solfa to text or patting the steady beat to reading and clapping the rhythms).

They print out in color or black and white two to a sheet. Fold down the middle and glue along the top and side. Leave the bottom open and you can either stick your hand up in the bottom to hold it, have your kids be the "conductors", or tape a painter's stick inside the bottom and have a hand held stick. If you want them Separated, you can cut the page down the middle and make each one it's own sign, but I really like wearing it on my hand and being able to flip it quickly. You can grab these for FREE here.

Join in the collaboration: What are your favorite activities for inner hearing? Comment below!