Ways to Practice and Prepare Rhythms

Happy Fall!! I hope your day has been filled with colorful leaves, cozy scarves, pumpkin bread and warm cups of tea (or whatever it is you like about Fall!)

Awhile ago, I wrote a post where I shared a picture of my "cheat sheet" I use when planning lessons. If you haven't seen it, you can read the post here.  One of our readers asked if I could explain some of the items in more detail, and I am FINALLY doing it!  Since it is a lot to cover in one post, I am going to break it up into two posts...one for melody and one for rhythm. So, without further ado, I present...

To start, I made you a pretty file that you can print out to refer to if you are looking for inspiration when planning your lessons. You can access the file here...

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ni9Idv5whCX22E5EjGrg7RFNGg4ac0DG0Lzotp1EaQg/edit?usp=sharing

I tried to provide a short description of each activity below. Please feel free to comment with any questions!

1. Rhythm Question and Answer:
The teacher asks a rhythm "question." I usually use a four beat rhythm containing the rhythm element we are using. Students respond by improvising a four beat answer. Sometimes it helps to have four hearts or beat bars displayed. Then you can point to them as the student creates their rhythm to help them keep a steady beat.

2. Poison Pattern
The teacher claps a "poison" rhythm for the students. This is usually a four beat pattern containing the rhythm you are practicing. Then you clap a variety of four beat patterns, weaving in the poison pattern every now and then. Students stand and echo clap all the rhythms EXCEPT the poison pattern. If they clap the poison pattern, they are "out" and have to sit down.

3. Beat vs. Rhythm
This is a simple way to build part-work into your lesson. Divide your class in half and have one group pat the beat while the other performs the rhythm of whatever song or chant you are working on. Then switch. This can be done in partner pairs, small groups, etc.

4. Chair Dictation/Human Flashcards
This works best for quarter, paired eighth, half note, or syncopa. It gets tricky when there are more than two sounds on any beat. Set up four chairs and then have students sit on the chairs to represent the rhythms. For example, to write ta ta ti-ti ta, you would have one student sit on the chairs that are tas and two sit on the chair that is ti-ti. Then have the class perform the rhythm. You can give students rhythms to notate, have them make their own, or have them dictate what you play.

5. Fill in the Missing Measure
Write the notation to a song on the board but leave one or more measures empty. Have students fill in whatever is missing.

6. Sneaky Snake.
A description of this strategy can be found in "An American Methodology." Basically, you write a rhythm on a "sneaky snake" and cover it up piece by piece. It is great for musical memory.

7. Post Office
Each child gets an envelope with 6-10 rhythm cards inside. All envelopes are identical. They take out all the rhythms and display them so they can see them. Then, the teacher claps, performs or otherwise says a rhythm. Students have to find that rhythm and put it back in their envelope. The goal is to try to reveal the "mystery" rhythm, by putting all the correct rhythms back in the envelope until there is only one left.

8. Oops My Eraser Slipped
Write a rhythm on the white board. Once students have performed the rhythm, you "accidentally" erase one measure at a time until all the rhythm is erased. This is great for practicing musical memory. You can also have students write the rhythm back in once it is gone to practice notation.

9. Flashcards.
Read them, play them, walk them, clap them... :)

10. Glynnis' Game
This is sometimes called "I have, Who has." It takes a little bit of work to create, but it is a great way to assess individual students. In this game, every child has a card that says "I have (four beat rhythm), Who has (a different four beat rhythm)." Students say or perform their rhythm and it passes around the room. Look on TpT for pre-made sets!!

11. Drop 4, Add 4
Students and teacher stand in a circle. The teacher speaks or performs an eight beat rhythm. Then, then student next to them "drops" the first four beats of the teacher's rhythm and "adds" four of their own. The next student does the same and this continues on. For example...

Teacher: ta ta ti-ti ta, ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ta
Student 1: ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ta, ta ta ta ta
Student 2: ta ta ta ta, ti-ti ta ti-ti ta

12. Walk the Rhythm
You can either play or say a rhythm for students to walk or display a rhythm for students to walk. Great for your physical learners!

13. Dictation
Play or say a rhythm and have students notate what you say. This can be done on white boards or with pencil-paper. It often helps to provide students with a template where they fill in the measures.

14. Play on Instruments
Drums, pentatonic xylophones, rhythms sticks, you name it... kids love to play! You can have them read flashcards or echo play.

15. Fly Swatter Game
Post flashcards around the room and divide the class into two teams. Each team sends a representative up to the start line with a fly swatter. Then, the teacher says a rhythm and the two team reps have to try to find that rhythm and be the first to swat it. Whichever team swats it first gets a point.  I use this when I am teaching "Johnny Caught a Flee" and "Shoo Fly."

16. Aural Decoding
You play a rhythm and students decode it by saying the rhythm syllables. You can also have students play a rhythm for their peers. This is a great way for them to check if they are performing it correctly!

17.  Ostinato/Partwork
You can create a rhythm ostinato under almost anything!

18. Games/Hand Jives with Rhythm
Many songs and chants have hand jives that reinforce the rhythm. For example, the hand jive to E Poi Tai Tai clearly shows that there are four beats on the whole note.  These are great ways to practice rhythm, just make sure you draw students attention to the element you are practicing and make the knowledge known!

19. Rhythm Tic-Tac-Toe
You can check out my freebie on this of idea here :)

20. Rhythm Squares/Carousel
Put rhythm flashcards out in a circle. Students walk around the circle like a carousel while you play music (I try to choose something that we are using for a listening lesson.) Then when the music stops, they stop in front of a card. You can go around and have everyone read their card, call on specific students, or ask, "Who has...." to check their reading skills.

21. Heat beats above Words
Have the students draw the hearts above the words. This is great when you are in the prepare phase of teaching!

22. Fill in the Barlines
Write the rhythm to a song on the board and have students fill in the barlines. Simple and a great way to reinforce time signatures.

23. Rhythm Baseball
I'll be honest- I have seen this used, but not used it myself. I am sure that you can come up with some fun ideas, though!

24. Conducting
Having students conduct while they sing is a great way to practice longer rhythms like half note and whole note. They really feel that there is more than one beat for the sound!

25. Mystery Songs
Display the rhythm to a song without the words. Have students determine what the song is from reading the rhythm (or hearing the rhythm).

26. Song Sorts
Write each phrase to a song on a flashcard. Then mix them up and have students "unscramble" the rhythm. I often add an extra phrase to make it more challenging. There is an example of this in my Miss White file on TpT.

27. Composition
Having students compose is a great way to practice rhythms. They have to be able to notate correctly and represent what they think on the page. You can use whiteboards, do it as a class, have students write their own... I often find that once we start composing in 1st grade, I receive many, many "notes" in my boxes of songs students write. Once, I had a student give me a set of 100 flashcards he composed on index cards when they learned to write rest!

28. Rhythm Puzzles
Take an old (easy) puzzle and write the rhythms of a song on the back of it. Then have students put the puzzle together to reveal the mystery song/rhythm. They love it!

29. Worksheets
Search TpT....there are AMAZING resources! Also, if you have the McMillan McGraw music curriculum, there are many great worksheets in the Resource Masters that align with Kodaly instruction.

30. Listening Lessons
I always try to find a piece that clearly demonstrates the rhythms we are working on for my students to listen to. If you haven't yet seen "From Folksongs to Masterworks," I HIGHLY recommend you check out this resource. It has great listening connections to use!

31. Morse Code

In this game you have students work in pairs. A student taps a rhythm into their partners hand. Then the student who "received" the message tries to decode what they tapped.

Whew! Hopefully you gained an idea or two that you can take back to your students! Have a wonderful week!! 

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Music Advocacy in Your School Community

Hi! This is Tanya from Teaching Music: Tanya's Kodály Aspiring Blog.
I will be straightforward with what has been preying on my mind recently; the focus on standardized tests and the de-valuing of any school subject that is not included in the state tests. The idea of "the arts for art's sake" seems to have fallen out of favor. There has been a lot of turmoil in my district lately and I am anticipating that music teachers in the district will have to justify the worth of music education even more than usual. While we urge the pendulum to swing back towards valuing the ideas and subjects that make us human, let's discuss how we can better promote all the wonderful things happening in the music room!

Today I'll be focusing on a few ideas to promote your music program within your school community. When the going gets tough in school districts and program cuts are proposed, does your school community know enough about the value of your program to keep it off the chopping block? Articles on research that report the impact of music on brain development, test scores, and career readiness are wonderful to share but they won't save the music program unless the community is personally invested.

Make Music and Make it Meaningful
Yes, this is an obvious objective! However, it's something that could get lost if you are required to state and re-state your learning objectives several times a lesson, engage students in higher-level thinking activities, and include writing activities, (not music composition; writing.)  It is challenging to fit everything in. Additionally, it seems like outside forces are suggesting more of a music appreciation approach to elementary music. While an understanding and appreciation of music is important, singing and playing music in music class trumps everything else. According to Kodály, "Often a single experience will open the young soul to music for a whole lifetime.  This experience cannot be left to chance; it is the duty of the school to provide it." (1929)
 Amen to that!

School Day Performances
The other morning, a 6th grade teacher who is new to our school came to the music room a couple of minutes early to pick up her students. As the students were lining up she remarked to me, "Wow, they can really sing!" I thanked her for the compliment but thought to myself, "well, of course they can sing!" It's important to remember that other teachers, administrators, and school personnel have a limited view of what happens in the music room. Once a class has a piece performance ready, why not share by inviting their homeroom teacher, an aide, or the principal to the music room for a two minute performance? This also gives the students an incentive to really polish that 3-part canon or class composition with instruments. If possible, invite a class of younger students to be an audience. At my school each homeroom used to pair up with another "study buddy" class. Each younger student would be assigned an older student mentor and the classes would have a once a month activity time together. I remember 5th graders sharing their Tinikling routines with their kindergarten study buddies; it was hard to tell which class was more excited, the performers or the audience.

Concerts and Programs: Preach with the Choir
Do you have grade level performances attended by parents and families? While you have a captive audience, take this opportunity to communicate what students have been doing and why. This can be done verbally at the performance by you, the music teacher.

A project I plan to repeat this year is to create a Powerpoint or iMovie to show as families file in to the gym before the performance begins. The Powerpoint slideshow will include pictures of students rehearsing for that performance along with an audio track of students discussing their favorite song of the concert, their favorite rehearsal memory, or why they enjoy making music. This does take some extra planning but the validation of students' musical experiences is worth it.

Arts Nights, Singing Games Night, and Informances
I know I always appreciate something more when I've experienced it first-hand rather than only by observing. Singing and playing music is a type of fun many adults may not experience with their kids. For several years I've put on a 1st grade Singing Games Family Night in September. During this fun and slightly hectic event 1st grade families participate in several singing games and dances. It's a wonderful opportunity to get adults involved in making music and playing with their children. Another school in my area has a family arts night led by the music, art, and PE teacher. The teachers chose a theme that aligns with the social studies curriculum and invite students and families to create art, make music, and play a physical game.

Meaningful student recognition
The idea of student stickers came from a 1st grade teacher in my building. I noticed several of her students coming to music with labels on their shirts that said things like: "I was a respectful partner during shared reading!" or "I completed my page of math carefully today!" She keeps a pen nearby and writes these positive comments on address labels and then sticks them to the front of kid's shirts so that their parents don't miss it. I created some labels myself specific to the music room. Each first grader who sings a song solo receives one of these stickers on their shirts:

The children wearing their solo singing stickers just beam with pride. Many students go home and sing for their parents and family. Children are proud of their singing skills and families see the resulting confidence and joy!
I have also sent positive notes home when a student has done a consistent, excellent job in the music room. (What a shocker that must be; a positive note home!)

When your students participate in all-state choir, solo and ensemble, or another honor ensemble outside of school, be sure to recognize them publicly at the school recognition assembly or during other school-wide announcements like newsletters and video or audio intercom addresses.

School Newsletter and School Website
The school newsletter and website provide another avenue to let parents know what is going on in the music room. Many music teachers have their own school music web page where they can post music news. (My school web site is under construction.)

In addition to teaching, we need to let others know about the music learning taking place every day in the school. I've just scratched the surface of ideas to advocate for an elementary music program. If you have had success promoting your music program please share your ideas!

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Sequence within the sequence

Hi everyone! This is Aileen from Mrs. Miracle's Music Room. 

The Kodály philosophy is widely known as being very sequential. Kodály-inspired educators teach simpler rhythms and solfa first--those rhythms and solfa common in folk songs of the students' mother tongue.

The sequence of a Kodály-inspired classroom was very appealing to me as a new teacher. It wasn't until several years into my teaching, though, that I began to understand the sequence within the sequence.

After students learn ta and ti-ti, for example, we could immediately start throwing improvisation and instrumental activities at them...but they may not be very successful. By first starting with easier practice activities, such as reading rhythms and copying patterns, then sequencing to more difficult practice activities, such as composition and improvisation, students can be much more successful. Here is a typical order in which I practice rhythm. For this list, I'll use the example of ta and ti-ti, but it could be used with any rhythm:

Reading rhythms: After presenting ta and ti-ti, I have students simply read from rhythm flashcards, or read a rhythm of a known song from the board. I do this immediately after presentation, as well as in the beginning of the next lesson, to review with students what they just learned.

Writing rhythms: Students can use pencil and paper or dry erase boards and markers to copy rhythms from the board or from flashcards. This isn't dictation yet--they are simply copying rhythms that you either show them or speak. Much like a Kindergartener writing the letter "a" several times, this gets students comfortable with writing the rhythms.

Playing rhythms: Students can use non-pitched percussion to play patterns from flashcards, or can use barred instruments in C pentatonic to play the rhythm patterns on any bars they want. Sometimes students can say and clap patterns, but having a wood block in their hand is a bit different! Being able to transfer their knowledge to actually playing an instrument is a needed step.

Identifying rhythms: Students can either encode a pattern by hearing it then saying it aloud, saying the rhythm of a known song or chant back at you, or hearing a pattern then choosing which pattern it is (from a list of three patterns, for example.) This is almost dictating, but not quite, as they may be choosing from a list--like a multiple choice test--or may be identifying the rhythm without actually writing it down.

Dictating rhythms: Now students can finally hear a pattern, then either write it with pencil and paper or dictate the pattern with rhythm manipulatives, such as popsicle sticks.

Creating rhythms: Students now can transfer their knowledge and can create rhythm patterns of their own, perhaps by improvising spoken rhythms, or perhaps by composing their own 16-beat piece with known rhythms. The possibilities are endless!

This is not to say that you have to start at reading and work your way to creating in that exact order. In order to differentiate for your higher learners, you will want to have some challenging opportunities in early practice, and for your struggling learners, you will want to have some simpler opportunities in late practice. But having this order in my mind has really helped me unpack exactly what I want my students to do, and when. I just created this set to use with my own students when practicing ta and ti-ti; each week, I will add the next level of complexity.

Do you have any other steps in your sequence within a sequence? Feel free to comment below with any more ideas, and have a great day!

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