Improvisation Part 1: Rhythm



Hi, everyone!  This is Jamie Parker. Like many of you, I am on spring break this week. Each year on break, I like to set aside some time to think about how my students are progressing and where they still have room to grow before the end of the year. One skill area that seems to need improvement each year is improvisation. Personally, improvisation has been an area of weakness for me, and, as a result, I feel the need to add purposeful improvisation activities to my lessons. I have decided that I’ll spend the next couple of blog posts discussing different improvisation areas, and today I’ll be going over rhythm improvisation.

(Thanks to Sonya DeHart, Kelly Benefield, and Melonheadz for the graphics)


When doing rhythm improvisation activities in my classroom, I tend to start with four-beat rhythm patterns. Before I hold my students accountable for any patterns, I always go through the following process:
  • I tap and say many four-beat patterns and the students tap and say the patterns back.
  • We have a discussion about each of our known rhythms and the amount of beats each rhythm takes up.
  • I tell the students to think of their own pattern. Then, I give them a little think time.
  • The students say their patterns at the same time as the rest of their classmates. This “babble” time gives them an opportunity to practice and revise.
  •  I ask for some students to volunteer on our improvisation activity.


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Dancing! The Antidote for TMT (Too Much Testing!)


Hello,
This is Tanya from Teaching Music: Tanya's Kodály Aspiring Blog.
Well, it's that time of year again! What, daylight saving time? Yes, but even more unsettling, it's testing time! (I find it very interesting that we know that daylight saving time negatively affects our physical and mental health and this is when we are undergoing high-stakes testing!)

My motto for curing the fatigue of TMT (too much testing,) is to move. The more they test, the more we dance! Those bodies have been parked at desks for ninety minutes at a time in front of a screen; the release that moving provides is exactly what they need.
Here are some resources and tips when teaching dance.

Resources

New England Dancing Masters (aka The Amidons)


These materials are a must have for any music teacher. All of their books/CDs are worth owning and using but if you are new to these materials I recommend Chimes of Dunkirk to begin with; it contains many accessible dances for primary and intermediate grade levels. Rise Sally Rise (formally known as Jump Jim Joe), Down in the Valley, and I'm Growing Up contain more singing games and play parties then dances to instrumental music. They also have DVDs!

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