Dance

Dance is an organized and planned art that connects children with music in a rewarding way.  It teaches them how to count and keep time, it makes them listen to the music to remember the steps, and it allows them to communicate what they hear in a constructive way.  Phyllis Weikert used folk dances to teach children rhythm, time, and other musical elements, and also teach them about culture.  Dancing also gives students something to show to their parents, and an opportunity to become comfortable performing in front of a crowd.

Eurhythmics

Eurhythmics is of movement with a purpose.  A teacher creates a eurhythmics exercise with certain musical elements in mind.  These could include pulse, meter, articulation, dynamics, tempo, phrase, anacrusis, sound vs. silence, melody, timbre, accent, proportional relationships.  The teacher sets rules and models the movements, and the children use their own bodies as instruments to feel the music and it's elements. Song choice is very important when deciding what you want the child to get out of the lesson.

Creative Movement

Creative movement is an interpretive and expressive way that children use their bodies to feel the music they hear.  It is not modeled, and completely generated by the student.  The teacher sets rules and boundaries first so that the children stay on task.  It helps the children actually listen to the music, predict where it's going, and coordinates what they hear with bodily movement.

Singing Games

Singing games are similar to action songs in the way that the song and rhymes are associated with the movement.  The game aspect of them is exciting for children because it's very interactive and gives them the chance to improvise.  They also encourage independence.

Action Songs

Action songs are great for putting students' energy toward something meaningful and educational.  Action songs have the the motions in the lyrics, so the don't require any prior rehearsal.  They get the children up and moving right away, and they're a lot of fun.  Action songs are important for coordination, synchronized rhythmic movement, and improving the singing voice.

Advanced Pitch Concepts

1. Scale- the set of tones used to make up a melody.  
2. Major and Minor Modes- Distinguished by the treatment in the third and sixth tones of the scale.  Each is used for different effects.
3. Melodic Sequence- a short melodic pattern repeated at different pitch levels.

Some strategies for enhancing the perception of advanced pitch concepts include:

• Learn to sing stepwise scale songs and dramatize them but also move upward and downward in small intervals to the melodic line.  Play the scale songs on bells by ear.
• Sing songs in both minor and major modes.

Pitch Relations and Melodic Motion

• By age 4 children develop the ability to discriminate differences and similarities in pitch
• they might group pitches that are relatively similar together
• point to, group together, or use an instrument to help categorize pitches
• Use upward/downward and moving higher/moving lower to better explain the difference between pitches
• using high/low and up/down can be confusing since these terms do not audibly relate to pitch
• use vertical instruments, like a xylophone or keyboard, to help relate the visual terms to pitch

• Strategies to help young students with pitch and melodic motion
• have students walk upstairs when singing an ascending scale and downstairs when singing a descending scale
• have students stretch and raise their arms high in reaction to wide intervals and pitches
• physically step if the melody is stepwise motion and leap if the melody has large intervallic jumps
• have students listen to recordings, read/play/sing the melody, and then have them identify it

Adapting Instruction in Pitch for Various Needs

Mobility Impairments

• Children can respond to pitch motion using whatever part of their body they are able to use, such as the eyelids, mouth, tongue, head, arms, or upper torso.

• If a child is in a wheelchair, still be sure to include him or her in any games. Ways can always be found to have the child move the chair appropriately or have others assist so they can be included.

Auditory Impairments

• Invite children who have bad hearing or are deaf to touch the soundboard of a piano or a large xylophone with their hand to sense the changes in vibration of pitch patterns.  Then, ask them to recreate the shape of what they feel with their body.  Have them play patterns on keyed percussion, particularly on low sounding instruments.

• Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)- Children with APD might not be able to perceive speech directions clearly or perceive musical patterns accurately.  Use simple, clear directions when speaking to them.  Have them sit at the front of the room and try eliminating surrounding noises as much as possible.  Use multiple modalities to help them experience pitch motion, including touch, whole body movement, and playing instruments.

Beginnings of Pitch Awareness

• As children move through their music education, it is important for them to start to understand why two pitches or two melodies are different.
• Approaches to kickstart discrimination and contour awareness in early childhood:
• Use words to describe similar and contrasting melodies or intervals such as “same” or “different”
• Shape the direction of the melody while singing and have students imitate.
• Draw on the board or on paper the contour of the melody, and have children trace the line with their voices.
• Dance with scarves to music, moving them up and down based on the contour of the melodies.

Understanding Linear Pitch Structure

• When children think of pitch, they do not understand the difference of pitch being “high” and “low”.
• They may relate this comparison to volume or visual aspects.
• Naturally, the students can:
• Discriminate when pitches, melodies, or phrases are similar or different.
• Recognize the “shape” of the melody (visual representation).
• Students then develop the ability to focus on:
• Pitch register, pitch direction, and pitch motion.
• Interval sizes- larger or smaller leaps?

• As their musical development progresses, the students become able to identify tonality, melodic phrases, and scales.

 

Age	Percept & Concept	Teacher Actions
Less than 6 months	responds to differences in pitch	sing w/ words, neutral syllables, imitate sounds
6-18 months	recognizes differences between pitch contour, intervals and ends of phrases	sing simple/nursery songs that the children would know and play recorded music
18 months- 4 years	uses contour/rhythm to recognize and replicate familiar material	begin to extend vocal range, use keyboards or bodily movement to show contour and phrase
4-8 years	beings to recognize pitch and melody as high/low and upward/downward, becomes aware of intervals and tonality	encourage singing/body movement/computer programs for pitch and contour, incorporate musical vocab
8-12 years	can recognize steps, leaps, repeated tones, melodic sequences, and upward/downward patterns	use singing, instruments, and body movement to strengthen understanding and use notation for contours and patterns