composition and improvisation in elementary general music · composition and improvisation in...
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CompositionandImprovisationinElementaryGeneralMusic
RogerSamsDirectorofPublicationsMusicIsElementary
BowWowWowfromPurposefulPathways,Book2
UsedwithPermission
PATHWAYTOMovementPlay:Traditionalsinginggame• Studentsstandinacircle,withpairsfacingeachother.• Theystomptheirfeetthreetimeswhensingingthe“Bow,wow,wow”motive.
Theygesture,movingtheirhandsapartwiththepalmsfacingup,tofillintherest.• Theyclaphandsthreetimeswhilesinging,“Whosedogartthou?”andthen
gesturefortherest.Thisgesturewillresembleagesturemadewhenaskingaquestion,likeashrug.
• Partnersjoinhandsandduring“LittleTommyTucker’sdog,”theystepleft,rotatingtogetheruntiltheytradeplaces.
• Onthefinal“Bow,wow,wow,”studentsstepinplacethreetimes,andonthelastbeatofthesongbothplayersjumpandturnaroundtofaceanewpartner.Thesongbeginsagainwithnewpartners.
• Repeatuntileveryonereturnstotheiroriginalpartner.• Noovertsinginginstructionoccurs.Studentslearnthesongwhileplayingthe
game.
PATHWAYTOEnsemble:ChordbordunwithUTPostinato• PattheBX/BMbordunpattern.Thestudentsjoinyouwhenready
(simultaneousimitation).
• TransfertoBX/BMandputtogetherwithsinging.• Readtherhythmforthehanddrumpart(clapping).
• Dividetheclassinhalf.Halfsingsthesong.Halfclapstheostinato.Trade
parts.• Transfertohanddrum.
• Dividetheclassinhalf.Halfdrums.Halfsingsthesong.Tradeparts.• Putitalltogether.
PATHWAYTORhythmicImprovisation:4-beatpatterns
• Singthemelodicpattern,fourtimesfollowedbysilentlycountingtofour.
• Studentsjoinyou,singingthepatternandcountingfourbeatsbetween.• Studentssingthepattern.Youmodelrhythmicimprovisationusingyour“dog
voice”(barking,growling,whining,etc.)duringthemeasuresofrest.Besuretokeepitrhythmicanduserhythmsthatarewithintherhythmicvocabularyofthestudentsatthisdevelopmentalphase.
• Yousingthepatternandthestudentsimproviseintheir“dogvoices.”• Pairthestudentsupanddistributethepairsaroundtheroom.Onestudentisthe
“singer”theotheristhe“dog”.Tradeparts.Repeatmultipletimestogivethestudentslotsofpractice.
• Repeattheprocess,butnowuseBPrhythmicimprovisationinsteadof“dogvoices.”
• Considercreatingasatisfyingformwiththesong.ItmightbeABAformoritcouldbeaGrandRondo,whichwouldallowtheopportunityforassessmentofin-tunesingingand/orimprovisationalskills.
OldMotherBrown
fromPurposefulPathways,Book3UsedwithPermission
PATHWAYTOPitch:Echopatternsusingdoremiso
• Leadsolfaechopatternsusingdoremiso.• Besuretoemphasizethedo-mi-sopatternsfoundinthesong.• Asalways,usestudentleadersastheyarereadyandtimepermits.
PATHWAYTOLiteracy:4 h 2anddo,re,mi,so
• Readtherhythm.Theserhythmsareveryfamiliar.Expectthestudentstoreadthemwithoutyourhelp.
• Readthemelodyfromsticknotationusingsolfaandhandsigns.Bepreparedtousethesolfatoneladderforremediationwhenthestudentsneedsomeextrasupport.
• Readthemelodyfromthestaffusingsolfaandhandsigns.• Addthetext
PATHWAYTOComposition:8-beatrhythmicostinato
• Theclasscomposesan8-beatrhythmicostinatobyselectingandarrangingfourbuildingblockcards.Forthehalfnote“whoa”havethestudentsclapandthenpretendthattheyarepullingonreignsforthesecond,sustainedbeat.
4 h ridepo-ny
h 4 po-nyride
4 4 rideride
2 Who----a!
h h po-nypo-ny
• Claptheostinatotogether.(Makesurethestudentsareshowingthesustainedhalfnotebypullingonthereigns.)
• Dividetheclassinhalf.Halfsingsthesong.HalfperformstheostinatoonWBorUTPinstrumentofchoice.Regardlessofwhatinstrumentyouchoose,you’llprobablyneedtouseaspecialinstrument,likethesuspendedcymbal,toprovidethesustainedsoundofthehalfnoteon“Whoa!”Tradejobs.
• Smallgroupsofstudentscomposetheirown8-beatostinatiusingbuildingblockcardsthenperformonUTPtimbreoftheirchoice.
• Eachgroupsharestheostinatotheycreated,firstaloneandthenwiththeremainderoftheclasssingingthesong.
PATHWAYTOEnsemble:I-VwithUTPostinato
• ModeltheBX/BMostinato(mirroring)andsingeitherthetext,absolutepitchnames,orsolfa.Studentsjoininwhentheyareready(simultaneousimitation).
• Dividetheclassinhalf.Halfsingsthesong.HalfpracticestheBX/BMostinato.Tradeparts.
• TransfertoBX/BM.• CombinesingingandBX/BMwithsomeofthestudentcreatedUTPostinati.
ChickenonaFencepost
fromPurposefulPathways,Book3UsedwithPermission
PATHWAYTOMovementPlay:Singinggame
• Studentslearnthesongbyrotewhileplayingthegame.• Twostudentsareselectedasfarmers.Theyleavetheroomorgooutofviewand
listeningrange.• Theremainderoftheclassisintwoconcentriccircles,holdinghands.Itis
determinedwheretherewillbetwogatewaysattheendofthesong,oneineachcircle.Agatewayisproducedwhentwostudentsraisetheirjoinedhandstocreateanarch.
• Studentsinconcentriccirclessingthesongastheywalkthebeatandmovetheir
circlesinoppositedirections.Theinsidecirclemovescounterclockwise.Theoutsidecirclemovesclockwise.
• Attheendofthesongthecirclesstopmovingandthetwogatewaysarecreated.Thefarmersracetofindthegatewaysandpassunderthemattemptingtobethefirstpersonintothecenterofthecircle.(Teachersoftenhavearubberchickeninthecenterofthecirclewaitingtobeclaimedbythevictor.)
• Aftertheraceeachfarmerpickstheirreplacementandthegamerepeats.
PATHWAYTOImprovisation:4-beatechopatternscontaining4 h H • Usethetempleblockstolead4-beatechopatternsincludingsixteenthnotes.Ask
thestudentstopattheirechoes,alternatinghands.• Putthetempleblocksinthecenterofthetwoconcentriccirclesforthegame.
Aftertherace,thefarmerwhowinsgetstoleadthepatternsbeforetwonewfarmersareselectedandthegamebeginsagain.
PATHWAYTOEnsemble:Splitbordunwithostinato
• PattherhythmoftheBXostinatowhilesingingthesong.Askthestudentstojoinyouwhentheyareready(simultaneousimitation).TransfertoBX.
• StudentsreadtherhythmoftheAXostinato.Havethempreparetoplayitbypattingononeleg,alternatinghands.TransfertoAX.
• Putthesplitborduntogetherwiththesong.• StudentsreadtherhythmoftheSXostinatoandtheyprepareforinstrument
playingbypattingononeleg,alternatinghands.Besuretheyusetheirbodiestophysicallydemonstratetherests,bypulsingintheairortappingtheirshoulders.TransfertoSX.
• Putallthreeinstrumentalpartstogetherwiththesong.
PATHWAYTORhythmicImprovisation:H
• StudentssingthesongandpatH hwhenevertheysingthewords,“Chickenonafencepost.”
• Studentsplaytheflooreverytimetheysingthewords,“Chickenonafencepost,”whilesingingthesong.
• Repeat.Thistimetheyaudiatethesongandplaythe“Chickenonafencepost”rhythm.
• Repeat.Thistimemodelimprovisationduringtherests.BesuretoincludeHinyourimprovisation.
• Dividetheclassinhalf.Halftheclassplaysthesetpart.Halftheclassimprovisesduringtherests.Tradeparts.
• Studentsplayboththesetpatternandtheimprovisedparts.
ZudiofromPurposefulPathways,Book3
UsedwithPermissionPATHWAYTOMovementPlay:Singinggame
• Begininalong-waysset.Studentslearnthesongbyrotewhileplayingthegame.• Studentscriss-crosshandswiththeirpartneracrosstheset.Theypullandtugto
thesteadybeat,creatingatwistingmotion.• On“stepback”theybreaktheirholdandjumpbackwards,creatinganalley.One
memberoftheleadcouplestrutsdowntheaisleastheclasssingstheirname.Ontherepeat,theothermemberoftheleadcouplestrutstheirstuffastheclasssingstheirname.(Thisisatimeforshowingoff!)Eachpairmovestowardthetopofthesetastheleadcouplecomesdowntheaisle.
• Beginagainwithanewleadcoupleuntilallhavehadaturnto“struttheirstuff”.
TEACHERTALK:AdaptingtomeettheneedsofyourcurriculumThisisourabbreviated/adaptedversionof“Zudio.”Weareusingthefirsthalfofthesong/game.Thisportionservesourcurricularneeds(do-la).Wehaveadaptedthesinginggametothisshortenedversion.Ifyou’dliketodothefullversion,itiseasytofindonlineandinprintedmaterial.PATHWAYTOPitch:Focusondo-la
• Usingthesolfatoneladder,havethestudentssingpatternsyoupointout.• Endupworkingwiththefollowingtwopatterns,untilthestudentsaresecure
withthedo-laleap.
h 4 4 4 doremisola 2 2 do la
• Oncetheyaresecureonthedo-laleap,pointtothepitchesonthesolfatoneladderthatoutline“Zudio.”Askthestudentstosingthepitchesyoupointto,usinghandsigns.
• Analyzethemotivicform:aaab
PATHWAYTOInstrumentalTechnique:Playingthemelody• AcclimatethestudentstoC=dopentatoniconthebarredinstrumentswithsinging
andplayingsolfaechopatterns.• Teachtheinitial,do-la-so-labyhavingstudentsecho-singandplayonbarred
instruments.Havethemplaythatmotivethreetimes.Forpurposesofthissong,theymayuserepeatedhandsontherepeatednotes.
• Teachthesyncopateddescendingmi-re-domotiveusingechoimitation,asabove.• Putitalltogether.
PATHWAYTOComposition:C=dopentatonic,aaabform
• Reviewthemotivicformofthesong.Itisaaabform,witharepeatsign.Thissongisagoodmodelforcompositioninaaabmotivicform.
• Leadtheclassthroughthecompositionprocesstogether.Provideanexampleforthestudentsbeforehavingthemcreatetheirowncompositions,suchasthefollowing:
• Createanamotive.
• Playtheamotivethreetimes.
• Composeabmotive.ItisimportantheretohavestudentsidentifythatCisdo.EndingonCwillcreateastrongcadenceattheendofthecomposition.Thisisanimportantconceptatthispointintime.Havethestudentsnameanduseyourpreferredterm;hometone,restingtone,ortonicfordo.
• Playinaaabformwitharepeatsign.
• Puttogetherwithamotivicaccompanimentthatemphasizesdo-la.Thesampleaccompanimentmotiveborrowsfromtheplayingskillsusedpreviouslywhenplayingthemelodyof“Zudio.”
• Youmayuseouraccompanimentmotiveorhavethestudentscreatetheirown.
• Havestudentsformgroupsof2to4.Havethemrepeattheprocess,creatingtheirownuniquecompositionsinaaabform.RemindthemthattheywanttheirpiecestoendonC,thetonic.
TEACHERTALK:NotationDecidehowmuchfocusyouwanttoplaceonnotation.Thatmayormaynotbeimportanttoyouforthisexercise.Youwillfinditusefultoaskthestudentstonotatetheircompositionssothattheycanplaythemagainduringthenextclass.Somestudentswillbeveryparticularandwanttonotateitcorrectly.Otherstudentswillbequitecontenttocreatetheirownnotationalsystemthatworksforthem.Youcouldturnthisintoamajorprojectandnotatetheirfinalcompositionsusingmusicnotationsoftware.