The Young At the Bars

Transcription

1 A R T I C L E S B Y L Y N N K L E I N E R An Introduction to playing Orff Instruments A resource for teachers who love to teach and live to learn.

2 ➊ Recommendation of What s Needed Reference Books: Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic (FS) CDs: Kids make Music, Babies make Music Too! (KMM) Downloads: Hello Song (Songs), Using the Sopranino Recorder for Music Making with Young Children (Articles), Student Rules and Teacher Guidelines (Articles), Reference can be made to Froggy Goes to School (Stories with Music) Prop/Visuals: Hula hoops, Turkey puppet Instruments for Teacher: Guitar, Sopranino, Tick-tock Block, Finger Cymbals, Cowbell and striker Instruments for Students: Assortment of Orff instruments set up in a pentatonic key The following keys are common for Orff instruments and indicate which bars to play and which to remove. C Pentatonic C D E _ G A _ F Pentatonic C D _ F G A _ G Pentatonic D E _ G A B _ Remove Fs and Bs Remove Es and Bs Remove Fs and Cs Sing Hello Song as you patsch the beat. Use student names in the songs. Use the following movement and listening activity for a pre-playing warm-up. The teacher plays the instruments, the students respond as directed. QR When you hear the tick tock block, walk, matching the sounds with your feet. The teacher starts, stops and changes the tempo. QR When you hear the cowbell, stand in place and echo the pattern by clapping. The teacher plays easy 4 beat rhythms, using dynamic changes and more challenging rhythm, including key signature changes, if students echo successfully. QR Alternate the cowbell with the tick-tock block so that the students are sometimes walking, and sometimes standing in place, clapping the pattern played on the cowbell. QR When you hear the finger cymbals being played once, raise your arms and bring the tips of your fingers together as if they are kissing, then lower your arms. This is in preparation for putting the mallets side by side and laying them on top of the instrument bars. QR Alternate the cowbell, the tick-tock block, and the finger cymbals so students are sometimes walking, sometimes clapping the pattern played on the cowbell, and raising and lowering their arms after the finger cymbals are played. Continued on page 2

3 ➋ continued from page 1 QR When you hear me play the sopranino, patsch on your legs, tapping any rhythms you want on one leg, the other or both, as if you were playing a xylophone. Stop when the sopranino stops. QR Alternate the cowbell, the tick-tock block, the finger cymbals, and the sopranino so that the students are sometimes walking, sometimes clapping the pattern played on the cowbell, raising and lowering their arms after the finger cymbals are played, or patsching rhythms with the sopranino. Reminding the students of the Froggy story, Froggy Goes to School, and the song to learn the rules, sing the rules for the Orff instruments. Students can guess many of the rules, others will need to be presented.* QR After the rules have been stated or sung, have one child go to an Orff instrument, asking the other children to watch carefully to see if all rules are being followed. QR Ask the child if they can guess what to do after they hear the cowbell. QR Play the cowbell and guide the child to echo the same pattern by playing any notes on the Orff instrument they have selected. QR Ask the child to guess what to do when they hear the sopranino being played. QR Play the sopranino and guide the child to make up their own rhythms on any notes on their instruments. QR Ring the finger cymbals and guide the child to raise the mallets, putting the heads together as if they are kissing and say, Good job mallets, now go to bed. QR Demonstrate laying the mallets down across the bars of the instrument and joke that you hope no feet or heads are hanging off the bed. (This action will ensure that the next player will find the mallets for that instrument.) QR Play the tick tock block and explain this is the walking signal, meaning it s time to find another instrument to play (a different kind of instrument, in a different row.) QR Choose another student and go through the same aural signals and playing as stated above. QR Choose several more students and repeat until all are playing. Since the activity presented above does not require a specific pentatonic key, choose a song from the ones listed below in the key you selected for the Hello Song. Continued on page 3

4 A resource for teachers who love to teach and live to learn. ➌ continued from page 2 Using the CD, Kids Make Music, Babies Make Music Too, let the children free play along with the CD. C Pentatonic Bell Horses Track 29 F Pentatonic Old Grey Cat Track 38 G Pentatonic Little Horses Track 46 QR When you hear me play the sopranino, patsch on your legs, tapping any rhythms you want on one leg, the other or both, as if you were playing a xylophone. Stop when the sopranino stops. QR Alternate the cowbell, the tick-tock block, the finger cymbals, and the sopranino so that the students are some- times walking, sometimes clapping the pattern played on the cowbell, raising and lowering their arms after the finger cymbals are played, or patsching rhythms with the sopranino. Extensions for following lessons for the new Orff players: QR This will also work well for unpitched percussion, such as rhythm sticks or tone blocks as wood sounds, and triangles or finger cymbals as metal sounds. QR Using one hula hoop Students play when the conductor is standing in the hoop, and stop playing when no one is in the hoop. QR Using two hula hoops Students chose an instrument with wood or metal bars to play. Place metallophone and glockenspiel bars (metal) in one hoop and xylophone bars (wooden) in the other. Students play when the teacher stands in their instrument s hoop. ALL students play when a foot is in both hoops, all stop when teacher jumps out. If time, invite a guest student conductor to lead the class. Keep track of who conducts in the attendance book or on the class list since all will want a turn From Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic Page 44 Track 32 Continued on page 4

5 ➍ continued from page 3 Shoo Turkey This traditional call-and-response folk song provides opportunities for easy Orff playing and allows for the joy of switching instruments.! QR Use the CD to accompany as everyone plays an instrument on, Yes, Ma am. On the B section Shoo turkey, shoo shoo, students lay their mallets across their instruments and strut and flap to a new Orff instrument. After the final shoo! is sung in the chorus, students can free play whatever they would like on their new instrument until the singing starts again. QR There is a short time to free play before the A section starts again. Then everyone plays only on Yes, Ma am. QR The teacher can also surprise the class with a turkey puppet* as they move to a new instrument; the turkey can visit everyone when they play Yes, Ma am. The turkey puppet, instruments, and Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic book and CD are available using your Music Box membership discount at musicrhapsody.com. Larger Orff instruments used in this lesson can be special ordered from musicrhapsody.com.