With some schools asking music teachers to reduce or stop singing, here are some non-singing activities! Thanks Kailee Marshall for writing and providing these.
Body Percussion Activity
Acknowledgment to Keith Terry (USA) and Helen Wilson (Australia – WA)
This is a body percussion activity using 3, 5, 7, and 9 moving logically down the body. See the video below:
Process:
- Revise all patterns until students are comfortable
- Play with different combinations of patterns – e.g. 3, 5, 7 or 3, 3, 9 etc.
- Practice the following rhythm combinations
- 3, 3, 7
- 5, 9
- 9, 3, 3
- 7, 3, 5
- Perform the above patterns at the same time and enjoy the sound of the clap and the stamp moving around the group.
- Perform the following patterns individually and then together. If performed correctly everyone should finish on a 9 at the same time
- 3, 3, 7 pattern 6 times then 3, 3, 3, 9
- 5, 9 pattern 6 times then then 5, 5, 9
- 9, 3, 3 pattern 6 times then 9
- 7, 3, 5 pattern 6 times then 9
Extension:
Groups could create their own arrangement of these numbers or other body percussion to create a B section.
This could them become a rondo form or ternary form piece of music.
Speech Rhyme Activity
Speech rhyme (or speech rhyme of your choice):
Six cheese sandwiches, nine days old,
Thanks for the lunch mum, top class mould!
Process:
- Learn speech rhyme through imitation
- Explore different ways to keep the beat while saying the rhyme
- Explore different ways to play the rhythm with saying the rhyme
- Can you do them at the same time?
- Say in cannon
- Experiment with different voices/elements of music (whisper, robot voice, high, low etc.)
- Add different ostinati – suggest some and then let students suggest some
- NOTE: an ostinato is a short repeated musical pattern
- Transfer ostinato/i to body percussion or instruments
- Combine ostinato/i (spoken and body percussion) and rhyme together an a whole class arrangement
- Send students off into small groups to create their own arrangements
- Share arrangements with the class
Music Check List
PP
- Sing a nursery rhyme
- Listen to a song you wouldn’t usually listen to
- Sing a song with someone else at home
- Sing in the shower
- Listen to a piece of music and draw the picture that the music creates in your mind
- Make an instrument from recycled materials and compose a song using your instrument
Year 1 – 3
- Sing a nursery rhyme
- Listen to a song you wouldn’t usually listen to
- Sing a song with someone else at home
- Sing in the shower
- Listen to a piece of music and draw the picture that the music creates in your mind
- Make an instrument from recycled materials and compose a song using your instrument
- Listen to your favourite song and keep the beat in different ways
- Listen to your favourite song and play the rhythm in different ways
- Create a dance to your favourite piece of music
Year 4 – 6
- Sing a nursery rhyme
- Listen to a song you wouldn’t usually listen to
- Sing a song with someone else at home
- Sing in the shower
- Listen to a piece of music and draw the picture that the music creates in your mind
- Make an instrument from recycled materials and compose a song using your instrument
- Create a dance to your favourite piece of music
- Listen to an episode of David Williams’ Marvellous Musical Podcast
- Write a report on your favourite musician/composer
- Play on Staff Wars – Download from the app store
- Create a piece of music on Garage Band
