Warming up to Singing
Brought to you byPatti Rodriguez
Students and teachers are often shy about singing.
• the goal is not to turn students into singers• enliven the learning process• People also learn to sing by SINGING
Teachers can increase singing accuracy by…
• Establishing the starting pitch of a song by singing or by playing it
• Meter & flow of song can be established by counting– “1,2, rea-dy sing” for a song in 2 or 4– “1 rea-dy sing” for song in 3
Encourage students to…• sing with energy rather than to sing loudly• blend with the voices of their classmates
Alleviate concerns about the sound of one’s voice by:
• Chanting nonsense sounds• Over time teachers can progress
from chanting, to exaggerating the words into a “heightened speech”, and then to singing.
Warmup ExercisesStretching/Breathing Exercise
Vocal Exercise
Choral Reading
Brought to you byPatti Rodriguez
What is Choral Reading?
– Finding short poems, literary passages, or famous quotations that require vocal variations in rhythm, pitch, emotion, or dialect
– Encourages students to use their voices in new ways while adding fluency, confidence, and expression in reading aloud
– Examples:• Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” or “The Bells”• Use original writing
What’s THE WHOLE POINT in using nonsense sounds or choral reading?
• Acquaint students with using their voices with:– greater expression– vocal range– skill
• Gets students ready for the joy of singing with confidence
Musical Notation
Brought to you byPatti Rodriguez
Unless students take formal music courses, they rarely learn to read musical notation.
• Abstract musical symbol system might be an unfamiliar foreign language throughout their lives because of lack of exposure
• Students can create their own symbol systems to better grasp musical notation
SOME WAYS TO TEACH NOTATION
– Ask students to listen to a piece of music & devise their own symbols to represent what they hear
– Number the keys on a scale of a piano from 1 to 8 & help students play song
Introducing the Concept of Musical Notation
• INDIVIDUAL NOTES ON THE STAFF– Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do (solfege)– C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do
Teaching Solfege
DYNAMICS & CONDUCTING ACTIVITY (just on LA)
– Cut off (hand gesture)– Hold note (hand out)– Go louder (hand goes up)– Go softer (hand goes down)– Blending..Sing Triad Chord
Creating Curriculum SongsBrought to you by
Patti Rodriguez
• Recorded songs are not available so, CREATE your own songs for your curriculum or content area.
• Little musical talent is required to begin creating original songs by writing words to a simple, well-known melody.
Song about the water cycle(to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Drip, drip, drip from the skyInto a little stream,Down the mountains, through the plains,And out into the sea. Up, up, up it goesUp into the skyOver the mountains it blows again,Then watch the snowflakes fly.
JUMP-STARTING CREATIVITY WITH MUSIC
Brought to you by Patti Rodriguez
When students are asked to write a story or poem, some complain they don’t know where or how to begin– Music can serve as a source of
inspiration– Music can stimulate images and
feelings and igniting storylines to pursue
• You can ask students to pretend they are film producers and that they are to create a storyline using music only.
• Show them examples like, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf & Disney’s Fantasia
Thank you for listening!