A Great Resource for Teaching Vocal Music

Today, I would like to share with you an invaluable resource for teaching vocal music. I inherited it from a retiring teacher years ago. These used to be on overhead transparencies. A few years ago, I scanned them into my computer so I could use them on the SMARTboard.

The Rhythm Pattern above is ta, ta, ta, ta (which are all single claps and are timed with a 1, 2, 3, 4) , the next measure is ta, ti-ti, ta, ta (a ti-ti is pronounced tee-tee and is two quick claps but still follows the same time of 1,2,3,4) The Z like shape is a rest and you can clap a rest by bringing your hands apart.

To start clapping this pattern in unison, count the class in.

Say, “Clapping hands ready. 1, 2, ready, go.” You can tap the beats out using a meter stick if you find it helpful. I certainly do until the class gets a feel for the natural timing.

This is the first in a series of eight lessons that you can use as a warm up for the first five minutes of your music lesson.

Here is the second lesson / warm-up.

As you can see, the warm ups get progressively more difficult.

Junior One – Lesson Three incorporates the doh finder. This symbol looks like an old-style skeleton key. The forks of the key point to the start of the musical scale, which is doh (sometimes spelled “do”)

The circle at the top of the key marks which note on the staff is “so.”

Using these vocal warm-ups will help your students learn how to sight read. 

Each line or space on the staff marks a specific note. For the younger kids just learning how to sing, it is not terribly important for them to know that the bottom space is an “F’ but more important that they know according to the doh finder on the staff just above this block of text is “Mi.”

This last line is hard to sing because it is very low in key.

The top line above is a lot easier for young voices to hit correctly. You can also see how the clapping pattern has become the singing pattern.

Junior One – Lesson Seven

Junior One – Lesson Eight

There are more lessons to this series. The Junior Two worksheets are a bit more advanced and difficult. If you would like to have them as well, please contact me and I will be happy to email them to you.

I hope you have found this week’s Teaching Tip useful. Remember that we do this each and every Tuesday here on Silent Cacophony.

Enhanced by Zemanta