Maestro & the Christmas Tree Level: Early Grades - Creative music
Christmas Instruments (timbre, dynamics, tempo, texture)
This is a for groups of three or four that can be done as a class if you have teaching assistants, or as a music corner activity. First put out a range of instruments and objects such as jingle bells, wood blocks, shakers, chime bars, shells on a string, paper for rustling. The activity has added value if an adult supplies the children with useful words to describe what they are doing eg loud/quiet, fast/slow.Then ask the children to find out how the instruments can make Christmas music.
The suggestions made by the children here included the sound of a tree (who are we to argue?), snow falling, reindeer 'feet', Santa singing and laughing, sleigh bells, a clock striking midnight.
The Snow group
This group decided to make Snow Music. Notice that they all played at the same time (thick texture) and that some children varied how they played their instrument.
The Santa group
The children in this group were asked to create a musical story line. They talked first about how they could show it was midnight (the bells chiming midnight), then came reindeer hooves on the rooftop (wooden claves), Santa and the elves laughing and singing (chime bars and voice), and finally sleigh bells as they all go off into the sky again. Notice the thinner texture when they play one at a time and how this changes at the end when they all play bells.
Peer Evaluation
It's not too early to begin asking the children to comment on the musical creations and performances of other groups. You'll hear me ask this group what they liked, for the first time, after the Santa group's performance. Whatever the children say is fine so accept all responses as valuable. It's a great to hear how these children realised straight away that they could talk (however simply) about music.
Spontaneity
I hadn't planned beforehand that we would sing Jingle Bells but didn't they enjoy it? This was my final session with this lovely group of children.
