Maestro & the Christmas Tree Level: Early Years

Maestro the Music Dog and the Christmas Tree

This story just happens to be set at Christmas time but it has no religious connotations - it's just a bit of make-believe.

• All Maestro the Music Dog materials ©Music-Playtime: Arts Enterprise Limited
• Original watercolours and story: Sandy Holland
• Original music: Peter Noke

Choose a Sound for Maestro (timbre)

Ask the children to make a wax crayon picture of each of the characters in the story. In the music corner, put out a range of instruments that make different sounds and are played in different ways then, individually, the children choose an instrument that they would like to match with that each character. It's good to have an adult available so that the children can talk about how they made their choices.

Music Dog

This song is sung to the tune of Jingle Bells:

• Music Dog Music Dog
• Maestro is his name
• Maestro came at Christmas time
• To live with Hannah Lane
• Oh!
• Music Dog Music Dog
• Maestro likes to play
• Hannah Lane was happy
• That he came on Christmas Day

• All Maestro the Dog materials ©Music-Playtime: Arts Enterprise Limited

Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star

To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle, a firm favourite with children and an ideal song for the children to mime.

• Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star
• Way up high is where you are
• Shining bright for us to see
• On the top of the Christmas tree
• Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star
• Way up high is where you are

Hannah Played Piano (structure)

Here's an action chant about the Maestro story. The children do actions for both verses - I suggest actions but you can, of course, make up your own. For verse 2, hand out some jingle bells to a few children to play on the second line.

• Hannah played piano (piano arms, out and in)
• Charlie played the bells (shake arms up and down)
• Maestro came at Christmas time (look into the distance, shading eyes)
• That's what the story tells! (pretend to read the book)
• __
• Clap our hands for Hannah (clap hands)
• Then we shake the bells (shake arms up and down)
• Point up to the Christmas star (point upwards)
• That's what the story tells! (pretend to read the book)

• All Maestro the Music Dog materials ©Music-Playtime: Arts Enterprise Limited

We Wish You a Merry Christmas (pulse, rhythm)

The tune is the one we know and love, so there's no recording, but the words are different and there are actions to be done in time with the word, LET'S in each verse.

• We wish you a Merry Christmas
• We wish you a Merry Christmas
• We wish you a Merry Christmas
• And a Happy New Year
• __
• Now LET'S all do a little clapping
• Now LET'S all do a little clapping
• Now LET'S all do a little clapping
• And spread Christmas cheer
• __
• Now LET'S all do a little jumping
• Now LET'S all do a little jumping
• Now LET'S all do a little jumping
• And spread Christmas cheer
• __
• Now LET'S do a little waving
• Now LET'S do a little waving
• Now LET'S do a little waving
• And spread Christmas cheer

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.

The Nutcracker

Hannah and Charlie were playing Christmas music on Christmas Eve. A piece of music from a ballet that is often performed at Christmas time is The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, about a nutcracker toy that also arrived on Christmas Eve. Here's the part of the story where Clara, the girl in the story, finds the nutcracker. Clara goes to sleep and dreams that some little mice are dancing. The children could watch this video first, then listen to the music again and dance to it, pretending to be the little mice with one child (or a doll to prevent falling out!) chosen to be Clara.

Mouse Music (pitch, tempo)

Input from an adult is recommended for initial discussion about what sort of sounds small animals make with their feet and voices. The children could work individually or in pairs, first choosing instruments that make high-pitched, quiet sounds then creating a little piece of quick-moving music. A keyboard can be useful here, or a set of chime bars. Many children start to make up a story-line as the basis of their playing and later they might paint or draw a representation of the story or the sounds.

Christmas Elves (structure, tempo)

An Elf and Fairy Dance

Wrist bells needed - you can buy a pack of ten online, with small size adjustable fastenings.

This picture is from a very old Christmas card. The elves and fairies are doing a circle dance on the toadstool. In a large space such as a hall, help the children to dance a simple circle dance, accompanied by the bells on their wrists. They need to be evenly spaced for the dance with lots of room to shake their bells as you say the words that give the instructions:

• elves and fairies walk in a ring, this way (circle anticlockwise, then turn)
• elves and fairies walk in a ring, this way (circle clockwise)
• elves and fairies face the middle and clap your hands (clap clap clap)
• everyone bow to the fairy queen and then sit down.

A Maestro Frieze (art link)

Make a frieze all around the room of characters from the Maestro story that the children have painted. These could alternate with potato stencil 'paw prints' using potatoes that you have prepared in advance, dipped into a tray of finger paint.