Careful asking a human to "sit up strait." We don't have flag poles in our bodies, we have spines, and the spine does have a natural curve to it. I simply ask them to "Listen to your body" so they can make the micro adjustments. Their body will tell them what it needs if they practice listening to it. This mindfulness practice is great after stretching.
Inspired by the work of Andy Mullen
Tonality (modes) Chord Function Posters
Major, Minor, Dorian, Phyrgian,
Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian
Inspired by the work of Dr. Heather Shouldice
Tonalities are like different flavors of ice cream.
The melody (ice and milk) are still present while you change the tonality
(flavor of ice cream) making a new kind of flavor.
Key signatures can be tricky...
but we can also give our students some tricks.
This is a fun challenge for students that help them practice their micro beats in duple and triple meter. I put this on the outside of my music room door and students who choose to take the challenge and show me get a "polyrhythm five"
Graphic Organizer:
Removing rhythm and just focusing on the "Tonal" side of music allows students to focus one smaller and more mentally digestible aspects of music literacy. Just look at the dots! ...What tonal solfège is that dot?
Students can share their music playlist and catagorize it into different meters...
Duple, Triple, Mixed
Graphic Organizer:
Start with notes, then create rhythm... combine any variation of those notes with your rhythm and you have a melody.
If you are audiating you can make music. But if you do not use your brain, you might be a zombie.
Graphic Organizer:
Whole pizza = Whole note
Half pizza... (?)
Quarter Pizza... (?)
Eighth pizza... (?)
Teaching by rote starts with the ears. It also is important to offer space for musicians to hear it in their hear (audiate) so that when they sing they have more confidence in what is coming out of their mouth.
Inspired by the work of Andy Mullen
Duple meter (Aural / Oral)
Macro & Micro
Inspired by the work of Andy Mullen
Triple meter (Aural / Oral)
Macro & Micro
Inspired by the "Jump Right in" Recorder Books
Inspired by the "Jump Right in" Recorder Books