BLOG POST #2 - How can I teach my students about rhythm?

Responding Statement

The development or progression of rhythm in Music should begin with recognising a steady beat. For example, strumming or clapping to the beat or tempo of a song. In a song with a 4'4 tempo, four pulses or claps should signify one bar. A game that supports students in maintaining a steady beat is the concentration game, as explained in figure 7. The game supports the integration of Music and English: Writing, this game can be modified to support lower grades and abilities by just saying names, or maintaining the steady beat with thigh taps. 

Figure 7: Concentration Game (Splash Games, 2017)

Advancing from recognising and producing a beat, copying rhythms demonstrates a progression of knowledge and skills in Music. Copying a rhythm is accomplished by listening and reproducing the duration of each sound as it organised in the music. For example, as the rhythm of 'Jingle Bells' becomes faster and slower, students could clap or tap to the pattern of the lyrics in copying the rhythm. Copying rhythms can also be practiced in reading and interpreting rhythm notations. Employing 'Ti-Ti' and 'Taa' in describing notes or sound durations, as further explained in figure 8, allows students to interpret and copy rhythms.

Figure 8: Interpreting notation to copy rhythms (Pena Young, 2015)

Improvising rhythms allows students to create and express in Music. Improvising rhythms could vary from creating layers of rhythms from one steady beat that intertwine and 'hopefully' complement one another. An example of layering improvised rhythms can be seen in figure 9, as performed in a drumming circle.

Figure 9: Layers of improvised rhythm (Donovan, 2015)

Improvising rhythms in a drumming circle can be modified and also integrate Mathematics as a teacher rhythmically asks a multiplication question and the students respond by drumming the syllables of the answer. For example, the teacher rhythmically chants, "Five times five is" and the students respond with three strikes or taps on the drum to improvise the sound of 'twen-ty-five'. 

Finally, notating rhythms includes the written description of sound length and organisation in a song. Notating can be achieved informally or formally.

Formal notating introduces the universal notes and symbols of sheet music, as explained in figure 10.

Figure 10: Formal notation (Pinterest)

Informal notating of sounds can include shapes, symbols or colours as a means of representing sound length and/or source, for example, clapping or stomping. Figure 11 describes how informal notation can be practiced using lego bricks - further, figure 11 depicts a transition from informal to formal notation when students write and begin to content the formal notation symbols as seen on the bricks.

Figure 11: Informal notation (Teachers Pay Teachers)

Learning in Music

This week the elements of music from the Australian Creative Arts: Music curriculum (2019) were introduced;

• Rhythm
• Pitch
• Dynamics and Expression
• Form and Structure
• Timbre
• Texture

Focusing on the element of 'rhythm', three definitions can describe and identify its ideal:

• the way music is organised in time (Tasker, 2019)
• a pattern of pulses or sounds among strong and weak beats
• combinations of long and short sounds that convey a sense of movement subdivisions of sound within a beat (ACARA, 2019)

Rhythm explores the integration of: 

• Beat - a steady pulse
• Tempo - the speed of the beat
• Duration - how long the sounds are or sound length
• Meter - the way the sounds are grouped

UKULELE LEARNING

The C chord and G chord learning were reflected on from last week's ukulele learning workshop, revisiting the learned songs; Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Mary Had a Little Lamb. Developing skills and knowledge in playing the ukulele, the F chord was introduced, as seen in figure 12.

Figure 12: F chord (Tasker, 2019)

The introduction of the F chord allowed the exploration of a board range of new songs:

• Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
• If You're Happy and You Know It
• The Wheel on the Bus
• Incy Wincy Spider
• Who's the King of the Jungle?
• God is So Good

Making in Music

This weeks making in Music activity was to collaboratively compose and notate an 8-bar body rhythm. An informal notation of our composition can be seen in figure 13 and a formal notation in figure 14.

 Figure 13: Informal notation of Hands in Friendship (Willimas-Bulter, Thacker, Saunders, Henderson, 2019)

Figure 14: Formal notation of Hands in Friendship (Williams-Butler, Thacker, Saunders, Henderson, 2019)

Figure 15 is the performance of our composition, Hands in Friendship. 

Figure 15: Hands in Friendship (Williams-Butler, Thacker, Saunders, Henderson, 2019)

This activity could be suitable across the stages of primary learning. This activity could be modified to support upper primary grades or abilities by adding layers or lower grades or abilities by reducing the array of note durations or values, or the number of bars to be composed. Below are some content descriptors that can develop learning across the stages from the Australian Creative Arts: Music curriculum (2019).

Foundation to Year 2
ACAMUM080 Develop aural skills by exploring and imitating sounds, pitch and rhythm patterns using voice, movement and body percussion

Year 3 and 4
ACAMUM084 Develop aural skills by exploring, imitating and recognising elements of music including dynamics, pitch and rhythm patterns
ACAMUM085 Practise singing, playing instruments and improvising music, using elements of music including rhythm, pitch, dynamics and form in a range of pieces, including in music from the local community

Year 5 and 6
ACAMUM088 Explore dynamics and expression, using aural skills to identify and perform rhythm and pitch patterns
ACAMUM089 Develop technical and expressive skills in singing and playing instruments with understanding of rhythm, pitch and form in a range of pieces, including in music from the community. 

(ACARA, 2019)

Responding in Music

When students are viewing the performance of peers and professional musicians is it important to facilitate a reflection and response process with questions. From a teacher's perspective, this weeks' responding in music activity included the reflection of the teaching and learning strategies implemented in a music class by considering the questions:

• What are the student's learning?
• What Music Skills and/or Knowledge are students developing?
• How does the teacher contribute to the learning? Consider body posture and movement, and integrated learning.

By reflecting and responding to the teaching of others in Music, as teachers can revise and educate our own teaching practices and strategies that we choose to implement in the primary Music classroom.

References

ACARA. (2019). Retrieved from Australian Curriculum: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Donovan, J. (2015, June 20). Rhythm Seeds Layers with Boomwhackers. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19r8PKAU2Qg

Pinterest. (n.d.). Note Values. Retrieved from Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/417568196673399858/?lp=true

Splash Games. (2017, September 14). Concentration. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRtq_z8j1Ac

Tasker, J. (2019). The Music Curriculum EDUC 24112 – Curriculum Studies: Creative Arts. Cooranbong, NSW, Australia: Avondale College of Higher Education.

Teachers Pay Teachers. (n.d.). Rhythm Lego Poster! Retrieved from Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhythm-Lego-Poster-2825235

Young, S. P. (2015, November 10). Talking Rhythm: The Kodály Method. Retrieved from Musical U: https://www.musical-u.com/learn/talking-rhythm-the-kodaly-method/#