Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is one of the mainstays of music education. Since its composition in 1936, it has been used to teach the instruments of the orchestra to students around the world. My question is this: how can music educators transform a traditionally passive listening experience into an active elemental experience?  Let’s start with movement! 

To set the stage for Peter and the Wolf, I first let students explore each of the main themes with movement. (This website is a useful resource as a place to find each theme without having to correctly click on a YouTube video link.) As a class, we create a list of movement qualities for each character. I use student-generated vocabulary as well as ACEMM’s movement cards. This is a great opportunity to discuss timbre and how the expressive elements of each theme affect our movement words. Then we pass out character cards and listen to a performance of the folk tale with students creating movements for each character. (Note: we do have a class discussion about the hunters and what motions are appropriate for school. In my classroom, the hunters utilize nets instead of firearms for the purposes of our storytelling.)

In the next class, we discuss why Sergei Prokofiev chose each particular timbre for each character. To facilitate this discussion, I created “Peter and the “What if…?”   This is a website where students can choose different timbres for each character. After the students have reassigned the instruments, we explore how the different timbres affect our movements and interpretations of the characters.

Lastly, I have students create their own stories utilizing classroom percussion. With this worksheet, students create a short story about a character meeting two different characters and then returning home to their grown-up. Students can use classroom percussion to create a soundscape for each character or they can create a brief melody or rhythm – whatever your curricular goals are at the time. Finally, students can put on a performance of their piece of music for their peers, classroom teacher, or school community. 

The post Peter and the “What If?” first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

The board members of ACEMM are hoping to spread a little bit of love out there to all of our friends far and wide through the beautiful book, “While We Can’t Hug,” by Eoin McLaughlin.

While We Can’t Hug

Lesson idea by Crystal Pridmore

I found this beautiful book sitting in the window of my favorite independent bookstore, the Napa Bookmine, over winter break.  The title immediately caught my eye, and I was overcome with emotion as I flipped through the pages. I teach in Southern California, and I have been teaching virtually since our schools suddenly shut down in March 2020. I often tell the students that one of the things I miss the most about in person music class is getting to greet each of them at the door with a high five, a hug, or a silly dance. We have come up with an entire nonverbal language over the course of this school year to communicate over our virtual classroom. As we continue virtual learning indefinitely and slowly reopen into a hybrid classroom, hugs and high fives will be off the table for the foreseeable future. What a blessing it was to read this book that helps children understand that there are many ways to show someone that you love them, even if you can’t hug.

I imagine that this book will find a place in families for many years. There are many health or distance related challenges that might prevent a family or friend from hugging. Friends move away and family members become medically fragile through illnesses and treatments. This book is an important tool for anyone who needs to help their child navigate expressing affection when touch is unavailable.

Read the Book and Introduce the Song

Begin by asking the students how playing on the playground, visiting some family members, or attending school is now than it was last year. Ask if any of them have thought of creative ways to show someone that they love them without touching them. Say that the book we are about to read is all about two best friends who want to give each other a great big hug, but they are not allowed to right now. Instead, they use their imaginations to come up with the many ways they can show each other that they love them without touching.

Introduce the song:

You can get an ostinato effect on your ukulele by simply picking the top two strings in a C-G pattern.  Sing the song through once and ask the students to listen. Read the story and sing the song after every page. Invite the children to join you after the third listening.

Rhythm Word Chains

Ask the students to come up with their favorite way tortoise and hedgehog showed each other they loved each other in the book, OR come up with their own!  Write everyone’s ideas down on a white board in person or digitally. Next, ask students to turn those ideas into rhythms.  Here are some ideas to consider, you students will come up with a lot of ideas, yours there, and mix in some of these if you need some variety.

For older students make longer phrases and create a speech piece with one and two measure speech loops. It can be a lot of fun to add body percussion to these as you build them. The textures get very rich!

Invite students to work with a partner to string two or four different rhythms together to create a rhythmic ostinato. They can use body percussion or unpitched percussion to chant their ostinatos while the rest of the class sings the song again. If teaching virtually, the teacher can sing the song for the A section and invite each student to clap and say their ostinato one at a time in between.

Concrete to Abstract Movement

Lesson connection idea by Casey Goryeb

Inspired by Kris Olson’s Workshop at the AOSA Virtual Symposium 2020

Question for students: What is a hug?

Allow for students to respond with any words that they think of for hugs.

Demonstrate what a hug looks like by hugging yourself or a stuffed animal.

Pose questions: what would it look like to hug someone shorter than you? Taller? Two people at the same time? A dog? A cat? A baby? A room full of people you love? How does a Koala hug? How do you hug with just one hand? Can you hug someone without using your arms? Etc.

Ask students to imagine the sensation of hugging even if they can’t in real life.

Allow students to explore these different movements in their space and describe the physical and emotional sensations of a hug.

This could be its own C section with some additional music underneath or be incorporated into the A section; the teacher sings while students move.

Creative Movement Extension

Lesson connection idea by Drue Bullington

Here is a fun creative movement extension that reinforces the use of concrete and abstract movements.

The video features “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin (from a player piano roll that he actually “recorded” himself! How fascinating!), and ideas from the book “While We Can’t Hug.”

1. First watch, listen, and move to the video.
   
2. Then, during certain parts the teacher chooses, take away the video images but allow the music to keep going, and let the students create their own movements without being prompted.
   
3. In the third hearing, use no video, just the music, in-person students can choose someone across the room to “work with” in sharing greetings and interacting, sometimes mirroring, and sometimes leading.
   
4. Virtual students can focus on others and mirror their movements at times, and at others make up their own.
   
5. Consider putting the music on again and just showing the pictures of the book and have the students dance the story.
   
6. What other music could you use to dance the story?
   
7. Could you try telling the story with unpitched percussion and movement?
   
8. What if you used the video and have the students play unpitched percussion! For instance, only shakers move and play when the smile section occurs!
   
9. What do your students think should happen next!? Try some of their ideas!

Rhythmic Building Brick / Contactless Gesture Extension

Lesson connection idea by David Thaxton

Google Slides Presentation Here

While We Can’t Hug / Contactless Greeting Jam

This is an extension to the While We Can’t Hug book and lesson plan that can be explored across many different grade levels with possibilities for speech, movement and electronic instrumental ostinati.

Preparation

Preparation can be as simple as a reading and short discussion of the book, but may include the song and other activities.

Discuss alternatives to physical greetings like handshakes, hugs, and high fives.

The Moves

With a rhythmic background playing (see below) echo speak each greeting on the slides. Some brief explanation may arise for some gestures such as:

•  “Pageant Wave” (elbow-elbow-wrist-wrist-wrist)
  
•  “Royal Wave” (Palm towards face, small circular motion)
• 
  “Snappy Salute” (Faster than normal, and may include whip-like sound effects)
• 
  “English Salute” (Arm arcs up with palm out)

Make a sequence of these ideas.

Make an Example

• Using the final slide, choose a four-gesture sequence. (Like Air five, Hee Haw, Hang Loose, W00T)

• Practice performing as a sequence.

Small Group Work

• In small groups, partners, table groups or breakout room groups, students decide on a contactless greeting sequence of four gestures.
  
• Practice sequence gestures and speaking the gesture names

Modifications

• Younger grades may do better by choosing one slide to create sequence from
  
• If classes struggle with the sequence of two-beat patterns, you may extend it by adding two beats of rest after ach one
  
• Older grades may use the slides containing all the gestures
  
• Digital learners may open the slides and drag and drop gestures into the purple boxes
  
• Further examples may be made by creating a whole-class sequence, dragging and dropping gestures into the boxes as decided on by students

Movement Refinement   

Groups may further modify sequences with additional movement and form

• Split between individuals
  
• Perform in pairs
  
• Use different levels
  
• Perform in canon

Perform

• With background music accompaniment, groups may share their sequence individually, or concurrently as a whole class.
  
• Distance learners may access the looping software and perform and share with software such as Flipgrid, Google Classroom or others.

Accompaniment

The music that might typically accompany such an activity may not be accessible with restrictions on barred instruments, non-pitched percussion, world drums and such. Fortunately, there are electronic options that can be accessed both for in-person and digital learning models.

A MIDI Grid Controller, such as Novation’s LaunchPad Mini gives opportunities to create loop-based accompaniments with programs such as Logic Pro (Mac), Ableton Live, or web-based midi loops.

• Logic Pro: This Mac based program includes a “Live Loops” feature that can use preset or user-created loops from GarageBand or Logic Pro. I have created a series of GarageBand files that contain recordings of different Orff mallet percussion and Non-pitched percussion. These can be imported into Logic Pro and used to spontaneously create ostinato-based accompaniments.

• Ableton Live: Similar to Logic Pro, Ableton is available to both Mac and PC users, and can be used with pre-recorded loops, or you can record your own.

Web Based Loops: Novation offers a sample array of looping choices that can be immediately controlled with the LaunchPad, but can also be controlled without one, directly on your browser from their Intro Website.

• Another Fun app to pair with this exercise is Incredibox. Loops can be arranged by dragging different wardrobe options to the animated performers. *(At first, the shirtless male characters may seem shocking. With my own students, we addressed it by comparing it to seeing men and boys shirtless on the beach or at the pool. Very quickly the shirtlessness goes unnoticed as students are drawn in by the engaging nature of the loops they can create. It is best to know your students. Be mindful of how they might react and anticipate the appropriateness for yourself as well as have  a strategy for getting them past any weirdness they may have about it.)

These loop accompaniments can create captivating and groovy additions to the gesture performances. Playback can be for the whole group, or with individuals (especially distance learners) using their own access to the software/website.

Hopefully, your students will have an engaging experience working with the musical elements and connection with each other in this activity.

We at ACEMM are so happy to have the opportunity to share these ideas with you! We hope you find ways to connect with your students in these challenging times and promote kindness in your classrooms and schools as much as possible. After all, in making music together aren’t we so fortunate to be a part of the great kindness challenge that never ends!?

From all of us at ACEMM, we hope you stay safe, stay healthy, and keep the music alive in the hearts and bodies of our favorite musicians: you and your students!

We create opportunities, YOU make the difference!

Drue Bullington, President
Crystal Pridmore, Vice President
Lissa Ray, Secretary
David Thaxton, Treasurer
Kate Bright, Director
Casey Goryeb, Director
Lisa Sempsey, Director
Natasha Thurmon, Director

To continue discovering the possibilities of elemental music and movement, we invite you to join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Click here to download a pdf of this post.

The post Lesson Ideas: Kindness is Elemental first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

by Lisa Zargarpur

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the name of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar during which able-bodied Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. The Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle so each year, the date of Ramadan goes backward in the Gregorian calendar. This year in North America, Ramadan begins at sunset on May 5 and will end at sunset on June 4. The farther north you live, the longer the days are.

Fasting, Food, and Feast

Months are marked by the sighting of the thin crescent of the new moon. Muslims wake early before dawn to have an early morning meal called sahoor. Fasting begins just before the break of dawn and continues through the day until dusk when the fast is broken with a meal called iftar.

During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to go about the day as normal and even work harder to be kind, do good deeds, and practice patience. No food or drink can be consumed during fasting times. Young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those are sick or who have a medical condition that makes fasting a burden are exempt. Ramadan lasts 29 to 30 days and ends with a three day celebration or festival called Eid al-Fitr, meaning “Festival of breaking the fast”. 

A Song for Ramadan

Ramadan is observed by Muslims all over the world whose cultural practices color some of what you might see during Ramadan. While it is generally accepted for a Muslim to begin fasting at the age of puberty, many families encourage younger children to try fasting, even if for only part of a day. Your Muslim students might insist that they cannot sing or dance during this month. Some might be quiet or tired, while for others there will be no difference. Communication with your students and their families will generally answer any questions you have better than generalizations you find here.

I wrote this song as a way to discuss Ramadan with my students:

It is a simple song with many possibilities to add to the piece:

• Speak or chant the piece (alone and in canon)
• Sing as written or in canon.
• Add percussion ostinati based on phrases: “stars are shining” (ti-ti-ti-ti), “moon cycle” (ta ti-ti) etc..
• Add a simple bordun (simple, leveled, crossover… using G and D)
• Use finger cymbals, triangles, and metallic instruments to create a ‘twinkling star’ effect
• Students can create movement using the cycles of the moon as inspiration

Be sure to engage students in their suggestions. Help guide them thoughtfully and respectfully through the process. Students can generate new sections based on ostinati from words and phrases about Ramadan that can be played on pitched and non-pitched percussion.

Blessings

The origin of the word Ramadan is ramad, meaning intense heat. As physical heat can bring change to matter, the month of Ramadan is an opportunity for a person to be reshaped and forgiven of sins through prayer and fasting. The Quran has many quotes that faithful Muslims will share with one another during the month, for example: “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous” [Chapter 2: verse 183].

Ramadan is a month of blessings and change, when people greet one another with the phrase “Ramadan Mubarak,” which roughly translates to “Happy Ramadan” or “Blessed Ramadan.” It is a time be mindful of behavior, to forgive others, to practice good deeds, and to strive to become better each year. In doing these things during the month of Ramadan, it is believed that you will be rewarded many times more.

May you find peace and harmony during this time of Ramadan.

Ramadan Mubarak!

Lisa Zargarpur is a K-6 music educator at Keene Mill Elementary in Fairfax, Virginia. She took her Orff levels and Master Class at George Mason University and is a member of the Middle-Atlantic Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association. Lisa also serves a a board member on a committee at her local mosque and works with Prince William County Schools on Multicultural and Diversity training through the mosque.

The post A Song for Ramadan first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

by David Thaxton

Whether it is the lavish experiences of opera combining theater, art, and music, or the powerful emotion imbued into a film with an artfully written score, the Arts enliven each other in astounding ways when they are combined. So I have found it to be with three of my own favorite complementary art forms: Music, Poetry and Visual Art.

As a lover of language, I have always been drawn to poetry, for it is an expression that distills language down to its very essence. Poems are concise. Each word and line carries weight, tone, texture and meaning – often more than just one. Rhymes imply satisfying music, syllables spell out punctuated rhythms. Short forms capture a moment in time like a photograph, or rather, a painting.

Visual art captures the same elements: tone, weight, line, texture and meaning. The prompt “take your eyes for a walk around the painting” makes for a beautiful and contemplative way to take in the art for any age. This is precisely the starting point of a lesson that starts with visual art, saunters through poetry, and ends with music.

Here are three ideas for using Music, Poetry, and Visual Art with students, especially in the month of March, in celebration of both Youth Art Month^TM and Music in Our Schools Month^® (MIOSM^®). It is my hope that you find inspiration for ways to infuse these art forms with your own students.

Here is a free printable for use with your own students to create and compose using Haiku.

Part One: The set piece “There was an Owl”

This little piece based on an old aphorism makes for a beautiful foray into dissonance, consonance and the contemplative nature of owls.

• Teach the piece phrase by phrase beginning with the unison A all the way through – primarily to learn the words. Play the Metallophone chimes between teacher and student turns.
• Teach the top line in similar fashion, but add hand or whole body movement that illustrates the melodic contour.
• Find a student leader (or pair of leaders) who can sing the upper melody independently, and have them lead the class while you quietly sing the lower part. (Leave out the middle part for now)
• Repeat, bringing more students up to sing the lower part with you as part of your “team.”
• As the class becomes able to sing the top and bottom parts independently, repeat the above process with the middle part.
• This may take more than one class period. It does not need to be fully completed before moving on to other elements of the lesson.

Part Two: Syllabic Poetry

This is a great opportunity to check in with classroom or language arts teachers as a point of possible collaboration and to gain insight into what your students have learned so far in those classes.

Haiku / Senryū

The most familiar syllabic poetry form is the Haiku. The good old “5-7-5” is accessible to schoolchildren and amateur adults alike. However, the original Japanese form is stricter than one might think. A true Japanese haiku has to have a seasonal reference or setting called “kigo,” a “turn” or “cutting word” called “kireji” somewhere near the end of the second line and the beginning of the third line, and must also be about capturing a single moment of time in nature. Interestingly, the syllable count matters the least. Senryū, on the other hand are less strict. They tend to be more about the human condition and can be humorous, sarcastic or ironic. Most “haiku” written for fun or cleverness are actually Senryū.

The moon in his talons

As snowflake stars fall silent

The hunter sees all

Cinquain

An old form that used to refer to any five-line poem, the cinquain has evolved due to inspiration from haiku poets to encompass some of its elements. The syllable count of a cinquain is 2/4/6/8/2, with variations such as a reverse (2/8/6/4/2) and mirror (2/4/6/8/2/2/8/6/4/2). Cinquains unfold very musically with opening and closing lines of two syllables like an intro and coda.

Tetractys

This is a form based on the Greek idea of the ratios found in triangles (Pythagoreanism) and then extended to mathematics, architecture and even music. The syllables are 1/2/3/4/10. Reverse (10/4/3/2/1) and mirror (1/2/3/4/10/10/4/3/2/1) are also common variants.

The mirror tetractys and cinquain are longer forms, well suited to extended practice with students working with syllabic poetry, or for use in longer musical structures such as “There Was an Owl.”

“Night Owl” by Hua Tunan

Working within a form:

• Display a work of art such as “Night Owl” by artist Hua Tunan.
• Invite students to “Take their eyes for a walk” around the painting, and silently catalog things they notice.
• Review methods of determining syllables: clapping sound of words, putting hands below chin and feeling how many times the chin dips when saying a word.
• Collectively volunteer or “popcorn out” words and phrases of the prescribed syllable counts (for this particular lesson, use either a mirror tetractys or mirror cinquain)
• When the final version of the poem is settled on, the ten lines can be fitted into the structure of “There Was an Owl.”
• Example:

The owl

Faces the wind

Gripping the thin tree branch

With his determined energy

He waits

Lightning crackles through his feathers

Eyes searching for his prey

A stealth hunter

Silent

Part 3: Small group exploration and creation

Prepare materials: Find and locate several works of art. These can be thematically related, or not. Place the printed art in a large envelope with index cards and a pencil. Museum shops are great resources for inexpensive postcards of their collections and exhibits.

6th graders working out a haiku & melody

Divide into student-selected groups based on their preference of the following three activities:

• Write a poem and use it to compose a melody on pitched percussion instruments (best set up in pentatonic)
• Write a poem to be read aloud as group members use unpitched percussion to illustrate
• Write a poem to be read as group members perform a movement or dramatization

Each group receives an envelope (artwork may be displayed on the outside of the envelope for groups to choose from) and begins cooperative work.

• Each group selects a scribe to write the poem
• A poetic form is decided on (or may be decided by the teacher beforehand)
• Group members contribute ideas to create a final poem to be worked with musically

The music and movement development takes the following refinements under consideration:

Melody Groups MU:Cr1.1.5a,b:

• Does the rhythm fit the natural flow of the words?
• Does the melody have more steps and skips instead of leaps?
• Does the melody begin and end on the tonic?

Unpitched Groups MU:Cr2.1.5a:

• Are the instruments used sparingly, punctuating key moments?
• Are the instruments chosen for timbres that complement the poem rather than compete with it?
• Are the instrumentalists making space for the narrator to speak, and vice versa?

Movement Groups MU:Cr2.1.5a:

• Is the dance done in silence during the narration?
• Are there scarves or other props that can be used without detracting or distracting from the performance?
• Is the narrator reading slowly and/or with regular pauses to allow for the movement to unfold artistically?

Part 4: Culmination MU:Cr3.1.5

Once all the small group projects are complete, practiced and ready, it is time to fit them into rondo form with the set piece as the A section and perform either informally for another class, staff members, or in a formal concert.

The forms, themes and set pieces may vary, but it is my hope that you and your students will find this way to explore visual art, poetry and music to be satisfying and fulfilling as they discover that the space where different art forms overlap can be a beautiful place.

David Thaxton teaches PK-6 music in Reno, NV. He presents workshops nationally and is the Orff Level I Basic Instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno and at the San Diego Orff Course. He was awarded the ACEMM “Spotlight Educator” for Winter 2017, and serves on the AOSA Reverberations Editorial Board.

The post Music, Poetry, And Visual Art: Complementary Inspiration first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Explore possibilities of rhythm and form in Cyndee Giebler’s second installment on Elemental Composition!* Using just quarter notes, two eighth notes, and quarter rests, discover Cyndee’s ideas for using a simple 8-measure composition as inspiration for providing a ready-made musical context for just about anything you and your students are passionate about.  Simply stated, you can start having fun in a “snap!”

Let’s begin with three basic components: quarter note, two eighth notes, and quarter rest. These three items can be combined into two beat “blocks” in a variety of ways:

In the above examples, numbers 6 to 9 are a bit trickier than 1 to 5, especially for students still developing literacy skills. This is, of course, highly dependent upon the experience and skill level of your students, but for now, we will use only the first five blocks, like so:

Here comes the fun part: you can combine these blocks any way you wish to make an interesting rhythmic piece! This can be accomplished through the miracle of:

Form

Think about simple forms for a moment. What are the possibilities? Here are a few:

AABA

ABAB

ABBA

AAAB

ABBB

AABC

ABAC

ABBC

That is a long list of possibilities created with only 3 components! Let’s make some music out of all of this.

• Choosing two blocks, let’s make an A phrase using numbers 5 and 1;
• Now, a B phrase with 4 and 3;
• Finally, we will select a form from our list of possibilities: ABAB;

Our resulting piece would look like this:

As my students would say, “Mrs. Giebler, this sounds REAL!”  It sounds real because:

a) it IS real

and

b) it has form

Try it with your students if you haven’t done something similar already. They will feel very successful!

Here’s another example. A= 2+3 and B= 5+5.

The form is AABA. (Yes, it’s really AA’BA, but A’ is just a rhythmic variant of A). I added words for fun:

A musically satisfying piece in only 8 bars! Wait a minute, does it say manipulate the rhythm? The A section rhythm has already been manipulated somewhat, but the whole piece can be transformed through the magic of:

Dimunition and Augmentation

Diminution means assigning the given note values ones of shorter duration. The overall effect is one of an increase in tempo. Here is the original piece in diminution, again with words:

Augmentation is changing the original note values to ones of longer duration. While the tempo really has not changed, it will seem slower. Here is our example in augmentation:

We can combine all of these examples into an even bigger piece with three independent lines. Use the augmentation example as the foundation. Layer the original rhythmic example on top. Note that you will have to repeat the original example in order to accommodate the length of the augmented example. The example in diminution will need to be repeated four times:

Consider having students perform their compositions using body percussion, speech, small percussion, pentatonic melody, and movement – the possibilities are plentiful to have fun with rhythm!

*Read Cyndee’s first installment in this series on ACEMM’s website: Nature’s First Instrument: The Body

Cyndee Giebler lives and teaches in northeast Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and completed her master’s degree at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. She has presented workshops for American Orff-Schulwerk Association chapters around the country as well as state, regional, and national conventions. In her spare time, Cyndee enjoys composing and arranging music for classroom use, children’s chorus, and elementary strings.

The post Nature’s Second Instrument: Rhythm first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

For many, the joy of attending a music workshop is interwoven with the interactions we have with the other participants in the room. When we apply our own creativity to the work at hand, we develop a stronger investment in our learning and emerge with more than just a shared experience. We often leave with an excitement to try what we have learned. Yet, how do you take a movement experience from a workshop and translate it to your own teaching in a way that ensures success?

The Pitfalls of the Unsure Movement Lesson

Building a strong movement culture with students takes time. In America, many people feel reluctant towards movement and have a sense of inhibition due to cultural and social upbringings. In our classrooms, we may encounter limitations to movement, for example, students may not be allowed to touch other people, or you may lack space, limiting how freely students can move and explore. Many factors that prevent teachers from engaging their students in movement activities that are out of the teacher’s control.

One thing that should not prevent you from teaching with movement is your own inhibitions. You are the expert in your classroom and you can inspire the culture by leading the culture. The more you demonstrate and join the lessons, the more trust your students will have in what you are presenting. Be clear in your intentions. Providing opportunities for students to ask questions: “Why are we walking around the room in random directions? Why are we pulling an elastic band to Adagio for Strings? Why are you asking me to make shapes that are taller or shorter than the ones next to me?” can allow students to reflect on the purpose of movement, begin to synthesize the connections between music and movement, and encourage mindfulness in their movement. One of the biggest reasons our society is resistant to movement is because it seems frivolous to most people. Knowing this, you can begin to advocate for purposeful movement.

You may be thinking “how do I begin?” Here are three ideas to get you started.

Movement as the Facilitator

Is the function of the movement to get students from point A to point B? Transitional movement can be a handy management tool that builds vocabulary and motor development. “Can you tip-toe to your spot… skip around the rug… walk in a low level and end in a scattered spot?” These types of explorations benefit the movement culture in your classroom and take very little time and investment from the students. These transitional exercises can serve to set up the next concept in your lesson to improve student success by internalizing the concept in the body before being presented with it in an abstract way. There are endless quick reaction games that can be used to prepare a lesson including:

• Walking a pulse in one direction to a set phrase length and changing direction at a sound cue that begins the next phrase.
• Stepping into a hula-hoop on down beats of a meter while stepping outside of the hula-hoop for all weaker beats.  The teacher can alter the meter by leading from a drum.
• Moving around a room and quickly snapping into a shape on a random sound cue.

Movement in the Literal Sense

This is an attainable and basic approach to movement. The general term would be “choreography.” This can come in many forms that are acceptable and useful from a presentation standpoint. Choir movement on risers can be enhanced with literal translations of the lyrics. Students enjoy the movement choices more if they are permitted to have a say in how to interpret them. The teacher’s role here can become more focused on polishing the look of movement choices:

• Balancing movement choices to show levels, body facing directions, and contrast.
• Having facial expression to match the movement expressions.

The literal interpretation of movement is the safest place to be in the movement classroom. Literal movement lessons allow students to synthesize known movement vocabulary and explore structures presented by the teacher. Some starting for using literal movement with your students ideas are:

• Act out a story read by the teacher while keeping at least one body part connected to a wall at all times.
• Compose/adapt a folk dance using known vocabulary.
• Compose/improvise a movement sentence that matches an elemental structure (aaba, abab, abac).

Movement as an Artful Expression

Expressive movement is why we fall in love with the idea of using movement in our classes. This poses a danger that many teachers fall into as eager movement facilitators. You cannot force artistic expression into a student with the expectation that they are going to love it as much as you did when you first experienced it. The students you have at the beginning are not the students who will likely become your first group of free movers. The students you will have in four years, five years, or even six years from now are the ones who may have their artistic expression fully realized.

It is important to truly distinguish between literal and artful movement. Both can be student-led and can be drawn out of any impetus (art, poetry, storytelling, drama), but artful movement drives itself. Literal movement is driven by the impetus from the beginning of the lesson to the end. Artful is when the impetus is no longer present to an outside observer. The choices of the mover may be amplified and supported by the music, but it should also drive the music too. A strong, tense gesture should alter the sound of the accompaniment. Jagged punches might initiate harder articulations.

Poetry as Movement Inspiration

Poetry can be used in a variety of ways to spark movement. The poem “Inflation” by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is an example of a concrete poem with text that can kindle movement possibilities, engaging for use with students of all ages.

With its simplicity of language and playful nature on the subject of balloons, “Inflation” can be used with Kindergarteners to explore space around the body. It can also serve as as both a literary and movement review with older students, as well as in preparation for longer poetic works.

Redacted Poetry

Another possible entry point for using “Inflation” with your students is through the idea of redacted or blackout poetry. In this way, a movement experience can grow from the removal of text:

Redacting the selected text allows students to focus on the growth words “bigger” and “blows up.”  Given time and space, students can to explore ways to move the poem from viewing only the blacked out text. After performing the poem with a narrator reading the redacted version, you can then reveal the full poem. Because the movement choices have been restricted to growth words, the movement will be literal and show expansion of the body, arms raising, and the widening of the bodies stance.

Addition through subtraction 

To add depth to the movement experience, the anonymous “Tree Poem” and “Thunder in the Distance” by Susan Lacovara can be used in the same way as “Inflation.” In these two examples of redaction, the nouns have been redacted to hide the literal meanings of the poems. Movement choices naturally become more descriptive since there are no suggestions of what characters the dancer is imitating. There may still be a literal translation, however, when the full poem is read aloud, there are more opportunities for gestures to contrast with the playfulness of the text. The descriptive verse and imagery leads to larger gestures and greater intensity in the movement choices.

Possible teaching structure:

• Present poems with nouns blacked out except for key movement descriptions.
• Explore the revealed words in the order of appearance while students move in free space.
• Use similar movement choices while reacting to the poem being read aloud with all words included.
• Students are presented with the three poems in order, intentionally scaffolding their movement experience from literal, to interpretive, to expressive.
• Cross-curricular connections can be made in your classroom, supporting student learning of literacy,  parts of speech, poetry forms, expressive reading, art, and could extend further with older students into topics of censorship, government, and society.

Abstract Art Choreography

Artwork can then be used a creative conduit for a collaborative movement experience for your students.

• Spend a minute quietly analyzing the shapes and subjects between two pieces of art, for example,  The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí and Watery Paths by Jackson Pollock.

• Add a tic-tac-toe crossing over the paintings to make it easier to navigate the pictures. 
• Each student chooses one tic-tac-toe box from each paining.
• Ask that the two boxes are from two different zones of each painting, thus necessitating a level change or body facing change.
• Practice transitioning between the two shapes in personal space to a sustained sound cue, or to a recording of music that uses long sustained phrasing. Transitions should move smoothly from one painting to the other. Practice going back and forth between the two paintings.
• Work with a partner or small group to create more parts of the paintings that move at the same time. This work should prompt level changes, play with positive and negative spaces, and sometimes allow for points of contact with other movers.
• These two shapes serve as the opening and closing formations for the group choreography.
• Incorporate choreography from the poem “Thunder in the Distance” between the formations.
• Set the choreography to a recorded piece of music, such as Ronan Hardiman’s Lament.
• Use this corresponding Google Slide presentation to engage your students.

Movement is not only a classroom tool, but is an embodiment of what an artist feels from an artwork. It is subjective. It is constantly being edited and revised by the performer. It is an improvisation based on the expectations of the artist. As you continue to develop your movement culture, remember that you, the teacher, are on the journey with your students. Playful imitation is a fine and necessary step in order to reach reactionary movement towards more artful musical selections. The challenge is how patient you can be to build the culture and stretch the comfort level of both you and your students. Are you willing to take the risk? Are you willing to spend the extra time intentionally planning movement lessons? Once you decide you are ready, the journey can begin!

​​Michael Vasquez teaches K-5 music at Kuentz Elementary in San Antonio, TX. He is an ACEMM spotlight award recipient and active clinician on Orff process, elemental movement, and recorder methodology. He is a NISD teacher of the year and HEB Educator of Excellence Nominee. Michael enjoys teaching summer courses across the country as an AOSA movement and recorder instructor. Michael co-wrote the first supplement to the Purposeful Pathways, Percussive Play, with Roger Sams.

The post Body Engagement: Multiple Functions of a Movement-Inclusive Classroom first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Spring is in the air, or so we hope! The weather is often a topic of conversation, and the sounds of spring offer a wonderful opportunity to sing, say, dance and play in the music classroom.

Music educators usually agree that some important goals for the youngest learners through the end of first grade include developing tuneful singing, steady beat, and experiencing musical opposites. Learning classroom procedures, building independence at making a circle, moving appropriately in the music room to access supplies, handling instruments with care, and expressing their thoughts through creative movement are becoming more natural with each passing week. Along this train of thought, students are guided to begin barred instrument exploration. They always seem to be asking when will it be their turn to play ‘those big instruments’!

The following lesson ideas are designed to broaden experiences and explore new concepts while giving our youngest learners opportunities to deepen their skills in responding to and performing a steady beat as well as singing and dancing.

Many rain-themed songs, poems, dances and art works are accessible to even the very youngest learners. Over the course of several lessons, students can explore the theme of rain, which will give them an opportunity to sing, move, and create while giving focus to in-tune singing and steady beat.

Drip, Drop: The Sound of Rain

One introduction to the differing sounds and intensities of rain could stem from the book Listen to the Rain by authors Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. During the read-aloud, consider setting the mood in the classroom by playing a recording of rain in the background, and fade it out when the rain ends within the text. Afterwards, discuss all of the activities one may do in the rain. Questions like, “Do you ever go outside in the rain?” “What do you wear?” “Is there anything you bring with you?” “Have you ever played in the rain?” “What did you do that was really fun?” are prompts that can yield very exciting movement explorations! Some common answers might be: “walk and spin our umbrellas”, or “jump in puddles”.

Choose one idea for the students to explore first, for example, “jump in puddles”. Have students explore this idea by pretending to walk down a sidewalk and then jump in puddles. Next, musically contextualize their movement experience by having the students walk between and around the puddles. As this occurs, the teacher improvises walking music, perhaps on a xylophone, to match the walking movement. Interspersing the “jumping in the puddles” experience, the teacher narrates lightly, “Walk towards the puddle, and pause”. Pause the music by playing a tremolo. Then, adding musical tension, the students prepare their jump, and at a predetermined musical signal, they spring into the puddle and splash around all encouraged by the musical stimulus and accompaniment provided by the teacher.

Simple, improvised accompaniment on xylophone can provide a musical soundtrack for the students as they create movement gestures. These ideas materialize, having been developed first in language.

Pitter, Patter: Move Your Feet, Look and Listen

“Chee Chee Cha” from the New England Dancing Masters’ book, Down in the Valley is a ready to go resource! It is a child-friendly arrangement of “Singing in the Rain,” and is a structured activity song that has repetitive lyrics and cumulative movement. This song will inevitably end in giggles! Pair this high-energy experience with a look at the painting, New York Street Under the Rain by Stansilav Sidorov. Guide students to discuss what they see within the painting (objects, people, the taxi, etc.) as well as the colors (“Which objects did the artist paint with bright colors?”) and how this affects the way we perceive the mood of painting. Help them toward thinking more deeply about the taxi in the rain. “What does the driver of a car need to do in order to drive safely in the rain?” Answers like “turn on the headlights” and “use the windshield wipers” are good starting points, and a robust conversation could grow from just about any aspect of the painting.

To lighten the mood after discussing a rainy day, a fingerplay can create a joyful release. Try this little gem, “Windshield Wiper” while listening to windshield wiper sounds via YouTube. Simply repeat the fingerplay several times while moving with an intentional steady beat, in place, and then through space supported by the sound of the wipers on the video.

Rain Drops, Heart Beats, and Borduns

“Rain, Rain Go Away” may be one of the most well-known children’s songs in our culture. It is a great way to bring focus to and learn to track the steady beat on a heartbeat chart. While students sing and track, the teacher can play a simple bordun (a steady beat accompaniment played on an open fifth, in this case, the notes D and A) on a bass metallophone or xylophone to reinforce the steady beat and promote in-tune singing.

You can print this beat chart to use with your students: Beat Chart and Rain, Rain, Go Away mm 1 and 2

Extend students an invitation to play the xylophone with this adaptation: During the “???” portions of the song, the teacher sings individual students’ names to come up and play the bordun together on bass-sized instruments.  In order to keep track of those who get a “special job”, you can check the student’s name off in a grade book. (This helps in future classes to keep track of which students have not yet had a turn.) Repeat several times to give multiple turns.

We use the following lyrics:

“Dripsy Dropsy” Glockenspiel

A springtime visit with glockenspiels, the smallest barred instruments, brings more creative exploration opportunities with the poem, “Dripsy Dropsy” by Leanne Guenther.

At first, students can explore the poem by showing their impressions of how they might mirror the way the rain is falling in the text by using their fingertips in the air. Students could demonstrate their impressions as well by transferring these to the sounds of a glockenspiel. Guided questions can help the students solidify their thoughts. “What would the ‘dripsy, dropsy’ raindrops sound like? Can you show me?” or, “What would the ‘pitter patter’ sound like on the glockenspiel?”

Continue to explore lines of the poem, “falling to the ground”, then, “fast then slow, until it stops” should create contrasting impressions. It is freeing for students to explore in the realm of what is possible instead of what is correct. The goal is creating a sound idea and this activity provides a gentle, aesthetically-minded framework.

The song “Rain, Rain” could be further explored as a pathway to improvisation, allowing two or three students at a time to explore on the glockenspiels while the bordun plays. An ABA form could materialize: “Rain Rain” – Glockenspiel Improvisations – “Rain Rain.” It is a feasible goal by the end of a given class that all students have had a chance to perform a special job on an instrument for the day.

Listening Transitions

The theme of springtime rain can also open and close a class session. As students enter or exit the room, different pieces of music based on rain could accompany a beginning or end of class stretch sequence. Some examples of these pieces include ones like the “Raindrop” Prelude in D flat Major, Op.28 No.15, by Frederic Chopin, or a contemporary piece like “Rain” by Brian Crain.

Stations

As a culmination of our rain adventures, several stations can be set up around the room for the students to rotate through. One station could be created that gives students experience demonstrating their ability to play a steady beat simple bordun to “Rain, Rain, Go Away”, another station with an opportunity to improvise and explore glockenspiels with the poem “Dripsy Dropsy” by Leanne Guenther, and a final station could take shape that helps practice tracking the beat to “Rain, Rain, Go Away” on heartbeat charts.

You can feel the joy throughout the room when transitions from station to station are facilitated with different verses of “Chee Chee Cha” from the New England Dancing Masters. The rotation through stations gives the teacher a chance to see and hear each student’s growth in understanding music concepts while keeping the classroom climate light and fun.

It is my hope that these ideas inspire you to explore the sounds of rain with your own students!

Happy Spring!

Lisa Sempsey teaches K-6 music and movement and is the K-12 Art and Music Curriculum Coordinator in Columbia Borough School District, Columbia, PA.  She has completed three levels of Kodály, three levels of Orff-Schulwerk training, and holds a Master of Education in Leadership for Teaching and Learning. Lisa enjoys sharing ideas with educators, and has presented workshops at both the local and national levels.

Resources and Links:

Listen to the Rain by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault (published by Henry Holt and Co., ISBN-13:  9780805006827)

Gentle Night Rain – YouTube link

Down in the Valley by the New England Dancing Masters

“Windshield Wiper” fingerplay

Water Drops on Car Roof, Windshield Wiper Sound – YouTube link

“Dripsy Dropsy” poem by Leanne Guenther

The post Drip, Drop, Pitter, Patter, and Explore! first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Exploring Vaughan Williams through Kitchen Utensils

A food-themed exploration of Vaughan Williams’ “March Past of the Kitchen Utensils” through movement and play! 

YOU’RE INVITED! 

As educators who use movement to initiate music learning, we often explore a variety of themes to make connections with our students and to make these experiences lively and playful. One topic that never gets old in my classroom is food! My second grade students used Ralph Vaughan Williams’ composition “March Past of the Kitchen Utensils” to begin a musical feast. As a french horn player who also started her teaching career as a high school band director, I have long loved instrumental music. I seek high quality pieces for my students, and this particular composition has become a favorite in my classroom because of its lively feel. It is one of five sections of Williams’ larger suite of incidental music, composed for a 1909 production “The Wasps,” an Old Comedy written by Aristophanes, a playwright from ancient Athens. “The Wasps” tells the somewhat humorous story of a man that loved the law and trials so much that he actually stages with two household dogs concerning a piece of stolen cheese. The kitchen utensils serve as witnesses to this trial created to appease the man’s needful feeling to do something judicious. 

When I added the novelty of actually having a plastic utensil toy to hold while they marched about, their posture and purpose rose to a whole new level. They tirelessly practice steady beat as they experience the form through movement. 

We reviewed what a marching style of walking can look like and explored how we can march to the beat. You may also introduce the term “march past,” referring to a procession, sometimes military, and its connection to what students probably know as a “parade.” Students first tapped the steady beat while they listened to the piece, alternating different ways to tap the beat by watching and mirroring me. We then discussed what they heard in the music using their own words to describe the change in mood, tempo, and style. The basic form of the piece is ABA; for our musical feast we called this form a “musical sandwich.” During the A section, students marched to the steady beat (locomotor). When they heard the B section they feverishly cooked up their favorite dish in their kitchen (nonlocomotor). They returned to the marching until the end of the piece and proudly delivered their delectable treat to the table (locomotor).

On their second try, I gave students a toy plastic utensil to use to enhance their action and play. With the novelty of having a utensil to hold while they marched about, their posture and purpose rose to a whole new level. They tirelessly practiced steady beat as they experienced the form through movement. After sharing this lesson with my classes, many students had the idea of raising their utensil into the air on the accented notes, which I thought was brilliant! After listening, Faith, a second grader, pointed out: “Some of it repeated and some of it didn’t. When we got to the middle part there were beautiful sounds when we were mixing.” Through several experiences with the piece, she began to fully understand the structure. Of course, at the end of the piece we share what delicious dish we have “just prepared” with a neighbor. They can just tell them or “give them a bite too.” 

EXPLORING FORM 

In their next classes, I had students create their own stories for different sections of the piece. We tried some of the ideas and created choreography to fit their story. Students worked in teams to draw the plan, like a map, for their story. We explored hiking through a forest, getting lost, and then finding our way again, as well as many other ideas. One of my favorite ideas was swimming through the ocean, getting caught in a whirlpool, and then getting out again, as the music does have a nautical feel. Nolan said that he like creating his own story because “you could think of your own movements and you don’t have to just do the marching story.” Kids love having ownership in the classroom and being able to create on their own. 

This video segment shows students performing the B section, then returning to the A section:

MORE POSSIBILITIES 

The ABA form lends itself to connection with the form of other pieces. This piece has many possibilities and it has definitely spiced things up for kids in my music class. Later in the lesson, students used food manipulatives to create rhythm phrases to speak and then add body percussion. These manipulatives allow students to group their sounds into measures and add a repeat sign easily. We turned this into a rondo with the spoken phrase “Yum! Yum!  Eat it all up!” repeated four times.repeat sign easily. We turned this into a rondo with the spoken phrase “Yum! Yum!  Eat it all up!” repeated four times. 

Additional food related possibilities: 

One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes 

Traditional tales and songs: 

Pumpkin Stew 

Going on a Picnic 

Mabel, Mabel 

Chop, Chop, Chippity Chop 

The Muffin Man 

Listen to more selections from Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Wasps” 

Explore other pieces of incidental music 

Explore other dramas, and make connections to history of ancient Greece 

Food also serves as a great connection with different traditions and cultures! 

The possibilities are endless… 

Where will your musical journey take you? 

Melissa Burroughs is a National Board Certified Early and Middle Childhood Music Teacher at Doby’s Bridge Elementary in Fort Mill, South Carolina and an adjunct professor teaching Integrated Arts at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. She received her undergraduate and Master’s degrees there. Although she has used Orff Schulwerk in her classroom for a while, her study of Orff Schulwerk levels began at Winthrop University with Level I in 2014. She completed Level II at George Mason University in 2016 with plans to complete Level III in the near future. Melissa is the co-founder of “Good Vibes,” a new ukulele collective starting in York County, South Carolina and volunteers with children’s music at her church. She serves as a STEAM Leader Corps teacher working in her school in conjunction with Discovery Ed to promote the arts as a powerful tool to shape the lives of children. 

The post Lesson: Be Our Guest! first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Contributed by Matthew Stensrud, ACEMM Spotlight Award recipient, Summer 2017

When our classrooms are purposefully focused on the elemental, our students take the helm.

Wide-eyes, rustling bodies, cheerful laughter. August is here and our students are back! This also means we must purposefully implement processes and procedures that encourage constant learning and ensures the safety of our students. So, let’s start back in our bodies with something every person practices all day, every day: breathing.

Students of all ages can match your breathing, quick to extended, shallow to deep, pulsed to unpulsed. Slowly, the breathing encompasses more of your body. Perhaps your shoulders rise and fall to release tension, or your arms grow outward and inward with your diaphragm. However you choose to begin this activity, you might be surprised how many students achieve an inner calm with this collective breathing.

While breathing can lead us to so many places in the classroom – folk dance to instrument technique to singing to creative movement – let’s travel today to the creation of shapes with our bodies. And to get there, we have Yoga Pretzels: 50 Fun Yoga Activities for Kids and Grownups, a set of cards created by Tara Guber and Leah Kalish.

There are endless ways to incorporate these cards in your classroom. Perhaps you simply want to introduce two simpler poses to your kindergarten class. Or maybe you are putting together an entire flow with your sixth graders. This lesson finds us somewhere in the middle and leads our students to create their own elemental form and mirror with a partner to create a unique movement sentence using standard yoga poses.

Choose fifteen or so yoga cards that are best for your class of students and scatter them around the room. Include a variety of cards, from rock to cat to fish to boat. There are even some cards for pairs to explore if you properly prepared your students.

Guide students to explore the cards individually while you improvise on the metallophone. Stretch yourself and try dorian mode (D as your home note)! When the metallophone stops, your students pause.

Extend their thinking and spur creativity through some guided questions:

• What if you could mold your body from one card to the next?

• What if you chose a locomotor word to explore between the cards?

• What if you could hold a card for three breaths before moving to the next?

• What if you could make eye contact with someone else while holding a pose?

After extensive exploration, direct students to choose their favorite card. Then point them to rock, one of the poses on a card.

What if you could begin as a rock, grow into your favorite card, and melt back into a rock?

Everyone becomes a rock and can begin their sentence (now in ABA form) when you begin the metallophone. Notice what your students do and use these notices to extend their thinking:

• I noticed some students moving quickly while others grew like molasses.

• I noticed some students using their breath to help them grow.

• I noticed some students hold their favorite pose for three breaths before melting back to a rock.

Next, guide students to partners and have them teach their favorite card to each other.

What if you could both begin as a rock, grow into Partner A’s card, transform into Partner B’s card, then melt back to a rock?

Give students time to practice this with each other and drift around the classroom, pointing out ideas to deepen their thinking. Maybe one pair mirrors each other. Or another pair is side-by-side. Can one pair do it back to back and use their breath to stay together? Perhaps a pair that moves too quickly should take five breaths in each pose as a reminder of the role stillness can play in movement.

When ready, everyone becomes a rock and can begin their sentence (now in an elemental, ABCA form) when you begin the metallophone.

Split the class in half and have students observe each other and react to what they see using ‘I notices’. You’ll be amazed at what your students see that you missed!

There are many ways to extend the lesson and student creativity from here. Maybe they can choose their own elemental form. Or perhaps they can take out rock and replace it with another card. Another idea is exploring how music changes the movement sentence:

• What if you played more quickly in pentatonic on the xylophone?
• What if you played a hand drum or the temple blocks?
• What if you selected two contrasting recordings such as Salento by Rene Aubry and Take Five by Dave Brubeck?
• What if students joined pairs and improvised music for each other?

Most importantly, see where your students take you. When our classrooms are purposefully focused on the elemental, our students take the helm. Their playfulness leads to new ideas. Their creativity deepens our learning. And when this happens, our students become stronger thinkers, active citizens, and true musicians.

Matthew Stensrud is ACEMM’s Summer 2017 Spotlight Award Winner. He shares this Spotlight Lesson with our community in hopes that it will inspire creativity and mindfulness with your students, and in your lives. For a great resource that ties in nicely with Bringing Yoga to Our Students, check out another ACEMM Spotlight Award Winner, Laura Stack’s article, “Mindfulness in the Classroom– How Not to Lose Your Mind!”

The post Bringing Yoga to Our Students first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Contributed by Ardith Collins, 2014 ACEMM Beacon Scholarship recipient

E. E. Cummings

E. E. Cummings’ profound simplicity speaks to the heart of elemental music, and his expressive typography is a joy to share with upper elementary and middle school students who may connect with Cummings’ creative uses of punctuation, grammar and syntax.

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This activity offers and entry point with a piece inspired by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman’s Music for Children, poetry by E. E. Cummings, and the nonfiction text enormous SMALLNESS ~  A Story of E. E. Cummings. Teachers are encouraged to use these ideas as an entry point to sing, say, dance, and play, as well as a springboard for movement, improvisation, composition, research and interdisciplinary connections with upper elementary and/or middle school students.

In Ardith’s words:

E. E. Cummings has long been a favorite poet of mine. When I noticed the book enormous SMALLNESS ~  A Story of E. E. Cummings  by Matthew Burgess, illustrations by Kris Di Giacomo on display in my school library, I was immediately compelled to share it with my students.

Biography and poetry of E.E. Cummings

Beginning with a short melody and ostinato idea played on xylophone, this foray into E. E. Cummings life and works germinated into a multi-dimensional experience for upper elementary/middle school students.

i: a 4/4 starting point for learning about E. E. Cummings, paired with an inspiring quote of E.E.’s and one of his favorite words – yes!

© 2017 Ardith Collins

After reading about E.E.’s early life in enormous SMALLNESS, I began with a foundation of a simple ostinato and half note drone:

© 2017 Ardith Collins

Reflecting on Cummings’ daily habit of writing a poem every day from the age of 8 to 22, my students added the part for hand drum, kept a steady beat on a cowbell, and played finger cymbals on the rest after stopped. 

Children enter our classrooms with a natural curiosity, and as elemental-inspired educators, we should seek every opportunity to build upon the inquisitive nature of students

Facilitating elemental exploration

Try asking questions that prompt the exploration of musical possibilities and cultivate artistry, such as:

What could the form be?

Should we have an introduction?

Could we add a B Section?

How shall it end? (inevitably, my students love ending with Gong!)

Could we incorporate body percussion? More instruments? Movement?

Working in an elemental way, teachers can guide students from one simple idea to an increasingly complex network of ideas. Making choices about these ideas usually results in a musically satisfying arrangement, accessible to students of varying skill levels with truly limitless possibilities.

Model as Inspiration

Children enter our classrooms with a natural curiosity, and as elemental-inspired educators, we should seek every opportunity to build upon the inquisitive nature of students, to guide them to learn about the world in playful and joyful ways, make connections that last beyond the constructs of the class period, and facilitate learning across all content areas.

In this lesson, E. E. Cummings is the model, and the initiating elements were a simple melody and ostinato with text inspired by his life and words. An exploration of E. E. Cummings’ poetry provided a content-rich environment where students are encouraged to mine for ideas (elements) that provide meaning for them. E. E. Cummings provides both model and inspiration with simple structures through an artistically crafted approach.

Edward Estlin Cummings broke established rules of space, order, and punctuation. He turned words on their side, creating “eye music;” an interplay of art and text. As an artist of multiple disciplines, E.E. recognized similarities of phrase, timbre, and pitch in speech and music, observing how melodies go “up and down, jump and glide…along the surface of harmonies” Cummings approached sound patterns on a level that precedes the signified, dividing words and using syllables as a composer uses melodic and rhythmic sounds; more can be read about that in this piece by Martina Anteater. Cummings’ biographer Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno noted E. E. was “attempting to create poetry that could appeal equally to the eye, ear, and mind,” as well as invoking “sound into shape” (p 95)

Demystifying  E. E. Cummings

4 Patchin Place. E. E. Cummings’ home for 40 years.

Students may initially struggle interpreting the simple complexity of E.E. Cummings; an excellent resource for teachers on interpreting Cummings’ work is: How E.E. Cummings writes a poem

It may help to show your students a glimpse of his home at 4 Patchin Place in lower Manhattan. This was E. E. Cummings home for over 40 years.

While E. E. Cummings utilized lower case letters in his works, he never intended for his own name to forego capitalization; you can read more about that here.

Pathways to inspire student creativity:

After drawing back the veil of mystery around E. E. Cummings, helping students to think a bit like the poet can be an invitation to create in a similar vein. Facilitating a consideration of these questions and more importantly the students responses will bring clarity to how learners are engaging with E. E.’s work. Articulating Who, What, When Where, Why and How? answers will become the inspiration for students to move forward with their own creativity. Simply replace E. E. Cummings’ name with “we.” 

“What was E.E. Cummings able to convey deconstructing sentences into letters and symbols?” becomes “What are we able to convey by deconstructing sentences into letters and symbols. Could we do this with music, movement, instruments, props?”

“How did E. E. use repetition in his work?” becomes “How could we use repetition in a musical context?

“Where does E.E. Cummings show movement in poetry?” becomes “How could we show movement in our body that reflects the movement E.E. shows in his poetry?”

“How does E.E. Cummings convey his ideas to an audience?” becomes “How could we convey our ideas about E.E. Cummings in a musical way with an audience?”

Adaptability and Resonance

There is a freedom in facilitating learning for students using an elemental approach. It provides a direct route to the hearts and minds of students, affirms their values, and serves as the media for creation within a context. The challenge can be to structure this in a manageable way to preserve standards of classroom behavior. Building a community of learners who respect this process takes time and yet might actually be the fastest way to facilitate high standards of respect in general. In striving to share peaceful, fruitful collaborations that promote classroom cohesion, we fulfill goals far beyond music and movement objectives.

There is a freedom in facilitating learning for students using an elemental approach.

Aside from, and more pronounced than the benefits of such an approach regarding classroom behavior expectations is the way that work like this resonates over time with students. Vividly remembering what they are creating, being able to carry it with them and recall with no “review” is a regular occurrence. When music and movement ideas are awakened in learners through the elemental approach, the resonance within them is almost everlasting! The power of experiences like these can be life-changing, and eternal!

Poetryfoundation.org is an excellent resource to find poems to share with your students, and May is Get Caught Reading Month, but any time is a perfect time to share literacy connections with our students.

I hope this lesson idea provides inspiration for your own teaching, and an opportunity to open the eyes and ears of all who pass through your classroom to the vast, joyful, connected world that surrounds us, allowing your students to connect to the world, to themselves, and to the future, in a way that is true to the creative spirit of both E. E. Cummings and elemental music and movement. I would love to hear the ways your students rearrange the ideas, ad libitum, to blossom into a creation of their own. Have fun exploring the possibilities, and please share!

all the best,

ardith

Ardith Collins teaches string ensemble, general music, and after school mallet percussion at Copeland Middle School. She is the District Articulator of Fine & Performing Arts for grades preK – 8 in Rockaway Township, New Jersey, and is Adjunct Professor of Strings Techniques at Montclair State University John J. Cali School of Music. Ardith received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The College of New Jersey. Her summative masters research was on movement and music, which inspired her to pursue Orff Schulwerk Levels and Kodály training. Ardith completed Orff Certification through Villanova/University of the Arts and Kodály Levels I & II at Westminster Choir College. Ardith was the 2014 American Center for Elemental Music and Movement (ACEMM) Beacon Scholarship recipient, which she utilized to attend JaSeSoi ry ~ Orff World Village in Valkeala, Finland. Ardith is Vice-President of the Northern New Jersey Orff Schulwerk Association, is an active member in the Elementary Division of the North Jersey School Music Association (NJSMA/NJMEA), an avid folk dancer, rounds enthusiast, and performs with the Montclair State University Balkan Ensemble.

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