Composition and Improvisation in Elementary General Music

Roger Sams Director of Publications Music Is Elementary www.MusicIsElementary.com [email protected]

Bow Wow Wow from Purposeful Pathways, Book 2 Used with Permission

PATHWAY TO Movement Play: Traditional singing game • Students stand in a circle, with pairs facing each other. • They stomp their feet three times when singing the “Bow, wow, wow” motive. They gesture, moving their hands apart with the palms facing up, to fill in the rest. • They clap hands three times while singing, “Whose dog art thou?” and then gesture for the rest. This gesture will resemble a gesture made when asking a question, like a shrug. • Partners join hands and during “Little Tommy Tucker’s dog,” they step left, rotating together until they trade places. • On the final “Bow, wow, wow,” students step in place three times, and on the last beat of the song both players jump and turn around to face a new partner. The song begins again with new partners. • Repeat until everyone returns to their original partner. • No overt singing instruction occurs. Students learn the song while playing the game.

PATHWAY TO Ensemble: Chord bordun with UTP ostinato • Pat the BX/BM bordun pattern. The students join you when ready (simultaneous imitation).

• Transfer to BX/BM and put together with singing. • Read the rhythm for the hand drum part (clapping).

• Divide the class in half. Half sings the song. Half claps the ostinato. Trade parts. • Transfer to hand drum.

• Divide the class in half. Half drums. Half sings the song. Trade parts. • Put it all together.

PATHWAY TO Rhythmic Improvisation: 4-beat patterns • Sing the melodic pattern, four times followed by silently counting to four.

• Students join you, singing the pattern and counting four beats between. • Students sing the pattern. You model rhythmic improvisation using your “dog voice” (barking, growling, whining, etc.) during the measures of rest. Be sure to keep it rhythmic and use rhythms that are within the rhythmic vocabulary of the students at this developmental phase. • You sing the pattern and the students improvise in their “dog voices.” • Pair the students up and distribute the pairs around the room. One student is the “singer” the other is the “dog”. Trade parts. Repeat multiple times to give the students lots of practice. • Repeat the process, but now use BP rhythmic improvisation instead of “dog voices.” • Consider creating a satisfying form with the song. It might be ABA form or it could be a Grand Rondo, which would allow the opportunity for assessment of in- tune singing and/or improvisational skills.

Old Mother Brown from Purposeful Pathways, Book 3 Used with Permission

PATHWAY TO Pitch: Echo patterns using do re mi so • Lead solfa echo patterns using do re mi so. • Be sure to emphasize the do-mi-so patterns found in the song. • As always, use student leaders as they are ready and time permits.

PATHWAY TO Literacy: 4 h 2 and do, re, mi, so • Read the rhythm. These rhythms are very familiar. Expect the students to read them without your help. • Read the melody from stick notation using solfa and hand signs. Be prepared to use the solfa tone ladder for remediation when the students need some extra support. • Read the melody from the staff using solfa and hand signs. • Add the text

PATHWAY TO Composition: 8-beat rhythmic ostinato • The class composes an 8-beat rhythmic ostinato by selecting and arranging four building block cards. For the half note “whoa” have the students clap and then pretend that they are pulling on reigns for the second, sustained beat.

4 h h 4 4 4 ride po-ny po-ny ride ride ride

2 h h Who----a! po-ny po-ny

• Clap the ostinato together. (Make sure the students are showing the sustained half note by pulling on the reigns.) • Divide the class in half. Half sings the song. Half performs the ostinato on WB or UTP instrument of choice. Regardless of what instrument you choose, you’ll probably need to use a special instrument, like the suspended cymbal, to provide the sustained sound of the half note on “Whoa!” Trade jobs. • Small groups of students compose their own 8-beat ostinati using building block cards then perform on UTP timbre of their choice. • Each group shares the ostinato they created, first alone and then with the remainder of the class singing the song.

PATHWAY TO Ensemble: I-V with UTP ostinato • Model the BX/BM ostinato (mirroring) and sing either the text, absolute pitch names, or solfa. Students join in when they are ready (simultaneous imitation). • Divide the class in half. Half sings the song. Half practices the BX/BM ostinato. Trade parts. • Transfer to BX/BM. • Combine singing and BX/BM with some of the student created UTP ostinati.

Chicken on a Fencepost from Purposeful Pathways, Book 3 Used with Permission

PATHWAY TO Movement Play: Singing game • Students learn the song by rote while playing the game. • Two students are selected as farmers. They leave the room or go out of view and listening range. • The remainder of the class is in two concentric circles, holding hands. It is determined where there will be two gateways at the end of the song, one in each circle. A gateway is produced when two students raise their joined hands to create an arch.

• Students in concentric circles sing the song as they walk the beat and move their circles in opposite directions. The inside circle moves counter clockwise. The outside circle moves clockwise. • At the end of the song the circles stop moving and the two gateways are created. The farmers race to find the gateways and pass under them attempting to be the first person into the center of the circle. (Teachers often have a rubber chicken in the center of the circle waiting to be claimed by the victor.) • After the race each farmer picks their replacement and the game repeats.

PATHWAY TO Improvisation: 4-beat echo patterns containing 4 h H • Use the temple blocks to lead 4-beat echo patterns including sixteenth notes. Ask the students to pat their echoes, alternating hands. • Put the temple blocks in the center of the two concentric circles for the game. After the race, the farmer who wins gets to lead the patterns before two new farmers are selected and the game begins again.

PATHWAY TO Ensemble: Split bordun with ostinato • Pat the rhythm of the BX ostinato while singing the song. Ask the students to join you when they are ready (simultaneous imitation). Transfer to BX. • Students read the rhythm of the AX ostinato. Have them prepare to play it by patting on one leg, alternating hands. Transfer to AX. • Put the split bordun together with the song. • Students read the rhythm of the SX ostinato and they prepare for instrument playing by patting on one leg, alternating hands. Be sure they use their bodies to physically demonstrate the rests, by pulsing in the air or tapping their shoulders. Transfer to SX. • Put all three instrumental parts together with the song.

PATHWAY TO Rhythmic Improvisation: H • Students sing the song and pat H h whenever they sing the words, “Chicken on a fence post.”

• Students play the floor every time they sing the words, “Chicken on a fencepost,” while singing the song. • Repeat. This time they audiate the song and play the “Chicken on a fencepost” rhythm. • Repeat. This time model improvisation during the rests. Be sure to include H in your improvisation. • Divide the class in half. Half the class plays the set part. Half the class improvises during the rests. Trade parts. • Students play both the set pattern and the improvised parts.

Zudio from Purposeful Pathways, Book 3 Used with Permission

PATHWAY TO Movement Play: Singing game

• Begin in a long-ways set. Students learn the song by rote while playing the game. • Students criss-cross hands with their partner across the set. They pull and tug to the steady beat, creating a twisting motion. • On “step back” they break their hold and jump backwards, creating an alley. One member of the lead couple struts down the aisle as the class sings their name. On the repeat, the other member of the lead couple struts their stuff as the class sings their name. (This is a time for showing off!) Each pair moves toward the top of the set as the lead couple comes down the aisle. • Begin again with a new lead couple until all have had a turn to “strut their stuff”.

TEACHER TALK: Adapting to meet the needs of your curriculum This is our abbreviated/adapted version of “Zudio.” We are using the first half of the song/game. This portion serves our curricular needs (do-la). We have adapted the singing game to this shortened version. If you’d like to do the full version, it is easy to find online and in printed material.

PATHWAY TO Pitch: Focus on do-la • Using the solfa tone ladder, have the students sing patterns you point out. • End up working with the following two patterns, until the students are secure with the do-la leap.

h 4 4 4 do re mi so la

2 2 do la

• Once they are secure on the do-la leap, point to the pitches on the solfa tone ladder that outline “Zudio.” Ask the students to sing the pitches you point to, using hand signs.

• Analyze the motivic form: a a a b

PATHWAY TO Instrumental Technique: Playing the melody • Acclimate the students to C=do pentatonic on the barred instruments with singing and playing solfa echo patterns. • Teach the initial, do-la-so-la by having students echo-sing and play on barred instruments. Have them play that motive three times. For purposes of this song, they may use repeated hands on the repeated notes. • Teach the syncopated descending mi-re-do motive using echo imitation, as above. • Put it all together.

PATHWAY TO Composition: C=do pentatonic, a a a b form • Review the motivic form of the song. It is a a a b form, with a repeat sign. This song is a good model for composition in a a a b motivic form. • Lead the class through the composition process together. Provide an example for the students before having them create their own compositions, such as the following: • Create an a motive.

• Play the a motive three times.

• Compose a b motive. It is important here to have students identify that C is do. Ending on C will create a strong cadence at the end of the composition. This is an important concept at this point in time. Have the students name and use your preferred term; home tone, resting tone, or tonic for do.

• Play in a a a b form with a repeat sign.

• Put together with a motivic accompaniment that emphasizes do-la. The sample accompaniment motive borrows from the playing skills used previously when playing the melody of “Zudio.” • You may use our accompaniment motive or have the students create their own.

• Have students form groups of 2 to 4. Have them repeat the process, creating their own unique compositions in a a a b form. Remind them that they want their pieces to end on C, the tonic.

TEACHER TALK: Notation Decide how much focus you want to place on notation. That may or may not be important to you for this exercise. You will find it useful to ask the students to notate their compositions so that they can play them again during the next class. Some students will be very particular and want to notate it correctly. Other students will be quite content to create their own notational system that works for them. You could turn this into a major project and notate their final compositions using music notation software.