Amy M. Burns

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Summer Play-Along Videos to Feature Kodály and Orff Schulwerk Inspired Play-Alongs

Throughout the 21-22 school year, I created many “mashup” or medley play-along videos featuring seasonal pop and rock songs. This summer, I made it a goal to create play-along videos and lessons for songs inspired by the Kodály and Orff Schulwerk approaches. On my YouTube Channel, they will be labeled as such, and coming soon on my Teachers Pay Teachers page, I will include the lessons that go along with the videos. This gives you the opportunity to use the video for free to work well with your classroom approach or purchase the lesson that goes along with the video on my TPT page. Either way, the videos are free to use in your classroom.

Lemonade (duple meter and sol-mi tonal pattern)

The first play-along video is “Lemonade” and the lesson is included in this blog. Lemonade is a traditional melody that includes a movement and team collaboration game. It focuses on the sol-mi tonal pattern and the rhythm values are quarter and eighth notes in a duple meter.

The accompaniment is simple as it is just a melody line and a bass line of a separated bordun (do, sol, do, sol, etc). The melody line is introduced first, followed by the bass line, and finished with both lines performed together.

Melody

I have performed this lesson with students as young as kindergarten (and preschool if we only play the melody on their small xylophones). To begin, we warm up with call and response patterns of sol and mi. If the hand signals have not been introduced yet, we begin with sol by tapping the head and mi by tapping the shoulders. We transfer that to the sol-mi hand signals.

Images from Midnight Music - https://midnightmusic.com.au/

Call and Response

We learn the melody by call and response. The teacher would sing s-s m and the students would respond by echoing the teacher. The teacher would continue the call and response but with two measures at a time. Then, the entire song would be call and response with the sol mi pitches. Once they completed the song, the teacher would replace the sol mi syllables with the words, still using the hand signals and adding measures as they respond. Finally, they would sing the entire song together with words and hand signals.

Movement Game

In the next class, we would review the song and play the movement game. This has many ways it can be played. I have played it as a social-emotional learning (SEL) team activity. I would divide the class into an even number of groups, depending on the size of the class. I would then pair the groups so there is a Group A and a Group 1, a Group B and a Group 2, a Group C and a Group 3, etc.

Each group had to decide where they are from (New York is used in the song) and what their trade is. Since this can be challenging to decide as a group, especially with younger students, I guide them with choices. For example, are you from New York or Baltimore? Are you educators or rock stars? If the group has a tough time deciding, you can let them know that they will play it twice so the other choice can be used the second time.

The groups face each other in a line on opposite sides of the room.

Group A sings, “Here we come.”

Group 1 sings, “Where from?”

Group A sings, “Baltimore”.

Group 1 sings, “What’s your trade?”

Group A sings, “Lemonade”.

Group 1 sings, “Give us some, don’t be afraid.”

Group A then pantomimes what their trade is. When Group 1 has a guess, they will raise their hand and I will call on them. Once the trade is guessed correctly (or after three tries), Group A then begins the song, and Group 1 responds and guesses.

I learned this version from our PE teachers. It is a great way for them to sing a s-m pattern accurately, work together as a group, and utilize their acting skills.

Performing the Melody on Xylophones or Boomwhackers

In the next class, we review the song again. They might want to play the game, but I will let them know that if we can get through everything, we might be able to play it at the end of class. If time is of the essence, I would be the Group A and they all would be the Group 1, which has me acting out the trade and them guessing.

To learn the melody, we review sol mi, then transfer that to the right hand for sol and the left hand for mi. If you have students who have trouble knowing their lefts from their rights, I will sometimes give them a scrunchy to put on their right hands so they know that the srunchy=right. If your students are not ready for two hands playing a melody or might have learning needs requiring differentiation, then they can perform this melody with one hand.

We transfer right/sol to the note G and left/me to the note E. I will play it first and they sing it back. I will play it again and they play it back. We do this phrase by phrase. As they accomplish this, we work with four measures at a time instead of two measures at a time.

What If Your Classroom Does Not Have Enough Instruments?

That is where this lesson can be accomplished with xylophones, boomwhackers, tone chimes, tone bars, and virtual instruments. Since the melody has two pitches, you can supplement instruments that can play high and low, or the pitches of G and E, so that more students can perform. Virtual websites like Playxylo.com, my Scratch Boomwhackers site, and Dr. Musik’s website help when you might not have enough instruments, but you do have access to devices. This also helps students who cannot hold mallets in a traditional way so that they can make music alongside their classmates.

Bass Part

During the next class, we will learn the bass part. I begin with the students performing the steady beat on their laps with both of their hands patting together. Then, I ask them to separate with the first steady beat being performed with their left hand tapping their left leg, then their right hand tapping their right leg, and alternating after that. If they have trouble with lefts and rights, I can give them a scrunchy. We then transfer that to the C (left hand) and G (right hand) bars on the xylophones. Again, this can also be played with higher-pitched xylophones, virtual instruments, tone chimes, tone bars, and boomwhackers.

They all play the alternating bordun (C G C G, etc), and I sing and play the melody on my instrument.

Both Parts Together

The next class brings both parts together as I review with the students how to play the melody and then the bass line. I divide the class in half and they play the parts together. If there are students without an instrument, they can perform the movement game and we switch throughout the class. We continue until all students have played the bass part, the melody, and the movement game.

Rhythm

I did not approach the quarter and eighth note rhythm patterns in this lesson as I kept it focusing on singing, melody, pitches, and movement. However, the rhythm can be prepared in this lesson and presented with another song. Finally, it can be practiced via performing it on the instruments or creating their own B portion of the song Lemonade with the quarter and eighth notes.

Manipulatives

Here are the manipulatives for this lesson. Where I just suggested how to practice the rhythms by creating a new portion of the song, you can also practice the melody lines by creating a new song with the pitches sol and mi and using quarter and eighth notes.

The manipulatives below are for the taking and include Google Slides, Seesaw Activity, and pdf files so that you can download and use them in the way that works best for your class.

Video

The video can be used however you would like. I would use it when teaching the melody and bass parts on the various pitched percussion instruments.

Google Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1rN_MYSqP09rJKQiFfsCps-rivFR_dBH0HIfRFzqESJc/copy

Seesaw: https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?prompt_id=prompt.dbabc728-790d-4f92-8f3b-af3a561d7cab&share_token=C9Zq7ureSIie5NBI7Z4brQ

PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gw-3A10dcCdVd1PAskAWy8nWB5K2tuEC/view?usp=sharing