Musicroom is dedicated to helping you provide your child with a rich and rounded education, even during school closures. Every week we’ll be providing free outstanding, fun and rewarding music lessons for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 that can be taught at home. Simple to use and no musical expertise is required!
This week, from Rhinegold Education, a Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7) lesson that has fun with rhythm, and a Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) lesson that introduces the world of woodwind instruments!
Key Stage 1
Lesson objective: to chant a variety of rhythms.
Length: ½ hour
1. Listen to this great chant!
This is the way the grandparents move: plod, plod, plod, plod.
This is the way the parents move: left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right.
This is the way the children move: run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run.
This is the way the toddlers move: toddle, toddle, toddle, toddle, toddle, toddle, oops!
2. Ever thought about the different ways animals move? Have a listen to this all about animals and their rhythms!
3. Make some cards or slips of paper with a sketch of each animal on.
See if you and your child can take turns to pick a card from the pile and make the sound that goes with this animal:
Snakes: sliiiiii-therrrrrrr.
Elephants: Stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp.
Rabbits: Hop, hop, hop, hop.
Horses: Clippety-clop, clippety-clop.
Mice: Scamper, scamper, scamper, scamper.
Woodpeckers: ticka-ticka, ticka-ticka, ticka-ticka, ticka-ticka.
4. For grownups:
You can challenge your child further if you each take a card at once and see if you can make the 2 different rhythms together. (It would be wise to let your child begin their sound first before you join in).
5. Have a listen to this!
6. Now ask your child to choose one animal, as the audio track demonstrates, and come up with 3 or 4 different sounds that particular animal makes.
Try to have a variety of long, slow sounds (e.g., “plod”/”sliii-therrrr”) and quicker sounds (e.g., “ticka-ticka”/”toddle, toddle.”)
For further challenge, you could add in some more irregular sounds (such as “clippety-clop” or “crunch” and “munch”). Make sure each sound is short, and easy to repeat. Ask your child to make these sounds one after the other to make a little animal sound composition of their own!
Have Fun!
Key Stage 2
Lesson objective: to describe woodwind instruments and recognise the sound of the 4 main instruments in the woodwind family.
Length: ½ hour.
1. Today we are going to learn about woodwind instruments.
Woodwind instruments were all originally made of wood. Woodwind instruments are still made of wood, except for the Flute, which is now made of metal. Sound is made by blowing into a woodwind instrument.
2. Watch the following clips with your children. They introduce 3 of the best-known instruments in the woodwind family:
The Flute:
The Clarinet:
The Bassoon:
Listen to the 3 instruments playing together now:
3. Listen to the following clips, which show what the instruments sound like on their own.
You can compare their different sounds (or timbres) easily here, as they are all playing the same piece of music, “Ode to Joy” by Beethoven:
Flute:
Clarinet:
Bassoon:
4. Now have a listen to this.
These clips came from a famous piece of music by a Russian composer called Sergei Prokofiev. The piece is called Peter and the Wolf. Each instrument represents a different character. The bassoon is the slow and grumpy grandfather, the clarinet is the sly and sneaky cat and the flute is the clever little bird.
5. Might your child be inspired to learn to play a Woodwind instrument?
There are some fabulous books out there that could begin a child’s lifetime journey with a Woodwind instrument. If you like, click on the links to check them out.
Flute: ‘Very first Flute Book’, ‘Get Set Flute!’, ‘Funky Flute’, ‘Flute Time’
Clarinet: ‘A New Tune a Day: Clarinet’, ‘Cool Clarinet’, ‘Look, Listen,Learn: Clarinet’
Bassoon: ‘Boosey Bassoon Method’, ‘Abracadabra Bassoon!’, ‘Team Woodwind: Bassoon!’
Saxophone: ‘Abracadabra Saxophone’, ‘Introducing the Saxophone’, ‘A New Tune a Day: Alto Saxophone’, ‘Look, Listen, Learn: Alto Saxophone.’
By Rebecca White for Rhinegold Education.