MODULE 2

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this module, the learner should be able to:

1. Read notes in both Treble and Bass Clef

2. Understand basic rhythmic notation for both notes and rests.
3. Understand whole and half steps as they relate to scales
4. Play simple triads and chords in the instrument
5. Read and sing songs through simple sight singing (solfège)
6. Construct basic major and minor scales
7. Identify different key signatures
8. Create simple lesson plan and activities
9. Perform basic conducting techniques
10. Teach songs to students using different approaches and strategies

MUSIC FUNDAMENTALS REVIEW

Musical literacy is valuable in order to interpret and perform a variety of music written by
others, and it gives you the tools which to compose your own music, arrange music and share
your musical ideas in wrtten form. This module is a review of the basic funadementals of
music which involves understanding musical alphabet, note and rest values, clefs etc. and
utilizing symbols to create phrases, sentences and musical forms.

The aural part of music consists of three basic elements:

1. RHYTHM: An ordered, recurrent alternation of strong and weak beats,
2. MELODY: A succession or arrangement of sounds;a succession of single tones organized as
an aesthetic whole,
3. HARMONY: The combination of simultaneous musical notes in a chord; the science of the
structure, relation and progression of chords.

PITCH : The relative highness or lowness of a sound. The actual pitch of the note on the Grand
staff below is determined by the treble clef, which identifies the second line of the top staff as
G above middle C on the piano, and the bass clef, which identifies the fourth line of the bottom
staff as F below middle C.
♦ Enharmonic tones have the same sound and different spellings

♦ A sharp (#) rises a pitch by a half step

♦ A flat (b) lowers a pitch by a half step
♦ A natural sign cancels a sharp (#) or a flat (b)
Interval: The distance between two pitches
Half Step: The smallest difference in pitch on the keyboard is called a half step. There are half
steps from B to C and E to F but all other steps involve a black key. Two half steps is one whole
steps
Rhythm: The length of a sound
Music Symbols

WHOLE -W- HALF- W- W- W – H WHOLE- HALF - W - H - W - W

STEP STEP STEP STEP

Scale – Consist of seven different tones and an eight tone that duplicates the first an octave
higher.
Major Scale – The familiar do-re-mi, has two kinds of intervals in a specific pattern: half step,
the smallest interval traditionally and the whole step, twice as large as the half step.
Minor scale – Like the major scale pattern but differs in the intervals. It’s pattern basically
consists of whole, half, whole, half, whole, whole steps.
Harmony: Three or more notes sounding together
Four Types of Triads

Root,3rd & 5th Lower the 3rd lower the 3 rd&5th raise the 3rd & 5th

Basic Conducting Pattern

Key Signatures
The key signature comes right after the clef symbol on the staff. It may have either some sharp symbols
on particular lines or spaces, or some flat symbols, again on particular lines or spaces. If there are no
flats or sharps listed after the clef symbol, then the key signature is “all notes are natural”

In common notation clef and key signature are the only symbols that normally appear on every staff.
They appear so often because they are such important symbols; they tell you what note is on each line
and space of the staff. The clef tells you the letter name of the note (A,B,C,etc.) and the key tells you
whether the note is sharp, flat or natural.

The key signature is a list of all the sharps and flats in the key that the music is in. When a sharp or flat
appears in the key signature, all the notes on that line or space are sharp or flat., and all notes with the
same letter names in other octaves are also sharp or flat.
ACTIVITY

INTERVALS

EXERCISE
Following the example above, supply the missing notes and name each note.
Drill and Practice
Identify the key signature of the following
Construct a scale and supply the correct accidentals on the following key signatures

D MAJOR

E MAJOR

F# MAJOR
F MAJOR

A MAJOR

B MAJOR
Singing and Movement in the Elementary Music Classroom

Children love to sing. Listen to children as they are playing on a playground. When they are
playing any type of game with other children, the game is often accompanied by a song or
chant.
Every child has the ability to sing; the voice is the most accessible musical instrument.
Regardless of social background, race, or musical ability, the voice is the one instrument that is
available to all children. Singing has a significant impact on a child’s intellectual development.
Singing facilitates language development through the performance of beat and rhythm in
music. Singing helps children learn and articulate the text of a song; it facilitates memory as
well as the development of vocabulary
In the classroom we can encourage singing for enjoyment and at the same time promote
correct intonation and a proper singing tone. The teacher’s vocal example can significantly
improve students’ singing and development of good vocal intonation. Young voices have less
volume, less endurance, and naturally higher ranges than adult voices. The teacher must
modify his or her voice to accommodate this. Male teachers should consider singing in falsetto
range until young students are able to match the pitch. A capella singing will allow children to
hear their own voices and enjoy active music making.

When teaching music to children please consider the following vocal ranges. These ranges are
only suggestions but might help teachers select appropriate repertoire for their students

GRADE Vocal Skills Vocal Range

Pre - kindergarten Perform child’s chants and
say nursery rhymes with
voice infliction
Kindergarten Understands the concept of Sing in tune from D – B (D
singing and speaking voice above middle C). This range
could be lower or higher for
some children
Grade 1 Develop head voice. More
control of pitch
Grade 2 More control of head voice. Sing from C to high D
Perform simple canons or
melodic ostinati in tune
Grade 3 Greater expressive control of Can sing up to Eb
voice. Can sing simple canons
and two-part songs in tune
Grade 4 More resonance in voice. Can Can sing up to high E
begin to perform three-part
songs
Singing Posture
The following suggestion will help students find their correct posture for singing. The body
needs to be balanced for students to project a beautiful singing tone.

1. Balance the head – to accomplish this, the face should look straight ahead. Try several
exercises such as mowing the head up and down and sideways to relax the head and
neck muscles.
2. Shoulders should be relaxed and rotated towards the back.
3. Hands should be relaxed at the sides.
4. Knees should be relaxed and slightly bent.
5. Feet should be firmly placed on the ground and roughly about 10 to 12 inches apart.
6. If students are sitting when singing, they should be at the edge of their chairs.

Preparing Children to Sing

The following exercises are suggestions to help develop children’s singing voices.

 Body Warm-Up Exercises –Begin the class by allowing students to stretch and bend to
relax their bodies. Eliminate tension by performing the following exercises with your
students:
Tip head to side and roll head up and down
Rotate your shoulders in circles forward and backward.
Try to drop jaw and say “ mah, mah, mah” several times
 Breathing Exercises teach children to inhale and exhale correctly. Controlled exhaling is
a useful exercise.
 Vocal warm-up exercises and vocalization help develop beautiful singing. Encourage
student to vocalize low and high sounds, as well as soft and loud sounds.
1. Songs that contain the “oo” sound are particularly good for developing in tune singing.
2. Many ordinary vocal sounds are actually excellent warm-up exercises. Sing known songs
with neutral such as “noo, “moo, “la and so on.
3. Humming is a gentle and quiet way of using the singing voice. Humming a favorite song
before singing it also provides students with an opportunity to focus on the song’s
melody.
4. Imitating a siren is something young students delight in. It is also engaging the voice in
such a way that the extremes of one’s vocal range can be explored without straining the
voice. When imitating sirens, challenge the children to make a soft and loud sound and
high and low, long and short sirens, sirens that just go up, just come down or do both.
Developing Singing Skills

Head Voice and Chest Voice

The technical difference between “head voice” and “chest voice’ has to do with how vocal
cords vibrate when singing. We use the term “head” and “chest” to designate where vibrations
are most strongly felt when singing. When singing in “head voice” the vibrations are felt behind
your nose and your cheeks. When singing in “chest voice” vibrations are felt in your throat and
chest. When children learn to sing, they normally sing in their chest voice and need help finding
their head voice.
The head voice vibrates and radiates more in your head. The head voice is helpful for leading
children in singing because they are still trying to make the distinction between singing and
speaking. We are not saying that children should not sing at all in the chest voice. For instance,
many songs in the African American tradition sound better in the chest voice. However, as
music teachers we need to make students aware of the different energy and aspects of head
and chest voices. Often children have a tendency to shout rather than sing in an effort to sing
loudly. Model appropriate singing for your students whether singing in head or chest voice.

Singing to Finding the Singing Voice

1. Pitch exploration exercises allow students to activate the vocal muscles that are used
when singing in the head voice. When using these exercises, it is best to begin with
descending and ascending sounds. Begin these exercises as a class activity. Ask students
to imitate the sliding sounds of a slide whistle with their voice. Once the class is
comfortable with the exercises, encourage individual students to perform the exercises
on their own.
 When telling stories in class modulate your voice to include a high, medium and low
voice for characters in the story or high, low and medium sounds for events in the story.
 Imitate the sound of a siren whistle voice
2. Awareness of different type of voices – Music instruction can help students discover
the difference between their speaking voice and singing voice. Young children need to
become aware of the different sounds their voices can produce. Guide students to
discover that they have the following type of voices:
o Talking voice
o Whispering voice
o Loud voice
o Soft voice
o Singing voice
o Internal voice
3. Voice Modulation – Select songs and rhymes that can be used to develop a child’s
singing voice. As young children say chants, they may be guided to speak using a baby
bird voice (high) or a grandfather’s voice (low). Chanting using these different voice
types will teach young learner to explore their vocal ranges
4. Song with narrow range – sing song that uses two or three pitches melody.
5. Descending melodic patterns- Generally songs that begin with a descending melodic
pattern are easier for young children to hear and sing; therefore, this type of song
provides a greater opportunity for the young learner to hear accurately and
subsequently a better chance to sing in tune.
6. Call and response singing – call and response songs are ideal for developing children’s
singing, as students simply sing melodic pattern.
When teaching a call and response song, the following procedure may be used:
 Sing the call and response song for the children as a listening activity
 Sing the phrase and guide students to echo; use a pretend microphone to help young
students understand the alteration.
 Have a group echo instructor.
 Later, when the song is well learned, have individual students echo the instructor.
 Ask individual students to take the role of the instructor; they can sing the call and the
class can do the response.
7. Providing a model for singing – The teacher must model the song correctly; sing with
good intonation, clear pronunciation, and model the song’s character. Begin each song
on a comfortable starting pitch for your students. The majority of songs used in teaching
are learned by listening to many repetitions sung by the teacher. Indicate the starting
pitch of the song clearly; consider singing the first phrase of the song to clearly establish
the starting pitch. The teacher should sing an appropriate tempo for the song. If the
tempo is too fast, then the children could sing out of tune.
8. Singing softly- children should be encouraged to sing songs softly as a means for
developing good intonation.
9. Movement – Singing in combination with movement helps reinforce the concepts of
beat and if song is well-known, can help with vocal intonation.
10. Individual singing – The teacher should allow student to sing on their own. This helps
the young learner develop greater vocal independence. Some children can sing in tune
with a group but do not sing in tune when singing on their own. One way to help a child
having trouble singing on their own is to sit in front of the child and have the child
observe the movement of your mouth.
 Singing names to simple melodic motifs – encourage young children to sing their names to
short motifs based on patterns found in song material. When seated in a circle, the teacher may
roll a ball or toss a bean bag to a child and ask them to sing their names.
11. Recognizing different timbres- guide the young learners to recognize different timbres –
environmental sounds, as well as the sounds of instruments and voices.
12. Singing a greeting student – Begin the music class by greeting the students. The
greeting may be sung by the instructor or use a puppet for younger children. The puppet
then leads the class in singing a greeting “Good Morning” to each child individually.
13. Correcting students – The reason students do not sing in tune in many music classrooms
is because teachers are afraid to tell students they are “out of tune”. Gentle and specific
simple corrections are completely acceptable. “a little higher’ and then lavish praise
when they perform the task correctly will not damage self-esteem.

Teaching Songs by Note

This method of teaching songs can be used either to teach the whole song or sections or
phrases of a song. When teaching songs by note, the teacher presents the notations of the song
to the students and sequentially guides students to read the song from notation.
 Make students aware of the meter of the song. The meter can be prepared by singing
and conducting a known song that has the same meter of the new song.
 Practice each rhythmic pattern found in the song with the students. They can either
echo clap or read these rhythm patterns from notation.
 Make student aware of the key of the song. The students can sing another known song
reading from the staff using the key of the song to be taught by rote.
 Practice melodic pattern found in the song with students. The teacher shows important
melodic patterns abstracted from the song with handsigns and students read with
solfege syllables, note names or neutral syllables
 Discuss the form of the song.
 Students think through the rhythm of the entire song.
 Students clap the rhythm of the song and say the rhythm syllables
 Students sing the song with solfege and handsigns
 Students sing the song with neutral syllables
 Students sing the song with words.

Teacher should find the quickest and most fun way to teach the song. Be creative and make the
song come to life. Don’t get stuck doing the song the same way all the time
Teaching Songs by Rote
When teaching songs by rote, the initial presentation of the song is made by the teacher.
Remember that it might take several lessons to teach one song. The teacher serves as a
model for the correct performance of the song. For this reason, music must be presented in
an authentic or stylistically correct manner. For example, folk songs should be sung in a
manner that brings out the character and mood of the song. Listening to recordings of folk
singers performing folk songs repertoire can provide a performance model.
The mood for the presentation of the song may be set through a story or another well-
known song. It is important for the teacher to talk about the phrasing mood style, and form
of the song. Students may quietly pat the beat the second time the teacher sings the new
song. One the initial presentation is made; the following techniques may be used for
teaching a song by rote.

Techniques for Teaching a Song by Rote

1. Questioning technique
Ask questions relating to specific musical elements or to the text of the song. Asking
questions can direct students’ attention, help strengthen their analytical skills, and aid in
remembering the song.
The teacher may sing the song and ask the following questions before allowing the
students to sing.
“How many phrases do you hear?”
“What does the word may mean?”
“Does this pitch go up or down?”
2. Phrase-by-Phrase Presentation
A phrase-by-phrase presentation is helpful when presenting longer and more complex
songs by rote. This approach is more appropriate when working with older students.
Younger students should hear the song repeated many times in its entirety. Reserve the use
of phrase-by-phrase presentation of songs for upper grade students. The phrase-by-phrase
presentations is exactly that, presenting each phrase of a song and having students repeat
the phrase.
1. Sing the song in its entirety.
2. Focus on the phrase at a time. If a song is particularly difficult, the teacher may ask the
students to perform it with a simple rhythmic activity, for example, keeping the beat
when listening. This keeps the students occupied and focused on the song while the
teacher presents the entire song again.
 3. Presenting a Song Using Games and Movement
Performing motions or acting out a story line helps students memorize songs and rhymes.
Movement activities help students create their own and learn their own and memorize
songs quickly and easily. The teacher and student may create their own games and motions to
accompany songs. For example, high and low or up and down motions may be used with the
song “See Saw” to the very concept of high and low.
4. Call and Response Songs
Songs containing repeated patterns can be practiced in call and response style. Initially,
young children should sing only the response; the teacher sings the call. After many
repetitions, students may sing either or both the call and the response.
5. Teach a Song Using Visuals
Pictures associated with the text of the song can be a combination of visuals that remind
the students of the text coupled with the visuals that remind students of form or melodic
contour.

Assessing the Presentation of a Song

The following questions will help you asses and evaluate your teaching of songs to your
students.
♦ Did I introduce the song in an interesting manner?
♦ Have I memorized the song correctly?
♦ Did I determine the best method of presentation for introducing this song?
♦ Did I sing the song in a stylistically appropriate manner?
♦ Did I begin singing the song on a pitch that is appropriate for the students I am
teaching?
♦ Did I engage my students with the eye contact and facial expression as performed the
song?
♦ Did I stay in tune as I sing the song?
♦ Did I conduct?
♦ Did I correct students’ mistakes and intonation problem?
♦ Was it the most fun and quick way to teach the students?

Singing Games and Movements

Singing games are a wonderful way to reinforce musical concepts and skills, as well as develop
students’ social emotional and kinesthetic skills and abilities. Singing games should be age
appropriate; the game or movement activity should correspond to the students’ developmental
abilities. Movement and motions in the games should be simple for children to follow as they
sing.

The role of the teacher is critical when presenting singing games and movement activities; the
teacher must be able to sequence the presentation of movement and motions in a logical
manner as well as perform the song at the same time. Large beat motions and moving to the
beat is usually best presented before more complicated movements at specific points in the
performance. The teacher may determine it best to present the song to the children before
introducing the game movements or emotions. There are situations when it is appropriate for
students to learn the motion immediately as they sing the song.
Sequence of movement activities.
Pre-kindergarten Kindergarten Grade1/2 Grade 3 Grade 4/5
Free movement in Begin to develop Marching and Can perform beat Can perform beat
place (sitting) greater control of skipping to the on a drum or on a drum or
Free movement in small muscles beat triangle as well as triangle, as well as
space Changing Choosing games clap the rhythm of clap the rhythm of
Movement to a directions Chasing games an uncomplicated more rhythmically
beat while sitting. Acting out games with a circle song in simple complicated songs
Movement to a Wind up games Develop the and compound in simple and
beat while Circle games ability to clap the meter compound meter
walking rhythm of a Can perform hand Can conduct in
Standing in a rhyme or melody clapping game duple, triple, and
circle Can conduct quadruple meter
Teacher play with duple meter Can perform
the child as a Can perform simple ostinati on
partner sustained xylophones
Movement with a bourdons on Students have
partner xylophone developed muscle
Starting and Chasing games coordination for
stopping with Jumping games playing recorder,
music Line game keyboard
Partner games Can respond
Double circle quickly and
games accurately
through
movement to
tempo, rhythmic
patterns, texture
Double line games
 Square games
Square dances

SO – FA SYLLABLE HANDSIGN
RHYTHMIC SYLLABLE

Sample Activity Plan

Song Title: Leron-leron Sinta
Composer: Traditional Folk Song
Grade Level: Grade 5

Concepts: Melody, steady beat, rhythmic pattern.

Materials: Keyboard, lyrics of the song

Introduction/Motivation: Breathing and vocal exercises, body warm-up

Review:
Students perform their previous songs and demonstrate their knowledge of the musical
elements through performance.
Core Activities:
 Introduce the new song (origin, story of the song)
 Teacher sings the new song a couple of times and have the students listen to it
attentively.
 Teach the song phrase-by-phrase to the students emphasizing the correct tune and
rhythm

 Teach the concept of melody by asking them to hum the melody of the song and
tapping the rhythmic pattern
 Have the students tap the steady beat while singing the song

 Sing the whole song with the guitar or piano accompaniment

 Incorporate the movements or actions of the song
 Students sing the entire song by group or individual with actions.
Closure:
 Review the song and the concepts taught in the new song.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. Collect and compile 10 different children songs that you would like to teach in class. The
songs should be appropriate to the age and grade level of the students.
 Songs should have at least 5 notes in it.
 Folk songs, movement songs or game songs.

2. Select a song for each grade level (Grade 1-5). Using the lesson plan format provided,
create a lesson plan where you present a melodic element and another where you
 present a rhythmic element in teaching a song. Use both rote and note learning
approach

REFERENCES: Benward, Bruce and Jackson, Barbara. Practical Beginning Theory: A Fundamental
Worktext. Seventh Edition, Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C Brown Publisher,1991 ISBN 0-697-10635-7

Houlahan and Philip Tacka. A cognitive Approach to Music Education. Oxford University Press, 2008