Megan Paje

Dr. Maynard
MUED 271
15 Sep 2020
Sarrazin Chapter 5 Summary

A common mistake made when teaching children a song is starting them off in the wrong

key. Children’s voices are not equipped to handle the strain of a wide range that an adult voice

can easily obtain. It is best to start them off in a higher key that allows them to use more “head

voice” rather than their “chest voice.” In order to develop their musical abilities, it is best to

expand their range by half steps without exceeding a safe limit of exploration. Call and response

is a great method to use since children’s cognitive abilities are not developed enough to move

through these patterns alone.

Though it may seem easy to blindly go into teaching a group of students a song, there is

actually a lot of preparation made before an educator even enters the classroom for the first time.

There is background information on the piece a teacher must uncover to decide what the best

course of action to teach the song will be. Meter, melody, and rhythms can all be deciding factors

in what method to choose. Many of the methods involve different combinations of aural and

visual components. Once the teaching method is chosen, the educator must then decide whether

they want to teach the piece as a whole, or phrase-by-phrase. Obviously, there is a lot that goes

into play when preparing to teach a piece to a group of kids. However, following the “Four P’s”

method can aid in a successful musical learning environment from the very start. By establishing

the ideas of pulse, pitch, prepare, and point, there is sure to be a smooth transition when learning

the song. Teaching students to understand the beat at which a song goes to, the notes in the

melody, upbeats and downbeats for pickups, as well as the direction in which notes in a melody
follow can help start them off in the right place in the process of internalizing and beginning to

practice music.