Approaches in teaching music at primary level Essay Example For Students

Approaches in teaching music at primary level Essay Approaches in teaching music at primary level Background of Delaware Approach ?mile Jacques-Delaware ( 1850 1950) was a Swiss composer, musician and music educator who developed arrhythmias, a method of learning and experiencing music through movement. According to Delaware (1921), Mile Jacques-Delaware was a multi- faceted performer and pedagogue who designed a method for teaching music and rhythm, and with this method an entire school of thought. In the early twentieth century, Delaware created a three-pronged approach to the study of music using arrhythmias (the study of rhythm), solo ©GE and improvisation. This method of teaching explores the relationship between mind and body and the movement of the body through time and space. According to De Sock (1989:115), College is aimed at developing the sense of musical pitch and tone relations and the ability to distinguish tone qualities. On the other hand Improvisation is aimed at developing the capacity of free invention whilst Arrhythmias is set to give students the feeling for musical rhythm through body movement. In the Delaware arrhythmic plan is the use of the piano on which the teacher improvises cues for the instant body response, n the free expression of the basic music concepts such as dynamics, tempo and pitch. The Delaware method helps a child develop the expressive possibilities of his body in his own way. The Delaware plan expresses individuality. Like Kodiak, Delaware also accepted that rather ear training and rhythmic movement start before instrumental study. The idea here is that what has been synthetically experienced will be more easily translated onto an instrument at a later stage. The Delaware Approach According to Delaware, music is composed of sound and movement. Sound is a form of movement. Delaware sought to unify mind and body in the study of rhythm, which for him consists of movements and breaks in movement. It is because of the connection between sound and movement that he considered certain traits essential in all professional musicians: ear training, rhythm and the ability to externalities inward sensations. As highlighted by Simian (2008), music education facilities around the world advocate Dalliances method, employing it at all age levels, from toddlers through adulthood. While it is commonly thought to be primarily a childrens class, his method was originally designed for college students and remains in use across he globe. Referring to Buchanan (1991), there are three components to the Delaware approach to music education. The arrhythmias section which deals primarily with the exploration of time and duration; the solo ©GE method deals with more concrete concepts. The improvisation portion nurtures creativity and invention in music. These three methods come together to solidify music skills in all areas of music, including music theory. A common way to use the Delaware method in music-theory education is the employment of solo ©GE. This is one of the first things generally taught in Approaches in teaching music at primary bevel 2015 Copy By sailors previous solo ©GE training, use the fixed-do system, referring to C as home. The students begin by standing on one side of the room with their feet on home. As you play the scale, the students take a step forward for every ascending syllable and a step backward for every descending syllable, eventually returning to home. This exercise introduces the syllable names, applies them to different pitches, and also lays the foundation for active listening (ascending and descending). Next, sing groups of three consecutive notes and the students decide whether it was ascending or ascending. Reinforcing the same idea through different movements is an effective way to fortify the concept. According to Delaware (1930), young children do not generally have the musical training t o label intervals, but they are able to at least hear and interpret them. To visually represent the concept of an interval, place cards printed with solo ©GE syllables on the floor. Students can then see that the ascending interval do-FAA is smaller than the interval do-la. The students can step alongside the cards for a visual and kinesthesia representation of the relationship between solo ©GE syllables. After the students gain a physical sense of how the intervals relate to step size, repeat the exercise with the cards removed in order to strengthen the kinesthesia connection. An important aspect of ear training is differentiating between and reacting to a variety of sounds. In order to achieve this understanding, as noted by Simian (2008), one can choose to use a game discussed in Else Finalitys book Rhythm and Movement: Applications of Delaware Arrhythmias. This activity involves passing a ball around a circle while responding to various aural stimuli. Begin with a simple distinction: starting and stopping the music. When the music stops, the student with the ball must freeze until the music begins again. Students are then asked to pass the ball in the opposite direction at the signal of two high notes. Another signal, a low rumbling from the bass of the piano, indicates that the student passing the ball should skip the next person. Children can be encouraged to hear phrase patterns and the occurrence of cadences using the Delaware method. A common activity asks students to draw the music they hear, letting the marks on the paper follow the music. The teacher can demonstrate this with an example, likely a revered line following the shape of the music. The students may begin by making arcs in the air before making any marks on paper. In this exercise students become aware of the direction of the musical line, as well as the resolution at the end of the phrase. Practices based on Delaware methods may be used effectively at the college level in first year theory courses as a way of recognizing chord quality. For example, three students may be used to represent the notes of a major triad. The distance between the first two students is larger than the distance between the second two students, presenting the difference in interval size between major and minor thirds. The middle student, representing the third of the chord, may take a step closer to the first student, the root, demonstrating the difference between major and minor triads. The exercise may also be used to illustrate augmented and diminished chords. Students may be asked to sing the pitches in each example to aurally represent the kinesthesia activity. Chord resolutions may also be represented using a similar physical model. Delaware method explores the connection of mind and body in music through a variety of kinesthesia/aural activities. This method allows students to can benefit from experiencing the music physically in connection with their aural experience. These exercises may be a useful addition to music theory courses at any level, and benefit students of all ages. Basic Features of Arrhythmias (Rhythmic Movements) There are number of basic features of arrhythmias in the teaching and learning of music. A) Although it was originally conceived as an aid to young adult music students, as noted by De Sock (1989), it has been successfully adapted for children. ) Young children may be taught musical concepts such as dynamics, tempo, and pitch through body movement. ) With the Delaware method believing that rhythm is the fundamental force in all art (especially music) use is made of the childs natural loco motor movements as the basis for the rhythmic movement of his method. D) The child learns to distinguish between, and respond instantly to the characteristic rhythms of each of these loco-motor movements, improvised on the piano by the teacher, (walking, marching, running, trotting, skipping, galloping, Jumping and swaying). Eminem was right: what can today's music EssayMusical concepts are learned through singing, chanting, dance, movement, drama and the playing of percussion instruments. Improvisation, composition and a childs natural sense of play are encouraged. The Roof Approach The main thrust in Roof approach to music education is that music, movement and speech form a cohesive whole and that is elemental music. According to De Sock (1989), elemental music is unsophisticated, using small sequence forms (station and rondo), the goal being to bring music within the range of every child, employing the child as a participant rather than as a listener. Carl Roof believed that the music development of children corresponds to the growth of music history and, as such, music teaching must proceed through a series of stages recognizing that: a) Rhythm harmony and therefore precedes harmony Rhythm *Melody ?+ Harmony The rhythmic patterns are experienced through speech patterns taken from the hills roots, thus his own name, vocabulary and nursery rhythms, These rhythmic formulas are then reproduced by clapping, stamping and finally on instruments. Through the combination of rhythm, melody, speech and movement, elemental music becomes more elemental music and never sophisticated. The nature of this elemental music gives the child of any age the opportunity to explore and develop his/her talent creativity. Roofs educational philosophy resulted from, and was influenced by an interest in the work of Delaware and Lab who showed the possibilities of movement and its combination with music. Realizing the endless possibilities of the latter, Roof set about changing the instruction of music into something different from what had, up to then, been accepted as usual. Roof shifted the emphasis from the harmonic to the rhythmic, by disassociating himself from the exclusive use of the piano in physical education, by encouraging students to improvise and compose their own music, and the need arose for instruments which were not only preferably rhythmic, but unsophisticated and easy to learn (De Sock 1989, page). To meet the above requirements a suitable instrumental ensemble had to be invented. Roof developed an instrumental ensemble of mellow, delicate timbre, easy to play and of excellent quality, these instruments are closely related to primitive models or the instruments of a non-western cultures. De Sock (1989) states that Roof instruments, both melodic and non-melodic have added advantage of being designed to require only large muscle movements, although they do require some playing technique, page. However, use of the piano as an accompaniment to surging or instrumental playing is not part of the Roof plan. Playing from memory is encouraged, especially in the early stages, while reading notation is not disregarded ND is introduced early in the course. (Landis and Carder, 1972) coded in De Sock(1989), believes that where as in the traditional study of music, memorization is a culminating activity, Roof felt that singing and playing should not be dependent on musical scores and that memorization be a natural beginning skill. Roof defined the ideal kind of music of children as never music alone but music connected with movement, dance and speech. Musical ideas are consistently explored through this array of active means in increasingly sophisticated ways. The activities are singly or in combination to involve the entire class in learning. Speech The inherent rhythm in the childs native language is an important resource Roofs approach. The rhymes, word games, riddles and poems from the childs heritage offer unlimited possibilities for exploring musical elements. Spoken rhymes may be clapped and perhaps transferred to unpainted percussion instruments. Speech activities are also well suited to the development of literacy and improvisation skills. A close relationship to singing is another important reason for including it in a total music program. Movement The importance of kinesthesia aspect of musical performance is well understood by Roof. Roof acknowledges physical response as the foundation upon which group music making is laid. Roof does not view movement study as an end itself but as another means towards musical and emotional growth. Music and movement are and tempo. Movement in the Roof begins with elemental movement and untrained natural action common to all pupils such as walking running skipping Jumping etc. Hillier are given freedom to move while singing and playing instruments. Instruments Children are fascinated by sound and a few can resist the opportunity to experiment with sound. In an Roof ensemble students will learn to listen appreciate and to help one another in collective musical endeavourers. Sound realization for poems, stories, melodic accompaniment and instrumental pieces are Just a few of the many group music making activities facilitated by musical instruments. His approach is very effective in teaching any instruments to pupils. Characteristics inherent in the Roof philosophy of music education The melodic starting point in pitch training is the natural child chant for Roof, like Kodiak, believed in moving from simple to the complex. Roof expected the children to create station patterns and burdens in atherosclerosis, and he constantly wrote them into the models he provided Motives were taken from the song and used in the introduction and accompaniment of the song Speech patterns were to begin with simple words and progress to complex speech canons The distinctive Roof ensemble of instruments was used. Rhythm is seen as the most vital element in music and as such, is common denominator in speech, movement, singing and improvisation Creative is vitally important in the Roof method The types of music and instruments typically used Folk music and music composed by the children themselves are mostly used in the Roof classroom. The music generated in the Roof Approach is largely improvisational and uses original tonal constructions that build a sense of confidence and interest in the process of creative thinking. Students of the Roof Approach sing, play instruments, and dance alone as well as in groups. Songs are usually short, contain station, are within singing range, can be manipulated to be played in a round or ABA form. Music is chosen with strong nationalistic flavor, being related to folk songs and music of the childs own heritage. Music can also be anything from nursery rhymes to songs that are invented by the children themselves. Roof-Schuler music is largely based on simple but forceful variations on rhythmic patterns. This makes for very simple and beautiful musical forms, which are easily learned by young children, and is also useful for adults and thus it has a universal appeal. Xylophones (soprano, alto, fashionableness (soprano, alto, bass), glockenspiels(soprano and alto),marimbas,castanets, bells, maracas, triangles, cymbals (finger, crash or suspended), tambourines, timpani, gongs, bongos, steel drums and conga drums are UT some of the percussion instruments used in the Roof classroom. Other instruments (both pitched and UN-pitched) that may be used include: The lesson Although Roof teachers use many books as frameworks, there is no standardized Roof curriculum. Roof teachers design their own lesson plans and adapt it to suit the size of the class and the age of the students. For example, a teacher may choose a poem or a story to read in class. Students are then asked to participate by choosing instruments to represent a character or a word in the story or poem. As the teacher reads the story or poem again, students add sound effects by playing the