FIVE FACETS OF MUSIC TEACHING

Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades

A. SINGING
Rote-Song
An activity which is common in a music classroom. It is, therefore, necessary for the music teacher to
know the proper way to sing so that his singing may be the example to the children in his class.
The core of the music education program.
A song to be taught by rote, or by frequent repetition to the learner, as a child before it
can read.
Every child is a potential singer but, sometimes, we come across children who, for one reason or
another, do not sing in exact tunes. These children are not really monotones but just unturned, like
instruments which are not tuned correctly.
Singing
Preparing Children for Part Singing
 The use of instruments may be a device not only for the musical growth of the children but
also for their enjoyment and understanding of music. The first instrument experiences of the
children may be with toy or rhythm band instruments.
 Some children are not prepared to sing part songs and therefore, are unable to participate in
choral activities. The music teachers may be able to help the children develop part singing
readiness using the following singing activities:
Singing songs with chording, that is, singing the bass do, sol or fa together with the song
depending on the harmonic character of the song.
Singing songs with a chant: A chant is a figure or phrase sung repeatedly with the phrases of a
song. The chant is used, therefore, with songs that have only one harmony throughout.
The four main vocal ranges:
Soprano– is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice
types.
Alto– (Italian: “high”) the alto is the second highest vocal range of a female.
Tenor– it is the highest natural adult male voice.
Bass– the lowest vocal range of a male.
B. LISTENING
Definition
 The ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process.
 It is the key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages
are easily misunderstood. If there is one communication skill you should aim to master, then
listening is it.
The Need for Teaching Children How to Listen
 The world of music is unfolded to children through varied experiences in singing, playing
instruments, rhythm and dancing, and creative activities. Children do not usually develop with
excellence among these lines, but it is hoped that each one may find at least one phase of the
work which can provide enrichment in his life not only in his childhood, but also in adulthood,
perhaps only few will develop into skillful performers (singers, dancers, or composers) but a
 good number, all can become discriminating and sensitive listeners. As a matter of fact, it is
through listening rather than active participation or performance that a big majority of the
people enjoy music.
Active Listening: Teaching with Music
Active listening similarly requires students to engage with and think about what they hear. In other
words, active listening is listening with a purpose.
You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. - Sherlock Holmes
Three Types of Listening
Affective Listening
 This type of listening is perhaps the most basic. Useful questions for this type of listening
typically prompt students to voice their observations on a basic level: What instruments do you
hear? What genre of music is this? What emotions does this evoke? How fast or slow is it?
(For those with musical training, this might also include more targeted questions to draw out
observations about tempo, meter, rhythm, range, etc.)
Dialogic Listening
 This type of listening is perhaps the most complex and time-consuming, yet also the most
fruitful and potentially rewarding. As the name implies, this type of listening places a musical
example in dialogue with external elements—generic conventions, other musical pieces,
artwork, texts, objects, etc. Teaching with music does not preclude using texts or visuals as
well. If your piece has lyrics, include them (and if those lyrics are not in your students’ native
language, provide a translation as well). It often helps to complement listening with other
ways of engaging with musical examples by using other types of media.
Structural Listening
 This type of listening approaches a musical example almost like a sculpture or a painting, in
which you point students toward particular moments and see the ways in which those
moments are the culmination of particular trajectories. As such, structural listening often
means comparing different moments from within a particular piece. Questions might include:
How does the artist or composer move from one idea to another? Why? And etc.

C. CREATIVE WORK
 A manifestation of creative effort such as artwork, literature, music, paintings, and software.
Creative work has in common a degree of arbitrariness, such that it is improbable that two
people would independently create the same work.
A new study suggests that listening to happy music promotes more divergent thinking—a key
element of creativity. BY JILL SUTTIE | NOVEMBER 17, 2017
Creative Movements
Rhythmic Movement
 An interesting way of interpreting music.
 It may be performed in the following forms: the fundamental bodily movements such as
walking, running, or skipping; rhythmic activities like swaying or clapping the hands or
dangling.
There are two kinds of bodily movements – locomotor movements which are progressive movements
like stepping, hopping, jumping, etc. there are several directions in which locomotor movements may
be done, e.g, forward or backward, in a circle or se111mi-circle, slow or fast, long or short, light or
heavy or smooth. Locomotor movements may be executed in different meanings. Axial movements
which are performed in space like swinging the hands, rotating the arms, or falling. The axial skills
are performed in standing, kneeling, or lying position.
 May be approached from different means:
 After the discussion of the meaning of a familiar song, the children may be led to create
different types of actions to depict different movements suggested in the song.
Interpretative movements
 It may be suggested by the sound made by animals or objects; of jingles, rhymes, or of selling
calls; and greeting and farewells.
 Music heard or performed may suggest varied movements. Dance steps can be adapted to
different moods of music.

D. INSTRUMENTAL WORK
 A process of instrument learning or a method of training in which the reinforcement is made
by contingent on the occurrence of the response.
Rhythm Band
 The use of instruments may be a device not only for the musical growth of the children but
also for their enjoyment and understanding of music. The first instrumental experiences of the
children may be with toy or rhythm band instruments.
 The objectives for using the rhythm band instruments are:
>To utilize the instruments as a means of interpreting music.
>To develop the ability to recognize one color and to learn to use it for musical
interpretation.
>To develop mental and physical coordination through the manipulation of the
instruments.
>To develop musical memory and use this is meaningful ensemble work.
>To develop the basic skills and fundamentals of music through enjoyable instrumental
activities.
Classifications of Instruments
 These are the instruments with strings which may be bowed or plucked or strummed.
Examples include the violin, the violoncello or cello, viola, and the contrabass or bass viola.
Chordophones
 Instrument made to sound by blowing air into the tube by means of the mouth pressed
against the mouthpiece of embouchure, or blowing through the lips or the nose, or blowing air
by putting the mouthpiece and its vibrating reeds inside the mouth.
 Examples are cornet, trumpet, trombone, horn, tuba, sousaphone (all of which are made
brass) the flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon (all of which are made of wood).
Aerophones
 The third group of instruments are the membranophones which are so called because they
have a piece of membrane or similar material stretched over a hollow end of a cylinder which
is made to sound by beating with the drumstick. Examples of membranophones are the
different kinds of drums and the tympani or kettle drums.
Membranophones
  The fourth group of instruments include the triangle, xylophones or glockenspiel, marimba,
castanets, and cymbals. Idiophones are played by hitting, shaking, and rubbing.
Idiophones

E. MOVEMENT
Movement
 Incorporating music and movement into early childhood education can help young children
with development, social interaction, and language growth.
 In regard to that, music, for children is something they can associate with through movement.
When they hear it, they sway to it, dance to it, they react to it with movements that they
want.
 It is an important part of their learning experience.
Exploring Movement
Music leads to movement. It is hard to listen to music without moving in some way, even if it is just
moving your toes, head, or fingertips! Movement is how we interact with our environment and define
the space we occupy in the world. We move to explore. Crawling leads to walking, and walking leads
to hopping, skipping, and jumping.

Importance of Music & Movement in the Education of Young Children by Meg Brannagan
Early Childhood
 Early childhood education, for children 8 years of age and younger, is the beginning of a
student's academic experience. This is an important time of learning and brain development
for children in preparation for the rest of their education. Playing music and moving to a beat
provides stimulating experiences for young children and fosters learning at home or in the
classroom. Parents and early childhood teachers can incorporate music and movement into
daily routines.
Brain Development
 According to the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association, 85 percent of brain
development occurs by the time a child reaches 3 years. As children grow, they need to learn
specific activities that are important for development. For example, very young children begin
to scoot and crawl for movement and while these activities are part of eventually learning to
walk, they are also essential for brain development. Additionally, patterned activities at home
or in the preschool classroom, such as clapping to music or jumping in time to a beat stimulate
brain function and help the brain to organize thoughts and behaviors.
Language
 Language has its own tempo; speaking a language fluently involves regular pauses, stops, and
starts in appropriate places. For example, most people do not speak in a constant, running
diatribe of words; rather they insert pauses between phrases, they use accents, and they
increase or decrease the overall speed of speech. Music has a tempo and teaching young
children’s songs that have rhythms and beats or learning to march in time to a tune can help
students to learn the rhythm of speaking and improve their communication skills.

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