Music Tip Monday #10 - Scale patterns

Why do choir directors and singing teachers so often play warm-ups in major scale patterns?

Have you ever noticed that singing warm-ups nearly always exist in major scale patterns? Why is that the case?

Some singing and music teachers have told me that because they are not keyboard experts, they feel most comfortable playing in 5 note major scale patterns. And that is okay, except that it reinforces the same sequence of whole and half step intervals (tones and semitones) in the ear of the singer. And then when that singer does a music exam where other scales are required as part of the technical work, more complex scales like the chromatic and whole tone become aural challenges. Why not instead make a habit of mixing up the scale patterns from the beginning stages of training?

With limited piano or keyboard skills most music and singing teachers can play a major scale from middle key – it is simply 8 white notes ascending.

Finding the natural minor scale (also known as the Aeolian mode) is as simple as playing 8 white notes from the A two notes below middle C. Immediately a new tonality and pattern of tones and semitones is available to the student’s ear.

You could try all your favorite warm-up exercises in both major and natural minor keys. By using only the black notes on the keyboard you can play and explore the pentatonic scale – a scale which works whichever note you start on.

The less predictable your warm-up patterns are, the more attuned your students’ ears will become.

Give it a go!

Media Term Thursday #13

Firewall

A combination of hardware and software that creates a security interface or gateway which separates a network into two parts for security purposes, between a closed system (home PC) and an open system (network)

Excerpt from Media Key Terms and Concepts

Drama Term Tuesday #13

Lecoq (Jacques Lecoq)

Jacques Lecoq (1921 - 1999) was a French acting teacher and theorist who developed a method of physical theatre training based around the principles of le jeu (playfulness), complicité (togetherness) and disponsibilité (openness).

Working with mask and improvisation to simplify and then amplify the physicality of the actor, Lecoq’s work encourages actors to develop their own sense of play and discover new forms of creative expression.

Excerpt from Drama Key Terms and Concepts

Media Term Thursday #12

Canted Framing

Dutch angle

When the camera is angled on its side so the frame is not level, causing the objects in the scene to be slanted or not in an upright position.

Excerpt from Media Key Terms and Concepts

Drama Term Tuesday #12

Censorship

Censorship of Drama

Censorship sets out to define, control and restrict individual or group freedom and access to ideas or expression.

In the long history of drama there has been strong recognition of its power to influence thought and to change action amongst audiences. As such a powerful force in society, drama has attracted the attention of many who wanted to control it, curb its influence or to use it for their own purposes. Censorship has been undertaken on the basis of religious belief, political ideology and propaganda, sexual or personal morality. Censorship can be undertaken by individuals, groups, governments or religious groups.

Self censorship is another common example of how individual playwrights and actors limit ideas or dramatic action.

Optimistically, wherever there has existed censorship, there has been ingenuity and resilience in drama which questioned or countered the deadening influence of censorship and ensured the power of drama continued to have an impact on society.

Excerpt from Drama Key Terms and Concepts

Music Tip Monday #9 -

One of the reasons music is an appealing art form is that people can engage in it at any age.

It is never too late to start making music.

When planning music learning for a primary (elementary) class, the teacher often faces the challenge of teaching the basic music concepts in an engaging way. For example, what happens if an upper primary class has had limited or no prior exposure to music learning?

The fundamental concepts must be taught for the learning to be meaningful and sequential, but the pre-adolescent child can be impatient with learning the basics of, say, beat and rhythm.

Many teachers successfully apply this rule: Keep the concept simple but the activity age-appropriate.

Here are some examples:

You need to teach the concept of maintaining a steady 4 beat pattern.

In the pre-primary classroom the children stamp to the 4 beats – left right left right – repeat the sequence.

In the middle primary classroom the children form pairs and face each other to mirror a 4 beat sequence – slap own thighs, clap hands, ‘high five’ the partner with both hands, clap hands again – repeat the sequence.

In the upper primary classroom the children try a more complex cross-patterning sequence – extend left arm and tap left shoulder with right hand, tap left wrist with right hand, use left hand to reach across to grab right shoulder, extend right arm – repeat the sequence.

What activities have you found successful in teaching fundamental music concepts?

Media Term Thursday #11

Poster Art

Originated in France in the late 1800’s. Posters were a new, low cost method of advertising for theatrical productions and department store merchandise, and at the time attracted a lot of aspiring painters who needed to earn a living.

The huge popularity of posters meant great commercial success for the artists, widespread use across Europe and the US and before long they began to be exhibited in galleries.

The arrival of the movie theatre opened up the market for mass produced poster art.

Excerpt from Media Key Terms and Concepts

Drama Term Tuesday - Arts Inspire Conference 2019

Robin was a keynote speaker at the Arts Inspire 2019 Conference in Adelaide, South Australia, June 14-15. This conference was an initiative of Educate SA, the combined association of education associations in South Australia.

We share with you four slides from Robin’s presentation: his five key messages for arts educators; models for arts learning; and, an overview of arts specific pedagogies for the five arts subjects in the Australian Curriculum: The Arts.

We also share with you, the outline of Robin’s Master Class in Adelaide. He modelled using Process Drama strategies to use drama to teach concepts across the curriculum. The Pre-Text for the process drama was a Chinese Idiom story. In the workshop called The Boy who Asked Too Many Questions - embodied learning in action, participants explored drama strategies and then made simple paper Bunraku puppets to explore learning in Science.

Music Tip Monday #8 - More on Neuromusical Development.

Children who play an instrument enjoy the ‘rewiring’ effects in their brains of participating in making music while moving (ie the action of playing their particular instrument).

In order for singers to get the same benefit, some movement while singing is necessary. It is not always appropriate for your school choir to move when performing. However we can all get into the habit of moving while warming up the singing voice – perhaps marking beat with some cross-patterning actions or indicating pitch changes with the hands or whole body.

How do you incorporate movement and singing in your teaching room?

Media Term Thursday #10

Gaffer

The chief electrical and lighting technician carrying out all the lighting requirements under the guidance of the DOP.

The best boy is the gaffer’s assistant.

Excerpt from Media Key Terms and Concepts