Solo Singing
Otherwise referred to as call and response, solo singing activities focus the child’s attention to listening and echoing the teacher’s voice in melody and pitch. This targets the ear as the lead in communication and develops the child’s ability to listen to the musical cues and repeat them confidently. While musicality is practiced, personal confidence, social awareness and self-esteem are enhanced. The parent-child bond is also reinforced.
FMT1 Echo Friends
FMT2 Echo Friends
AMM Jump Frog Jump
Unpitched Percussion
Many fine motor skills are developed through learning to play varied unpitched percussion instruments. Wee Make Music classes include unpitched instruments from all families: woods, metals, shakers and skins and within each family the instruments vary to cater for the different ages of motor development.
Eg. Woods Family: Babies up to 14mths use clave, 15mths to 2yrs rhythm sticks, 2yrs onwards tone blocks.
Tone blocks from the woods family are introduced from 2yrs onwards extending beat practice, hand eye coordination and increasing the choice of sound and applications for the instrument.
FMT2 Tone Block Pony Galloping
AMM Rhythm Sticks 2 Squirrel
FMT2 Tone Block Mountains
AMM Rhythm Sticks Squirrel
Playing 2 or More Instruments In A Piece
Once children reach the level 2 toddler program (2yrs +) two instruments from different unpitched families are combined in a piece to increase the level of challenge cognitively and physically. Woods and metals or skins and metals are complimented in pieces where the child listens for tempo changes in the music and changes the instrument and beat accordingly. Musical language is learned while practicing beat, rhythm, hand eye coordination and further developing listening and concentration skills.
FMT2 Tone Block Pony Galloping
Transition Songs
Singing to direct children is a clever technique to encourage participation and limit delays and interruptions. Transition songs are also valuable in between activities allowing for smooth pack up and change to another activity while maintaining the child’s focus and happy demeanour.
Chair Games
Children love to giggle. They love to be tickled, tossed and swayed. Putting these to rhyme and bouncing the beat is the perfect combination for yet another technique in developing the child’s understanding of beat and rhythm. The parent- child bond is reinforced through the joy of sharing in the fun.
FMT2 Tone Block Pony Galloping
Movement & Beat Practice
The child’s urge to move can be applied cleverly to practice beat and tempo when age appropriate activities are chosen and repeated.
Tapping hands together from 2yrs on is not only a method pf practicing beat but exercising memory and numeracy concepts, hand eye coordination and higher level thinking processes.
FMT1 Row Row Row
MM Baa Baa Black Sheep
Pitched Percussion (ORFF Instruments)
AMM Glockenspiel Squirrel
Combining Pitch and Unpitched Instruments
From age three children are challenged to manipulating pitched and up to 4 other unpitched instruments in any one piece. With careful instruction the children develop listening, higher level thinking processes and fine motor skills capable of working independently or in small ensembles with the added bonus of enhanced personal development. Self- expression, esteem, social awareness and team work are amongst the attributes enhanced weekly in these classes.
Movement and Circle Dances
It is a natural instinct to move with music and using this to teach beat, tempo, language and musical accents is a fun technique. The child’s social awareness, personal and social confidence and gross motor skills are nurtured through repetition of these styles of activities.
MM Parachute Three Times Around
Floor Games
Beat can be practiced through whole body movement set to rhyme. The child feels the beat or musical phrase as he/she hears the rhyme or vocal sounds that accompany it. Not just a fun exercise but another clever strategy for teaching & reinforcing beat, rhythm, tone and pitch
FMB Apple Tree