Swim Noodles - Yes, Swim Noodles!

We are nearing the end of July, and most stores in this part of the world are clearing out the summer merchandise and bringing in the back-to-school supplies. Time to stock up on swim noodles - you know, those long flimsy towers of closed-cell foam so practical in the water.

If you are a classroom teacher, you need buy only half the number of students in your class because you will be cutting the noodles in half. If you are a parent, get at least one, cut it in half, and keep half for yourself!

Yes, there will be the greatest of temptations, especially among the boys, to immediately turn these into swords. It pays to have the noodles in sight but not yet available until you explain how "we use them at music time". (It also pays to have consequences for using them incorrectly, as in "Ooops. This noodle didn't learn the rule [or how to act] yet. Put one hand on each end 'til he can learn the rule.)

How do we use them?

1) Beat the floor with the rhythm of a recording. Progress from slow beats (1 for every 4 counts) to fast beats (one for every count) to "silly fast" ( as fast as they can possibly do it, just to get it out of their systems). By "progressing" I mean, play slow beats for a minute or two until most children aree hitting somewhere near the beat. Then go beating on counts 1 and count 3. Then, if most are getting that, try to beat on every count. (WARNING: Do not do this if there are children napping next door. It does get loud. Your neighboring teacher will not be happy with you!)

2) Beat the floor in different dynamics. LOUD soft soft LOUD soft soft or soft, louder, louder, louder, louder, LOUD (any combination of a beat pattern and/or a sound pattern.

3) If noise takes over, make the noodle a "unicorn", (make it a horn projecting from your forehead) or a "stinger" (make it stick out from your bottom). They will have to be watching, or they will get "caught"!

4) Older children who are learning to gallop can practice riding the noodle like a pony. The foot that stays behind becomes the pony's lame foot. (And a bandana suck in the top noodle hole becomes a mane, and one stuck in the bottom hole becomes a tail....) Any "cowboy" music will do! One of my favorites - Nickel Creek's "Little Cowpoke".

Have fun!

A word of explanation...

Or perhaps a point of view...

My thought is that if any activity contains one of the musical elements, it can be claimed as being a somewhat musical activity - especially with young children.

So what are the elements?

1. Pitch - the high-ness or low-ness of the sound, or the number of vibrations in the soundwaves if you want to be technical. Melodies and harmonies come out of this.

2. Dynamics - the loudness, softness, or anything-in-between-ness of the volume of the sound.

3. Timbre - the "color" of the sound, as in the difference between the sound of a voice and a piano, or a violin, or flute, or drum.

4. Rhythm - the beat or pulse of the sound, which also includes the meter (the way the beats are organized) and the tempo (whether the beat is fast or slow).

5. Form - the way the melodies are organized into a whole composition.

6. Texture - the number of different melodies, sounds, etc. going on at one time.

Enough theory, right?