Reflection Journal # 3

Edith Pacheco
Music 373
Reflection Journal #: 3 (Date: 10/12~11/06)


o In this unit, we learned about C major scale including the difference between whole steps and half steps in C major scale. We also learned to incorporate music in story telling, The Cante Fable Tradition. We learned three new musical notes for the recorder C,D, and E.

o We learned about the C major scale by having a piano scale as a reference. The space between a white key and black key signifies a whole step and the space between two white keys is a half step. We also played and created a song using C major scale with G being the vocal pitch. The class was instructed to create a candy song starting with G and ending with G.

For the Cante Fable Tradition, bringing out the musical elements in stories we were introduced to this concept with the song, “What do we do with the Drunken Sailor.” As a class we learned this song and incorporated dance and animation. We then changed the song to “What shall we Do with the Boo-Hoo Baby?” which is a story appropriate for younger children. With this story we were able to incorporate the song and different sounds tied to the animals in the story.

In lieu of Halloween, the class was separated into different groups and we were assigned a story we would read and add music as well as sound to it with trash we were assigned to bring to class. Each group read the story and presented their own representation of the sounds in the story with the trash assigned to bring in to class and also chose a line from an assigned song to read.

We also worked on two other stories in which all students were given an instrument to play and some students played a melody when instructed. This was a lot of fun and everyone in the class was able to participate by reading the story, playing an instrument, singing, or playing the recorder.

o It was important for me to learn these things because this style of teaching is very effective to use for children. Having the students participate and be part of the story telling engages them to understand the content and pay attention. I was just in a class observation where a student was asked to read from a book and the other students did not engage in the reading at all. It was like the student was reading to herself and not the whole class. Learning how to incorporate music to story telling gives me ideas on how to create effective lesson plans where students will engage in the content.

o It is important for the children in elementary school to learn in a manner that will allow them to reach their potential. In the observation I made of the student reading to the class it seemed that the majority of students were not following along. Perhaps if they were quizzed about the reading the majority of students would not be able to answer questions unless they read the story over. By incorporating music and participation from the class the students will be alert and attentive to the story. They will have to know when to participate and identify the order they are to participate. They have to follow along the story in order to do this. This may also be an effective way for children at a lower level of reading to be able to retain information.

Assignment # 8

Teaching Music through Playing Classroom Instruments (10 pts)

1.Classroom instruments function in a variety of ways. Please list some instruments that play (1) melodies, (2) harmony, and (3) rhythm.

1. Melodies – piano, electric keyboard, melody bells, step bells, resonator bells, xylophone, recorder

2. Harmony – autoharp, Q-chord, guitar, resonator bells,

3. Rhythm – rhythm sticks, claves, woodblock, maracas, sand blocks, guiro, cymbals

(1) Melodic instruments—A melodic instrument is any instrument that can produce melody.
List melodic instruments: piano electronic keyboards, melody balls, step bells, resonator bells, xylophone, glockenspiel, metallophone, handbells, tone chimes, and recorder.

(2) Harmonic instruments—A harmonic instrument can play harmonies or drones as accompaniments to songs.

List harmonic instruments: autosharp, q-chord, guitar.

(3) Rhythmic instruments (percussion instruments)—Rhythmic instruments can play the rhythmic accompaniments to songs. They are divided into woods, metals, and skins.

List rhythmic instruments: rhythm sticks, claves, woodblock, maracas, sand blocks and the guiro.

2.What musical concepts could students gain through playing instruments?

· The ability to choose appropriate instruments for such musical concepts as:
o Steady beat
o Difference in dynamics
o Musical form
o Pitch and Melody

· The ability to discriminate and select appropriate rhythm instruments for various types of music.

· An awareness of the expressive potential of different instruments.

· The ability to select and play instruments that can add to the expressiveness of music through accompaniment.


3. Playing instrumental accompaniments adds interests and variety to many songs and contributes toward perceptual and motor skills. The choice and use of appropriate instruments in musical experiences can enrich the study of history, geography, culture and people, poetry, feelings and moods, and holidays. Please select one topic from above categories and design an activity using musical instruments.

o Musical Concept
- C Major Scale

o Non Musical Concept
- Introduce a Christmas Holiday Song

o Skills
- Use of right and left hand to play the melody to Christmas song.

o Non Musical Skills
- Memorizing the lyrics to the Christmas song.