Junior Music at Home 8

Enjoy these structured musical activities that we have prepared especially for you to continue your learning at home...

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Performing: Cup patterns

Take a look at the video below... 

• What you'll need...
  You'll need two plastic cups for this activity
• Learn the words and the rhyme first
  Follow the teacher as she goes over the words with you. Don't forget that you can rewind the video if you need more attempts at getting it right!
• Cup patterns
  After an easy start this gets more difficult as more complicated patterns are introduced. Do each version as many times as you need before feeling comfortable moving on to the harder patterns. (Even the teacher makes a mistake near the end!)
• Create your own patterns
  Choose a song you like, and see what pattens you can make up with just cups. See you if you can teach these patterns to someone else in your house too.

Explore and create: Typewriter music

(set by Kathryn Hindmarch from Portway Junior School)

When do the sounds made by everyday objects become music? Let’s face it, we’re surrounded by sound and some sounds are definitely more appealing than others! If there’s a musical intention, any sound maker can be used to make music. 

• Listen
  

  Leroy Anderson wrote a fantastic piece of music in 1950 for an orchestra and a...typewriter! It’s very fast and the person who plays the typewriter part has to be very skilled. 

• Play along
  Here’s a great graphic score of Leroy Anderson’s piece which you can follow and play along with. Start by tapping a steady beat and you’ll soon see how the symbols used fit with the music.
• Feeling confident?
  Try using different sound makers for the different symbols –
  – Something that makes a short strong tapping sound for the typewriter
  – Something that sounds like a bell
  – Something that makes a whoosh sound for the arrow
  – Use your voice to make a falling rollercoaster sound

• Play along
  Here’s a great graphic score of Leroy Anderson’s piece which you can follow and play along with. Start by tapping a steady beat and you’ll soon see how the symbols used fit with the music.
• Feeling confident?
  When you’re more confident, try using different sound makers for the different symbols –
  – Something that makes a short strong tapping sound for the typewriter
  – Something that sounds like a bell
  – Something that makes a whoosh sound for the arrow
  – Use your voice to make a falling rollercoaster sound
• Compose and perform
  Look around your home for a machine which is able to make a range of sounds (make sure to ask permission from an adult first!). Experiment with the sounds it makes then create your own symbols or simple pictures to represent each sound. Now combine these into your own musical score and practise what you have written.

Keep learning

Continue your musical learning with us with more Music at Home, or find out how you could start learning to play a musical instrument.