I thought it would be helpful to put all the music links in once place; here you’ll find all the resources I’ve mentioned in the past six posts, as well as some new links. Take a look around!

Montessori for Everyone Music Series:

Music in Montessori 1: What are the Benefits?
Music in Montessori 2: Rhythm Activities
Music in Montessori 3: Learning About Pitch
Music in Montessori 4: Musical Instruments and the Symphony Orchestra
Music in Montessori 5: Music Theory
Music in Montessori 6: Movement and Drama

Blogs:

Montessori by Hand (audio files of songs for kids)

Materials:

Music CD “Songs for a Practical Day” from Montessori Moms Music
Music Nomenclature Cards from Montessori for Everyone
Printable Music Cards from Montessori Materials (free site)
Enchanted Learning Music Crafts
Putamayo Kids – World Music CDs
Square Dancing Made Easy CD

Websites:

Songs for Teaching
Simple Rhythm Activities for Kids
Montessori Bells
Glossary of Musical Terms
Music Theory Website

Books & Flashcards:

101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children
Beginning Songbooks for Recorder
Music Flashcards

Online Stores:

Montessori Services – Music & Movement Materials
Montessori & Such – Music Materials

Musical Instruments Classification:

Comprehensive Table of Musical Instrument Classification

Dancing is an obvious way to move to music. There are two main ways to do this: moving to music freely, or learning specific steps to a dance. I think it’s good for kids to do both.

For freeform dancing, play any tune with a good beat and let them go crazy. Or you can do something as a group like “plate dancing”. I was introduced to plate dancing in my Montessori training, and it is so fun (but exhausting). Basically you give everyone two paper plates, then put on some music and make up a dance to it, using the plates as props. The kids love it. Colored scarves would work well for this too.

Learning specific steps to dances can be more of a challenge. At the last school where I worked, we would actually hire a dance teacher to help the older kids prepare for our annual music and dance performance. One year they learned Irish dancing, and the next year it was Russian dancing. Not all schools can afford this, but ask around. There are often parents with experience in different kinds of dance.

There’s a fantastic company that makes CDs with music from around the world. Many of these songs can easily be turned into dances appropriate to that country or culture. My personal favorite is World Playground – I’ve practically worn out this CD, I’ve used it so much. The company is called Putamayo Kids and they have all sorts of CDs available.

Kids love square dancing, and it’s easy to teach and learn. I have a CD called Square Dancing Made Easy that’s come in handy many times over the years. I highly recommend it. The CD insert explains the different steps, and the songs contain the calls, so you really can’t go wrong.

Many schools or homeschool co-ops like to put on a musical each year. This is a great way to combine singing, dancing, and acting. While it is a lot of work, I think it’s enriching for the kids. Other ways to combine music and movement include bouncing balls in time to music – let them find as many ways as possible to bounce, throw, and catch the ball in a way that keeps the beat.

While this doesn’t involve music per se, putting on a play can be music-related. In one memorable instance, I had the upper elementary kids (9-12) divide into small groups and each write a play about the life of a famous composer. We did this over a couple of weeks, as they needed time to write and rehearse.

When they were finished, they performed their plays for the preschool and lower elementary kids. Amusing flourishes included pianos made of people (one for the bench, one for the keyboard). Much laughter resulted whenever the “piano” would make a snide comment. They had a a great time, and learned about the composers in a real and interesting way.

My next post will be a summary of all the music posts, as well as all the links from the other posts organized in one place. Look for it soon!

Here’s a brief synopsis of each element of music:

Rhythm: The arrangement of sounds in time. Terms relating to rhythm include time signature, meter, measure, bars, and beats.

Melody: A series of pitches that sound in succession. Terms relating to melody include pitch, notes, interval, octave, major, minor, and key.

Harmony: This occurs when two or more notes are played at the same time or in quick succession. Terms relating to harmony include chord, consonance, and dissonance.

Notation: It’s the written notes that represent at piece of music. Related terms include bass clef, treble clef, staff, grand staff, notes, and time values.

Definitions for all of these terms can be found here at this Glossary of Musical Terms. For more detailed explanations, Wikipedia is quite helpful.

If your children study an instrument, or play one in the classroom, music theory is built-in to this activity. Beginner’s books for piano, violin, recorder, etc. teach different note values and terms when introducing songs that contain those notes or terms. This is a very effective way of learning theory, because you’re getting a chance to experience the concept personally. An example would be learning the term “forte” and then playing a song that has a section to be played “forte” (loud).

If they don’t play an instrument (or you want to augment those lessons), flashcards and nomenclature cards can be used. I happen to have two different sets of cards for music theory; they both contain full-page charts with names/pictures that could be laminated and put on the wall for kids to see, or used as control charts with the work itself:

Types of Musical Terms – Beginning

Types of Musical Terms – Advanced

There are lots of ways to work music theory into the classroom experience. For example, you could use a musical term as a bonus spelling word, and have the kids tell you what it means (or look it up in a dictionary if they don’t know offhand). Kids can make their own vocabulary matching cards by writing up definitions to musical terms and matching them to the correct term. Doing all the activities that I’ve mentioned in all the previous music posts are also ways for kids to learn music theory.

Learning to read music is an important skill. There are lots of ways to go about this, but a simple way is to draw 5 lines on a chalkboard or dry erase board and then draw in one note and teach its name. Do this every day for one week, then review the 5 notes. This site has clear outlines of the clefs and notes, as well as common mnemonics for aid in memorization. In my day, we used “Every Good Boy Does Fine” for the lines on the treble clef, but for gender neutrality the new one is “Elephants Get Big Dirty Feet”.

For older kids, have them draw 5 parallel lines on a piece of paper, then use checkers or coins to put “notes” on the lines and spaces. They can point to each note and say its name, and then sing (using “la”) or play their melody.

A delightful way to introduce kids to musical instruments is to have them make some themselves. This can be as simple as putting beads in a container and shaking it, or as complicated as using a shoebox and rubber bands to make a homemade banjo. There are tons of ideas out there; Enchanted Learning has some great ideas for musical instrument crafts, but a quick internet search would turn up lots more.

One fun activity is to talk a little bit about what a musical instrument is (most basic definition: something that can be used to make noise) and then let kids have 10-15 minutes to look around the classroom or house and see what kind of musical instrument they can come up with.

Whether you plan a craft or let them roam around, take a moment to talk about the types of instruments. The four main categories are percussion, string, woodwind, and brass. If you start naming instruments, elementary age kids will probably be able to guess the correct category. Some are tricky (flutes belong with woodwinds, for instance), and others are disputable. Is a piano a string instrument or percussion? Good arguments can be made on both sides.

Here’s one way to classify instruments; I found in my research that there are several different ways of doing that. Here’s another classification system that’s often used.

I made a work back many years ago that was always a classroom favorite. Basically, I took a piece of posterboard and divided it up like a symphony orchestra. I laminated dozens of small pictures of musical instruments and put Velcro on the backs of the pieces. I put matching Velcro on the posterboard arranged in the correct way. Kids used a picture of a symphony orchestra as a guide to position the instruments, similar to this one:

Once they were all in place, the completed work was quite stunning. Unfortunately I lost the posterboard somewhere along the way. I made this work pre-computer, so I had spent hours copying pictures of musical instruments from books to make this work. Can you believe it? I’d like to re-create something similar to sell, but haven’t had the time.

Playing music for the kids is a great way to teach them about the sounds that musical instruments make. For instance, “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copland is a fantastic example of the timpani and trumpet. Violin and piano concertos can be used to talk about those instruments, respectively, and Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” is wonderful for string instruments and explaining a string quartet. I always like to play the theme “Gabriel’s Oboe” from the movie The Mission as a beautiful example of the oboe.

Naturally, The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens is a perfect example of almost all the common instruments. Montessori Services offers a book and CD combo of this composition. They also have many other music resources, including a beautifully illustrated book about the symphony orchestra.

If you have a chance to take kids to see an orchestra or band – even a high school or college one – do it! They love seeing all of the instruments playing together under the direction of the conductor. Another great activity is to ask parents or friends who play instruments to bring their instruments in and show them to the kids. This is a nice way to learn about the parts of a specific instrument and how it’s played.

Next time: teaching music theory!

There are some really simple exercises you can do with young children to help them develop their sense of pitch. If you have access to a piano or keyboard, play a note at one extreme end or the other and ask them whether it sounds high or low. Once they’ve mastered that, play two notes right after each other and ask which is higher (or lower), note #1 or #2?

Matching pitch is a very important skill, and while some believe that this skill is either present or not, I think it can be developed. To match pitch, play a note on an instrument and ask the children to hum the same note. Keep them within a singable range (around middle C), but vary them so they get used to matching different pitches.

A child who might be “tone-deaf” (unable to distinguish different pitches) can show improvement with practice. I heard once that when a child can’t match pitch, the problem may possibly be that they can’t actually hear themselves humming or singing. Have the kids cup one (or two) hands behind their ears while matching pitch. The improvement can be quite dramatic. (I couldn’t resist this picture; isn’t she adorable?)

Once children have mastered matching pitch, you can introduce the idea of the 8-note scale (play every white note from C to C for a C major scale). They can also learn that musical notes span the alphabet from A to G, and that notes repeat on a regular basis – every 8 notes, you have an octave.

There are a variety of ways children can have some hands-on experience with pitch. If you are blessed enough to have the Montessori bells in your classroom, there are a variety of activities that can be done with them (usually suppliers who sell the Montessori bells have handbooks available too). If, like for most of us, the bells are financially beyond reach, you might want to try the Montessori Bells Online website. Developed by a Montessori mom named Lisia Grocott, this is a great way for a child to experience using this material. She gives some suggestions for different ways to use them at her site.

For older children, pitches should be tied to the names of musical notes. The easiest way to do this is to get instruments for each of the kids. The most inexpensive is the recorder, which I have had success buying in bulk on eBay (just do a search for “plastic recorder”, stick with sellers who have 99% feedback and higher, and check shipping charges before you buy).

There are many beginning songbooks for learning the recorder – get one for yourself, and learn along with the kids. It’s easy and fun. For a school with a larger budget, xylophones (also called glockenspiels or Orff instruments) are a great way to learn and play different notes.

Children can learn to read notes using beginning songbooks, but there are also other materials like music flashcards and hands-on materials like these felt boards with notes from Montessori ‘n’ Such. I noticed that they have quite a nice selection of music materials at their site.

I’ll share more about note-reading when I get to music theory, so that’s coming!

What is rhythm? There are a couple of definitions. Here is a quick look:

1. The basic, repetitive pulse of the music
2. A rhythmic pattern that is repeated throughout the music
3. The pattern in time of a single small group of notes

All three of these types of rhythm are ripe for young children to experience. One great way to start is “echo clapping”. In this activity, the adult claps a certain pattern of notes, and the kids echo it. When working with a group, an easy way to make sure the kids don’t start clapping until you finish is by signaling them with your hands. Clap the rhythm, then turn your hands towards them, palms up. That lets them know that they can start.

Start with simple patterns (4 even claps, for 4/4 time, 3 for ¾, etc.) and then add beats in between as half notes. You can vary the patterns for kids who are more advanced, and of course older kids love having a turn clapping their own patterns for the other kids to imitate. You will end up moving through all of the three different kinds of rhythm in this activity, starting with the basic pulse of the music and ending with groups of notes in a pattern. Variations on “echo clapping” include using the floor and your lap to tap on, snapping, and any combination of these with clapping.

For older children who have some music knowledge, you can write (or have them write) rhythmic patterns on a dry erase board or chalkboard. They can draw notes without worrying about the actual pitch; all they need to indicate is the pattern of notes. First, they’ll have to decide what time signature (or grouping) to use; 4/4 is easiest to begin with. They need to make sure that whatever notes they choose (quarter, half, whole, etc.), the total of each phrase adds up to the top number in the time signature.

One favorite rhythm game is to have one person leave the room, then pick a “leader”. Have everyone start clapping at a slow, rhythmic pace. Call the person back in the room. They have to join the circle and try to figure out who the “leader” is. The leader should change the method of making noise – tapping the floor, shoulders, snapping, etc., and when the other group members notice the leader doing something different, they should change too. The key is, they shouldn’t look right at the leader as to not give away their identity. Let the person who left the room have three guesses; let the leader go out of the room for the next turn.

When you sing a song (or play one on CD), clap along and have kids try to figure out if it’s in 4/4 time or some other time signature. You can also give kids rhythm instruments (rhythm sticks work well for this) and have them tap along to the song. Use one of the sticks to “conduct”, so that they stay on the beat together. You’d be surprised how easy this is even if you have no musical experience!

The most common musical instruments for kids to play in a group are rhythm (percussion) instruments. These include rhythm sticks, the triangle, sandpaper blocks, tone blocks, shakers, xylophone, bells, tambourines, and others.

It’s fun just to hand them around and have the kids tap or shake along to a variety of songs. This is a good time to talk about music dynamics like “fast”, “slow”, “loud”, “soft”, etc. This is also a good time to talk about the definition of a percussion instrument – at its most basic, it’s anything that is hit or struck to make a sound. (Kids often discover that their hands are their own personal percussion instrument that they take everywhere!)

This post could go on forever, as there are truly an unlimited number of ways to experience rhythm. Hopefully this gives you some ideas, and here are some recommended resources (also, googling terms like “rhythm activities for kids” will turn up a lot of great results):

Website:Simple Rhythm Activities for Kids – with links at the bottom to more activities

Book: 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children

Truth is, none of us would shirk from teaching math or language even if we didn’t feel comfortable with those subjects (or we would find resources that could do it for us, if we were truly unable). But for some reason, when people aren’t musical, it’s easy to leave off this important area of study.

The current emphasis on test scores for math and language in traditional education has pushed music, art, physical fitness, and other subjects completely out of classrooms across America. It’s even more crucial than ever that we, as Montessorians, keep those pursuits alive.

Here’s a small sampling of what the study of music develops:

1. Concentration
2. Counting and other math skills
3. Listening abilities
4. Self-discipline
5. Cooperation
6. Language usage
7. Memory and recall skills
8. Creativity
9. Spatial-temporal reasoning
10. Abstract reasoning
11. Physical coordination (gross- and fine-motor skills)

That list just skims the surface of the benefits of musical education. But can a case be made for including music in the classroom, even if children have a formal music class? I think so. Music class, once or twice a week, is not enough. Music can, and should, be woven into the fabric of the classroom. It can be done though music that plays at lunchtime; through beautiful music played while walking on the line. It can involve studying musical instruments or composers through history, or making musical instruments out of craft supplies like pipe cleaners or clay.

There are so many musical experiences that can’t happen in the confines of a music class. It may be that large blocks of time are needed. Some activities work better with a few children and not a large group. If you are truly non-musical, then it’s still your responsibility to bring music into the classroom. There are a variety of ways to do this, which I’ll discuss in the next few blog posts.

After my son was born, I stopped teaching full time but instead taught music part time at the same Montessori school. I had already been the school’s de facto music teacher, which included weekly music instruction with each classroom, as well as musicals, dances, and other special events. (My life experience includes piano and voice lessons, numerous choirs, and solos, duets, and trios with my sisters at all manner of conferences, churches, and family events).

I didn’t use one specific curriculum, just cobbled together songs, activities, CDs, worksheets, nomenclature cards, etc. that when taken together, gave kids a pretty good foundation in music theory and practice. Look for the next few posts to cover different music activities for learning about music and music theory.