Tempo – Faster and slower sounds

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Prep. Lesson 14. Faster and slower

Overview

Students explore whether sounds can be faster or slower and experience these comparisons through singing and kinesthetic activities.

Learning intention

By the end of this lesson, students will have:

Identified the terms faster and slower and how they apply to music.
Aurally identified the difference between a fast and slow tempo.
Actively participated in fast and slow songs, dance and rhymes.

Success criteria

Students correctly identified the difference between faster and slower tempos in music.
Most students could move, chant and sing in time with different tempos.

Information

Prior learning: None

Duration: 30 minutes

Materials: Bouncy ball, teddy bear prop

Keywords: Beat, singing, chanting, partners, rhymes, circle games

Difficulty:

Melodic development

Students discover a classic classroom song.

Explain to students that you will teach them a fun song called "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear." Tell them it's a song with actions; they'll need to listen carefully and follow along.
Start by teaching the lyrics and melody. Sing the song slowly and clearly, so students can hear and understand each word.
Repeat the song a few times, encouraging students to sing with you. Ensure everyone is comfortable with the melody and lyrics before moving on to the actions.
Demonstrate the actions for each line of the song as follows:

Turn around: Turn 360 degrees in a circle.
Touch the ground: Bend down and touch the floor.
Show your shoe: Bend down and touch your shoe.
That will do: Sit down on the floor.

Perform the actions while singing the song so students can see how they match the lyrics.
Encourage them to follow along with the actions you demonstrate.
Sing the song several times, gradually increasing the tempo. Encourage the children to sing and perform the actions along with you.
Make sure to provide plenty of positive reinforcement and praise their efforts.
You can also consider incorporating props, like teddy bears, or adding verses with new actions to make the activity more engaging and fun for the children.

Game

Students copy the teacher walking to the beat, becoming faster or slower on each rendition.

Have a soft, bouncy ball ready.
Arrange the students in a circle.
The teacher takes a position in the centre.
On each count of the beat, the teacher bounces the ball to a student, who then returns it on the subsequent beat (most beats coincide with the word "bounce").
Commence with a single student and progress sequentially through the circle while reiterating the song (additionally emphasising the importance of self-restraint and avoiding excessively high bounces).
Upon completing the circle, the teacher randomly throws the ball to students, creating a sense of anticipation and heightened engagement.

Rhythmic development

Students listen and repeat a rhyme. As the tempo changes, they recite the rhyme faster or slower.

Miss Molly from Young Maestro

Lyrics

2, 4, 6, 8.

Meet me at the garden gate.

If I'm late, don't wait,

2, 4, 6, 8.

Demonstrate the rhyme, speaking in a measured cadence and ask students to repeat after you.
Ask students if they found a difference in the speed. Was one version faster or slower than the other?
Ask a volunteer to speak the rhyme and set the speed. Should it be faster or slower?
Extension - ask the class to march to the tempo set by a volunteer.
Remember to march along with the class to keep the beat as accurate as possible.