Y2. Lesson 6. Dynamics – Forte & piano

Y2. Lesson 6. Dynamics - Forte & piano

By the end of this lesson, students will have:

Students demonstrate their understanding of the symbols for loud and soft through reading and writing.

Prior learning: Louder & softer

Duration: 30 minutes

Materials:

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

Difficulty:

Prepare

New note - re

Present

Forte & piano

Practise

The minim [too]

Students discover there is a note above the tonic note do.

If students are unfamiliar with this song, teach it line by line in a measured cadence and ask students to repeat after you.
When secure, students should sing the song to the beat.
Divide the class in two. Half sings and claps the beat, and the other half sings and claps the rhythm.
Students then sing using time names only.

Questions

If the first two notes are called do, what are the second two notes called? [mi]
Is mi a step or a skip above do? [skip]
How many notes are at the end of the first phrase? [two]
Is there anything different about one of those notes? [new note]

Students continue to develop their understanding of the minim [too].

Lead the class in singing Sally Go Round The Sun.
Explain that the class are musical detectives and must discover where a note that lasts for two beats is to be found in the song.
Remind students that a sound that lasts two beats has the time name too.
Ask which words in the song last for two beats [Sun, moon].

Students use a blanket prop, walking and skipping whilst singing a known song.

Dr James Cuskelly and students of St Joseph's School, Stanthorpe.

Questions

What is a posy? [a small bunch of flowers]
Why did people fall down when they sneezed? [A very long time ago, people could become very ill and fall to the ground after sneezing]

Students form a circle. They hold the edges of a blanket.
Lead the class in singing Ring O' Rosy [there are several variations on how this is spelt].
Students will sing and stamp their feet to the beat while moving to their left in a circular fashion.
On the words, "We all fall down", students crouch, still holding the blanket.
They sing the rest of the song, and on the words, "We all jump up", students perform the action.
On the next cycle, a student is chosen to sit in the middle under the blanket while the game progresses.
When the song ends, the student is replaced by another.
Students will skip on the next cycle [this is not as easy].

Students identify whether examples of music are forte or piano.

Begin by teaching that when music is quiet, the word piano is used, and when it is loud, the word forte is used.
Play the first of four tracks from the audio player.
Ask students to identify if the music is loud [forte] or soft [piano].
Ask for a show of hands in response.
Repeat with the other three tracks.

Students discover how to draw the symbols for forte and piano.

Project the graphic to the left on the board.
Teach that when music is quiet, the word piano is used, which is written as the letter p.
When music is loud, the word forte is used and is written as the letter f.
Ask students to write the symbols in the notebooks.
Both these words are Italian, like many words used in music.
Teach that the musical instrument called the piano was originally called a pianoforte, which means soft-loud in Italian!

Students use classroom instruments to play piano and forte.

Gather a large selection of classroom instruments on your table, including tuned and untuned percussion. The more instruments the better!
Choose a volunteer to come forward to pick an instrument.
Ask them if they believe that instrument can play piano and forte. Then ask them to demonstrate by playing piano and then forte.
Guide them on how to hit their chosen instrument softly as well as loudly.
Repeat with another volunteer and instrument.
Continue until time permits.