Y3. Lesson 17. Low so
Prior learning: Low la.
Duration: 30 minutes
Materials: Recorders
Keywords: Beat, rhythm, singing, chanting, partners, rhymes, circle games.
Difficulty: 
Prepare
Present
Low so,
Practise
Melodic development
Students discover that low so is found in a well-known classroom song.
- Lead the class in singing the song, which may be familiar as it features in earlier lessons.
- Ask students where the lowest note can be found in the song [the first note].
- Teach that this note is called low so and is a step lower than low la.
- In this example, low la is the note D. Using the second measure as a target phrase, ask the class to practice singing the interval between do and low so several times.
- Referring to the Solfa Street graphic further down this page may be helpful.
- Demonstrate the hand sign for low so.
- Sing the song again with the class using hand signs and ask where else in the song that low so may be found.
- Project the score and point to low so as you sing.
- Ask a volunteer to point to low so on the nest repeat.
Rhythmic development
Students sing and clap times names.
Dr Cuskelly and Y3 students of St Joseph's
- With students seated and attentive, sing the time names of Circle To The Left.
- Students should respond by singing and clapping the time names with you.
- When secure, students should stand and stamp the beat while singing the time names.
- On the next repeat, students should clap the tika tika pattern, use body percussion and put the time name on their chests.
- Students repeat once more but instruct them to click their fingers on time names ti-ti and put ta on their chests.
- Encourage students to stamp to the beat and perform the above body movements.
- This is a great exercise for developing rhythmic part work.
Creative movement
Students use a variety of body percussion movements.
- Students are in a circle and sing the song.
- When secure, demonstrate a pattern of body percussion movements.
- The following pattern is simple and effective:
Ding [clap]
Dong [snap]
DiggiDiggi [pat x 4]
Cat She's Gone [stamp x 3]
Dang [clap]
- Change out the pattern by asking students to contribute different movement combinations!
Listening
Students sing the solfa from the piano tracks.
- Plat the first track on the player and sing along using solfa names and hand signs.
- The class should repeat after you and use hand signs.
- Repeat the track and let the class sing without you.
- When secure, repeat the process with the next track until the class can sing back every track.
- These exercises are excellent for ear training and presenting recently learned notes and intervals.
Visual learning
Students visually discover where low so is found on Solfa Street.
- Project the Solfa Street graphic with houses.
- The graphic illustrates Solfa Street, visually representing the solfa musical scale as a whimsical street where each house corresponds to a musical note that students are currently familiar with(do, re, mi, so, la).
- Their positions along the street denote their pitch relative to "do," with "low so" distinctively positioned at the bottom of the street. This embodies the concept of musical notes being higher or lower in relation to "do."
- Explain that Solfa Street is similar to the solfa staircase, where the positions of the notes, whether higher or lower than "do", are easily seen.
- Draw attention to the position of low so, currently at the bottom of the street.
- Students can be asked to draw their own houses on the appropriate lines corresponding to different musical notes.
- This activity further reinforces their understanding of the relationship between notes' positions on the musical scale.
- Teach that low so has a comma to differentiate it from so.
Instruments
Students
- This lesson builds on students' prior learning with the notes B, A, G, C and D.
- Most students will be familiar with the song from prior classroom learning.
- This example is a simpler variation of the melody.
- As the melody will likely be familiar, the learning curve with this song should not be steep.
- Demonstrate how to play the song, drawing students' attention to the correct fingering and the use of gentle tonguing technique without squawking or overblowing.
- Have students play the song at a moderate tempo and monitor their performance, timing and technique.
Part work
Students sing a pentatonic song in canon.
- Students are divided into two groups.
- The first group will sing Bluebells.
- After one measure, the second group will join in.
- There is a discord in measure five, but it is a small price to pay for this well-known song to be sung in canon.
Assess
Suggested lessons
Y1. Beat II
Y1. Beat III
Y1. Beat IV