music for key stage 3 education

7/26/2019 Music for Key Stage 3 Education

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Music for Key Stage 3

by John Webb


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Introduction

The Princes Foundation for Children & the ArtsMusic for Key Stage 3

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This pack aims to give teachers some easy to use resources for Key Stage 3 music

classes. They consist of a set of short warm-ups that can be used at the start of

lessons, and three longer activities that are covered in more depth.

These resources give step-by-step detail about carrying out the activities as well

as ideas for expansion. Teachers may need to modify them depending on what

instruments they have available and students abilities. Naturally, teachers will

need to decide the time-span allowed for each of the activities.

Each longer activity also includes a student worksheet which contains the basics

that students need to know, and which can be photocopied and given out.

This pack contains the following activities:

Warm-Ups

Conducting

SambaGamelan

The conducting and samba activities include some level of compositional work,

so students can take more creative control of the skills outlined. There is less

compositional opportunity in the Gamelan activity, as the ensemble skills in this

are more demanding.

Design: Studio EMMI

Illustration: Spencer Wilson
http://peepshow.org.uk/http://peepshow.org.uk/http://peepshow.org.uk/http://peepshow.org.uk/http://peepshow.org.uk/http://www.emmi.co.uk/


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Warm-up games can be used with all ages to hone musical, vocal and ensemble

skills, to encourage creativity and working together as a group. Theyre often

great fun as well, which means participants lose their inhibitions and are able

to develop key skills more quickly than they might otherwise do.

When warm-ups are used well, they enable a class to access their musicality

and to focus on the skills they need in order to think musically in preparation for

the more demanding class activities youll use later in the lesson. The warm-ups

should be relevant to the main body of the lesson, for instance dont use a vocal

warm-up if the lesson isnt singing based. However, some warm-ups improve

skills pertinent to a variety of areas, so use your judgement when choosing them.

Choose from the selection of warm-ups given, using one or two at the start of a

lesson. For best effect, the warm-ups need to be used regularly, so that students

have a chance to hone skills. There are also some suggestions to develop the

warm-ups further, as students grasp the skills more fully, but feel free to adaptthem to suit the needs and abilities of your group. By the same token, also be

prepared to move on from a warm-up if students seem have to mastered it

very quickly.

Warm-ups in this section are grouped into:

Working Together & Ensemble Skills

Listening & Following

Creating & Improvising

Vocal Warm-Ups

Warm-Ups


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Working Together & Ensemble Skills

These activities help students to understand the control needed to work together

in an ensemble. Watching carefully, honing movements to match the rest of the

group, being focussed and aware even when silent, are all vital skills for the

musician and are developed by these warm-ups.

Passing a clap round the circle

4 minutes

The group form a circle, around which a clap is passed, from one person to the next. Theresult should be a regular pulse, no speeding up, slowing down, or irregularity. For this tohappen, participants need to keep an internal pulse and be ready and focussed for their turn.

Variation 1

The clap is passed round whilst a pulse is played on an instrument which can gradually

change tempo. Participants should always clap on the pulse.Variation 2

The clap is passed in one direction, whilst a stamp is passed in the opposite directionsimultaneously. As in Variation 1 the tempo can be changed.

Hi-ya

2 minutes

SeeConductingsection elsewhere in this pack.


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Warm-Ups


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Minimalist clap

5 minutes

This warm up serves as a good introduction to minimalist techniques, and pieces such asSteve Reichs Clapping Musicand Piano Phase. Everyone claps the well known rhythm,repeating it a few times:

Then everyone claps a slight variation, again repeating it a few times:

The variation adds an extra beat to the original: this could either be silence, or a stamp tomake sure everyone is in time.

The group is split into two halves and both patterns are performed simultaneously, startingat the same moment, and repeating the patterns several times. The two rhythms cycleround until eventually they are again synchronised, which can create a real sense ofresolution. The group may be interested to work out how many repeats are needed beforethe two patterns are once more in sync.

Extension

Ask smaller groups to create their own versions of the exercise with body percussionor on instruments: they need to create two almost identical rhythms, very slightly different

in length. Words could also be included in students versions. The best could be taught tothe whole class.


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Warm-Ups


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Listening & Following

These games are for pairs of students, and help to build awareness of the non-

verbal cues so often used by musicians when matching each others playing.

The second activity (Musical Mirroring) can easily encourage simple improvisation,

as the focus of the activity is on the quality of the copying, not on the quality of

the improvised musical idea being copied.

Mirroring

5 minutes (10 minutes with Musical Mirroring)

In pairs, students stand facing each other. One is A, the other B. A performs a series ofactions, which are mirrored as closely as possible by B. The aim is to work together as aunit, with the outside observer unable to detect who is following and who is leading (in avariation, a third person could be observing and trying to work out who is copying andwho is leading).

Students explore the limits of what they can do:How fast can the movements be?How large?How many actions can be made simultaneously whilst still allowing the other personto follow?

A and B then swap over: A follows B.

Then, in the final variation, neither person is leading the whole time: the pair work together,leadership may spontaneously pass from one to another.


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Warm-Ups


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Musical mirroring

5 minutes

A pair of students sit either side of a xylophone. A is the leader and creates a short melodyon the xylophone. B plays it back. This is repeated with A changing and extending themelodic material they improvise. The roles are swapped, A copying B.

In the final version, no one leads and the musical initiative can pass between the players.In this version the emphasis is no longer on copying, it is simply on playing sympatheticallytogether, at any point one person or another may be playing melodic or accompanimentalmusical material.

Variation 1

A starts off playing 1 note, then 2, 3 and so on, each time B copies back. How many notescan B remember and play back?

Variation 2Instead of a copying activity, B plays at the same time as A, the game more closelyresembles the mirroring activity above.

Extension

Try the game on instruments the students are learning guitars, violins, etc. Often it willnot be as obvious from watching what notes the leader of each pair is playing and sostudents will be forced to use their ears.


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Warm-Ups


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Creating & Improvising

These warm-ups encourage students to improvise on their instruments.

Successful improvisation involves fast response within certain rules (Clap-click

encourages this) and to feel where/how their music should fit within a larger

context (encouraged by Mama Dont Allow).

Clap-click

5 minutes

A call and response with a difference. The leader starts with a clap the group respondswith a click. Or vice versa. Its important that the words clap and click are said at thesame time as doing the actions. Other pairings are volunteered by the students: forinstance one offers a stomp, and, as a response another suggests a jump. The leader(which could be a student) then has four to choose from: clap, click, stomp, jump. Thegroup has to give the correct response.

The game can be extended by adding further pairs of actions the sillier the better andalso by leading short sequences of actions. For instance: clap, click, jump is answered with:click, clap, stomp.

Mama Dont Allow

5 minutes

An improvisation activity playing along to a song available on the Vocal Union website.

The sheet music is at:http://www.vocalunion.org.uk/vocalunionpdfs/mama_dont_allow-1.pdf

The teacher sings the songs, encouraging students to improvise in the gaps (as indicatedon the recording also on the websitehttp://www.vocalunion.org.uk/vocalunionmp3s/mama%20dont%20allow.mp3 ).

The words for each verse can be changed to indicate which instruments are going toimprovise that time round. The improvisations can be really complicated or as simple asone note encourage students to try both extremes.


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Warm-Ups
http://www.vocalunion.org.uk/vocalunionpdfs/mama_dont_allow-1.pdfhttp://www.vocalunion.org.uk/vocalunionmp3s/mama%20dont%20allow.mp3http://www.vocalunion.org.uk/vocalunionmp3s/mama%20dont%20allow.mp3http://www.vocalunion.org.uk/vocalunionmp3s/mama%20dont%20allow.mp3http://www.vocalunion.org.uk/vocalunionpdfs/mama_dont_allow-1.pdf


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Vocal Warm-Ups

Singing does not happen from just the neck up. The whole body is involved: we

need to feel relaxed, alert and confident to produce the best sounds. Silly games

are therefore an important tool for releasing a singing voice if were having fun,

we relax, and can sing better. If were nervous, tense and worried, it is far harder

to sing well. These activities require concentration, and develop specific skills,

but can also create a convivial atmosphere for the group.

Tongue twisters

3 minutes

These are really good for diction as they exercise the various ways in which tongues, lipsand palate move to enunciate different words, for instance:

Dentals: d, t, n

Sibilants: sss, sh, zzzDorsals: g, cLabial: m, p, b

Try and encourage a spoken sound which is higher and projected when practising these.

Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone

Freshly fried flying fish

Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards

Gobbling gargoyles gobbled gobbling goblins

I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shopWhere she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits(think hard before using this one)

One-one was a race horseTwo-two was one tooOne-one won one race andTwo-two won one too


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Warm-Ups


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1, 121

7 minutes

This song is also available on the Sing Up website:http://www.singup.org/songbank/voice-box/warm-up-detail/view/41-1-121/

It is great for practising pitching the whole scale, concentration and part singing. Once

learnt, students can decide on 2 numbers which will be silent in the next sing through this takes a surprising amount of concentration to get right. Performing it as a round at2 beats distance is also a challenge, but provides the opportunity for more able studentsto lead a group.

The Grand Old Duke of York

2 minutes

The traditional song, but first time miss out all the ups, second time miss out all thedowns and the ups. Third time - swap over the downs and ups.


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Warm-Ups
http://www.singup.org/songbank/voice-box/warm-up-detail/view/41-1-121/http://www.singup.org/songbank/voice-box/warm-up-detail/view/41-1-121/


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This section aims to develop:

An understanding of the conductors role

Some basic conducting skills using body language to communicate

musical control

Ensemble skills being able to interpret a conductors body language

The activities lead students through basic ideas about conducting and should

therefore be approached in the order given. You will need to be flexible with the

space you have, moving tables and chairs as necessary, as the activities require a

variety of formations: small group work, whole class working together in a circle,

group discussion, etc.

For Hi-ya with instrumentsyou will need a variety of instruments available. A mix

of pitched and unpitched percussion would be suitable, and even some melodic

instruments played by the students.

ForDrone, Ostinato, Melodymelodic instruments are required be they pitched

percussion or students own instruments.

Introductory discussion

Start off with a discussion about the role of the conductor. Teachers may feel it useful toshow students a clip of a conductor at work (lots available on YouTube, or similar) to focuson what their role and skills are.

Here are some prompts:What does a conductor do?What control does he have over the musicians?

How does he use his hands, arms, facial expressions, etc, to communicate with them?These are some of the points which may be discussed the list is not comprehensive andstudents may well suggest other possibilities.

Solely through their movements conductors can:Show how fast the music should goSpeed up or slow down during the musicChange the dynamic (volume)Show when to beginAffect the articulation of a noteCue individuals or groups of players to play their next passage

They also rehearse the ensemble, making sure everyone knows their part, when to come inand how each passage should be played. However, this is not rigid conductors may makesubtle changes during the performance.

Conducting


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Hi-ya: a game developing ensemble skills

This can also be used as a warm up, perhaps over several sessions to ease students intothinking about conducting.

The whole class stands in a circle making sure that everyone can see everyone else. Theleader shows a hi-ya action (a karate chop) with their arm, saying the words hi-ya at thesame time. Everyone else must do their hi-ya at the same time as the leader. The leaderdoes several, they can be:

Regularly spacedIrregular, trying to catch people outDifferent dynamics (loud or quiet)Different energies (eg calm or energetic)

The aim of the game is for everyone to be exactly together, matching the conductors

movements and energy. The group has to be with the conductor, but also the conductorhas to be really clear with their signals and not trick the group so much that he/she isimpossible to follow.

Discussion

Which leader was easiest to follow? Why?What sort of actions does the conductor need to make to be clear?

Extension

Once the group has played the game a few times, perhaps as a brief warm-up overseveral sessions, try a version where no one is leading, but anyone can. Participants haveto be much more aware of the group as a whole for this to work. Everyone must use their

peripheral vision to see where the next hi-ya is coming from. And everyone has to be reallyaware of timing so that their hi-yas dont overlap.

Conducting


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Hi-ya with instruments

Whole group. A mixture of instruments is needed. These can be unpitched percussionor melodic, but if the former, there needs to be a mix of potential sounds, with someinstruments being able to play long sustained notes as well as short ones.

Everyone in the group chooses an instrument to play.

A conductor is chosen, who shows a hi-ya but without making any verbal sounds. Everyoneplays on the downbeat (the ya part of hi-ya). As with the previous game, the conductorcan use hi-yas of different speeds, dynamics and energies. The groups role is to follow asbest they can.

Discussion

When is it easiest to play together on the downbeat?

ExtensionExplore the movements needed to create:

A short sound from the ensembleSustained soundsSustained sounds with some movement (eg trills)High soundsLow soundsFast and rhythmic soundsSlow and calm soundsKeeping one sort of sound going in one part of the ensemble and using a different typeof sound elsewhere.

Stopping the sound

Discussion

How can the conductor create different sorts of sounds simultaneously in the orchestra?


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Conducting


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Drone, Ostinato, Melody

Full class demonstration followed by smaller group exploration. Melodic instruments arerequired for everyone, either pitched percussion or instruments students are learning.Everyone sits in a circle with their instrument.

Everyone needs to learn a scale. Any scale will do, but pentatonic is probably the easiestinitial choice:C D E G A(for Bb instruments: D E F# A B)

Individually everyone should practice the scale getting a feel for it, and being able to playit without looking at their fingers. They can try going up and down it in step at differentspeeds or going up/down using alternating notes. They should also try to improvise anostinato (a 3 or 4 note repeated pattern) and a melody.

The teacher should demonstrate the activity with the whole class as an orchestra, all sittingin a circle, using gestures to indicate to individuals whether they should play a drone, anostinato or a melody. A texture is built up from these various elements, with the conductorstarting and stopping them as and when he/she wishes. Possible hand gestures areindicated below, though you and the class may want to explore other possibilities.

Drone: Conductors hand shows a flat line. This is a long held note, chosen by theplayer from the scale until the conductor indicates stopping.Ostinato: Conductor makes a circle with a finger of one hand. The player plays a short,repeated pattern of 3 or 4 pitches over and over again until the conductor shows whento stop.Melody: Conductor wiggles fingers at the player. Player improvises a melody using the

notes from the chosen scale until the conductor shows when to stop.Having demonstrated the activity, students can explore it further in small groups (7-8people), each taking it in turns to be the conductor.

Conductors: Should be prepared to stop the players as well as starting them, but givingplayers enough time to get into the section theyre playing before they do.

They can also attempt to shape the music in other ways:Dynamics (volume)Articulation, for instance staccato (spiky), legato (smooth)Tempo (speed)

Ensemble: Should follow the conductor as closely as possible, though sometimes it mightnot be clear whats required. They should interpret conductors signals as best they can(ie. without stopping to ask questions) as this forces the conductor to be clearer next time.


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Conducting


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Discussion

Which conductors were clearest and why?How can the ensemble improve its responses to the conductor?(eg making sure eye contact is made before playing)

Extension

Though these activities have focussed on conducting, they also explore some of the basicmusical building blocks melody, accompaniment and sustained harmonies. A furtherextension would involve small groups moving from experimentation to creating a piece ofmusic with a beginning, middle and end. The conductor will still cue material, but the groupwill have decided upon what material is heard when and how the piece grows. To help startthis process, the following prompts could be helpful:

Discussion

Which combinations of sounds worked best, and why?Did everyone use very similar musical ideas or were they very different?How could you create a piece of music from this?What would be the beginning, middle and end?


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Conducting


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Introduction

What does a conductor do?

What control does he have over the musicians?

How does he use his hands, arms, facial expressions, etc, to communicate

with them?

The Hi-ya game

Everyone stands in a circle. Someone is chosen as a conductor, they show a hi-ya (karatechop) with their arm saying the words as well. Everyone has to do the hi-ya at the sametime. The conductor has several goes before another takes over.

Discussion

Which leader was easiest to follow? Why?What sort of actions does the conductor need to make to be clear?

The Hi-ya game with instruments

Everyone chooses an instrument to play. These should be a mixture of sounds, and if usingpercussion make sure some have instruments which make a long sounds, others have onesmaking short sounds.

The conductor shows another hi-ya and everyone plays on the ya the down beat.Try this several times and with several conductors.

Discussion

When is it easiest to play together on the downbeat?

ExtensionThe conductors should try exploring using their movements to get different sounds from thegroup. What sort of movements would get:

Sustained soundsSustained sounds with some movement (eg trills)High soundsLow soundsFast and rhythmic soundsSlow and calm sounds

Discussion

How can the conductor create different sorts of sounds simultaneously in the orchestra?

Student worksheet:

Conducting


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Drone, Ostinato, Melody

Everyone in the class chooses a pitched instrument to play a mixture of pitched

percussion and melodic instruments are fine. Individually practice playing the followingnotesC D E G A(for Bb instruments: D E F# A B)

These are the notes youll use in this activity no others! When individually practicingthe notes, have a go at improvising a repeated pattern (ostinato) of 3 or 4 pitches, anda melody.

In groups of 7 or 8 people, choose a conductor. They must point to individuals and showthem whether they need to play:

A drone a held noteAn ostinato a short repeated pattern of 3 or 4 notes

An improvised melody

Conductors: What actions will you use to clearly indicate drone, ostinato or melody?Be prepared to stop the players as well as starting them, but give players enough timeto get into the section theyre playing before you do stop them.

Can you also create these changes using just your hand signals?Dynamic (volume)Articulation - staccato (spiky), legato (smooth)Tempo (speed)

Ensemble: Follow the conductor as closely as you can, though sometimes it might not beclear what they want just interpret their signals as best you can, without stopping to askquestions (this forces them to be clearer next time).

Make sure everyone takes a turn at conducting.

Student worksheet:

Conducting


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Discussion

Which conductors were clearest and why?

How can the ensemble improve their responses to the conductor?

Extension

Though these activities have focussed on conducting, they also explore some of the basicmusical building blocks melody, accompaniment patterns and sustained notes.

Can you create a piece of music from these conducting experiments? Something whichhas a beginning, middle and end?

The conductor will still cue material, but the group needs to decide what material is heardwhen and how the piece grows. To help start this process, the questions below may help:

Discussion

Which combinations of sounds worked best, and why?Did everyone use very similar musical ideas or were they very different?How could you create a piece of music from this?What would be the beginning, middle and end?

Student worksheet:

Conducting


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Samba is a popular Brazilian musical form. Although the style is used for

instrumental music, song and dance, were going to explore the percussive

samba.

The percussive samba is a series of rhythmic patterns layered on top of each

other. As with much music, people adapt and change it according to whatever is

available, so use whatever instruments you have to hand. This Samba will work

as a small group or a larger one.

You might hear the percussive samba played by Brazilian Samba Schools. These

are clubs which, during the Carneval celebration, will parade through the streets

performing. The parades can be massive, involving thousands of people.

If the class is quite self-motivated they may be able to work quite independently

in small groups, otherwise start with everyone sitting in a circle, with the four

groups of instruments given out roughly equally. The rhythms can then be learnttogether, before breaking off to work in smaller groups.

Teaching aims:

For students to play rhythmically togetherTo follow a leaders musical signals, and directions for dynamics

What youll need

Youll need four groups of unpitched percussion instruments as detailed below

Its possible to use body percussion instead of instruments, but make sure that thefour sounds used are quite distinctive if all the rhythms are clapped in the same way,

the piece loses textural interest.Group 1

Shakers/maracas.

Group 2

Instruments which make a short, loud sound. Traditionally claves (pronounced clah-vay),are used, but wood blocks are fine. Dont use instruments which ring on, like triangles.

Group 3

Instruments which can make two short sounds. Traditionally agogo bells (two metal bells ona wire frame, with the hand holding them damping the bells). Wooden agogos are fine, oreven triangles when the player can quickly move between open to damped sounds.

Group 4

Low drums for keeping the pulse. These can be played with hands or a soft stick.

If you dont have enough of the same type of instrument for each group, include otherinstruments but try and keep the sound of each group unified. For instance rather thanusing triangles in both groups 2 & 3, only use them in one of the groups.

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Learning the patterns

The patterns can be learnt in any order, but its easiest to start with group 4 and add the

other parts on top of it.The words are given only to help players remember the pattern and should be droppedwhen the rhythms are confidently established.

Samba


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Leading and breaks

A key element of samba is the break, when most of the ensemble stops, allowing

one instrument or group of instruments a solo (which can be improvised or just a solocontinuation of what they were already playing). A leader, initially the teacher, needs tocue this break. The suggested cue below can be played and spoken, or just spoken.Do this a few times, cueing different groups for their solo.

Ready, steady. Lets go shakers could be used to cue the shaker group.

Ready, steady, off we go could be used to cue the full band back in:

The leader can also show when the band plays loud (arms wide apart) and quiet (handsclose together).

Students may want to take turns leading the whole class, cueing in different instruments.

Samba


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Extensions

Having learnt the basic samba as a whole class, students can break off into smaller groups,with one person in each group being the leader, and then work on some of these morecreative elements.

Create an introduction

This could be a call and response, using different rhythms from those in the main samba.Heres a good one play the rhythms of the words on the instruments:

Leader: I want a cup of tea. Everyone: Me too!Leader: I want a cup of tea. Everyone: Me too!Leader: I want a cup of, I want a cup of, I want a cup of tea. Everyone: Me too!

Cueing breaks

Instead of using verbal cues for the breaks, students devise a series of different rhythmic

patterns which can be played by the leader, each one signalling a different instrumentalbreak. Initially words could be used to help, but the aim would be for everyone to learn theinstrumental cue alone and to know to which instrument it refers.

Create a new samba

A samba is a series of rhythmic patterns layered on top of each other. The basic pulse isnttoo fast, but the patterns can be made of quite short notes, and can be quite syncopated(ie including off-beats).

Importantly, make sure the rhythms of each layer are quite different. Students could usetheir own names as a starting point, but really try to make sure the rhythms used areinteresting.

Instead of: use:

Have a look at the Potter Puppets The Mysterious Ticking Noise on YouTube, which is asimple samba using the characters names.

Conclusion

Share the small group work with the whole class. Can each groups ideas be incorporatedinto a large-scale samba for everyone? This could become a performance piece for anassembly or school concert.

Ideas for combining the small group work:Vote on the best introduction to use.Incorporate a variety of rhythmic cues to indicate breaks students can vote on whichthey think are the easiest to follow, having listened to all the possibilities.If students have created their own samba patterns (eg using names), these can beplayed consecutively, perhaps alternating with the full class samba. Can rhythmic cuesbe developed to start and stop these?

Samba


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Instruments

Gather your unpitched percussion instruments, and break into 4 groups.

Group 1Shakers/maracas

Group 2

Instruments which make one short sound (eg wood blocks, claves)

Group 3

Instruments which make 2 short sounds (eg agogo bells)

Group 4

Drums the lower the better. Play with hands or a soft stick

Learn the patterns

Learn the patterns starting with Group 4, and gradually adding the others. Words are givenas a help to remember the rhythm say them out loud without instruments at first, then saythem and play the instruments. Finally, just play the instruments.

Student worksheet:

Samba


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Leading and breaks

A leader for the samba can show when to play loudly or quietly. They can also cue breaks:when most of the group stops, but one instrument or group continues either playing theirsamba rhythm or improvising. Heres an example you can use, or make up your own:

Student worksheet:

Samba


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Create an introduction

Create your own call and response introduction to the samba between the leader and therest of the group.

Heres a suggestion. Words are given to help learn the rhythm, but these are only to helpremember it. Can you make up your own?

Leader: I want a cup of tea. Everyone: Me too!Leader: I want a cup of tea. Everyone: Me too!Leader: I want a cup of, I want a cup of, I want a cup of tea. Everyone: Me too!

Be creative

Make your own samba using peoples names. Try and use interesting rhythms for instance,

instead of: use:

The second rhythm above is syncopated it doesnt fit regularly with the pulse, butincludes emphasised off-beats.

Bringing it all together

If youve been working in different groups, how can your ideas be combined into one wholeclass samba?

Vote on the best introduction to use.

Incorporate a variety of rhythmic cues to indicate breaks vote on which you think arethe easiest to follow, having listened to all the possibilities.If you have created your own samba patterns (eg using names), these can be playedconsecutively, perhaps alternating with the full class samba. Can rhythmic cues bedeveloped to start and stop these?

Student worksheet:

Samba


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The Gamelan orchestra is a percussion ensemble originating in Indonesia. This

worksheet is based on Javanese Gamelan, and some of the principals behind

it. The Javanese have two scales open to them pelog (7 notes) and slendro

(5 notes). The tunings are unique to each individual Gamelan ensemble, and

do not generally match western tuning. The melody were learning is composed

for workshop use and uses a pentatonic (5 note) scale.

The activity is quite a long one involving everyone learning a simple melody,

developing faster-moving melodic patterns which decorate this, and also a

pattern of unpitched percussive punctuation. To bring all this together may

require teachers to work over several lessons. Briefly, the stages you will need

to work through are:

1. Skeleton Melody

Everyone learning the skeleton melody (balungan). Those playing it on pitched percussioninstruments will need to learn it on those instruments. Others need know it to understandhow their parts co-ordinate with it, so can learn it through singing.

2. Pitched Percussion

Pitched percussion work on damping techniques and decorative patterns to add to thebalungan.

3. Unpitched Percussion

Punctuation patterns learnt, adding one at a time, whilst balungan is played by pitchedpercussion.

4. The Drummer

Drummers role identified and practisedThe balungan is reapeated as many times as required to create the full piece.

What youll need

Pitched percussion instruments xylophones, glockenspiels and chime bars organisedby pitch into high, middle and low groups.

A drum for keeping a steady beat and leading the ensemble

Other unpitched instruments: a mixture of instruments which make sustained sounds, suchas triangles, gongs and cymbals; and ones which make short sounds, such as wood blocksand claves.

Organising the instruments

The pitched instruments need to be organised into three groups according to their pitch.

Highest: Decorative patterns

Middle: Decoration and melody

Lowest: Melody

The unpitched instruments are divided into groups according to the length of their sustain.You can experiment with these groupings when you work through section three.

Gamelan


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1. The Skeleton Melody (Balungan)Everyone must learn the melody, preferably on instruments, but if there arent enough, thoseplaying unpitched percussion should sing (some words are given below which can be usedif required). Often Javanese balungan are quite simple to allow for extensive decoration.

The melody is repeated as many times as required. If using the words, the last bar(the word dead) is also the point where the melody repeats.

Gamelan


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2. Pitched Percussion

The lowest and some of the middle instruments play the skeleton melody (balungan). Toavoid every note in the melody resonating after playing it, the non-beater hand needs todamp each note when the next is played. This can take some practice the damping handfollows the playing hand at one beats distance.

Middle instrument decoration

This is the simplest form of decoration: the entire melody is played in quavers, each noterepeated twice. The first line becomes:

It is still important to dampen the notes when pitches change so that previous pitches do

not continue to resonate.High instrument decoration

These instruments play more elaborate patterns based on the notes used in each bar. Ingamelan theory there are rules for this, but I suggest that this decoration is worked out fairlyfreely. But make sure:

Its in quavers2 or 4 note patterns repeat for at least a bar before changingBase the pattern on the balungan (skeleton melody) notes in that bar (i.e. in themelody on the previous page, the note A should be avoided in the first 8 bars, until it isintroduced to the melody in bar 9)

Decoration for the tune in bars 1 and 2 could be something like this:

Extension

To extend this activity further, this pattern is often split between 2 players, one on the beat,the other off a real challenge! The result looks like:

Again damping notes when the next is played is important in this part to make the linesound melodic.

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3. Unpitched Percussion

See the percussion pattern on the next page (also included in the student notes).

The unpitched instruments are used to punctuate the repeated melody, marking thebeginning of each repeat, start of each phrase, mid-way point through each phrase, etc.

These instruments can be organised according to the length of sustain they have. Thelonger they sustain, the less they play (but in Gamelan, the more important they are).So, a large cymbal or gong is suitable for group 1 below, whilst a wood block would begood for group 6. One instrument plays in each of the following places:

Group 1

1st note bar 1 marking the repeat of each cycle. In Java this would be the largest gong

Group 2

1st note bar 5, 1st note bar 9 marking the beginning of each phrase

Group 3

1st note bars 3, 7 and 11 marking half way through each phrase

Group 4

1st note bar 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 12 marking quarter-way through each phrase

Group 5

3rd beat every bar

Group 6

2nd & 4th beat every bar

This whole group forms an interlocking texture in which someone is playing on every beat.

4. The Drummer

The drummer leads the ensemble. They can develop a simple introduction which cues thewhole band. They play along with the piece, quietly improvising and keeping a steady pulse.To end, the drummer slows down the tempo in bars 11 and 12. At the end of bar 12, thereis a pause, during which the big gong plays (the instrument in group 1). After this everyoneplays their final note, which doesnt have to be together.

The Drummer can also change the tempo during the piece. It is worth experimenting withthe group to see how the drummer can affect the piece.

ExtensionOnce you and your students have worked through this activity together, students can thencarry out the same process in smaller groups of 10 students: 1 person on each instrument(3 pitched percussion, 6 unpitched, 1 drummer).

Once they have mastered it in smaller groups, they could create their own balungan melodyand accompaniment.

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Gamelan unpitched punctuation patterns

When choosing instruments for these 6 parts, the instrument with the longest sustainshould play the first part; the one with the shortest (eg a wood block or clave) should playparts 5 & 6.

Grade the other groups accordingly, but try and make sure each part has a distinctivesound one type of instrument per part.


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The Gamelan orchestra is a percussion ensemble originating in Indonesia. This

worksheet is based on Javanese Gamelan, and some of the principals behind it.

The Javanese use two scales: pelog (7 notes) and slendro (5 notes). The tunings

are unique to each individual Gamelan ensemble, and do not generally match

western tuning. The melody were learning is composed for workshop use and

uses a pentatonic (5 note) scale.

Gather your instruments

Youll need:Pitched percussion: xylophones, glockenspiels, chime barsUnpitched percussion: cymbals, gongs, wood blocks, triangles, etcA drum

Organising the instruments

The pitched instruments need to be organised into three groups according to their pitch.

Highest: Decorative patterns

Middle: Decoration and melody

Lowest: Melody

The unpitched instruments are divided into groups according to the length of their sustain.You can experiment with these groupings when you work through the appropriate section.

The Skeleton Melody (Balungan)If there are enough pitched percussion instruments available for everyone, everyone should

learn the balungan(skeleton melody). If there arent, the people who will play pitchedinstruments must learn to play it on them, and those who will play unpitched ones shouldlearn to sing it. Everyone needs to know the tune to be able to feel its structure.

Student worksheet:

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Pitched Percussion

Low group and some of the middle group: learn to play the melody as written, but the hand

without the beater should damp each note as the next is struck.Rest of middle group: play melody in quavers (as bars 1-4 below show)

Highest group: develop decorative patterns around the music in each bar. These should bein quavers, be short repeated patterns 2 or 4 note patterns, and be based on the balunganfor that bar. For instance, bars 1 & 2 could be:

Student work sheet:

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Unpitched Percussion

Organise the instruments according to the length of the notes they play. The longest playleast (1 below), the shortest play most (6 below). In Gamelan, the instrument which plays atthe beginning of each repeat is the most important, as from it everyone knows where theyare. One instrument/type of instrument plays in each of the following places:

Group 1

1st note bar 1 marking the repeat of each cycle. In Java this would be the largest gong

Group 2

1st note bar 5, 1st note bar 9 marking the beginning of each phrase

Group 3

1st note bars 3, 7 and 11 marking half way through each phrase

Group 4

1st note bar 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 12 marking quarter-way through each phrase

Group 5

3rd beat every bar

Group 6

2nd & 4th beat every bar

This whole group forms an interlocking texture in which someone is playing on every beat.There is a score of this pattern on the next page.

The piece is repeated as many times as you want.

The DrummerThe drummer leads the ensemble. They can develop a simple introduction which cues inthe whole band. They play along with the piece, quietly improvising and keeping a steadypulse. To end, the drummer slows down the tempo in bars 11 and 12. At the end of bar 12,there is a pause, during which the big gong plays. After this everyone plays their final note,which doesnt have to be together.

The Drummer can also change the tempo during the piece. Practice with your drummerto perfect this.

Extension

Can you create your own skeleton melody, and surround it with decorative patterning?

Student worksheet:

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Gamelan unpitched punctuation patterns

When choosing instruments for these 6 parts, the instrument with the longest sustainshould play the first part; the one with the shortest (eg a wood block or clave) should playparts 5 & 6.

Grade the other groups accordingly, but try and make sure each part has a distinctivesound one type of instrument per part.

Student worksheet:

Gamelan

music for key stage 3 education

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