A Short and Sweet Guide to Teaching La
Hello, Music Makers!
If you've been keeping up, you know that our last post talked about sol and mi. The interval of sol and mi is the first that a child learns to sing tunefully. And where sol and mi are, our new note la is not far behind.
Remember our playground example of "na-na na-na boo-boo, you ca- an't catch me"? Children sing some variation of this chant all the time. The second na-na as well as the second part of the word "caant" uses our new note la.
So, on to singing to new heights with our new note la. Here are some ideas for how to sing it, how to introduce it to your students, and ideas to practice using it in your classroom.
Let's Sing La:
Play this recording, and then sing the song to your class.
The Game:
This is a children's song from the West Indies. In the original game, children walk around in the circle singing the song. Once child is in the center and at the part that says "down, Miss Mary" he or she taps another child on the shoulder who crouches down, still walking. The song continues until every player is crouching.
Finding old Friends: Sol and Mi
When students are comfortable with the song, suggest that you hum it instead of singing it. Can they find a part of the song that uses "sol sol mi" just like he found in the song seesaw?
I like to use hand signs with this to help. Put hands on your head for sol, and hands on shoulders for mi. Using the hand sings, students will naturally find that there is a new high note at the beginning we haven't learned yet.
Here Comes La
Let students know that the new note's name is La. La is higher than sol and mi. Sing the song using solfege names and hand signs on the "Sol Sol La, Sol Sol Mi" patterns.
As we continue to learn new notes in our solfege scale students are developing skills like singing, listening critically, and analyzing. Today's musical moment involves combining a rich song with these important skills.
Enjoy your musical day!
