Strategies for Sharing Instruments
Have you addressed games that include strategies for sharing instruments? I don’t have class sets of most instruments so I’m always trying to plan ways to avoid bored waiting.
Episode 5 talks about ways to pass out and put away instruments and we’ll use some of those same ideas here.
The Benefit of Not Enough Instruments
Increased chances for modeling
Increased chances for observation (we can see the students better, the students see each other better, the students see us better)
Increased chances for independent and interdependent musicianship (students can hear themselves better, and there are fewer places to “hide” in the ensemble)
Increased opportunities for classroom management and social reinforcement
Who gets an instrument? (Someone who shows they’re ready for an instrument, someone who is my friend or someone I don’t talk to that much. When you get an instrument, what do you say back to that person? How do you treat the instrument?)
I actually prefer not giving an instrument to everyone. It lets me notice which students could use help at what times, it helps everyone model things like rest position. Things can sometimes get a little chaotic for me if everyone has an instrument all at once. Everyone has a personal threshold of how much noise is too much noise.
Principles for Sharing Instruments:
Everyone has a job
Jobs might include
patting the beat while the person next to you plays the rhythm
Singing the song
Singing letter names
Singing solfege while signing
Doing a dance or movement activity
Clapping an ostinato
Playing a game
We can choose musical jobs based on pedagogical goals
Whatever scaffold they were doing before you handed them the instrument, that’s what they keep doing while others have the instrument.
Set Expectations
Increased opportunities for modeling and observing positive instrument behavior, increased opportunities to highlight positive instrument behavior
How do we wait for a turn to play an instrument, and how do we show we’re ready?
Possible expectations: Show a quiet thumbs up, sing and pat the steady beat, etc. Musical involvement shows the student is listening to directions, but it also serves as an assessment to see if they’re ready for the instrument. Regardless, everyone has a musical contribution to the ensemble.
How do we hold the instrument when we’re done playing? How do we hold the instrument when we’re about to play?
Establish rest position and point out how many musicians you see in rest position.
How do we pass off the instrument to a friend?
How do we respond when we’re not chosen?
“I never get a turn.”
“I didn’t get a turn this time, and that’s disappointing.”
Everyone gets a turn. Not everyone gets a turn today.
Change who is in charge
At the end of the song or game, students pass off their job to another student musician who is showing that they’re ready for an instrument.
This takes less time
Students respond better to peers
We have opportunities to build classroom culture (we’re looking for behavior of classmates who are ready, not choosing our very best friends every time)
Structures for Sharing Instruments
For our purposes, we’ll look at games on their own, then divide these structures into learning activities and games. Games are, of course, learning activities in and of themselves. However, they function in a different way in the classroom. The structure we choose will depend on our pedagogical goal for the activity, and the specific skill we want students to practice.
Choosing, Elimination, Guessing, or Chasing Games
These types of games are the most streamlined because the choosing has been determined for us.
When you’re out, you move to an instrument and…
Play a chord bordun
Play an ostinato on unpitched percussion
Improvise a melody on barred instruments
Improvise a B section between rounds of the game
Double up
We might have more than one student playing an instrument at the same time. This can happen on pitched percussion or unpitched percussion.
Learning activity:
Students can help each other figure out a melody by ear on a barred instrument.
One plays, the other assists
Students play a known melody on barred instruments
One plays, the other sings the song, sings on solfege with hand signs, or sings on letter names while pointing
Students add a melody to an existing rhythm
Students compose a piece for unpitched percussion
Game:
Hunt the slipper: A few customers sing the song while patting a steady beat on the tubano. The cobbler and their assistants sing the song while patting a steady beat on another tubano. At the end of the game, everyone chooses their replacement.
Stations
We might choose to have more than one instrument part happening at the same time. When that’s the case, we might look at instrument stations.
Learning Activity
Groups of instruments around the room. Students sing the song and perform the instrument part, then walk to the next station to sing the song and play the new part.
Flexible levels of complexity - how many instruments? How many parts? How much partwork independence is there?
Simple structure for Alabama Gal in preparation for synco-pa (or any song). Two stations for instruments, two stations to sing the song.
Barred instruments on the left side of the room. Students play a chord bordun.
The next station is singing. Those students sing and either pat the steady beat or clap the rhythm of the words.
The next station is rhythm sticks where students speak and play an ostinato: Alabama gal (ta-di ta-di ta rest).
The last station is singing, where students sing and either pat the steady beat or clap the rhythm of the words again.
Game:
Stations for rhythm, beat, bordun, ostinato, etc. When you’re out, you choose where you’ll go
Stations for different rhythmic endings. Students walk to their choice.
Pass it down
Learning Activity:
In a warm up, play the instrument in front of you, then pass to the person on your right
Game:
Counting out games (Bee Bee Bumblebee)
