Season Three
Episode 81
Recorders Within the Orff Approach
Playing the recorder is something I have truly needed time to learn. It didn't come naturally for me. In fact, if I'm being completely transparent, it wasn't an instrument I really liked for a long time. Especially in those first few weeks when students are learning proper breathing and fingering. I found it challenging to help individual students produce the right sound while keeping students who learned quickly focused on more challenging content.
Last week I shared three pieces you could use with your students within drum ensembles! Today I'm sharing three recorder pieces. In the summer of 2018 I decided to play around with the soprano recorder almost every day and find different melodies and short phrases that I liked. I would choose a specific concept to focus on - for example: BAG, meter of 3/4, 2-part harmony, and so on. Then I would write down whatever ideas came to mind that day. I'd often just play the recorder repeatedly for 5-10 minutes and write down the ideas that I had. From there I put together a short notebook of song material to use with my students in class to supplement the other recorder pieces I love to use with students. My goal was to have new material to pull from and to fill gaps where I wanted to use recorder, but maybe didn't have a specific piece that I wanted to use in my repertoire. The three pieces I've chosen to share with you cover the following concepts:
1. Playing B-A-G
2. Creating 4-beat phrases using BAG and known rhythmic elements
3. Adding high C and D
4. Playing a descending C diatonic scale
5. Playing in 2, 3 or 4 part canons
Let's start with the first piece that I call Beginnings.
PIECE #1: BEGINNINGS
There are different ways that teachers approach the beginning notes on the recorder with students. Some teachers use G-E first. Others C-A and others B-A-G. These are the three variations I know about, though there might be others. Since I teach older students I prefer to start with BAG. In this piece I wanted to give students lots of opportunities to play simple rhythms using BAG. in the B section I wanted to give students the opportunity to play short 4-beat improvisations or predetermined phrases. Something I find myself doing is rushing students into doing all of the things - reading notation, breathing correctly, getting the fingerings done right. Many of the students pick up one ore more of these three aspects, but struggle with one area. Several will do well with all of the aspects especially those piano students who already know how to read music - learning only fingering and breathing makes it much easier!
I created this piece to allow students to only use BAG, but I also wanted them to practice the interval from B to G. So many of the BAG songs that I find in books all move stepwise. Having one interval from B to G gets students used to adding two fingers at a time.
I'll play the song for you and explain the process. Here is section A. (Click on the song title above to see the notation for the score!)
In section B I wanted students to have the opportunity to create something new over four beats. Demonstrate section B for students by playing B on quarter notes - ask students to clap on the notes that have an 'x' where the notepad usually appears. Ask students for the form of the section: abababc (or AAAC). That C section is played by everyone. Rehearse this by asking students to play 4 quarter notes on B where the 'x' appears and play the fourth phrase at the end with you. You are playing the odd measures and students are playing the even measures until the final phrase when everyone plays together.
Ask students to find a partner or assign students a partner. Pass out cards containing 4-beat rhythms that your students know. Ask students to speak their rhythm in the part of the song where they had been playing B on their recorder and continue to play the ending phrase with you on the recorder. Then transfer their rhythm to playing on 'B' in the same way.
Then give them time to work with their partner to decide how they want to play the rhythm on B and A. Practice performing section B as a class.
The next time ask students to work with their partner to decide how they want to play their rhythm using B, A, and G. Again, practice performing section B as a class.
Review section A and rehearse as a large class playing section B continuing in the same way - you are playing the odd measures and they are the even measures.
Create an ABA form with the song by returning back to section A.
Be sure to have students practice playing the part that you've been playing in section B so that they get a feel for how that feels. Now that students have played their part as a class, allow students to share their created phrase as individual partners. Possible form for this:
Section A - all students play
Section B odd measures - assign two partners or more to play
Section B measure 2 - one group of partners plays their part
Section B measure 4 - one group of partners plays their part
Section B measure 6 - one group of partners plays their part
Section B last phrase - all play
Section A - all students play
You can repeat section B with the same partner groups playing or different partner groups. Then follow this up with section A again for an ABABA form if you'd like.
You could also have the same group of partners play in every even measure of section B, but the repetition of hearing the same phrase three times in a row might be too repetitive and there'd be more down time for other groups who aren't playing. Just depends on where your class is and how it works in your classroom! I like to have three different groups play. This allows you to hear small partners of students playing the recorder while also having times where everyone in the class is playing together.
From here you can have students create improvisations for section B in the even measures using rhythms and pitches they know. Do this individually or in partners (if you give them time to create together so they're playing the same thing).
Feel free to add simple unhitched percussion to accompany section A - I love using hand drums or tubanos playing the ostinato: ta ta titi ta. And off you go!
PIECE #2: CAREFREE
I used this piece with my sixth graders a few years ago. I wanted a piece that would allow them to use mostly BAG, but add high C and D throughout to gain confidence in these pitches. To teach this song I sing it on a neutral syllable - usually 'loo' or with 'bum bum bums.' The students sing it with me while I either play it on piano, ukulele, or guitar. Or oftentimes we will sing it acapella. From here I teach it by rote for the first section through beat 1 of measure 16. Then we practice playing the first portion and singing the second portion. After this I teach the remainder of the song by rote. The rhythms aren't overly difficult, but there are measures where there are tik-um rhythms (sixteenth-dotted eighth) and you could focus on measures 17-22 if you want to get some reading in - maybe if you're teaching 'fa' and want to focus on singing so-fa-mi-re-do descending. Yes, I do believe music reading is important, but I also want students to focus on tone and breathing and not every song I teach is done with notation.
One of my students played the clarinet and I wrote out the part for him to play as a solo. If students play violin or another instrument feel free to transpose the music to allow students to play.
An extension for this song would be to write out the chords of the song. Ask students to play the roots of each chord. Then the thirds of each chord. Then the fifths. You'll need to show students how to play an F# if they don't know this pitch or ask them to leave it out and play another pitch in that chord instead. After students do this, ask them to choose one of the pitches in each chord to play - following roots, thirds, or fifths. This will create chordal harmony in a very simplistic way.
To extend this further to becoming more melodic and not just chord - chord - chord, share with students that they can play any pitch from the chords as they move through them. Demonstrate for students so they can see how you are moving through them. Ask them to choose a specific pattern as they go through every single time until they have a sequence of pitches that they know well. Ask them to change the rhythm in one measure. So instead of playing all half notes, they might play 2 quarter notes or 4 eighth notes or any combination of the two. From here ask students to add a passing note in one place. After continuing to ask students to add passing notes or neighboring notes, ask if an individual students would like to share their melody part with the class.
Possible form for this piece:
Intro: Piano, ukulele, or guitar chords
Section A: All students play
Section B: All students play
Section A: One student plays the melody
Section B: All students play
Section A: One students plays their created melody
Section B: All students play
Repeat Section B and end together.
You could even do an accompaniment interlude.
PIECE #3: CANON IN C
I love canons and don't have a lot of canon repertoire for recorders. I also wanted to have students practice the C diatonic scale so I ended this piece with a descending scale giving them the opportunity to rehearse this concept. We rehearse playing up and down the diatonic scale and singing it on solfege.
To teach this song, I teach it with solfege first. Then we singing it on solfege while performing it as a 2-part canon. From here we perform it in a 3 part and 4 part canon. The we add it to the recorder. I teach the first two phrases first and then we sing the remainder of the song. Then in another class I teach the fourth phrase. We play phrases 1, 2, and 4 while singing the third phrase. I teach the third phrase last because it has the most leaps in the fingers and is usually the hardest part for students to master. You may want to start with this part because of this! Sometimes I start with the more challenging part, but for this piece I try to give them more time playing the low pitches with all of the fingers on the recorders. Once students can play the entire piece in unison then they play it again in unison while I play the canon as the second part. Then I divide the class in half and they play it in a 2-part canon. From here we usually divide right into a 4-part canon.
Notation for all of the songs is included in the show notes and here on the blog. Simple click on the title of the piece to access the Google Doc! Feel free to use these pieces with your students in your classroom. If you have any questions as you're teaching these pieces, reach out to me. I'd be happy to share what has worked with my students and I'd love to hear how they're working for you! In next week's episode we will continue talking about the Orff approach where I'll be sharing three barred instrument compositions for the classroom. Have a great week!
Episode 81
Recorders Within the Orff Approach
Playing the recorder is something I have truly needed time to learn. It didn't come naturally for me. In fact, if I'm being completely transparent, it wasn't an instrument I really liked for a long time. Especially in those first few weeks when students are learning proper breathing and fingering. I found it challenging to help individual students produce the right sound while keeping students who learned quickly focused on more challenging content.
Last week I shared three pieces you could use with your students within drum ensembles! Today I'm sharing three recorder pieces. In the summer of 2018 I decided to play around with the soprano recorder almost every day and find different melodies and short phrases that I liked. I would choose a specific concept to focus on - for example: BAG, meter of 3/4, 2-part harmony, and so on. Then I would write down whatever ideas came to mind that day. I'd often just play the recorder repeatedly for 5-10 minutes and write down the ideas that I had. From there I put together a short notebook of song material to use with my students in class to supplement the other recorder pieces I love to use with students. My goal was to have new material to pull from and to fill gaps where I wanted to use recorder, but maybe didn't have a specific piece that I wanted to use in my repertoire. The three pieces I've chosen to share with you cover the following concepts:1. Playing B-A-G
2. Creating 4-beat phrases using BAG and known rhythmic elements
3. Adding high C and D
4. Playing a descending C diatonic scale
5. Playing in 2, 3 or 4 part canons
Let's start with the first piece that I call Beginnings.
PIECE #1: BEGINNINGS
There are different ways that teachers approach the beginning notes on the recorder with students. Some teachers use G-E first. Others C-A and others B-A-G. These are the three variations I know about, though there might be others. Since I teach older students I prefer to start with BAG. In this piece I wanted to give students lots of opportunities to play simple rhythms using BAG. in the B section I wanted to give students the opportunity to play short 4-beat improvisations or predetermined phrases. Something I find myself doing is rushing students into doing all of the things - reading notation, breathing correctly, getting the fingerings done right. Many of the students pick up one ore more of these three aspects, but struggle with one area. Several will do well with all of the aspects especially those piano students who already know how to read music - learning only fingering and breathing makes it much easier!
I created this piece to allow students to only use BAG, but I also wanted them to practice the interval from B to G. So many of the BAG songs that I find in books all move stepwise. Having one interval from B to G gets students used to adding two fingers at a time.
I'll play the song for you and explain the process. Here is section A. (Click on the song title above to see the notation for the score!)
In section B I wanted students to have the opportunity to create something new over four beats. Demonstrate section B for students by playing B on quarter notes - ask students to clap on the notes that have an 'x' where the notepad usually appears. Ask students for the form of the section: abababc (or AAAC). That C section is played by everyone. Rehearse this by asking students to play 4 quarter notes on B where the 'x' appears and play the fourth phrase at the end with you. You are playing the odd measures and students are playing the even measures until the final phrase when everyone plays together.
Ask students to find a partner or assign students a partner. Pass out cards containing 4-beat rhythms that your students know. Ask students to speak their rhythm in the part of the song where they had been playing B on their recorder and continue to play the ending phrase with you on the recorder. Then transfer their rhythm to playing on 'B' in the same way.
Then give them time to work with their partner to decide how they want to play the rhythm on B and A. Practice performing section B as a class.
The next time ask students to work with their partner to decide how they want to play their rhythm using B, A, and G. Again, practice performing section B as a class.
Review section A and rehearse as a large class playing section B continuing in the same way - you are playing the odd measures and they are the even measures.
Create an ABA form with the song by returning back to section A.
Be sure to have students practice playing the part that you've been playing in section B so that they get a feel for how that feels. Now that students have played their part as a class, allow students to share their created phrase as individual partners. Possible form for this:
Section A - all students play
Section B odd measures - assign two partners or more to play
Section B measure 2 - one group of partners plays their part
Section B measure 4 - one group of partners plays their part
Section B measure 6 - one group of partners plays their part
Section B last phrase - all play
Section A - all students play
You can repeat section B with the same partner groups playing or different partner groups. Then follow this up with section A again for an ABABA form if you'd like.
You could also have the same group of partners play in every even measure of section B, but the repetition of hearing the same phrase three times in a row might be too repetitive and there'd be more down time for other groups who aren't playing. Just depends on where your class is and how it works in your classroom! I like to have three different groups play. This allows you to hear small partners of students playing the recorder while also having times where everyone in the class is playing together.
From here you can have students create improvisations for section B in the even measures using rhythms and pitches they know. Do this individually or in partners (if you give them time to create together so they're playing the same thing).
Feel free to add simple unhitched percussion to accompany section A - I love using hand drums or tubanos playing the ostinato: ta ta titi ta. And off you go!
PIECE #2: CAREFREE
I used this piece with my sixth graders a few years ago. I wanted a piece that would allow them to use mostly BAG, but add high C and D throughout to gain confidence in these pitches. To teach this song I sing it on a neutral syllable - usually 'loo' or with 'bum bum bums.' The students sing it with me while I either play it on piano, ukulele, or guitar. Or oftentimes we will sing it acapella. From here I teach it by rote for the first section through beat 1 of measure 16. Then we practice playing the first portion and singing the second portion. After this I teach the remainder of the song by rote. The rhythms aren't overly difficult, but there are measures where there are tik-um rhythms (sixteenth-dotted eighth) and you could focus on measures 17-22 if you want to get some reading in - maybe if you're teaching 'fa' and want to focus on singing so-fa-mi-re-do descending. Yes, I do believe music reading is important, but I also want students to focus on tone and breathing and not every song I teach is done with notation.
One of my students played the clarinet and I wrote out the part for him to play as a solo. If students play violin or another instrument feel free to transpose the music to allow students to play.
An extension for this song would be to write out the chords of the song. Ask students to play the roots of each chord. Then the thirds of each chord. Then the fifths. You'll need to show students how to play an F# if they don't know this pitch or ask them to leave it out and play another pitch in that chord instead. After students do this, ask them to choose one of the pitches in each chord to play - following roots, thirds, or fifths. This will create chordal harmony in a very simplistic way.
To extend this further to becoming more melodic and not just chord - chord - chord, share with students that they can play any pitch from the chords as they move through them. Demonstrate for students so they can see how you are moving through them. Ask them to choose a specific pattern as they go through every single time until they have a sequence of pitches that they know well. Ask them to change the rhythm in one measure. So instead of playing all half notes, they might play 2 quarter notes or 4 eighth notes or any combination of the two. From here ask students to add a passing note in one place. After continuing to ask students to add passing notes or neighboring notes, ask if an individual students would like to share their melody part with the class.
Possible form for this piece:
Intro: Piano, ukulele, or guitar chords
Section A: All students play
Section B: All students play
Section A: One student plays the melody
Section B: All students play
Section A: One students plays their created melody
Section B: All students play
Repeat Section B and end together.
You could even do an accompaniment interlude.
PIECE #3: CANON IN C
I love canons and don't have a lot of canon repertoire for recorders. I also wanted to have students practice the C diatonic scale so I ended this piece with a descending scale giving them the opportunity to rehearse this concept. We rehearse playing up and down the diatonic scale and singing it on solfege.
To teach this song, I teach it with solfege first. Then we singing it on solfege while performing it as a 2-part canon. From here we perform it in a 3 part and 4 part canon. The we add it to the recorder. I teach the first two phrases first and then we sing the remainder of the song. Then in another class I teach the fourth phrase. We play phrases 1, 2, and 4 while singing the third phrase. I teach the third phrase last because it has the most leaps in the fingers and is usually the hardest part for students to master. You may want to start with this part because of this! Sometimes I start with the more challenging part, but for this piece I try to give them more time playing the low pitches with all of the fingers on the recorders. Once students can play the entire piece in unison then they play it again in unison while I play the canon as the second part. Then I divide the class in half and they play it in a 2-part canon. From here we usually divide right into a 4-part canon.
Notation for all of the songs is included in the show notes and here on the blog. Simple click on the title of the piece to access the Google Doc! Feel free to use these pieces with your students in your classroom. If you have any questions as you're teaching these pieces, reach out to me. I'd be happy to share what has worked with my students and I'd love to hear how they're working for you! In next week's episode we will continue talking about the Orff approach where I'll be sharing three barred instrument compositions for the classroom. Have a great week!
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