S3: E89 Teaching Rhythmic Concepts Virtually

Season Three
Episode 89
Teaching Rhythmic Concepts Virtually

Before COVID hit the plan for this Kodály series was to share about the approach and some lesson ideas that you could use in your classroom.  And while this episode wasn’t quite the one I had planned, it’s actually closer than I had anticipated because the music concepts are the same ones being taught whether we are in our classrooms or teaching virtually.  It’s the way in which we are presenting the information that likely looks different. I’m going to share a few ideas for teaching musical concepts virtually. One of my favorite things about the Kodály approach is how clearly and sequentially rhythmic and melodic concepts are taught through an outline using prepare-present-practice.  

Prepare - meaning that students are singing, moving, playing, and interacting with a new concept that hasn’t been named for them yet

Present - this is a very short moment in a lesson where the new note, rhythm, or pitch is discovered by students as we lead them to finding out what it is called, what it looks like, and then immediately guiding them into finding this new concept in another familiar musical example that they know… this part being immediate practice.  Naming the concept and then right after in that lesson identifying it in another known piece

Practice - occurs over many classes after that present lesson.  Students continue to work with this new concept through singing, moving, creating, composing, improvising, and writing.

Here are some ideas for teaching rhythmic elements:

I find teaching rhythms to be easier than teaching melody.  If I were in my classroom with students I would be able to physically see and hear students speaking rhythms as well as playing rhythms in real time. Here are a few things that have worked for me and all of them are currently free for educators:

1. Screencastomatic within Schoology or Screencastify - it’s free!  Guide students through a lesson as you would in the classroom. I love this because you can show what is on your screen while also having a small video of yourself demonstrating in the right hand corner.  Similar to how you might present information on a Smartboard in the classroom.
2. Flipgrid - great for individual assessments.  I often demonstrate what I’m asking them to do so that they have an example of the assignment.  I love that I can give feedback
3. Chrome Music Lab - demonstrating using song maker or other elements in the website.  Students can save their work and then share it with you by sending you the link
4. Google Slides - using this during Zoom calls with the rhythm ti-tika.  Each student has their own slide that I assign ahead of time. I give them an example of what to do and explain that they must use the specific rhythm that we are learning for one of the beats.  Students create their rhythm and then share it one at a time as they are called on. Another option that has worked has been to assign students a partner. They take turns reading their rhythm with a mistake and their partner has to share what the mistake was and then read the rhythm correctly.
5. Zoom - breakout rooms for creating rhythmic phrases of 4 or 8 beat ostinato patterns… doing this with Ice Cream flavors to go along with a piece we had been learning on the drums prior to online school beginning
6. Written Work - students copying a poem or a phrase you share - guiding them through how to find the syllables and drawing the rhythms above each beat.  Then ask them to create their own rhythm using the specific rhythm they are learning somewhere in the phrase. Then perform that rhythm as an ostinato to one of their favorite songs - record it on flipgrid.