Reply To: Listening Guides

[nafmeadmin]

I make a listening guide by drawing shapes and directions that the music moves.

If it is high and short, I might use dots.
Ascending/Decending lines, dots, squiggles, etc.
For big block chords I have thicker lines
Layer shapes for polyphonic music
I label the form and copy/paste sections so they are exact
Trills are a squiggle line

Sometimes I have pre-made slides and point while the students listen, sometimes I draw it on the smartboard as it happens. <—–That takes a strong knowledge of the song in its entity!

This has been effective in 4th/5th grade when we study bigger classical selections preparing for our trip to see the Philly Orchestra. If I have time, I have them make their own guides while studying the music. We have a classroom set of iPads that each student can move at his/her own pace.