Musical Maps

In January, we took the opportunity to explore various ways that visual and kinesthetic maps could improve our understanding of music. First through sixth graders all enjoyed discovering how "listening maps" were related to various pieces of music, especially the second movement of Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony. Listening maps are a visual tool to help music listeners hear and remember the salient features of a composition without having to be able to read music notation. At the same time, it prepares students for reading music notation. Students loved the folk story about the musical "surprise,"a fortissimo chord placed in the middle of the traditionally quiet and soothing second movement: Haydn put it there to wake concertgoers that had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, Wikipedia says Haydn denied the story in his old age. Students went into the symphony in more depth depending on age and interest (the 3/4s could not get enough). We compared the listening map to the musical score, picked out notation examples we recognized in the score, and eventually came to a greater understanding of how the musical score translated into the music we heard. We also used the listening map as a more traditional map and walked along the path it charted while listening to the music.

Relatedly, we also tried some Dalcroze movement and singing techniques I learned from David Frego at a music conference I recently attended. Students used the classroom floor to physically map the auditory difference between pitches. Each student chose a spot on the floor to represent the starting note of a song or scale, then chose another place forward or backward for each note, depending on the pitch's distance and whether it was higher and lower. We then sang through songs or scale patterns, stepping on each "note" as we sang it. The 5/6s especially benefited from this technique; I heard tuneful singing from some otherwise reluctant singers. Also, it helped fidgety students to productively use their energy while singing.

First and second graders also learned how to map rhythms using popsicle sticks and written notation to communicate rhythmic patterns to their classmates. Fifth and sixth graders were given a similar task: to compose and notate a variation on a given theme to share with classmates. Many students were excited about improving their knowledge of treble clef notation for pitches sung or played on the barred instruments. I am hoping they will be able to use this improved knowledge to notate songs they composed through vocal improvisations earlier in the month.