Quick Win – The Beat Goes On!

From the heart – a path to musical literacy

All children have music inside of them, and it is our job and privilege as music educators to awaken this musicality. One of the first skills we teach children is to feel the beat, or pulse. Most children can do this subconsciously through movement – dancing, performing actions, body percussion, all great ways to show the beat in music. But what can we do to make this conscious knowledge, and pave a path towards true musical literacy?

When teaching young children, the first bit of conscious learning I introduce is to ask the children to find their heartbeat and show it in some way. We talk about the fact that their heartbeat is constant and keeps going without them thinking about it, and it’s the same in (most) music. We can then start to use the correct vocabulary, beat and pulse (the two words mean the same thing, and I tend to use them interchangeably, as the children will hear both as they progress).

Once this is made conscious, we can then progress to using a symbol; the very first step on the way to being able to read and write music:

After spending some time tapping a heart picture, we then progress to the idea that beats can be in groups:

The simplest way of trying this for yourself is to draw 4 hearts on the board. Model tapping the hearts left to right (because that’s the way we read music, just like we read words!) as the class sings a familiar song, or listens to a piece of music (make sure it’s in 4!). Then ask a child to come and do the same. It’s a great assessment tool – can they tap in time? Can they tap left to right?

In my opinion an essential part of your music teaching kit should then be some laminated strips of 4 heart symbols, as above – so easy to make, and such a powerful learning tool. Ideally, have enough for a whole class to have one each.

Activities to try

· Simply tap the beat, practising going left to right, and then back to the start

· Change tempo – faster and slower

· Tap the rhythm – this is very powerful, as it makes explicit the link between beat and rhythm

· Write symbols on the hearts to show rhythm, or use manipulatives such as counters eg:

· Explore different metres – fold over the last heart and tap in 3s instead, or link 2 3-strips together to make 6s

· Use in simple composition activities to help children organise their ideas

Give it a try!

If you’d like further training for your staff on this approach to teaching notation, do book a FREE session with myself, Laura or Janey on Demystifying Music Notation Or do take a look at Jolly Music Jolly Music – Engaging Music Programme for Early Years which uses this approach very effectively.

Questions? Get in touch – melaniehopkin@berksmusictrust.org.uk

Melanie Hopkin

School Development Manager, Berkshire Music Trust