Melody Charts - a Link

I had a very sweet e-mail from Marcia Berkey, who wanted to share a pdf file for the melody charts she made for the song "The Lord Gave Me a Temple." What a blessing she is. She says,

"I tried to show the length of the notes, the relationships, and the repeating words. I created it in Excel but didn't know if everyone would have that program so I converted it to a pdf document. I went into printer settings and enabled poster printing to be able to print this much bigger so the children (and I) can see it - different printers would have different settings for that."

Marcia put these charts into Google Documents and here is the link for it. (edit:  another link in case the first one doesn't work.) Thank you so much Marcia for sharing this with all of us! You are a sweetheart. ;o)

Just a reminder about what a melody chart is.  A melody chart is simply a "picture" of the melody, some way to visually represent the way the melody moves. So you could draw a phrase of the song on the chalkboard, with a single line that depicts the melody moving up and down in steps. You could draw dots or stars on a paper or poster, to represent the notes, putting these on different levels, somewhat like the way the musical notes are written on the staff lines. A melody chart simply helps the children visualize, in some way, what their voices are doing with the notes.

As a review, you could print the charts for each phrase of the song and ask the children to listen and put the charts in order according to what they hear. You will want to cover the words or that would give it away. You could draw the melody lines on the chalkboard and ask the children to number them as to which "picture" comes first, then second, etc. You could use laminated die-cut numbers with magnets, or even fridge magnets. Ask a child to place a number on the correct line picture. There are just lots of ways to help the children connect with these melody "pictures."

I attended a stake primary music workshop last night and was so glad to feel the spirit and the commitment of those ladies who were there with me. Our stake music specialist, who is also a chorister, was so bright and happy. Her message of connecting with and continually engaging the children was so sincere and her ideas were so helpful. It was a blessing to me just to be together with those women. I hope you all have this kind of support from your stake.

Paint the Melody

These are dollar store paint brushes that I keep on hand for an activity called "Paint the Melody." With a brush in hand, the children can follow the melody line as they sing, "painting" the rise and fall of the music. This is another way for the children to explore how the melody moves in the song. The movements of the children can be less precise and more fluid than when they use the pitch sticks. It is a more free-form, interpretive kind of activity. "Paint the Melody" is also a good way to help the children see interesting rhythms and how the rhythm and melody combine in a beautiful way. It gives the children an opportunity to move.

Just take a paintbrush and demonstrate how to follow the melody in smooth, fluid motions. You can dab here and there on short notes and add large flourishes as the music rises to the climax. Then pass out the paintbrushes and invite the children to follow what they hear in the music. Really, it just adds fun and creates another opportunity to review the song.

P.S. - If your primary is extra large, buying even cheap paintbrushes would be prohibitive. In this case, you could ask the children to pretend they have a paintbrush. If you are dramatic enough, you could probably pull it off!

Using a Wiggle Worm Puppet

Teaching the melody of a song is lots of fun with this Wiggle Worm puppet. He shows a bit of wear, but I hope you can see some possibilities in a puppet such as him. I use this puppet with a "follow the leader" kind of game. He is perfect for teaching the melody of a song because the kids can simply hum and move with the music. If you use the puppet with review songs, the children will need to know the words pretty well because this game requires some concentration.

Put the puppet over your hand and down your arm a bit. While the music plays, or while you sing, move your arm with the music and invite the children to copy your movements. Don't ham it up too much or you'll just invite hamming up later when the children use the puppet. If the music is fast, your motions can be a little faster or slower if the music is slower. Large and small arm movements can help indicate dynamics also. Younger children will not be able to follow your gestures exactly but they will enjoy the movements. Older children can concentrate and follow you more precisely, especially if you challenge them to think of a mirror.

Decide on rules that are appropriate for both Jr. and Sr. kids and explain the rules beforehand. My rules include staying in your seat and not touching another person! If you have the room, you can stand and spread out just a little. As with all music aids, I gently remind the children that I need to depend on them to use the puppet respectfully. If using these fun things causes problems I just don't feel like getting them out. Some of the older primary kids can't help but goof off when they are in front of everyone, but they are able to understand this message.

You or the children can also use this puppet to simply direct the singing. This puppet also works especially well for pitch-level conducting. Just follow the melody with up and down hand movements.

This is a really easy puppet to make. Find a knee sock and glue or sew two eyes on him. That's it! If you use glue, use the permanent fabric kind so that you can wash the puppet. If the foot length is large you may need to cut off the toe and gather it up or sew it closer to the heel, so that the sock fits a child's hand better. The heel should fall somewhere close to the wrist. I hope you'll let me know if your children like to use such a puppet.