Starting a successful recorder unit
My third graders have been gearing up to begin recorders, and they are
so excited! We will officially begin in
about two weeks, but in the meantime we are working on some preparatory
activities to get them ready. Today, I’m
going to talk a little about what has worked for me when beginning recorder
with students for the first time.
1.
Preparation and planning!
Being a kodály
inspired teacher, I have really worked hard to scaffold learning in preparation
for my third graders to begin recorder since the beginning of the year, but
this year has been really tricky. This
is my first year with my kids and our third grade specials classes are combined
from four homerooms to three groups due to scheduling conflicts so my third
grade group I see is actually 34 students!
Anyway, despite the class size, my third graders have done good work
progressing through the concepts I have presented to them.
Usually, by the time it comes time for my third graders to begin
recorders, they are just getting to re and the do pentatonic scale. This has worked really well the last couples
of years because I have always started the kids off on B, A, G (mi, re, do) and
I just use the songs we will be using to study melody for use with singing and
recorder. While my kids have done great
work catching up with concepts since this is my first year with them, we have
only just finished la and I’m not completely certain that everyone completely
has “gotten” it, but we’ve got to move on (34 kids makes it tricky for regular
individual assessments).
So, in the next two weeks I have before we begin, I’m beginning a
fairly intensive unit on mi, re, and do to prep them for the first few recorder
songs we will work on. In planning this
unit, I had to first decide what song material I wanted to use when we began
recorder and how I can use that song material to prepare and present mi, re,
and do. I settled on beginning with
Great Big House in New Orleans, Tideo, and Blow Wind Blow. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll learn the
songs, practice the rhythm, and learn the solfa. When it comes time to begin recorder, my
students will be all ready to learn the recorder harmonies (which only use B
and A or G and A) I’ve written for these songs because it will further utilize
the learning they began on mi, re, and do.
By thinking with the end in mind, my lessons will be more focused on the
tools my students will need later on which means they will be much more
successful.
2.
Pick repertoire that is familiar
Very much related to preparing students ahead of time for beginning
recorder, is picking repertoire that they are already familiar with when you
first begin. I have found that by
choosing repertoire that I know my students know and love, it helps to get them
through the first few tough weeks because they are excited to learn how to play
familiar songs and won’t give up as easily.
3.
Boundaries
The first couple weeks with recorders is always super tedious. There are so many new things that the kids
need to make sure they’re doing and it’s important that I am able to make sure
that each student is starting off on the right foot. As a result, there are times where the kids
have to practice their patience while I scan the room to ensure everyone’s
doing the right thing. By establishing
clear and fair guidelines upfront, I can avoid students being upset when the
inevitable happens (there’s always a few that are going to be too excited to
not play!). My rules are 1. No playing
while the teacher or another students is speaking, and 2. Absolutely no “noise”
(purposefully “tooting” away without trying to create actual music). After one warning, they must put their
recorder away if they continue to play or make “noise”. Students that have to put their recorders
away must play “air” recorders so at least they are still learning. Being firm about these expectations from the
start is so crucial to classroom management and student success!
4.
Emphasizing proper technique
Air flow: Since beginning
recorder is so tedious with all the things that need to be kept in mind,
sometimes good technique can fall to the wayside. Don’t let that happen! Beginning with a strong technique ensures
that the students will be more musical players in the long run. Here’s where my background as a flute player
comes to play: ensure that students use
steady, warm air. I compare it to
blowing out candles on your birthday cake versus blowing on a bowl of hot soup. Two very different ways to use your air that
give students a clear mental image of what kind of air to use. Later, when I hear students overblowing all I
have to say is “don’t blow out your candles!” and that usually helps the
problem.
Tonguing: To get students using
their tongue properly, we talk a lot about the syllable “too” and keeping the
air moving “through” the tongue. This
legato playing takes time to learn, but I promise they will be playing more
musically!
Hand position: Because I start
students off with notes that only involve the left hand, I always notice
students that let their right hand be “lazy.”
Even though it takes some time to get to notes that involve both hands,
it is so important to ensure that students hold their right hand in the correct
to get them in the right habit.
5.
Work on small chunks each lessons, then move on!
It can be so tempting in the beginning to keep working on recorder
until everyone gets it just right, but it’s so much better to limit recorder
playing to a certain amount of time in each lesson then move on. Slow and steady wins the race definitely
applies here. There will be students who
catch on to recorder very quickly, and there will be students that will need
longer. A lot of times, those students
who need longer benefit from practice on their own and working in small chunks. Lessons will be much more engaging and
productive if recorder learning doesn’t take over the entire lesson.
6.
Make sure students are engaged and enjoying
themselves!
Learning recorder is a great first instrument for young students, in
addition to being a great way to give students experience working in an
ensemble and the value of discipline.
There will be frustrations, but that’s all a part of the joy of
learning! Make sure your students work
through the road blocks they will face, but make sure it’s always enjoyable!
I hope these are helpful to you and your students! Do you have any tried and true tips that you
use when you first teach recorder to your students? I would love to hear all about them!
Ashley
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