Week 7

DYNAMICS

What you need:

• Music book (blue)
• Pencil case
• Tepuk Amai-Amai, Here is the Baby and Sleep Baby Sleep scores 
• Percussion instruments (e.g. triangle, tambourine, guiro, all in Mozart Manor)

Objectives:

• Sing and clap Tepuk Amai-Amai in different dynamics (papa, mama, baby clap)
• Use voices in different dynamic levels (and timbres), i.e. whispering voice and singing voice, to recite and sing a lullaby-related rhyme (Here is the Baby) and song (Sleep Baby Sleep)
• Sing along to an English and Malay lullaby medley in whispering and singing voices, snapping their fingers in steady beat
• Play a dynamics game with percussion instruments and a 'baby animal' soft toy, discussing why a soft voice has to be used around babies (SEL)

Teacher resource: Tepuk Amai-Amai, Here is the Baby and Sleep Baby Sleep scores, http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/englishmalay-lullaby-medley-sung-by-zee-avi/ 

Experience

Bridging activity from previous lesson (Tepuk Amai-Amai)

• Pupils present their chosen claps from last week's pair work to their classmates, e.g. one Papa, one Mama, one Baby clap.
• Teacher asks pupils what they notice about each clap, apart from sounding weak or strong. Which clap is the loudest? Softest? 
• Pupils now clap each of the claps in different dynamic levels, e.g. Papa clap in different dynamic levels, according to Teacher's expressions/gestures (e.g. stand up really straight and open your mouth wide to mimick a lion for loud; hunch and get into foetal position for soft).
• Teacher asks which clap is suitable to be used around real-life babies. Why?

Concept

• Teacher writes 'Dynamics = Loud (f) and soft (p)' for pupils to jot down in their Music Books.

Application I

(Acknowledgement: 'Here is the Baby' handout)

Here is the Baby

Here is the baby ready for a nap:           Hold index finger of left hand up.

Put him down on Mummy's lap:             Lay finger across palm of right hand.

Cover him up so he won't peep:             Cover with fingers of right hand.

And rock him gently till he sleeps:          Rock hands back and forward.

• Discuss how the rhyme should be told - in a whispering voice. Why?

Application II

Sleep Baby Sleep

  

 F#      E  E   D -

Sleep Ba-by sleep.

F#   F#    E    E    D -

Fa-ther tends the sheep.      

 G    G       E      E       A    A      F#   F#                         

Mo-ther shakes the dream-land tree and        

 G        G     E  E      A      A    F#

down come all the dreams for thee.              

 F#       E E   D- 

Sleep Ba-by sleep.      

• Pupils listen to the attached YouTube and describe the dynamics and how they feel after listening to this song.
• Teacher sings this song through with the children in a quiet singing voice, and let them pretend they are holding something or rocking something to sleep.
• Explain the importance of singing in a very quiet voice and rocking the baby to sleep. Try singing again in a very quiet singing voice.
• Teacher introduces the genre, 'lullaby = sleep song', to pupils.

• Pupils watch 'Baby Mine' from Disney's Dumbo, to get the feel of a quiet singing voice and the act of rocking a baby to sleep.

Application III

EL and Malay Lullaby Medley

Teacher opens this URL and increase the zoom to 150-200%: www.mamalisa.com/blog/englishmalay-lullaby-medley-sung-by-zee-avi/ 

Pupils sing along to the English and Malay lullaby medley in: (1) a whispering voice; then (2) a quiet singing voice, snapping their fingers in steady beat.

Application IV

Dynamics Game

Play a dynamics game with percussion instruments and a 'baby animal' soft toy.

First, get a child to cover his/her eyes. Hide the soft toy in a selected part of the Music Room.

Get the child to come in. Everyone will play this game together. The objective is for the child to find the hidden soft toy. Select one of these situations:

• When the baby is asleep (class to diminuendo when the child is approaching the baby soft toy)
• When you wish to wake the baby (class to crescendo to an acceptable volume when the child is approaching the baby toy)

Discuss why we have to lower or increase our volume in these different scenarios, and the loudest permissible threshold of 'loud' when a baby's eardrums are involved (SEL).