Notes of Lessons: Music, Class I and II

[We have thought that it might be of use to our readers (in their own families) to publish from month to month during the current year, Notes of Lessons prepared by students of the House of Education for the pupils of the Practising School. We should like to say, however, that such a Lesson is never given as a tour de force, but is always an illustration or an expansion of some part of the children’s regular studies (in the Parents’ Review School), some passage in one or other of their school books.—Ed.]

Subject: Tonic Sol-fa • Group: Music • Class II and I • Time: 20 minutes

By L. Eleanor Clendinnen
The Parents’ Review, 1904, pp. 306-307

Objects

I. To give training to the ear.

II. To give practice in recognising sounds from a given “doh,” and in singing by interval from the ladder and from the hand-signs.

III. To introduce four-pulse measure.

IV. To teach the following exercise.—

| s : d＇| s : m | d＇ : d＇| d＇: | s : d＇ | s : m | s : — | — : —
| Birds are sing-ing, | Tra la la. | As we march a- | long.

| d＇ : s | m : s | d : d | d : | m : d | m : s | d : — | — : —
| Bells are ringing, | Tra la la. | Lis-ten to our | song.

| d＇ : d＇| d＇: | s : s | s : | m : m | s : m | d : — | — : — ||
| Tra la la, | Tra la la, | Tra la la la | la.

Lesson

Step I.—Ask the children (a) how many steps there are in the ladder, (b) how many of these steps they know by name. Have the ladder put on the board as they have learnt it, viz.:—

8__Doh＇

7__________

6__________

5__Soh____

4__________

3__Me_____

2__________

1__Doh____

Step II.—Get the children to give the hand-signs of “doh,” “me” and “soh.”

Step III.—From a given “doh” sing a few notes to “la” for the children to recognise.

Step IV.—Let them sing (a) from the ladder and (b) from the hand-signs, with different “dohs.”

Step V.—Ask the children how many kinds of measure they have already learnt, viz, two-pulse and three-pulse, and have two bars of each put on the board.

| d : m | s : d | | d : m : s | d : — : — ||

Draw from them that the upright line indicates a strong accent and the dots show that there is no accent at all. If they cannot remember the kinds of measure they have learnt, write the following sentences on the board and let the children point out where the strong accent comes:—

| Sing : a | song : to | me : — || two-pulse measure; and,

| Sing : me : a | lit : tle : song || three-pulse measure.

Step VI.—Write a bar of four-pulse measure on the board | : | : ||, and get the children to tell the difference between it and two bars of two-pulse measure, viz., there are two upright lines in each to mark accents, but in the bar of four-pulse measure the second is shorter and marks a weak accent.

Step VII.—Put the exercise before the children. Get them to point out that it is in four-pulse measure, and that empty pulses | : || signify rests, and a line in a pulse signifies that the note is carried on to the next pulse or pulses d .— : — ||. Have it sung from the tonic sol-fa names, and when sufficiently well known, with the words.