Trick-or-treat!
I have a treat for you that won't cause cavities- it's a Halloween coloring page.
The Red semester Let's Play Music students are singing about witches, black cats, and goblins, too in our song, "Halloween is Coming".
To help them remember those tricky words, I've got a coloring page filled with those sneaky ghouls. All will try to frighten you (but they won't be able to, will they?). Click on the image to download the file.
Extend Your Vocal Range
This treat has a little trick, too- we trick the students into working out their vocals with all those ghostly swoops and windy howls.
For this song, we practice making the mouth, jaw, and throat shape that will help create better tones and reach higher notes. Hint: yawn and notice the position of the back of your throat and jaw. While holding that mouth-shape, sing "oo-oo-oo" to the melody of the song. This excellent exercise improves voice control and pitch-matching.
It's not uncommon for youngsters to sing melodies or scales without changing pitch much at all. A major scale may sound rather monotone until the student learns to expand her vocal range. These swooping howls will help achieve that goal!
Trick-or-Treat!
Are you planning to go out trick-or-treating? You'll probably sing "trick-or-treat" with a sol-sol-mi. Try playing it on your bells! Sol-mi is the first interval (minor 3rd) that youngsters can identify and accurately reproduce. We start ear training with that interval, then expand to add other pitches.
Now that you're a music student, try singing trick-or-treat with these trickier melodies. Use your bells or piano to listen first, then try to say "trick-or-treat" with these pitches:
* SOL- MI- SOL
* MI- RE- DO
* SOL- SOL- DO
* SOL- LA- TI- DO (Tri-ick or treat!)
* SOL- FA- MI- RE- DO (Tri- ick o-or treat!)
* SOL- MI- DO
Read and Compose at Home
All semesters of Let's Play Music students can enjoy more sight-reading on bells or piano. Here are the Halloween pals to download and cut out. They're round so you can use them as notes on a homemade staff.
Make a major scale, create a melody for bells, or quiz each other on steps, skips, and intervals. And finally, have a safe and fun Halloween. (The 5 fat turkeys are already looking forward to Thanksgiving, so they snuck in there, too.)
-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music teacher