Movement and Music - LESSON 3 - Music Mood + Time Signature

Lesson 3 includes: 

• Music Moods 
• Music Speed 
• Time Signature
• Conducting Pattern

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Music Mood:

Explain: Music can be happy, sad, angry, mad, excited or delightful. Music can affect our mood.

Ask: Have you ever been listening to a song that made you feel mad? Have you ever listened to a song that made you happy?

Explain: You can sing songs in different ways. You can make any song sound however you want to by how you sing it.

SING: We are going to sing If You're Happy and You Know It (266) with different Music Moods!

-Sing SAD, HAPPY, TIRED, EXCITED, MAD, SWEETLY, BORED, REVERENTLY (insert other emotions). Do actions for each mood; IE: yawn while singing for bored, ...if you're mad and you know it stomp your feet..., etcetera

Explain: Now we are going to sing with different Music Speeds!

- Sing Happy And You Know It really fast / really slow / just right

*After singing fast and slow, segue into the next part by explaining, "You don't want to sing a song too fast or too slow - the Time Signature is what helps us know how fast or slow to go and keep the steady beat throughout the song."

Time Signature:

Explain: Songs have something called a Time Signature. Did you know there's some math involved with music? Songs are divided into measures and measures are divided into beats. There can be 2 beats, 3 beats or 4 beats (sometimes more) in a song. The Time Signature tells how many beats there are per measure in a song. For instance, the song I Am a Child of God has a four-four (4/4) time signature. That means there are 4 beats per measure:

1. Clap and count 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4
2. Lead and count 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4
3. Demonstrate and teach a 4/4 pattern, then have them do it. Have the Pianist play while everyone does the pattern and counts 1-2-3-4.
4. Do the same for 3/4. And other time signatures, if you wish.

• 4/4 pattern (ie: I Am a Child of God 2)
• 3/4 pattern (ie: My Heavenly Father Loves Me 228)

*When teaching conducting patterns I gave the children glow sticks to use as conducting batons.