Submitted by Meredith Harley Inserra, New Bern, North Carolina
Idea posted December 7, 2005
I've been giving out finger cymbals and having students play a little "ding" sound at the ends of all the phrases. They love it. It's a lesson on phrasing.
When I introduce the concept of phrases, I ask them about writing sentences: What do you put at the end of your sentence when you write in your journal? "A period!" Then I tell them we call musical sentences "phrases." Phrases can be long or short, and sometimes they don't have any words at all. I demonstrate. Then I demonstrate how I would like them to put a period at the ends of the "Silent Night" phrases. They have to really listen to play at the right time. I help them at first by tracing a rainbow in the air to visually show them the length of the phrase. Not everyone gets to play at the same time. We take turns playing and singing. The finger cymbals make a really nice sound for this song.