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Tennis Ball Rhythm Activity to The Stars And Stripes Forever

Submitted by Kristin Lukow, Nebraska

Idea posted 2009-09-29

We have a fun way to reinforce note values, steady beat, and tempo with tennis balls. We use our National March, "The Stars And Stripes Forever."

I created movements that show each of the note values:

whole note - tennis ball around the body in four counts
half note - bounce the tennis ball on beat one and catch it one beat two
quarter note - toss the ball in one hand and catch it on each beat
eighth note - toss the tennis ball back and forth between hands lifted above your head

I show the students the notes on a four beat grid at the front of the room. First, the students practice the movements without the music. Then, we add the music and enjoy the process.

If you would like to see a video of this activity, you can check us out on YouTube.