Movement

Movement and singing are almost inseparable activities. The act of singing, as well as any act of music making, involves movement, even the simple movement of moving the lips and vocal mechanism. Movement, therefore, is an essential ingredient in performing songs, and it is also an essential ingredient in developing song skills.

Moving to songs can involve general, free, expressive actions coordinated with the flow of the whole song or specific sections within the whole song; it can involve prescribed, specific demonstrations of sound patterns; or it can involve combinations of these. Therefore, movement can be seen and used as both an expressive mode and a demonstrative mode for experiencing and studying music. (1 p. 93)

Movement can be prescribed or improvised or it can be teacher directed or student directed. Within SongWorks processes, most movement ideas are student generated.

Sample statements and activities by which to introduce movement to your students:

Let's think about and list all the ways we can move. (Discussion and listing take place).

When we are in school, we need to act with safety in mind. If we were moving about the room, what kinds of actions might be unsafe? (Discussion and listing take place).

Ann, keeping in mind the things we have discussed, show how you can move about the room safely.

Continue collecting students until everyone is moving safely. (It may take some classes more time than others to move without bumping or acting in an unsafe manner. Until you are assured that all can move in a safe manner it is best to let fewer numbers move at a time.)

Why and how movement is used in education:

To motivate and engage students in the learning process

One need only to observe the delight on children's faces as they move to music to realize the importance of movement in their lives.

To coordinate movement with the beginning and end of a song

Ideally, movement activities take place while a song is being sung which gives a framework for starting and stopping. A good song to teach the skill of starting with the beginning of the song and stopping with the end of the song is We are Walking All Together (tune: The More We Get Together)

We are walking all together,

together,

We are walking all together.

We walk and we stop.

To highlight various elements of the music such as beat, rhythm, melodic flow, or words (Using the song, Old MacDonald)

With a partner, find a way to move to the beat as we sing.

How many times is the phrase "E-I-E-I-O" sung in the song Old MacDonald? Is the pitch of that phrase going upward or downward? Find a way to move downward to "E-I-E-I-O".

To cause students to focus their attention on others

Did you see how Ann was moving? Let's sing the song and move just as she did.

To energize singing

Swing your arms out to the side, chest level and we sing, "Hi Ho the Derry O."

To have fun

Who among us has not noticed that movement, music, and laughter or joyfulness almost always accompany each other.

To express one's interpretation of a song or piece of music

As we sing, act out the meaning of the words of the song.

Bibliography

1. Bennett P. D. & Bartholomew, D.R. (1997). SongWorks I: Singing in the education of children. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

2. Winter M., (1998) All together now!: Moving in a safe manner. EdVentures
in Learning, Vol. 3 (1), 24.