When Students Sing a Song Inaccurately
I tried Doña Araña today with my second graders and they really struggled to not sing the melody from Itsy Bitsy Spider. (do re mi mi re do re mi do) Any suggestions on how to help kids who have already internalized a different melody? I had the same problem with Apple Tree, which I sing on sol-la-mi-do but they sung with fa and re the previous year. [For that, at my schools with resonator bells, we played sol on the downbeats which helped, but they're really not audiating it on sol, they're still thinking fa. But I got them to sing the "right notes"?]
Any suggestions on how to help kids who have already internalized a different melody?
We’ve all been there! We teach a song, only to find out that students haven’t learned it exactly right.
Let’s brainstorm a few possible approaches to the inevitable situation of students singing a song inaccurately.
In This Episode…
00:00 - When Students Sing a Song Inaccurately
01:28 - Elemental Questions
02:52 - What is the point of the song?
07:31 - How do we build an aural context?
10:04 - Creative listening
14:27 - Listen and move
19:31 - What do students do? What does the teacher do?
28:41 - Troubleshooting
38:20 - Wrapping Up
What to do when students sing a melody inaccurately
What is the curricular goal of teaching a particular song?
How do we build an aural context for learning a melody?
What roles do the teacher and students play in the learning process?
What are effective strategies for troubleshooting?
Knowing Why We Chose the Song
Understanding why a song is chosen helps determine the focus of teaching, whether it's pitch-matching, rhythm, movement, or instrumental play.
Building an Aural Context
Use listening experiences and questions to familiarize students with the song structure before they start singing.
Strategies include convergent (right / wrong) listening tasks with creative listening tasks
Combining listening with physical activities like body percussion or movements
Divide teacher job & student job
Break down the learning process
Students don't have to sing the whole song in one class!
Use activities like games, motions, or focusing on specific song parts relevant to the curricular goal.
Troubleshoot inaccurate singing
Revisit or introduce activities where students listen and the teacher asks questions
Focus on small, accurate phrases instead of the entire song.
Use melody analysis and comparison techniques.
Address physiological aspects of singing, like ensuring students use their head voice.
Wrapping Up
It's normal for students to initially sing a melody inaccurately.
Ground teaching decisions in pedagogical goals and use patience and creativity to guide students.
Thank you for listening!
