Understanding Music

Through Movement
Brent C. Talbot
 Why Movement Matters

 Movement, like music, is a basic form of human expression.

 Movement is a medium for creative expression

 Movement develops attentive listening and engagement

with music
 Responding to music with movement develops an
understanding of musical elements of rhythm, melody,
phrasing, texture, dynamics, and form.
 Movement prepares for singing and helps to “free” the
voice
 Why Movement Matters

 Working with rhythmic gestures (clapping, patting,

snapping) prepares for performing on instruments.
 The ability to synchronize movement with music is an
important prerequisite to the development of music listening,
reading, writing, and performing on instruments.
 Rhythm, form, and style come together in singing games and
folk dances from around the world.
 Movement /dance can develop an understanding and
appreciation of culture and history.
 Musicianship is a natural outgrowth of movement.
 Preparing the Space

 Prepare enough space to move safely and comfortably.

 Encourage students to wear comfortable clothing and

shoes (or bare feet)
 Establish boundaries for moving, so students know
where to move.
 Use musical “signals” for when to move.

 It is important to carefully consider the sound source

that stimulates movement. The music stimulates the
student’s mood and influences movement explorations.
 Establishing a safe
emotional environment:
 The teacher’s positive, relaxed attitude “releases interest and alertness.”

 Everyone should feel a sense of success from the contribution of each

individual.
 Start the class with group movement. Teacher-directed, organized
movement can help create a sense of togetherness, or community, with
the group. Group unity is enhanced by rhythmic unity.
 Creative expression should be emphasized. Expression of ideas should
be accepted and encouraged.
 Use invitations and problem-solving tasks that lead to different
solutions.
 Balance new challenges with familiar tasks/skills.
 Establishing a safe
emotional environment:
 Combine structure and freedom – “bound and free”
tasks.
 Encourage students to work collaboratively rather than
competitively.
 Observe and guide students’ movement with feedback.

 Individual exploration of movement tasks should be

explored simultaneously by the whole group initially,
before solo expressions are shared.
 Teachers should move with their students.
 Goals for movement include
sensitivity to:

 Locomotor/non-locomotor movement

 Stop and go (sound and silence)

 Fast and slow

 Feeling for phrase and form

 Rhythmic concepts (pulse, pattern, meter)

 Expressive elements (dynamics, tempo, articulation

and styling)
 Goals for movement include
sensitivity to:

 Development of movement vocabulary for creative

movement and traditional dances
 Spatial planes in movement:
 Levels (high/low; over/under)
 Directions (forward/backward/sideways;
right/left)
 Pathways (curved, straight/angular)

 Moving alone and with others; awareness of self

and group space.
 Movement includes:

 Designing movement ostinati.

 Reaction training that explores musical opposites

(high/low; fast/slow; loud/quiet; smooth/detached).
 Movement exploration in response to meter (duple,
triple, uneven and changing).
 Responding with contrasting movement to phrase and
larger forms (binary, rondo, canon etc.).
 Moving while performing with instruments, recording
music, etc.)
 Movement includes:

 Choreography projects with small groups.

 Rhythmically moving to traditional dances from

around the world.
 Accompanying movement with instruments and
voices.
 Body percussion.
The Elements of Movement

 The body and its actions:

 Whole body, upper/lower half, right/left side,
arm elbow, hand, torso, waist, shoulder, neck,
head, hips, knees, feet, legs
 The use of locomotion
 Traveling: run, skip, walk, hop, jump, gallop, creep,
scurry, dart, glide
 Jumping: leap, soar, bound, bounce hop, pounce
 Turning: spin, twirl, whirl, circle
The Elements of Movement

 The body and its actions:

 The use of non-locomotion (bend, turn, stretch,
twist, sway, swing)
 Bending: twist, swing, swaying
 Expanding: grow, open, stretch, reach
 Shrinking: collapse, lower, sink, melt, relax
 Stopping: freeze, perch, pause, settle, hold
 Percussive: stamp, punch, explode, flick
Actions occurring in TIME

Stopping and starting

Moving to the pulse
Moving rhythmically and free
Moving in various tempi
 Actions occurring in
SPACE
 Direction: forward/backward, sideways, in/out
 Pathways: straight, angular, jagged, curving,
spiral
 Level: high/low, under/over
 Spatially: wide/narrow, toward/away from, in
front of/behind, around/through, near/far
 Formations: scattered, circle, concentric circle,
lines, partners, squares
 Actions occurring with
ENERGY and FORCE
Sustained: constant, even flow, with equal
force throughout. May be delicate or
strong; fast or slow.
Percussive: small or large spurts of
energy. Sudden and sharp.
Swinging: release and catch; drop and
recover
Vibratory: shaking, fluttering, quivering
movements of various parts of the body.
 Movement Vocabulary

 Traveling: run, skip, walk, hop, gallop, creep, scurry,

dart, glide
 Jumping: leap, soar, bound, bounce, hop, pounce

 Turning: spin, twirl, whirl, circle

 Percussive: stamp, punch, explode, flick

 Expanding: grow, open, stretch, reach

 Sinking: collapse, lower, sink, melt, relax

 Stopping: freeze, perch, pause, settle, hold

 Movement Vocabulary

 Movement exploration games and formal dances

involve varying the following ingredients:
 Places to Go (where)

wide high under near toward

between forward in front of around in
narrow low over away from far
beside backward behind through out
 Movement Vocabulary

 Movement exploration games and formal dances

involve varying the following ingredients:
 Effort Qualifiers (how)

gradually strongly lightly quietly

forcefully quickly smoothly suddenly weakly
heavily loudly delicately sharply slowly
 Movement Vocabulary

 Movement exploration games and formal dances

involve varying the following ingredients:
 Groupings

solo partner cluster

 Movement Vocabulary

 Movement exploration games and formal dances

involve varying the following ingredients:
 Actions
 Actions can be combined into sequences and patterns
 Actions can communicate words and feelings
 Actions can be found in natural phenomenon
 Actions can lead or follow sound
 Actions can be stimulated by visual image
 Props as a Starting Point

 Scarves and Fabrics – Scarves provide extensions of the

gesture, lending fluidity to the movement. Like
“painting sound” scarves help to se the music in
motion. Scarves can also become costumes that
transform the mover into an imaginary world.
 Balloons – Exploration with balloons develops balance
and timing. Balloons can be tapped into the air, along
the floor or tossed to others using different body parts
(heads, feet, hands, knees, etc.). Try the movement now
without the props! Also, use the balloons as sound-
producing material. Boom-boom-balloon!
 Props as a Starting Point

 Hoops and Rods – Straight, angular lines in place and in

space are complemented by contrasting curved, flowing
shapes and movement
 Puppets – Let the puppet conduct while movers imitate.
Develop from exploratory reaction exercises to
choreographed pieces.
 Soap Bubbles – Similar to following the movements of a
puppet. Follow the movement of a bubble…rising,
floating, sinking, bursting. Solo and group movements
could be explored and accompanied with vocal sounds…
Ahhhhhhhh….ohhhhh…ooooooooo and pop!
 Visual Images as a
Starting Point
Begin by observing various elements: form, ornamentation, line in:
 Architecture provide possible stimuli: shapes of bridges, arches,
streets, walls
 Nature design, shape, curved/angular, texture. For example,
leaves or shells.
 Start with individual exploration before working in pairs or small
groups.
 How will movements reflect the design, shape, and size of the object?

 What form will be used to “frame” simple compositions?

 What texture (moving in unison, canon, individually, or in

combinations)?
 Activities
Designs in Space
 Walking throughout the space, exploring the floor
surface and dimension for our movement class. A
leader with a “sound signal” calls out pathways for
everyone to walk: zig-zag, spiral, straight, figure eight.
 When the “signal” is sounded, the students all
surround the person who has the instrument.
 A new leader now decides the pathway and takes the
sound-signal moving with the students in the room.
 Repeat several times.
 Activities
Designs in Poetry
Seeds Secret

by Constance Levy

from A Tree Place and Other Poems

Sipping,

Stretching,
Seeds,
Anchoring
Small as grains of sand How they break to the light
And hankering for
Conspired with the earth Like roots of green
Up;
In deep, dark places Periscopes

Secretly sipping Sneaking their first

 Activities
Designs in Poetry
  Process:
 Read “Seed Secrets” … unison or divide into groups
 Add gestures while reading to begin.
 Develop accompaniment that serves as a sound carpet
 Unpitched percussion
 melodic ostinato
 Talk about the movement possibilities in the poem:
 What words/images inspire movement?
 What kinds of levels?
 What shapes?
 What pathways?
 Small groups create interpretive movement pieces.
 Perform with instruments
 Activities
Mirroring
 Search for songs that indicate good clear phrase
structure.
 Have students partner and mirror each other,
drawing phrases with hands and body.
 Group students in groups of four, have students
mirror each other, passing the responsibility
without verbal cues.
 Activities
Rhythmic Speech
 Search for poems that have some relationship to movement (actions,
traveling in time and space, energy, tempi, etc.) Folk materials –
rhymes, riddles, proverbs, stories – offer unlimited possibilities for
exploring musical elements in the elementary classroom
 Speaking the poem is an excellent starting point. Take time to allow the
children to explore the possibilities that develop from imagining the
movement.
 Let children improvise their own pulse-keeping movements, or let one
child lead while other follow. Tap into the drama as children moving
freely to become familiar with the overall structure.
 Unify over a common pulse and develop a feeling for form. Changing
movements on the phrase or “mid-point” can lead to simple movement
pieces.
 Activities
Rhythmic Speech

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester

In a shower of rain.

He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle

And never went there again

 Activities
Body Percussion
 Begin with one level (clapping first) then two (clap-pat) etc.

 If using all four levels, keep the rhythms very simple (such as
the beat).
 Play difficult patterns on clap or pat.

 Encourage hand alternation as early as 2 nd grade.

 Avoid awkward shifts from level to level. Moving in a

sequence (clap-pat-snap) is easier than a disjoint sequence
(clap-pat-snap).
 Develop musicianship…”Play your body like an instrument,”
using accents, dynamic levels, and a variety of timbres.