In this post the beginner recorder students are introduced to the eighth notes or running notes and the other note values are revised with the help of a story.
This is how I have successfully taught simple note values, that is, the quarter note (crotchet), half note (minim) and whole note (semibreve) (eighth notes are coming up in the next post…) to young children for many years. I hope that you may find some of these ideas helpful.
By sharing these videos for beginner recorder players and related worksheets I am hoping to help teachers and parents to save time.
Have you tried using YouTube videos to inspire and motivate your music students? I have, and it seems to be working.
When we were taught how to teach rhythm to children way back at university, I learned something amazing, namely, using words and phrases to help children experience the length of note values and the pattern of a rhythm! For even better understanding we were taught to let them experience note values and rhythm through movement.
Memory aids or mnemonics! How do you feel about them? I use them all the time with my students. I tell them little stories or draw a simple picture to explain and also to help them remember what they have learnt.
“Strange times...”, is probably a thought we have all had more than once these past months. The norm is no longer the norm, and when it comes to teaching, I suspect that many teachers, parents and learners around the world have had to get used to online teaching in some form or another.