What Are You Going to Do with All that Space??

I get asked this question frequently when people walk into my room for the first time.  My response is usually we are going to move!!  A big part of the Orff-Schulwerk Method is movement.  Movement can be anything from square dances to abstract interpretations of a piece of music to using our body to "feel" musical concepts.  In all grades this week we are doing a bit of steady beat review.  Steady beat is a foundational concept for music and movement.  It's the pulse of the music; sort of like a heartbeat.  

In 4th grade, we played a name game in which students kept the steady beat with tennis balls. They had to bounce the ball to the half note beat the whole entire time we played the game. Using the ball helped us to feel the beat and respond to it with our bodies in a new way.  And, for the most part, the tennis balls didn't get loose in the room!  

Don't you just love all that concentration??