Hopping On Rhythm Squares

About:

Once Students have played and done the Balloon Conductor and Balloon Conductor-Student Led, then this game builds on those skills and takes them to more specificity creating the feeling of a groove and using particular notes.

Purpose of this Lesson:

Reinforce students to play with clean, starts and stops.

Help students to experience positive excitement

Help students develop centerness while leading. Being neither collapsed with shyness or impulsive with too much sympathetic charge.

Guide students to play stable rhythms as opposed to unstable or chaotic rhythms.

Develop hand eye coordination particularly seeing a note/symbol, and playing a specific part of the drum.

Develop attention skills. Encourage and develop calm focused attention so that paying attention becomes more of a game. This is the same principal as "Simon Says".

Prerequisite:

Ballon Conductor - Students can stop on a visual signal

Balloon Conductor - Student Led: Students can Call a 'Sticks Ready', lead rhythms through their movement, and Call a 'Sticks asleep'.

Directions:

Level 1 - Dot and Blank

Layed out two rhythm squares on the floor - a dot and a blank square.

Have assistant as first conductor. He/She calls "Sticks Ready".

Conductor hops between the two square and can also repeatedly hop on one square.

Leader models playing the note represented by the symbol that the 'conductor' hops on:
- Dot- center of the drum, or - Blank square- sticks ready/ no sound.

Model playing a steady beat.

Once the students seem to understand the game, have them all play the notes that the conductor is hopping on.

Glitches:

Student(s) don't play one note per hop or play the right note.

Acknowledge and Energize a student who did stop on time. "Wow its really cool how you were able to stop when I caught the ball even when some students were not able to. And sometimes you can ask that student, "How did you do that?"
Note- by leading with giving attention to what was working, ( the student who played the notes right,) you are generally invoking the ventral vagal response in the group.

Level 2 - Dot, Circle and a Blank

Layed out three rhythm squares on the floor - a circle, a dot and a blank square.

Have assistant as first conductor. He/She calls "Sticks Ready".

Conductor hops between the three square and can also repeatedly hop on one square and also set up patterns by moving between the squares.

Leader models playing the note represented by the symbol that the conductor hops on:
Dot- Center of the drum,
Circle- edge,
Blank square- sticks ready/ no sound

Have all the students play as the conductor hopes on the rhythm squares.

Level 3 - Dot, Circle, Rest and a Line

Have assistant as first conductor. He/She calls "Sticks Ready".

Conductor hops between the three square and can also repeatedly hop on one square and also set up patterns by moving between the squares.

Leader models playing the note represented by the symbol that the conductor hops on:
Dot - Center of the drum,
Circle - edge,
Line - play the side of the bucket drum,
Blank square- sticks ready/ no sound

Have all the students play as the conductor hopes on the rhythm squares.

Glitches:

Student(s) continuing to play while group has stopped.

Other students will usually clammer in and say "Hey, I stopped too." "Great if you stopped on time raise your hand. Give your self a pat on the back." Let's do it again. If a student fail to stop this time- do a loose your instrument reset".

Take Over the Problem Have Dragon make the mistakes and ask the class members to comment on his actions.

Needs Met:

Mastery- Students develop their attentions skills.

Novelty -

Connection- Students can develop more of a sense of becoming part a team.

Neuroscience and Psycho-Physiology Basis:

Neuro-associative Conditioning

Activating the Sympathetic System to get to the Social Engagement System

Metaphor to Explore:

Leadership- What does a good leader do?

What's it like when everyone works together?

Extensions:

Walking Rhythm Squares

Conducting Rumbles

Two Balloon Conductors

Rumble while players Toss an the imaginary ball

Dying Cockroach / Engine Trouble

Performance This game can be used part of a performance.