1. Draw a large clock face on the board using short lines for the minutes and a longer line for the hours. {show no numbers} Ask the students,
- “What does this look like to you?” Keep asking and wait for the right answer!
- “What does a clock measure?” {wait, Time}
- “How does the clock measure time?” {wait, Seconds, Minutes, Hours}
- “How does it group these?” {wait, Ones, Fives}
2. Draw a time-line using short lines for four (4) counts and a longer line for every fifth count, for a total of 60 counts. It should look like number one (1) above but laid out straight, or a clock face made straight.
- “What does this look like?” {wait, “a clock on it’s side,” or something close. You may need to write the numbers of the hours above the longer lines as a hint.} Explain that,
- “This is what it looks like when we measure time in music.”
- “We measure music in all numbers of groups.”
- “This example would be grouped in four with the long lines showing us how the time is being grouped.” Show the number of smaller lines = 4.
- “We call each of these smaller lines beats.” While drawing an ‘X’ under each small line, encourage the student’s to say the word ‘beat’ with each ‘X.’
- “Let’s count these beats.”
3. With the class counting along, put the number of each beat under each short line. When passing the fifth long line say “bar.” At the end draw another bar and say,
- “Raise you’re hand if you know what that might mean.” {STOP.}
- What do the two bars mean?” {Stop} Draw a stop sign.
4. Erase the numbers and do it again with the students counting along.
5. Get a yardstick, and while showing the yardstick ask,
- “What is the barline doing?” {may need to hold up yardstick, Measuring}
- “So, the barline is…” {show the yardstick, measuring}
- “What is the barline measuring?” {point to beats, beats}.
- “In this example how are the beats being measured?” {fours}
- “In music we can measure beats in any number. The most common groups are in 2 {show example with short and long lines}, or 3 {show example}, or 4 like we did first.” {point to first example}
- “At the beginning of every song there are two numbers, one on top, and, one on the bottom.” {draw a number 4 sitting on top of an ‘X’}
- “This top number tells us how the barlines are measuring the beats.”
6. Using the examples on the board,
- “What would the top number be in this example?” “This one”” “This one?”
- “We also have a name for the space between each barline. What did we say the barlines are doing?” {Measuring beats}
- “We call the space between each barline, a measure. Each measure groups time in so many beats.”
- “How many measures are in this example on the board?” “This one?” “This one?”
7. Get songbook or sheets of music.
- “When I call a page number, you find the song. When I say Show me, you hold up fingers to show how the beats have been measured in the song.”
8. Assessments:
- Where did you find the answer?
- Which number was it?
- Where does the measuring end?
- How many measures are in this song?
- How have the beats been measured in most of the songs? {“That’s why we will sometimes see the letter “C” where the numbers are. It is telling us the beats have been measured in 4’s which is most “COMMON.”}
- How many beats does the “C” stand for?