Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Richard Phelan
rap750ri@netzero.com
Austin T. Levy Primary School

TI:ME Technology Areas Addressed:

Electronic Musical Instruments
Sequencing

Level:

Elementary

Class:

General Music

Equipment:

Duration:

25 Minutes

Prior Knowledge and Skills:

1. Students have the ability to sing simple tunes.
2. Students have demonstrated an ability to clap a steady beat.

MENC Standards Addressed:

MENC 1: Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
MENC 2: Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

Materials:

1. Computer with Band in the Box installed and equipped with a sound card and speakers.
2. Midi keyboard hooked up to the computer.
3. Students.

Objectives:

1. The students will keep a steady beat on either the keyboard or by tapping fingers.
2. The students will accurately sing ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ while walking to the beat.

Procedures:

1. The teacher will have prepared an arrangement of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ using Band in a Box. After every 2 bars (eight beats) in the song, the teacher will insert 2 bars of just percussion (a 2 bar ‘fill’ if you want). So, to sing the song you would have..”twinkle, twinkle little star”…(now 8 beats of percussion)..then..”How I wonder what you are”…(now 8 more beats of percussion)..continue to end.

2. Set up the keyboard to midi channel 10 to access the percussion patch of your sound card, through Band in a Box. Choose 4 percussion instruments not common to a drum set (i.e. latin percussion). Mark the corresponding keys on the keyboard with different colored squares, or stickers.

3. Using Band in a Box for accompaniment, the students will sing the new arrangement of “twinkle, twinkle”. (5 min)

4. Demonstrate the procedure students will use. Students must alternate. 4 students will go to the keyboard (which is set to midi channel 10 to access the percussion patch of your sound card, through Band in a Box). Have each student choose a key (sticker or color) to play. The rest of the students can stand around the room. (5 min)

5. When you start the accompaniment, ALL students will sing. The students at the keyboard will press their chosen keys and play a steady beat to the whole song. The students standing around the room will tap their fingers while singing (bars 1,2,5,6,9,10 etc.). During bars 3,4,7,8,etc. (percussion sounds only) the standing students will take 8 steps to the steady beat, in any direction. At the end of the song, switch students and repeat until all have had a turn. (15 min)

Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated, by teacher observation, on ability to keep the steady beat and performing the song.

Follow Up:

Later on, the 4 students at the keyboard could each play a different note value, i.e. 1 play whole notes, 1 play half notes, then quarter’s and eighth’s.