Rhythm Sticks In Elementary And Middle School Music

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Rhythm sticks are used in many elementary and middle school music programs to help children develop coordination and a basic understanding of musical rhythm and notation and to improve their rhythmic memory and their ability to detect a pulse in music. Music exercises help to develop spatial reasoning skills and enable the students to learn about the basic elements of music. Physical coordination also improves from the use of rhythm sticks, since both hands interact in precise and controlled movements.

Beat

Rhythm sticks provide a great alternative to clapping. Young children, and even some adults, tire quickly and may develop sore hands from clapping during extended rhythm training sessions. Having students clack two rhythm sticks together enables the teacher to monitor the classroom performance visually and aurally. A good activity for promoting the ability to identify a rhythmic pulse, also known as a beat, is to play or sing a song and guide the class in identifying the pulse by visually showing them the beat. The teacher can stand in front of the classroom and beat the pulse of the music with rhythm sticks, helping the students learn to identify the beat both visually and aurally. …show more content…

When students see a quarter note, they should clack their rhythm sticks together a single time. A quarter note looks like a dark, filled-in circle with a stem coming off the side. The teacher must explain that half notes look like quarter notes that are empty inside the note head, and whole notes look like half notes without a stem. Half notes hold for two beats, while whole notes hold for four. Demonstrate how to play these note values with rhythm sticks by playing each note value for the class. To indicate a half note, clack the rhythm sticks and hold them together, waiting until after the last beat of the half note to separate them. Students must mimic the teacher's actions after learning the note

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