LESSON PLAN: Stairway to Singing
Objective
Students will use a staircase for singing steps and leaps, harmonizing and vocal improvisation.
Resources
A staircase and any pitched instrument
Procedures
- Teacher will play an ascending major scale on a pitched instrument and practice singing the pitches with the class, using numbers.
- Depending on the amount of steps available, teachers will then sing notes as they ascend the staircase, with each step representing a step in the scale. Then they will descend the staircase and sing the same pitches in the opposite order.
- In groups of 2-3, students will then try to ascend and descend the staircase while the teacher sings along or accompanies on an instrument.
- Next the teacher will demonstrate leaps. For instance, the teacher can sing and step 1-3-5-3-1. Students will repeat while the teacher sings along or accompanies the leaps on an instrument.
- Finally, the teacher will improvise a melody on the steps. For example, they will sing and step 1-2-3-2-3-4-3-4-5-4-3-2-1. Students will go next, improvising any combination of ascending and descending notes. For this task, having an accompaniment instrument is important so that the teacher can provide the student who is improvising with the correct pitches. Partners can observe, noting which pitches the student sang correctly.
Extension
Many additional topics can be explored on the singing staircase, including harmonizing, pentatonic scale and major vs. minor scales.
National Core Arts Standards (Music)
Anchor Standard #5: Develop and refine artistic work for presentation. Example: MU:Pr5.1.3b – Rehearse to refine technical accuracy, expressive qualities and identified performance challenges. Anchor Standard #1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.