Lorelei Batislaong | Be More than a Tree © | FMEA PD Conference Tampa | Jan 2018 | p.1

Be More than a Tree: Creating Meaningful Movement in the Orff Classroom

COMBINING ELEMENTS of melody and creative movement Lorelei Batislaong

Center for Music Learning, Butler School of Music The University of Texas at Austin

lorelei.batislaong@utexas.edu

Lorelei Batislaong | Be More than a Tree © | FMEA PD Conference Tampa | Jan 2018 | p.2

Connect intentionality with motion Not overly concerned with the execution of movement but expressing the characteristics of movement The act of intentionality with body connects to creating style in music [Warner Archive Instant]. (2017, April 27). Summer Stock (1950) – Gene Kelly Solo Dance [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Y0tnHNYpRG8

The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes

• Divide into small groups (instrument players, movers)

Instrument Player Small Group Materials: melody worksheet pencil melodic instrument (recorder, voice, barred instrument) UPP instrument Objective: Compose a 16-beat melody in G la-pentatonic using elemental building block motifs of composition.

Lorelei Batislaong | Be More than a Tree © | FMEA PD Conference Tampa | Jan 2018 | p.3

• Select a rhythm pattern and compose a 16-beat melody using motifs as a guide • Create a rhythmic ostinato on UPP instruments to accompany the melody • Teacher plays a unifying rhythm on a neutral skin instrument Prepare for share out: Perform group’s 16 beat composition with UPP instrument

Creative Movement Small Group Materials: poem card bordun worksheet bass bordun instrument Objective: Drawing movement inspiration from excerpts of a poem, use a 16-beat bordun pattern to accompany 16-beat movement phrase.

• Select a bass bordun • One student plays the bordun

Lorelei Batislaong | Be More than a Tree © | FMEA PD Conference Tampa | Jan 2018 | p.4

Excerpts from “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes Hughes, Langston (1925). The Weary Blues. New York City, NY: National Urban League.

• Creative movement small group selects one of the excerpts as the movement inspiration text • Use text and elements from the excerpt to inspire creative movement choices

• What words show action • What words evoke style of action • What words are outside of the box • What is the primary “effort” of the text? • Are there any secondary “efforts” in the text?

• Using the creative movement elemental efforts, select a form • For example – a b (8 beats each); a b a b (4 beats each); ect…

• Create a 16 beat creative movement phrase • Movement can be in unison or in parts

Prepare for share out: Perform group’s 16 beat creative movement phrase with bass bordun accompaniment.

Combining elements • Creative movement small groups select the instrumental group that best fits their movement • Combine groups and practice parts together

• Modify and edit as needed

Lorelei Batislaong | Be More than a Tree © | FMEA PD Conference Tampa | Jan 2018 | p.5

• Label each group either a, b, or c • As a class, create the form of the piece • As a class, explore the mediums used during creating phase:

1. Speech 2. Instruments 3. Creative movement

• As a class, create the large form of the piece, including interludes, ect…

Supplemental materials: Small group instruments – Part 1

(Supplemental materials con’t on next page)

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Small group instruments – Part 2

Small group instruments – Part 3

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Small group movement – Part 1

Small group movement – Part 2

Small group movement – Part 3