MerryFeet

Merry Feet!

This is what we did with the Music Fairy next.

Go ahead and follow along, buddy, so you can play this game too.

First, make the cards for this game with whole, quarter and half notes.

Make as many cards as you wish. Draw one or a few notes on each card.

Maybe something like these:

Then, go to your piano, and put a few of these cards in a line, one after another to play a tune.

Remember, that you have to hold a whole note for a count of 4 (count, 1,2,3,4). (Remember our Note mobil?)

Go ahead, try it. Play any key and hold it for 4. If you like, you can count by tapping with your toes on the floor 4 times.

Go ahead, try it.

What word can you say on the count of 4? How about "SNO-W"? Or what about or Ho-me?

All right! Play another key, and this time hold it for 2, tapping with your toes on the floor 2 times.

What word can you say on the count of 2? I just thought of Grapes, or Lamb. . Can you think of another word?

Now play another key, and this time hold it for 1, tapping with your toes on the floor only 1 time.

What word can you say on the count of 1? Pet, Dad, Went, Win. Can you think of another short word?

All right! We are ready to play!

Put a few cards by the piano, and play whatever keys you like. But remember to count with your foot. Deal?

Go ahead - have fun!

Finished? How many tunes did you come up with?

Great!

Now, let's walk and clap with the music, like in this video:

Buddy, let's walk and clap my short song, I Like Playing Outside, and then Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Ready?

Here is the I Like Playing Outside tune:

How many claps do you get for the word "I"? Say it, and clap it: "I"

1?

How many claps do you get for the word "like"?

Also 1? That is correct.

What about "Pla-ying" - how many claps?

2? Yes!

"O-ut-side"?

3 claps?

"Side" is longer than "I", correct?

Buddy,

let us try to color notes for Mary Had A Little Lamb.

"Ma-ry Had A Li-ttle" - are these all 1's or quarter notes?

"Lamb" is a little longer - I count it for 2.

Try to do "it's fleece was white as snow".

Here is the whole song Mary Had a Little Lamb. Does it match your notes?

Mine matched Music Fairy's. But not completely.

"What are these lines between the notes?" I thought.

The Music Fairy guessed my question again!

"Wonder about those straight lines between the notes?" she asked me.

"Yes", I replied. What are they?

"These lines are called music bar lines, and help you read sheet music, by separating notes into what is called bars.

Bars are like sentences - you read one bar at a time.

How many quarter notes are in the first bar?

4 - that is correct. How about the next bar, which has 2 quarter notes and one half note? What count do you get for this bar: 3 or 4? 2 from 2 quarter notes, and 2 from the half note? How much is that (2 + 2)?

4 again!

That will be the time signature for the Mary Had A Little Lamb tune then: 4/4 or 4 quarters."

This is what the Music Fairy told me to do next.

"All you have to do is, either march, walk, or walk and hop, move fast or slow".

"If you see a dot “.” next to a note on these cards, you have to hop on one foot. Deal?"

"A dot?" I don't see any dots in the Mary Had A Little Lamb.", I said in surprise.

"Very good, Joseph! exclaimed the Music Fairy. "I tricked you before. I wrote Mary Had A Little Lamb simpler for you.

In the real song, when you sing "Ma-ry", "Ma" is a little longer then "ry".

So then, you need to step for "Ma" and hop for the dot. Look at the new card I made for you.

.”