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Bouncing beat
Pick up the Noisy Things and drop them from different heights with different timings to create a bouncing rhythm. You can stop a creature with its X button.
change the sounds with the switch in the top right. In the settings you can set how many creatures there are.
Discussion points
- What do the sounds make you think of?
- Which sound is your favourite? Why?
- What happens to the speed of the monsters when they are dropped from up high or down low?
- What happens when you change the height and number of monsters?
- Can you keep in time to the pulse using claps?
- Can you hum along to the rhythm?
- What do the sounds remind you of?
- Create a simple rhythm, can you keep in time to this using claps?
- How does changing the tempo (speed) affect the pulse (beat)?
- What would you name the piece of music you have created?
Teaching tips:
Encourage children to listen to and describe the sounds and effect when the Noisy Things are dropped from different heights. What do they notice?
Children could try and clap their hands or jump up and down in time to the pulse of the Noisy Things at each level in turn. Can they see how their movements need to slow down and speed up to suit the tempo?
Call and response: Model clapping a simple rhythm and see if children can copy it back to you or choose a child to be the ‘leader’ and see if others can copy their rhythm.
Offer children a selection of percussion instruments and display the words ‘slow’ and ‘fast’. Point to one and then the other, see if children can play their instrument accordingly. Swap between the two.
Children could try and clap their hands or jump up and down in time to the pulse of the Noisy Things at each level in turn. Can they see how their movements need to slow down and speed up to suit the tempo?
Call and response: Model clapping a simple rhythm and see if children can copy it back to you or choose a child to be the ‘leader’ and see if others can copy their rhythm.
Offer children a selection of percussion instruments and display the words ‘slow’ and ‘fast’. Point to one and then the other, see if children can play their instrument accordingly. Swap between the two.
Encourage children to listen to and describe the sounds and effect when the monsters are dropped from different heights. What do they notice?
Go through each level in turn and see if children can join in with each pulse using their bodies to tap or clap.
Discuss the texture of the music (the layers of sound in music, how they are combined to create a piece of music) and how it changes when more creatures are added. The music might be light when only a few creatures are being played slowly or heavy if there are multiple creatures moving quickly.
See if they can note the changing pulse and rhythm when creatures are added and changed.
Children could play some untuned instruments or body percussion to practise experimenting with pulse, rhythm and tempo (speed).
Will children have many instruments playing quickly to create a heavy texture, or fewer instruments playing slowly to produce a piece of music with a light texture?
Pair with ‘Cog composer’ for more rhythmic practice.
Go through each level in turn and see if children can join in with each pulse using their bodies to tap or clap.
Discuss the texture of the music (the layers of sound in music, how they are combined to create a piece of music) and how it changes when more creatures are added. The music might be light when only a few creatures are being played slowly or heavy if there are multiple creatures moving quickly.
See if they can note the changing pulse and rhythm when creatures are added and changed.
Children could play some untuned instruments or body percussion to practise experimenting with pulse, rhythm and tempo (speed).
Will children have many instruments playing quickly to create a heavy texture, or fewer instruments playing slowly to produce a piece of music with a light texture?
Pair with ‘Cog composer’ for more rhythmic practice.
Begin by establishing that the higher a creature is dropped from, the slower the pulse. Then explain that dropping from halfway produces a pulse twice as quick as dropping from full height, and that dropping from the lowest mark is four times quicker. This will aid understanding of musical notation and note duration.
Encourage children to count in fours along with the pulse to create a regular ‘heartbeat’. Can they spot how the pulse and rhythm change when creatures are changed or added and change their counting accordingly? Change the creatures and see if children can tap their feet to the pulse and then clap along with the rhythm. Or do this with the class split in half.
Try allocating different instruments to different coloured creatures and see if children can play along. With this activity, less is more, so perhaps begin with just four or five creatures at a slow tempo and then slowly increase the amounts of creatures and instruments played.
This could be done as a whole class or allow children to work in small groups, first creating their own composition with the creatures and then playing along to match it.
Progress onto ‘Cog composer’ for more making elaborate rhythmic sequences.
Encourage children to count in fours along with the pulse to create a regular ‘heartbeat’. Can they spot how the pulse and rhythm change when creatures are changed or added and change their counting accordingly? Change the creatures and see if children can tap their feet to the pulse and then clap along with the rhythm. Or do this with the class split in half.
Try allocating different instruments to different coloured creatures and see if children can play along. With this activity, less is more, so perhaps begin with just four or five creatures at a slow tempo and then slowly increase the amounts of creatures and instruments played.
This could be done as a whole class or allow children to work in small groups, first creating their own composition with the creatures and then playing along to match it.
Progress onto ‘Cog composer’ for more making elaborate rhythmic sequences.
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