Rhythm and Musical Pie

There are many ways to teach children the basic elements of rhythm. With the use of audio and visual aids, children grasp concepts faster and remember them easier through association.

Paper, pencils, a wooden spoon to tap out rhythms

Explain: Today we are going to learn how pies can be musical and that every kind of pie has its own special ingredient: RHYTHM (Write RHYTHM on the blackboard)

Explain: There are many kinds of pie in this world but before we talk about your favorite, let’s look at the word, pie.

Do: Clap while speaking the word four times: pie, pie, pie, pie and ask children to clap with you.

Explain: The word, pie, has only one syllable and that rhythm can be compared to a quarter note.

A quarter note looks like this:

Ask: What kind of pie has the same rhythm as the word, "pie"? (peach pie, meat pie)

Explain: Let's talk more about the different kinds of pie and their rhythm patterns.

Explain: I have a favorite kind of pie and as I tap out the rhythm, see if you can guess the name?

● Tap the rhythm for strāw-ber-ry pie

● How many syllables are there in the word, strawberry? (3)

● Do the syllables for strawberry move faster or slower than the word, pie? (faster)

● Have children clap the rhythm together.

Ask: What did you notice about the rhythm? (Some syllables move faster.)

● “Straw” has the same rhythm as “pie,” but “ber-ry” has two syllables so they move faster; clap to demonstrate.

● Ask children to think of another kind of pie that has the same rhythm as strawberry pie. If necessary, show photos of other kinds of pie.

Explain: When we speak, there are highs and lows in our voice patterns. Without those inflections, language would not be very interesting and neither would music.

Do: Speak in a monotone voice while saying each syllable slowly without pausing: "If we could take the rhy-thm a-way from words they would be ve-ry bor-ing to lis-ten to."

Ask: How would you like to hear everyone speak that way?

Explain: In normal speech, some words move faster and some move slower and the same is true with music.

• Rhythm is a very important element of music.
• Melody and rhythm go hand in hand and together they make music more interesting.

Eighth notes move twice as fast as quarter notes and usually get 1/2 count.

• Show photo of 8th notes
• Explain that 8th notes have a flag which makes them move faster
• Explain that two 8th notes equal one quarter

Explain: We just talked about syllables that move faster but we also have some that move slower.

• Clap the rhythm for apple pie.
• Can you guess what kind of pie I was clapping? Remember, there is one note for every syllable.
• Can you guess other kinds of pie that have the same rhythm pattern? (lemon, pumpkin, cherry)

Explain: Has anyone every eaten mince meat pie or pizza pie?

Ask: Which kind of musical pie has the same rhythm? (apple, lemon, pumpkin)

Explain: Chocolate pie has more syllables than some other types of pie.

• Clap out the rhythm.
• Have the children clap back the rhythm.
• How many syllables are the word, "chocolate?" (3)

Explain: Chocolate pie has three syllables in one word. In other words, there are three notes for just one count.

• Have the children clap the rhythm for "pie" while you clap the rhythm for "chocolate".
• Have the children clap the rhythm for "chocolate" while you clap the rhythm for "pie."

Explain: When three notes move to one count, this is called a "triplet" which means three.

• Show triplet
• Have children write out a triplet and explain a "3" is written above the grouping of notes.

Ask: Can you think of another kind of pie that has the same rhythm as chocolate? (coconut)

Explain: We have talked about one, two, and three syllable words, but there is one more we need to learn about.

• Show picture of huckleberry pie.

Explain: Not everyone might know what huckleberry pie is. Huckleberry pie looks a lot like blueberry pie. However, the berries are more tart. When I was young, I used to pick huckleberries when went to Canada. We would take them back to my grandmother's house and she would make jam, syrup, or huckleberry pie with the fruit.

Do: Clap the rhythm: 4 sixteenth notes

Ask: How many syllables do we have? (huck-le-ber-ry has 4 syllables and 4 notes move to one count (quarter).

Explain: These are called 16th notes.

• 16th notes have two flags instead of one and they move even faster.
• Show picture of 16th notes

• Follow the same steps when naming other kinds of pie.
• Clap out rhythms and have children guess the name of the pie,
• Let children take turns clapping the name of their favorite pie.
• Show photos of pie and have them clap the name in rhythm.
• Examples are shown below with rhythm patterns.
• Have the children clap continuously the rhythm of "pie" (quarter note) while you say the names of pies of other kinds.

Music has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. I have many wonderful memories as a child as I grew up with a very musical mother who was my inspiration. As I sat on her lap and placed my fingers on top of hers while she played the piano, we sang songs such as "Would you like to swing on a star . . . carry moonbeams home in a jar . . " or "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen."

At the age of 5, I began taking piano lessons and it became my passion in life. I loved to practice so much my mother had to tell me to stop because I could play for hours. If I am ever discouraged, I turn to music. It lifts my soul and helps me to soar!

Through the years, I have taught music on many levels and whenever my grandchildren come to visit, I love teach them about music. Music fills my life, buoys me up, and I want everyone I know to love and appreciate it as I do. Therefore, anything I can do to instill a desire to learn is my motivation for sharing and writing hub ages. Music allows me to express my feelings in a way that words can never speak. Music IS my legacy!

World on a String and Kitchen Parade, by Kathleen Holyoak, were written in the effort to spark the imagination of young children and help them to discover the magic of music through rhythm and song.

"Flowers in Heaven," is one of the many children's songs by Kathleen Holyoak