My Good Old Man & Moustaches

Confession time: the first time I heard this song I thought there was NO way I would ever use it in my classroom.  And I thought the same thing of the Gallows Pole.  I am glad that I did start using them.  The kids LOVE these two songs.  They eat them up.  And it's nice to have them sing a song just for the sake of singing it rather than have a game be the focus (although we do a vocal recognition game with "My Good Old Man".

Here's the Song:

For the vocal recognition game, we simply have one student blind folded (or closing their eyes) and another student does the whispers by themselves. At the end, the blindfolded student must guess who the "spook" was.

I first use this song for low la and then bring it back when we learn tom-ti.  For that reason, the melodic slides are first and the rhythm slides are second. 

Here's the PowerPoint, it starts with lyric slides:

These are melodic preparation slides, they can also be used for a visual warm-up:

Then there are the "focused" melodic preparation slides, asking the students to hone in on the critical attributes of the new, unknown note (this goes through the whole song, these are just samples of the slides):

Next are the presentation and immediate practice slides:

When we bring this back, we start by reading the song compared to known rhythms.  In the first set of slides we're looking for where there needs to be a tie to make the rhythm match the words (this is written out in both stick notation and with note-heads):

Then we add the tie:

And after much preparation, we present the new rhythm:

And then we put it all together, reading the rhythm and melody simultaneously:

So, I don't know about your kids, but mine are OBSESSED with moustaches.  You know, it's the latest craze! :)  Well, I'm capitalizing on it.  My kiddos have standardized stated testing this month and I want them to have some relaxation but at the same time do activities in class that have musical integrity and allow us to continue with our curriculum.  SOOOOO, I created a "Stache" to Staff activity.  I thought the title was quite clever, lol!

So here's the idea behind the "Stache" to Staff, it works just like a stick notation to staff notation activity, but the solfa is written on moustaches. (you know, do the same activity a million different ways, practice, practice, practice!!)

Here are what the cards look like, you cut them out and the students match them.  They also put them in sequential order to match the song:

So, this got me thinking, how could I use this for other activities?   So, I created "Stache" rhythm and "Stache" melody cards.  I geared these towards 3-5 grade concepts, but I did include do and re in my melodic cards (the melodic cards are all set up so that you can play "Stache" to Staff with them)

The melodic cards are set up like above (but the cards within each melodic element with moustaches are numbered), where they are written out side by side with their match (and written both in stick notation and with note-heads).   With the rhythm cards, I wrote patterns in both stick notation and with note heads, but also numbered them so they would be easier to sort.  Here's a sample:

With the moustaches, here are some game ideas:

1. Mailbox game: for directions click here.
2. Steal the "Stache," Whole Group Game (this is similar to the slug bug game):
1. Taking turns with a pointer, a “representative” from each team comes up to the floor where all the “Staches” are scattered.  (You can also put magnets on them and put them on a magnetic board. This makes them visible for all  students, but tougher for the pointers to do this safely).  The teacher will sing or play a pattern, the first person to point the correct “Stache” earns that moustache for his/her team.  A new “representative” for each team comes up and another round is played.  Play continues until all the “Staches” have been collected. The team with the most slug moustaches at the end is the winner.
2. Levels of difficulty
   Easiest: the teacher sings the pattern on solfége.
   Medium: the teacher sing the pattern on “loo,” giving the starting solfa.
   Harder: the teacher plays the pattern on an instrument.
3. Steal the "Stache," Small Group game
1. This is played like the full group version of the game but with groups of 2-4.  Within each group, have the moustaches spread out on the floor.  The teacher performs a pattern and the groups try to find the card.  The teacher will give the number-letter code of the said card and students that were successful at finding that card earn that card.  The student with the most cards at the end wins the game for their group.  
   You can do a championship round afterwards where all the winners form one group and the students who did not win form other groups (this way they are still engaged in the process and getting more practice)
4. Memory/Matching game (this is great for center or your sub-tub)
1. This game is great for center or to leave in your substitute bin.  Simple print out two copies of the desired version of the game, cut the cards and have the students play it like the traditional memory game:
   1. Cards are face down on the ground
   2. Taking turns, the students turn over two cards at a time.  If they get a match, they get to collect that set of cards.  If they are not a match, they return the cards to face down and it’s the next players turn.
   3. Variation: using the staff cards, in order to make pairs the students must match the “Stache” to the staff in order to make a a pair.
5. “Stache” to Staff game
   The object of this game/assessment is for students to match the moustache with the stick solfa to the pitches on the staff.  I have included multiple cards sets, I would recommend using only one set and not starting with all 12 sets of cards. (6 sets or less would be a good number to introduce this activity)
   
   
   The PowerPoint for "My Good Old Man" can be found at my Teachers Pay Teachers store, as well as the "Moustache Melodies" and "Moustache Rhythms" games.  They are also sold in a bundled form with the melody cards, the rhythm cards and the "My Good Old Man" PDF/PowerPoint.  It'll save you about $2.50 this way!
   
   
   I hope you all have a GREAT week!  I have another concert (choir, tone-chimes and drum ensemble) on Wednesday this week), here we go!!