Integrating Blue Jello Rhythms with the World Music Drumming Curriculum by Will Schmid

     The following is a collection of games focused on reading rhythms.  These games can be used for review, warm up, or larger sections class time.  All of these can be used with the World Music Drumming Curriculum.

1.  Hello Jello on the Drums

Goals:  Keep a steady beat, learn names, learn blue jello rhythms, practice drum technique

Materials:  Drums, blue jello word cards

Play:  Students and teacher sit in a circle with drums. A student says his/her name followed by a blue jello word as their sur name. Everyone echo’s the student while playing the rhythm of the blue jello word. Only high sounds should be used the first few times played.

Example:  Student: “Elizabeth blue”

                    Everyone:  “Elizabeth blue” (blue is played as one high sound on the drum)

Only “blue” is used the first time around the circle. “jel-lo” the second time and “rest” the third time. Students are encouraged to come in on the beat. After the first three rounds students are given a choice. Before the rhythm circle begins ask students to choose which blue jello word they will use as their sur name. More rhythm choices are added as students gain experience. The first time this game is played with sound only.  Later the blue jello word cards can be laid out on the floor as a visual reference for students as they choose their rhythm sur name. 6/8 vocabulary can also be used.

2. WMD Ensemble Dictation with blue jello puzzle

Goals:  To transcribe familiar WMD ensembles into musical notation and read rhythms. 

Materials:   blue jello puzzle

Play:  Students will use blue jello puzzle pieces to write the rhythms of the WMD Ensembles.  This can be done in small groups by instrument.  When all parts are complete students can line them up in score order.  Using the complete score students can then say, clap or play their parts.

Teacher should discuss with students where the spaces in each line fall and how they are complementary with each other. Having a visual reference of complementary rhythms will aid students in creating their own complementary rhythm ensembles.

Ensemble 1 by Will Schmid:  Low Drum, High Drum and Shekere rhythms

3. Writing Complementary Rhythms

Goals:  To create complementary rhythms within a percussion ensemble.

Materials:  real rhythm cards, notes and rests cards, or blue jello word cards

Play:  Students will break into small groups of 3-5 students.  Students will combine their knowledge of WMD ensembles and their understanding of complementary rhythms with the blue jello vocabulary to create original complementary rhythms. 

One student will play the beat or timeline.  This student will find the correct real rhythm cards and write them out.  Then they can begin and repeat their rhythm verbally. Other students in the group will enter with a new rhythm one at a time. Once each student decides on a rhythm they will use the real rhythm cards to write out their line of the score. Students should begin with high sounds only. They can use magic notes to mark high and low sounds if both are being used (green and Blue work well, green is low for the grass and blue is high for the sky).  When the score is complete they can practice on instruments and share with the class.  Since the scores will be written out the whole class may want to try each others ensembles either verbally, with instruments or both. 

 Example:

  Complementary Rhythms written with real rhythm cards       

4. Switching Rhythms on Instruments

Goals:  To recognize and perform different combinations of notes and rests and feel how those of the same value and those of unequal value relate to each other.  

Materials:  blue jello word cards, instruments

Play:  Students are divided into 2 groups (can do 3 later as students gain experience).  Each group will follow a different progression of note cards. The teacher shows the first card for each group and leads them in to begin saying and playing the rhythm (for more advanced students they should say the words in their heads while they play without sound). When it is time to switch cards each group will see the new card as it is laid down on top of the old.  They can begin to think this new rhythm while they continue to play the original one.  They will switch to the new rhythm after the teacher gives two snaps cue.  It works well when each group ends on a “rest” card.  Finally all cards are taken away and the final two snaps means fine.  This works well on drums, recorders, and xylophones where melodies can be improvised on designated pitches or the pentatonic scale while playing rhythms.

Example:  1.See “blue” 2. Hear two snaps 3. Play “blue” 4. See “jel-lo” and think it but continue to play “blue” 5. Hear “snap snap” 6. Play “jel-lo”

5. Daily Do with Percussion Ensemble                

Daily Do, a singing exercise found in the Music Mind Games curriculum. Solfege and hand signs are used with a specific melodic pattern to learn and practice pitch, intervals, major and minor scale forms, and triads.  Students learn this exercise in small increments through an oral tradition without any visual notation. Once it is learned in its completion there are many variations of performing Daily Do that can be used to practice specific skills. One of the activities I have provided will demonstrate how using material from the WMD curriculum in conjunction with Daily Do will create fun and challenging variations for students. 

Goal: To practice singing and playing instruments

Materials:  Instruments

Play:  Students will accompany Daily Do with familiar WMD ensembles. This will give them practice singing something familiar and playing something familiar at the same time.  This may also be an opportunity to review an ensemble not played in the last few classes. Students may wish to create an original ensemble to be played with Daily Do. This presents another opportunity to practice complementary rhythms and composition.

*** This works particularly well with the arrangement of Daily Do by Gitte Chren Juni***