Fourth Grade Handchimes Once a week the fourth graders are split into two different groups. One group goes to handchimes with Mrs. Gorr, and the other group goes to Mr. Lehigh to play recorders. In the middle of the year, the classes switch.
The primary objective for these classes is to enhance each student's ability to read music and make music with instruments. Students who take handchimes will have several opportunities within the semester to perform as a group. Incorporating handchimes in music reinforces certain musical skills and provides additional benefits:
The primary objective for these classes is to enhance each student's ability to read music and make music with instruments. Students who take handchimes will have several opportunities within the semester to perform as a group. Incorporating handchimes in music reinforces certain musical skills and provides additional benefits:
- They combine visual, aural, and movement stimuli, making handchime performance a satisfying experience for many students.
- Musical elements like rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, dynamics, timbre, and form can easily be isolated, studied, and experienced.
- Concepts such as duration and pitch are visually reinforced using handchimes.
- Students with varying levels of musical experience and physical coordination can quickly succeed, and performance difficulty can be increased in successive steps.