Trick or Treat
What's new in the Library for October?
Spooky happenings are afoot in this month’s resources. We have been having some Halloween fun at Figurenotes HQ with potions and spells, spooky stories, and famous theme tunes.
Transition Games
If there is one thing about Figurenotes that makes teachers a little fearful (’tis the season, after all), it is transitioning between stages. Because the notation is so literal and self-explanatory in stages 1 and 2, people often overcomplicate the switch to stage 3.
Games are our number one route. They make everything more fun and take the fear out of learning something new. We also recommend playing much easier pieces while moving to the next stage of Figurenotes notation, as well as having multiple stages on the music stand to compare.
In our latest transition worksheet, Cosmo the potion brewer needs help sorting the potion room for Halloween. Can your musicians help by labelling the potions with the correct note names? Can they find the correct keys on the piano for each potion bottle? How about writing the potion mixes on a stave, or perhaps brewing spells in a cauldron? Matching and moving from colours to letters for each note will help musical wizards and witches learn to move beyond Figurenotes notation.
Composition and Creative Play
Halloween is made for spooky storytelling. Explore your instrument by making the spookiest and strangest sounds you can. This is a great excuse to make all the sounds you are normally discouraged from making – scratchy bows, ghosty howling sounds, tapping, screeching, you name it!
Develop creativity in both storytelling and musicality by using our template to write and soundtrack a spooky Halloween tale. This can be done individually, or in bigger groups for a whole orchestra of spooky sounds!
Swing Rhythms
Or if you just want something fun to play, have a go at the Addams Family theme tune. Explore swing rhythms to get the proper feel of the tune, but it is fine to have a go with straight quavers too. This can be turned into a rhythm and pulse exercise by getting your group to click, clap, or tap in time together too.
As ever, you can request resources using our Wish List form.
Training
To get the most out of your free resources, join us for November’s online training. Explore rhythm, composition, and group work over 3 sessions. We keep groups small to maximise interaction and discussion, and you’ll get a 1:1 follow-up session too. No jump scares here! Student discount is available. Find out more in the training section of our website.
