Create a DVD in the Style of “STOMP” When my students are in 4th grade, they make a “STOMP” DVD. This is one of their favorite parts of 4th grade music, and I enjoy seeing how creative they can get. First, we watch clips of the real STOMP group, and discuss how they make music with items that are not “typical” musical instruments, but everyday objects such as pots and pans, basketballs, or brooms. Then the students divide into groups and brainstorm ideas of how they could create their own STOMP scene. Each group picks a place around our school, and after getting teacher approval begin creating their scene. They decide on “instruments” with the rule that they need to be objects that would make sense in the room (e.g., hockey sticks in the gym, woodchips on the playground). Then the students begin creating rhythmic patterns and decide how they want their patterns to be per- formed (e.g., all play the same patterns at the same time, all play different patterns at the same time, all play their patterns in a round). The students then practice fitting their patterns together.
Once they have perfected their patterns and know how they want their scene performed, I take each group to their place around the school, and we videotape them. I edit the scenes in iMovie and create a DVD that the students are able to take home as a memento of their creation. Every year I am amazed at their creativity and ability to work as a group to create their STOMP scenes.
These ideas are only a few of the many ways I incorporate composition in my classroom. I feel that these types of activi- ties are important for so many reasons. My students are excited to compose because they are able to use their creativity and be challenged in ways that many of them have not been challenged before. So often we give our students songs to sing and instrument parts to play, but if this is all we do with them, they are just imitating and performing without needing to be aware of what they are performing. Composition activities challenge the students to create something using the musical knowledge they have and help their musical knowledge grow. Since there are so many different levels of composition, I am able to tailor the activities to not only challenge the students that understand and want more, but also allow those that may be struggling to be successful. Seeing the joy on my students’ faces when they create something they are proud of, witnessing their desire for more activities such as these, observing how excited they are to share what they’ve created with others, and the musicianship that grows and develops with these types of activities make them well worth the effort.
Yael Rothfeld holds undergraduate and masters degrees in music education from Michigan State University. She is in her tenth year of teaching at Thurston Elementary School in Ann Arbor, where she teaches preschool through fifth grade vocal/general music. She can be reached at
yaelrothfeld@gmail.com.
AUDITION DATES November 8, 2013
2013-14 “Educating Creative Minds Since 1854”
January 24, 2014 February 14, 2014 March 14, 2014
Undergraduate Degrees
Bachelor of Music Education- Vocal and Instrumental Bachelor of Music Performance Bachelor of Music Therapy Bachelor of Arts/Science in Music Bachelor of Arts/Science in Dance Minors in Musical Theater, Music, and Dance
Graduate Degrees Master of Music in Composition Master of Music in Education Master of Music in Performance Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy
Post-baccalaureate Programs n
www.emich.edu/musicdance emu.music@
emich.edu 734.487.4380
MME Now Online
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