Category: Music Therapy

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Musical Story – Rumble in the Jungle 

Today’s musical story is going to be ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz. All of their books lend to becoming music very easily because of their rhyming, rhythmic patterns.

Here is a jungle soundscape from YouTube for you to listen to after hearing the story if you would like to. Can you hear or see any of the animals from the story in the soundscape? Which animal is your favourite?

https://youtu.be/qy-tPpdVdh0

Make Your Own Kind of Music – The Whole Song 

Let’s try and put the whole song together today! Good luck and we can’t wait to sing this with you when we are all back together at Makaton Choir!

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Familiar Song: Bingo was his Name

This week’s familiar song is going to be Bingo was his Name. Do you have an instrument at home that you can play for each letter of Bingo’s name we lose as the song progresses? Or maybe you could blink your eyes, clap your hands or pat your knees instead.

Make your Own Kind of Music: Part 4 – Verse 3

We will now learn the third part of Make Your Own Kind of Music before we put the whole song together. It is a short part but with a slightly different tune to the other two previous parts. Here are the words;

So if you cannot take my hand,
And if you must be goin’
I will understand.

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

A Rainy Day Soundscape 

 Today we are going to be playing a rainy day soundscape. We have provided this picture as a visual stimulus for this rainy day but perhaps you would like to use your imagination to think of your own rainy day or remember one. Do you have a bubble tube or rain-stick at home you could watch or use when listening to the rainy music.

Please relax, listen to the music, look at the picture, imagine the rain and take deep breaths. Perhaps there are more rainy/ water sounds you can find at home that you would like to use and play along with the music.

Make your Own Kind of Music: Part 3 – Verse 2

It’s time to learn the next part of Make Your Own Kind of music today. You can always try and sing/ sign along with the Paloma Faith version of the song to practise at home. Here are the words for the second part;

You’re gonna be Known-in’
The loneliest kind of lonely,
It may be rough goin’
Just to do your things
The hardest thing to do.

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Musical Activity: The Clap Game

This week’s musical activity is the clap game. Can you clap your hands at the same time as Emmeline. This is a game of concentration! Once you have tried clapping along with Emmeline can you copy someone at home or can they copy you! Keeping a steady beat is tricky enough but it is very difficult to concentrate and clap at the same time as your partner if they are trying to catch you out!

Make your Own Kind of Music: Part 1  – Verse 1

We are going to learn the first part of Make Your Own Kind of music today. The words are;

Nobody can tell you,
There’s only one song worth singing.
They might try and sell you,
Cause it hangs them up,
To see someone like you.

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Vocal Warm–Up: The Big Yawn 

This week’s vocal warm-up is the perfect one for a sleepy Monday morning! We want you to have some big stretches, yawns and sighs but very vocal ones. Not only are you warming your voice up with this warm up but your body too!

Make Your Own Kind of Music: Part 1 – Chorus 

I think we have exhausted our Scottish repertoire and we would now like to start teaching one of the songs that was recently voted for in our Makaton Choir Suggestions box. It is ‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’ by Paloma Faith. Not only is it a beautiful song but we are certainly all making our own sorts of music at the moment so it is the ideal song to be learning. We are going to start today by learning the chorus;

But you gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along!

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Musical Story: The Listening Walk by Paul Showers 

This weeks musical story is the Listening Walk, we hope you enjoy it. Think about all of the sounds mentioned in the story, can you hear them from your garden or when you are out for a walk? Here is a bingo type board for you to use on your next walk or visit to your garden to see if you can hear any of the sounds mentioned in ‘The Listening Walk’.

500 Miles: Part 5 – Whole Song

Let’s see if we can now put together the whole of 500 Miles by the proclaimers and sing and sign along with it. If you are singing it with someone at home can you take turns singing the ‘y-ye-dl-et-de’s? Good luck!

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Song: Five Little Speckled Frogs 

We are going to sing Five Little Speckled Frogs in a very similar way to how we have sung Five Little Monkeys and Five Little Ducks.

We have prepared our version of it with 5 printed frogs stuck to desk bells! Every time a frog jumps into the pool the ‘glug glug’ will be played on that bell! Again, please don’t worry if you do not have instruments like this! You could sing, clap, sign or tap the ‘yum yums’ and the ‘glug glugs’. You could also print and cut out or draw five Little speckled frogs to practise counting down.

500 Miles: Part 4 – Verse 3

This is the last part we need to learn of 500 Miles before we put the whole song together tomorrow.

When I’m lonely,
well, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s lonely without you.

And when I’m dreamin’
Well I know I’m gonna dream,
I’m gonna dream about the time when I’m with you.

And when I go out,
well, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you.

And when I come home,
Yes, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who comes back home to you.

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Musical Soundscape: Space

Today we are going to be playing a space soundscape. We have provided this picture as a visual stimulus for Space but perhaps you have your own Space picture or book you would like to use at home or you would like to use your imagination.

Please relax, listen to the music, look at the picture, imagine different things you might find in outer space and take deep breaths. Perhaps you have some things at home that sound like noises you might find in space that you could play along with.

500 Miles: Part 3 – Verse 2

We are going to learn the second verse of 500 Miles. The words are;

When I’m working,
Yes, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s working hard for you.

And when the money,
comes in for the work I do,
I’ll pass almost every penny on to you.

And when I come home,
Oh, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who comes back home to you.

And if I grow old,
Well, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s growing old with you.

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Action Song: Clap Those Hands

This is a wonderful action song for everyone to join in with. It starts with clap your hands and we will then do a variety of other actions along with the music. Can you think of any more actions to do to the music at home?

500 Miles: Part 2 – Verse 1

It’s now time to learn the first verse of 500 miles together. Here are the lyrics:

When I wake up,
well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.

When I go out,
Well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you.

If I get drunk,
Well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you.

And if I haver,
Well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s haverin’ to you.

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Vocal Warm-Up: The Musical Slide

This week’s vocal warm-up is the musical slide. It is very similar to our musical pencil vocal warm-up that we have done previously, but this time we are going up the steps of the slide and then slide down and vocalise along with this! Are you on a garden slide or maybe a very big water slide?

500 Miles: Part 1 – The Chorus

We are keeping with our Scottish theme and this week’s Makaton song is going to be 500 miles by the Proclaimers. This has been a big favourite at Orchard Brae’s Makaton Choir and we have been singing it every choir practice. But it is also very tricky with a lot of words and signs! Today we will learn the chorus.

I would walk 500 miles
and I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walks 1000 miles
to fall down at your door.