A couple of years ago, I attended an Orff workshop through the St. Louis chapter of AOSA, where Amy Gregory presented some terrific ideas on using contemporary music with Orff. From this, I developed Creative Blasts. Creative Blasts allow you to use the good old "oldies" from the 60's and 70's to stress:

• Listening skills (layers, rhythm, ostinati, repeated patterns, bass lines, counter melodies, etc.)
• Creativity (improvising instrument parts to fit the song)
• Beat (finding the beat and transferring to instrument)
• Problem solving
• Experimentation
• Performance objectives

The first step is to find a terrific oldie that has the following characteristics:

• A good, repetitive motif or theme, or bass line.
• A good, strong beat
• Decent lyrics (to double-check, you can put just about any song title into Google, and you'll find sites with the lyrics)
• At least 2-3 layers in the texture that allow for some variety. (Note that you do not have to have the kids duplicate rhythms exactly, but find some with rhythms that are easy to complement when "watering down" if necessary).

This past year, I used "Rubberband Man" with fourth grade, "I Feel Good" for fifth grade, and "Popcorn" for sixth grade.

The following steps need to be implemented over the course of 2-4 class sessions, depending on how long your classes are. Each step should probably be done phrase by phrase instead of one sitting except for Step One.

The first step, of course, is to let the kids listen to the song. OK, they're going to want to sing along. That's fine this first round. Let them get it out of their system. What they'll end up doing is finding the tempo and the beat while they're doing this, so you've accomplished that step!

The second step is to let them know that there is something below the surface of the melody. Have them listen for the bass line and either clap it or hum it. Once they've established the bass line for a phrase, pick it out on the xylophone or piano (or if you have a sharp class, guide a couple of your better students to do this). Decide within the class which instrument(s) will perform the bass.

Continue this process with each layer. Be flexible and creative! You don't only need to use instruments, but also body percussion, dance, vocalization...............

For each layer, notate the rhythms and pitches the way you would normally notate new music for your class. When I have access to a large board, I separate each part, and make sure the kids playing each part are together in a group. If you use an overhead, you might want to color-coordinate each notated layer with highlighter to make it easier for the kids. Of course, the more repetitive the parts are, the easier it is for the kids to memorize.

Make sure each and every child in this class is involved somehow. Creative Blasts are a wonderful opportunity to modify performances for those students who are special needs children and for those who have difficulty with other types of instrumental arrangements, because there are no "rules", as long as the instrumentation fits the timbre of the layer, and as long as they are establishing the beat. If you have special needs children who have difficulty holding instruments, they can clap. (Or better yet, contact A Day's Work in Music Education for adaptive tools for physically challenged students. See the Product Review for more information).

Practice, then record for posterity.

You can see what my students from 2004-2005 came up with by going to the downloads section and clicking on my MMEA handouts, Part II. There I have the instrumentation and steps for each song I used outlined in detail.

I called this Creative Blasts because your students will have a blast with this lesson plan! If you would like to share your results at a future time, please send me your arrangements in either Word or a Finale format (if you use Word, please let me know what font you use for your musical notation if you don't use images so I can make sure I can duplicate it!). If you can convert it to PDF, that's even better! I will make your arrangements available for download, and make sure you get the fullest credit you want for your contribution.

Do you have any great ideas for elementary teaching? Please feel free to contact me about contributing an article!