The following two activities have a wide range of uses. First, they are listening games that can be used to test the students’ listening/repeating skills. They may also be used to allow the students to begin to compose/improvise their own rhythmic patterns.
This game is a great tool that can be used to gauge everything from how well the students are listening or to prepare them to learn a complicated rhythm and even to prepare them to explore using their voices. It is a safe way to approach the idea of the voice as an instrument.Rhythm Echo Game
step 1
The teacher starts the game by clapping, snapping, or patting a simple rhythmic pattern. The students respond by imitating/copying the pattern.
step 2
The clapping and copying continues as the teacher creates more complicated patterns for the students to clap out. Eventually the teacher can move from body percussion to vocal sounds.
