STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY

Listening Activities

For Children
Michaela van Blerk
8/22/2012
Introduction

Listening is an integral part of learning and teaching music. For younger children, it is best to
use games as a tool in teaching how to listen, what to listen to, and what to listen for. I have
chosen five activities that can be used in a class setting. These activities range from easier
activities to activities which require more concentration and focus. The object of such
activities is for children to be able recognise and compare sounds, notice changes and
mistakes, and of course to learn to listen attentively and not just subconsciously hear music
and sounds. It is important that for each game, the room being used is quiet and is not
surrounded by distracting sounds or other distubances.

Activity 1: Tracking Down

The object of this game is for each child to be able to identify any particular instrument while
many instruments are being played simultaneously. Before starting the game, the teacher
should make sure that all children participating in the game know the name of and are
familiar with the sound of each instrument being used.

The game works as follows: The class should be sitting in a circle with one person in the
middle, blindfolded (each child should have a turn to be in the middle). Hand out different
instruments to each child, except the blindfolded child. These instruments can be percussive
or tuned, but it is best to keep them small. The teacher must then name an instrument for the
blindfolded child to listen for, for example the tambourine. All children with instruments
should then begin playing at about the same volume. Once the blindfolded child has
recognised the chosen instrument, he/she should try to locate it. After this has been achieved,
another child should be blindfolded and a different instrument chosen. This game can
continue until each child has had a turn. For a variation on this game, the blindfolded child is
told to recognise which instrument is not being played, while the other children all play on
their instruments.

As an alternative to using instruments, the game can be played using the children’s voices. So
the class would all sing a song, and the blindfolded child would have to recognise and locate
a certain child’s voice. This could be a more advanced option.
Activity 2: Name Game

This game can help children with rhythmic patterns; recognising, learning and imitating
them.
It can be played with or without instruments and is best to play with small groups of about 5
or 6 children. In larger classes, more than one group can be playing the game in different
parts of the room. The group should sit in a circle, either with or without their instruments.
They should each get a turn to say their name and surname out loud to the group and then
either play the rhythm of their name on their instrument, or clap the rhythm for the rest of the
group (some may need help with finding the right rhythm). The group should then repeat this
rhythm a few times over. After each child has had a turn, the game can begin. One child
should play or clap the rhythm of another child’s name in the group. Once this child
recognises his/her name, they should repeat their name and then play or clap another child’s
name, and so on. If someone should get confused and play incorrectly, they can be
eliminated, and the last child remaining would be the winner.

Alternatively, instead of using this as a way of learning rhythm, each child could be given a
note, or short melody and the game could be played in the same way.

Activity 3: Guessing Mistakes

The aim of this game is to teach children to listen to and be able to repeat a short melody, and
then be able to recognise if and how the melody varies via pitch or rhythm.
To begin with, the teacher should sing or play a well-known melody or song, and have the
children sing it back to ensure that they are all familiar with it. Then the teacher should sing
or play it again, this time changing either a note in the melody or the rhythm of a few notes.
The first child who can identify this “mistake” wins a point. The teacher can repeat the same
song, this time changing something different, or they can use different songs each time. After
a predetermined number of times, the child with the most points wins.
Activity 4: Clapping Game

In this game, the class is divided into two groups, one on each side of the room. The teacher
should beat out a metronome-like rhythm at a peaceful tempo to begin with. Each group is
then told to clap on a certain beat, for example: group 1 should clap on the third beat, and
group 2 on the fifth. Once the teacher starts beating, each group needs to count in their head
until the right beat on which they should clap. This can be repeated until no one falters.
Then give one child the job of purposefully clapping on the wrong beat in order to confuse
the others. Again, repeat this until no one falters.

After a while, the teacher can increase the tempo to make the game more difficult. It is
important to change the beat on which each group claps, otherwise it becomes routine, and it
will no longer be a game of listening and concentrating.

Activity 5: Dialling Rhythms

In this game, four different but simple rhythms should be written on the board. If there are
more than sixteen children, then five rhythms must be used. Number these rhythms one
through five. Ensure that all the children are familiar with these rhythms and can clap them
easily.

Each child should then receive a piece of paper, each with a different combination of
numbers. This is their “phone number”. The combination of digits refers to the corresponding
rhythms on the board. To start the game, one child should clap any combination of rhythms
he/she chooses, besides their own. Whichever child recognises this combination as their
“phone number” should indicate as such, and then choose a rhythm combination of their
choice to clap, and so on. Each child therefore, has to listen attentively in order to recognise if
their combination is being clapped.
References:

Storms, G. 1981. Handbook of Musical Games. Australia: Hutchinson & Co.