The Musical Child by Joan Koenig

Author:Joan Koenig
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781328613035
Publisher: HMH Books
Published: 2021-07-06T00:00:00+00:00

In the story, the innocent whole note is happily rolling through the woods. It can only roll because it has neither arms nor legs. As the teacher describes the whole note rolling along, the students—still rocking from side to side—sing “ro-o-on-de,” moving their hands in a large circle. The ronde is, of course, a circle. It’s the French word meaning “whole note.” Even if you don’t know a single other word in French, I would encourage you to remember this one and a handful of others that I will introduce in the pages to come, since they are extremely helpful for music games such as this one.

As we have seen, in different countries, rhythms are called by different names, even if they are always written the same way. French rhythm vocabulary, unlike the American system, is not based on math. The system labels the rhythms by color and shape, both of which are more accessible for young children than mathematical fractions. This may seem illogical, but it actually makes it easy for young children to name the rhythmic elements. Naming a rhythm is most meaningful when the name conjures the feeling. We will see later in this chapter just how close language and rhythm are, but for now, back to the woods.

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