Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine, I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine... I was singing this song with my second grade music class, playing an accompaniment on my guitar. The 7-year-olds seem transported, staring into space or eyes closed, swaying; after all, it's a beautiful song. At the end of the song we all sat silently, allowing the effect to linger. I had not yet taught the students about dynamics. Now was the time. 

I said to the class, “I'm going to play and sing the beginning of this song two different ways. Listen to both and see whether you can describe the difference.” First, I sang it with no dynamic variation at all (Not so easy to do!). The second time, I got softer and louder as the music seems to need it. Then I asked for comments. Jose's hand shot up in the air: “The first one was boring and the second way was interesting.” “The second one rises and falls,” said Lucy, tracing it in the air with her hand. “ The first one was too plain,” offered Max. No one used the words “soft” or “loud.” Which way did the children prefer? We took a poll: All but one chose the second version. 

Then I showed the children this picture:

“Why do you think that fellow means by 'more interesting?'” The children said that in the first pic, everything was flat, and that the second went up and down with hills and valleys. “What does this have to do with music?” I asked. They were stumped.

“Think of a singer you love to listen to,” I said. “You may not realize it, but one of the reasons you like their singing is that they're using lots of hills and valleys: singing some parts louder and other parts softer. If they didn't do that, the songs would sound boring—like walking on a flat surface. Givings the music a shape makes it more interesting.” We sang the song again, and with minimal guidance from me, the children were able to sense where the volume should rise and fall. Quite beautiful! After being introduced to dynamics in this way, students have made it a point to tell me now they hear that their favorite singers do use lots of “hills and valleys!”

You may have noticed that when I introduced dynamics, I never actually used the word “dynamics.” It's not the wordthat's important— it's the ideaand how to use it. In the same way that it's easier to attach a name to a person once you get to know them a bit, it makes sense to first understand how hills and valleys work, and attach the term later on.

~~~

For our Grand Finale: the fadeout
Some songs have a rousing ending. But if a song requires a fadeout, I offer the idea of using fabric softener: adding a few drops bit by bit to soften the sound. The more fabric softener is added, the lighter and airier the sound quality gets. This changes the perception of getting softer from an absence to a presence. 

The first time I tried this, I was somewhat surprised to find that all the children were familiar with fabric softener. And they love the idea of using it for musical purposes! When they're engaged in the process of adding it, their focus is intense. One time in a first grade music class, just as the fadeout was nearing completion, I thoughtlessly said something and broke the mood. This was unacceptable to a sensitive 6-year-old who cried out in an irate stage whisper, “You forgot the fabric softener!” His classmates agreed and I was shamed into an apology