The plan, minute by minute
| Minutes | What happens | What you use |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | Echo warm-up: you clap a bar, the class claps it back, 6 to 8 times | Your hands; the maker on Loop with a click if the class rushes |
| 5 to 13 | Teach the new rhythm by ear in syllables, then show it on the board | The notation preview with syllables under the notes |
| 13 to 23 | Three passes of the play-along: slow with the marker, at tempo, then the video | The maker at a slow tempo, then the full-tempo video |
| 23 to 28 | Perform it: half the class plays, half listens, then swap | The full-tempo video |
| 28 to 30 | Exit check: two or three children clap bar 3 alone | The colour chart or the board |
Before the lesson
Write or open the board, set the time signature and play it through once yourself. Keep it short: 4 bars is plenty for a new rhythm, 8 for one the class half knows. Make two videos. The first at a slow tempo with a 2-bar count-in, for the learning passes; the second at the tempo you want by the end. Name them clearly so you can find them on the classroom computer. Print the colour chart if bells or tubes are involved, and put the instruments out before the class arrives so the first minutes are not spent handing them round.
Choose the words under the notes to match how your class already counts. Rhythm syllables suit younger classes and anyone taught ta and ti-ti; counting suits older classes who will read notation in other settings. Do not switch systems in the middle of a unit.
Teaching it: sound before symbol
The order matters more than the minutes. The class hears and echoes the rhythm before they see it, then reads it, then plays it with the video. Clap a bar, say it in syllables, have them echo. When every bar can be echoed, show the notation on the projector with the syllables underneath, and point to each note as you say it. Only then start the play-along. A class that meets the notation first spends the lesson decoding instead of playing.
On the first pass, play the board in the maker rather than the video: the tempo can be lowered on the spot, and Loop keeps it going while you walk round. A tempo change starts at the next bar line, so you can slow down without stopping. On the second pass, raise the tempo. On the third, switch to the full-tempo video so the class gets used to the title card and the count-in they will hear in the performance.
Worked example: Ti-ti walk with a class of 7-year-olds
The starter Ti-ti walk is 4 bars of 4/4: quarter notes with pairs of eighths. Before the lesson, set it to 76 beats a minute with a 2-bar count-in and make the slow video, then set it to 92 with 1 bar and make the second. In the warm-up, echo the first bar, ta ti-ti ta ti-ti, three times, then bar 2. At minute 5, show the notation with rhythm syllables: the class reads bar 1 aloud together, then claps it. By minute 13 they clap all 4 bars with the maker at 76 and the marker on screen. The video at 92 closes the lesson, with the class split in two halves for the performance. The exit check asks two children to clap bar 2, which has the most eighths.
Common mistakes
- Starting at the final tempo. A rhythm learned too fast stays ragged; the slow pass is what makes the fast one clean.
- Showing the notation first. Echo it until it is secure by ear, then show what they already know.
- Too many bars. Eight unfamiliar bars in one lesson is a reading exercise, not a play-along.
- No count-in. Without one, the first bar is always late; keep 2 bars until the class comes in together.
- Skipping the listening half of the performance. Hearing the other half play is when most children notice their own rushing.
Adapting it
With a younger class, stretch the echo warm-up to 8 minutes and play only 2 bars. With an older class, swap the exit check for a short written one: show the chart with one bar covered and ask them to clap it from memory. For a mixed class, add a second part from the starters with a steady drum on every beat, and give it to the children who need the pulse most.
Sources
- National Core Arts Standards: Music, National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. The Perform and Respond strands this plan works towards: rehearse, refine and present, then evaluate the performance. Last reviewed 19 October 2026.
- The Kodály approach, Organization of American Kodály Educators. The sound before symbol sequence: echo the rhythm first, read it second, which is the order of the plan. Last reviewed 19 October 2026.
Clapchart is not affiliated with any instrument maker, publisher or music exam board.