"Dynamics are like the hot fudge on top of your ice cream. The ice cream is tasty on its own, but it is SO much better with hot fudge. Now that you have learned the words (ice cream), you can add the dynamics (fudge) to tell your audience so much more about the songs you sing." - This is what I told primary before teaching them basic dynamics.
Teach the
Basics with Games- Print out piano/forte pages. Teach the children that "piano" means to sing softly, and "forte" means to sing loudly. I always point out that they should never sing, "louder than lovely."
- Pick a song that the children know really well. Hold one sign at a time and switch from piano to forte throughout the song. The children will have fun fluctuating the volume while they sing.
- Let volunteers take turns switching from piano to forte while singing well known songs.
- Print the legato/staccato pages. Teach that legato means to smoothly sing the words, and staccato is to sing in a choppy manner.
- Use the same idea from the piano/forte game. Pick a well known song, switch the pages from legato to staccato, and let volunteers do the same thing.
Expert Dynamics Game for Senior Primary
Once the children have played the two previous games, have one volunteer hold the piano/forte pages, and another volunteer hold the legato/staccato pages. Let the two of them switch the visual aids they were given (they only switch their own pages) at the same time! It is challenging and fun for senior primary! Sometimes you sing piano/staccato, forte/legato, piano/legato, and forte/staccato. Senior primary always likes a challenge :)
Teach
Doctrine with DynamicsI sat quietly in my living room deciding what dynamics to teach for, "I'm trying to be like Jesus." I felt prompted to teach doctrine with the dynamics of this precious song.
I taught them to sing this section at a mezzo forte (moderately loud) volume for a bold message. I told them to confidently and lovingly sing to the audience that we want to follow Jesus. We are excited to share our love of the Savior, and want the congregation to hear this important message.
I then taught them to swell <> (start out moderately soft, reach a mezzo forte, then trail back down to moderately soft) for this part, as to tell the audience something has changed. We are trying to follow Jesus, but will be tempted throughout our lives. Temptation is not good news, but Heavenly Father sent help, the Holy Ghost.
For the chorus, I invited them to sing softly. This is where they express, through song, how sweet the Holy Ghost is. We want the audience to know that the message of the spirit is a soft one. It is gentle and worthy of your time. It is beautiful. It is wise. We have to be reverent and listen for it. If we don't allow it to influence our lives, we will miss its important guidance.
Repeat the order of dynamics for the second verse.
Hold the dynamic signs as a flip chart until they are memorized. I didn't have time to teach dynamics for every song, so I sought out special ones. I hope you have a beautiful singing time :)
Repeat the order of dynamics for the second verse.
Hold the dynamic signs as a flip chart until they are memorized. I didn't have time to teach dynamics for every song, so I sought out special ones. I hope you have a beautiful singing time :)