Rap it, Move it, Sing it, Play! The Four Active Steps in The Flute Books

The Flute Books are flute beginners books for younger beginners starting from about 4 years old up to about 7 yr old. The approach to learning the flute in these flute beginners books is created having in mind this age and it's mostly through experience.

The goal is that the first approach of the flute students towards music is not theoretical, where they would count note values, try to understand meaning of meter and so on, but more through experiences like movement, feeling, rapping, singing and playing. 

Rap it, Move it, Sing it, Play! are active steps used in these flute beginners books, that are enhancing this type of approach. They are done for each new tune aiming to give the flute beginner a richer understanding of the tune before playing it. This understanding sets a good routine to learning new materials, and a good base for later challenges of unfamiliar activities like sight reading.

As all students are different and have their own pace of learning, this approach can be tailored to each student individually. For example, the steps can be easily extended, combined or varied, depending on each child's pace.

I'd like to briefly explain each step, and it's purpose in this flute beginners book:

"Rap it” helps the student understand rhythm more naturally. First it should be done by echoing the teacher as he/she raps using rhythm syllables, the lyrics of the tune or rap twice using each at a time. At the start, this is done before exposing them to the notation for those specific patterns, later on the student will feel comfortable reading, rapping the rhythm strait away from the notation. The reason why every tune has lyrics is because of this step - to rap and have fun.

"Move it” adds a movement to the "rap it" step, which helps master the rhythmic feeling of each tune. For this step any type of movement can be used: from dancing, tapping foot, clapping hands, waving, any movement that works best for the student. 

"Sing it” is for the student to sing the song. This is is done with teacher's support by accompanying on the piano or playing the tune with them on the flute.

Why "Sing it"? Playing flute is related to singing in many ways. Starting from the breathing, opening the throat, producing lower and higher notes, phrasing, and also for developing good intonation. Having the melody sung a few times before playing gives the student ideas for intonation, melodic contour, and the start of critical listening skills.

"Play!" obviously, is the final step, where the student plays the tune.

In both The Flute Books, each page with new songs, has a “Rap it, Move it, Sing it, Play!“ check box for more fun in the process, and sense of accomplishment :)

Click here to read about The Rhythm in Toot & Hoot Flute Method

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