When designing Suzuki tone chime sessions, I am always looking for different ways to use the tone chimes to focus on specific group and individual skills. For some songs, players will follow a powerpoint on the TV, for other songs players will read a specialized notation of the song in their tone chime book. Other songs might be strictly improvisatory. Each method addresses different skills as it is implemented. I decided I wanted to design a tone chime method for my group that:
- addressed the needs of a group with a mix of abilities
- worked with a small group of 7-12 players
- incorporated social skills and a focused on the awareness of others
- did not require a lot of time to prepare visuals
- was easy to use with a variety of songs in different keys
- supported both basic and extended chords
I decided to map out a system where pointing to one person would trigger other people to play, thereby forming basic chords. This way the player would not only ring when directly pointed to, but would also ring if a player on either side of them was pointed to. (I felt pointing to one person was less confusing then trying to cue a group of people to play together.) I designed a chord system for ringing and gave each player a number assignment.
The video example shows the group playing through “Mockingbird Hill”. They just learned the song and only practiced it twice before videotaping! There are a few extra support staff assisting players, and I simply doubled the assigned part.
This video includes students in our Prep for Performance class. This original song “Sing All Together” utilizes a basic chord progression and allows opportunities for the students to sing along.
Need further explanation, or visuals to assist? We got you covered! Download a further description of how to set up the Partner Play system for tone chimes.
Free download: Tone Chime Partner Play tutorial
Wade is a board-certified music therapist and one of the directors at Spectrum Creative Arts. He completed additional training programs in Orff-Schulwerk, Neurologic Music Therapy, and Performance Wellness. As a songwriter and creative writer, Wade has authored several music resource books for music therapy and music education.