Humour takes teaching to a new level

Passionata - Music lessons make the difference

When I took over my first music class, I was still a student and it was a difficult start. The lessons were characterised by unrest and arguments between the children. Musically, hardly anything blossomed. I had often observed my brilliant practical teacher Christa Kägi and planned my lessons according to her example. During our studies at the ZHdK, we were told that we had to get going with one class until the autumn holidays, after which it would become increasingly difficult.

The shared energy that I had been looking for for weeks was suddenly there.

One of the didactic tips was to put musical goals in the background in favour of social goals. Working with a cheerful picture book would also help, for example the classic «Friends» by Helme Heine. The book is multi-layered. On the surface, it is about an adventurous day for three friends. If you look closely, the cockerel, pig and mouse have to agree again and again: Who sits where on the bike, in the rowing boat, who gets how many cherries and where do they spend the night?

A tricycle breaks the ice

There were children in the class with a poor command of German and those who were unable to listen to a story in a group for other reasons. How could I make sure that the children understood the magic of this book and not, on the contrary, prevent them from immersing themselves in the story? Christa gave me the crucial input: «You have to experience the book. Do you have a sturdy tricycle?».

And so it was that I went into the corridor with one of the boys, Anton*, put a tricycle in front of him and instructed him to ride into the singing hall when the music started. The other children stood there for Anton, but had no idea about the little bike. Another joker was the music: «Baby Elephant Walk» by Henri Mancini. The music was already playing a few bars when Anton cycled round the corner. There wasn't a child who didn't laugh their hearts out. Suddenly the shared energy that I had been searching for for weeks was there.

Humour was the key with which even six-year-olds got involved in artistic processes and stuck with them.

The tricycle rally was stepped up as the morning progressed. More and more children rode their bikes at the same time and the others invented new trellis routes for them. They automatically adapted their ideas to the music, waited for the intro before setting off, changed direction at the breaks and agreed on a final position at the last bar.

Music supports the moment

The following week I told them the book «The Friends» and the children were happy to get involved. They identified with the characters. This was followed by conversations about hurdles in friendship, about compromises that a group has to make. Above all, however, the children felt the need to talk about the moment when Anton cycled round the corner. About how they had laughed together but not laughed at Anton and how the music had supported the funny moment.

The children learnt a lot in the process, but even more lights came on for me. Humour was the key to getting even six-year-olds involved in artistic processes and keeping them engaged. Humour took the lessons to a new level. The arguments between the children had not disappeared, but they knew that they were capable of getting into the flow together.

They began to invent funny stories, which they realised musically. One was about recorder-playing coconut palms that were cut down and hauled away. The class worked for weeks on a slapstick scene with a cheeky ghost and set the movements to music with instruments. One boy composed a song about friendship on the ukulele.

Years later, when the children were at the end of Year 6, we saw them off from primary school with a long procession on the playground. One of the girls came up to me: «Do you remember when Anton came round the corner on his tricycle to the music?» «I'll never forget that morning,» I replied. «Neither will we!»

*Thenames of the children have been changed by the editors.