Heather Nail - Get "Orff" to a Great Start!

On Saturday October 1st music teachers had the opportunity to experience an energizing and motivating workshop delivered by Heather Nail.

The workshop started with a fun and engaging warm-up combining Brain Dance with a popular music song. It was a great reminder of the flexibility  and relevance of Brain Dance. Activities focused on books, composition, improvisation and there was even a rhythm and ostinato activity based on material from Vol. 1 of the Orff Schulwerk: Music for Children books. 

Heather brought to the workshop an energy and enthusiasm that were infectious and inspiring. It was clear that she loved both books and music and very much enjoyed sharing this with her students. Heather's obvious knowledge and experience with the Orff methodology were ever present in the depth and creativity of the material presented. 

The book activities introduced participants to new books and some favourite classics such as "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" (fantastic for assessing independent singing!). Extensions were made for the books that followed such as "Polar Bear, Polar Bear."

Some highlights were the canon activity "Lift Up Your Voices," which gave different ways to experience canon. Another was the activity "Stick By Me," that showed an exciting new way to use rhythm sticks. There was definitely excitement at the final activity of the day that used a short canon inspired by the words of Jack Prelutsky which used flashlight choreography.

All activities fully embraced the Orff methodology giving authentic experiences with: singing, moving, improvising and creating. There were so many great activities that could be used right away in our music classes. What a fantastic way to spend a rainy Saturday!