Clapping Music [Free Music Tech Lesson Plan]

Clapping Music Free Music Tech Lesson Plan

Clapping Music Free Music Tech Lesson Plan

Introduction

In today’s post, technology and performance combine in a lesson plan based on one of the most simple (yet effective) pieces: Steve Reich’s Clapping Music.

In 1972, composer Steve Reich (born 1936) decided to compose a piece that – in his words – “needs no instruments beyond the human body”. The result was Clapping Music – a piece that requires only the hands.

The musical premise for the piece is simple. There are two performers and only one rhythm. Both players start by clapping the rhythm, then player 1 continues on while thesecond player varies the main rhythm by shifting it a beat every few repetitions. Player 2’s rhythm moves through 12 cycles until it ends up in unison once more with Player 1.

Here’s a performance of the piece featuring Steve Reich himself (on the right of the screen – Player 1 part) and David Crossin (Player 2 part).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lesDb9GsQm4

Clapping Music: The App

In the lesson plan below, you can use technology –in the form of a free iPad app – to help you teach the piece to your students. You don’t NEED technology to do this piece with your students, but it makes it definitely adds something and makes it lots of fun!

In the Clapping Music app, you perform the Player 2 part and the Player 1 part is performed by the app itself. Your rhythms appear on the screen in a graphic notation form. The main rhythm – pattern 1 – looks like this:

Pattern 1

You play the rhythm by tapping your finger on the screen (not by clapping into the iPad microphone which is what I thought you supposed to do at first!). When you start, your part will be in unison with Player 1, but then your Player 2 part will shift as the patterns change.

Note that there are two ways to use the app:

  1. Performance mode – Easy, Medium and Hard levels (each level is at a set tempo with Hard being the fastest of the three)
  2. Practice mode – this mode allows you to control the tempo (i.e. you can set it quite slow!) and you can choose which of the patterns you would like to practice. You can select a single pattern or a combination of a few of the 12 patterns.

The problem with Practice mode: it’s good but….

When I started playing with the app, I really wanted to see each pattern on its own (still, not moving up the screen!) so I could decipher it in my own time, practice it VERY slowly and then increase my speed a little away from the app itself.

Once I felt comfortable with the pattern I could return to the app version and play in Practice mode to reinforce what I had learnt and have my accuracy assessed.

The way the app is set up does not really make this possible so I looked for the music online and found that Steve Reich himself had tweeted a link to the score:

Clapping Music tweet

Downloadable graphic score version

Pattern previewsI ended up creating a slide-show version – with each pattern on a separate slide – so that you can display them on a data projector for students and teach each one slowly. My 8-year old son often plays the part of my test “case study” and he could sight-read the patterns from this version, so I figure it works pretty well!

The Lesson Plan

This lesson can be used in a very basic way with young students, or in a challenging way with older students. It’s highly adaptable!

Grade level

Grades 5-12

Objective

Students will develop the ability to read rhythms accurately and play in time.

Music Education Standards

USA

  • 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
  • 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture

Australia

  • 6.2 Develop technical and expressive skills in singing and playing instruments with understanding of rhythm, pitch and form in a range of pieces, including in music from the community
  • 6.3 Rehearse and perform music, including music they have composed, by improvising, sourcing and arranging ideas and making decisions to engage an audience
  • 8.5 Perform and present a range of music, using techniques and expression appropriate to style
  • 8.6 Analyse composers’ use of the elements of music and stylistic features when listening to and interpreting music

Materials

  • Single or multiple iPads
  • Metronome or metronome app
  • Data projector & speakers
  • Clapping Music app by Touchpress (free)
  • PDF copy of the 12 clapping patterns (download below)

Duration

One lesson (could be extended to a 2-3 lesson unit)

Skills required

Clapping rhythms in time to a steady beat.

Procedure

  1. Learn the basic rhythm (pattern 1).Show the students the Pattern 1 slide. Teach them the rhythm and clap it as a group, very slowly at first, increasing the speed gradually. It’s a good idea to use a metronome (or for you to keep a steady beat on a drum) while the students clap.
  2. Learn pattern 2.Show the students the Pattern 2 slide. Teach them the rhythm and clap it as a group, very slowly at first, increasing the speed gradually.
  3. Open the Clapping Music app (display it on your data projector), tap on Tap To Play and tap Practice Mode. Tap Settings (the cog at the top right of the screen), scroll down and slide the Tempo slider all the way to the left). Under Transitions, select the number of times you would like each rhythm to repeat before it switches to a different pattern (I would suggest starting with a number between 5-10). Tap the arrow at the top right to return to the list of Practice Mode Patterns and select Pattern 01 and Pattern 02 (leave the others unchecked). If you remember, it’s a good idea to set up these parameters ahead of class time so you don’t need to do it while the students are waiting
  4. Get the students ready to play! Tap Play at the bottom of the Practice Mode screen. The app will perform Pattern 1 once as an introduction and then the students can clap the rhythm that is displayed on the screen. After 5 repetitions (or more if you chose a higher number), the pattern will change
    [note: you don’t “need” to have anyone tapping on the iPad screen when you’re in Practice Mode – you can just leave the app to do its own thing while the students watch it on the data projector]
  5. When the students are comfortable playing pattern 1 and 2, divide them into two groups and have the first group clap pattern 1 while the second group start performing pattern 1, switches to pattern 2 and then back again to pattern 1. Then swap the groups over.
  6. You can continue to learn each pattern in the same way – there are 12 patterns in total – using the slide image to learn the pattern and then using the app to perform it. In Practice Mode, try different combinations of patterns (you can have as few or as many patterns as you like). When the students can play the patterns accurately, challenge them by increasing the tempo.
  7. If you have enough iPads for the students to use, let them have a go at Easy, Medium or Hard “performance” mode. These are much more difficult and involve all 12 patterns. Note that if you use shared iPads, you can set up more than one user in the Clapping Music app which will allow students to keep track of their own personal progress. You could even run a little “Clapping Music Competition” 🙂

Extensions

  • Individual game play: if students have access to iPads (one each or one per 2-3 students) they can play the “proper” game in Easy mode. They can then move on to Medium and Hard modes when ready
  • Have students compose their own clapping piece

Evaluation

Students can play the Clapping Music rhythms accurately in time to the app or a metronome (if using the app, Practice mode will assess accuracy for you) and/or they can perform contrasting patterns simultaneously.

Follow-up

Here are a few more videos that involve clapping and other body percussion that you might like to show your students:

We No Speak Americano ft. Cleary & Harding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iANRO3I30nM

I’ll Think Of You (clapping as an accompaniment)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZpGe5rNJkI

Hand clap skit (warning: the applause at the end is very loud!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDvIo_LRIZ4

Download this lesson plan

Would you like a downloadable copy of this lesson plan and the presentation file? Click on the button below, fill out your details and the lesson plan will be sent straight to your email inbox.

10 Comments

  1. Nicole September 10, 2015 at 5:28 pm - Reply

    Also might suggest Symphony of Palms by Gordon Hughes (Rhythmscape Publishing)
    https://youtu.be/B-nnnsEnr_s

    • Katie September 15, 2015 at 10:58 am - Reply

      Thanks for the suggestion Nicole!

  2. […] structure templateSmartphone, iPad, or other tablet to video-record performances (optional) Clapping Music [Free Music Tech Lesson Plan] | Midnight Music. Introduction In today’s post, technology and performance combine in a lesson plan based on one […]

  3. […] kids.com ●Perfect Pitch Orchestra ●wemakethemusic.org ●letsplaykidsmusic.com ●midnightmusic.com ●makingmusicfun.net ●tothemoonandbackblog.net ●mamma.pourfemme.it […]

  4. […] kids.com ●Perfect Pitch Orchestra ●wemakethemusic.org ●letsplaykidsmusic.com●midnightmusic.com ●makingmusicfun.net ●tothemoonandbackblog.net […]

  5. David May 29, 2017 at 9:10 am - Reply

    I’ve been using this app in class with first firm. It is excellent, however impossible to demonstrate on Apple TV due to latency issues!

    • Katie June 5, 2017 at 10:35 am - Reply

      Yes – that’s why I avoid using Apple TV to display my iPad. I always plug in directly to the VGA or HDMI cable instead (and if using the HDMI cable, make sure to plug the audio into speakers separately otherwise you’ll get latency issues that way too!). I wrote a blog post about that a while ago here which might be useful.

  6. Jenny May 8, 2020 at 8:27 am - Reply

    Is this app only available for ipad? Can it work on a computer or iphone?

    The only app available on the app store is by Amphio limited. Is it the right thing?
    Thanks!

    • Katie May 14, 2020 at 1:45 pm - Reply

      It works on iPhone or iPad. No computer version that I know of. And yes, that is the correct version.

  7. […] music tech articles on my blog (including free lesson plans like the ones here, here, here and […]

Leave A Comment

You might also like...

Introducing

The Midnight Music Community

An online community where music tech professional development, lesson ideas, and accountability come together.
Ultimate Free Music Tech Resource Guide Guide 2023/24

Download Now for FREE...

The Ultimate Music Tech Resources Guide for 2023-2024

Claim your copy of our annual guide to free music technology resources, designed especially for music teachers. Discover interactive music websites, software, productivity tools, and assessment resources you can use in your music classroom for free.

Follow Me on Social Media

PRIVACY POLICY

This is the Privacy Policy for the Midnight Music website located at www.midnightmusic.com (“Site”).

The Site is operated by Midnight Music Pty Ltd ABN 87 619 652 603 (“Midnight Music” or “Company” or “we” or “us”).

Midnight Music understands the importance of protecting your personal information and undertakes to adhere to this privacy policy at all times to ensure your personal information is effectively safeguarded.

Information you provide to us

The Site provides various places for users to provide information. We collect information that users provide by filling out forms on the Site, communicating with us via contact forms, responding to surveys, search queries on our search feature, providing comments or other feedback, providing information when ordering a product or service via the Site, and other circumstances where collecting personal information is reasonable and permitted by the Laws of the State of Victoria, Australia.

We use information you provide to us to deliver the requested product and/or service, to improve our overall performance, and to provide you with offers, promotions, and information.

Information we collect through automatic data collection technology

As you navigate through the Site, we may use automatic data collection technologies including Google Analytics to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. This will generally include information about your location, your traffic pattern through our Site, and any communications between your computer and our Site. Among other things, we will collect data about the type of computer you use, your Internet connection, your IP address, your operating system, and your browser type.

The information we collect automatically is used for statistical data and will not include personal information. We use this data to improve our Site and our service offerings. To the extent that you voluntarily provide personal information to us, our systems will associate the automatically collected information with your personal information.

Use of cookies and pixels

Similar to other commercial websites, our Site utilises a standard technology called “cookies” and server logs to collect information about how our site is used. Information gathered through cookies and server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our site, and the websites visited just before and just after our own, as well as your IP address.

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a website, that site’s computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a website to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

The Company reserves the right to use technological equivalents of cookies, including social media pixels. These pixels allow social media sites to track visitors to outside websites so as to tailor advertising messages users see while visiting that social media website. The Company reserves the right to use these pixels in compliance with the policies of the various social media sites.​

How we manage personal information

Midnight Music undertakes to take all commercially reasonable steps to ensure that all personal information collected by us is accurate, up-to-date, complete and stored securely. When your personal information is no longer required for the purposes which Midnight Music uses personal information, all commercially reasonable steps will be undertaken to securely destroy that information.

How your personal information will be used

We use personal information for purposes of presenting our Site and its contents to you, providing you with information, providing you with offers for products and services, providing you with information about your subscriptions and products, carrying out any contract between you and the Company, administering our business activities, providing customer service, and making available other items and services to our customers and prospective customers.
From time-to-time, we may use the information you provide to us to make you offers to purchase products and services provided by third parties in exchange for a commission to be paid to us by such third parties. Should you opt to take part in such promotions, the third parties will receive your information.

Disclosure of your information

Midnight Music considers personal information we collect about you to be confidential and will not disclose such information to third parties except in the following circumstances:

  • Where you have consented to your personal information being provided to a third party;
  • Where Midnight Music is required by law to disclose your information; and
  • Gaining access to your personal information held by Midnight Music

Except in circumstances where access to your personal information may be denied by the Privacy Act or other Law of the State of Victoria, Australia, your personal information will be provided to you upon request.

Visitors’ General Data Protection Regulation rights

If you are within the European Union, you are entitled to certain information and have certain rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These include the following:

  • We will retain the any information you choose to provide to us until: (a) you ask us to delete the information; (b) we decide to cease using our existing data providers; or (c) the Company decides that the value in retaining the data is outweighed by the costs of retaining it.
  • You have the right to request access to your data that the Company stores and the rights to either rectify or erase your personal data.
  • You have the right to seek restrictions on the processing of your data.
  • You have the right to object to the processing of your data and the right to the portability of your data.
  • To the extent that you provided consent to the Company’s processing of your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based upon consent that occurred prior to your withdrawal of consent.
  • You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority that has jurisdiction over issues related to the General Data Protection Regulation.
  • We require only the information that is reasonably required to enter into a contract with you. We will not require you to provide consent for any unnecessary processing as a condition of entering into a contract with us.

Contact us

Should you have any queries in relation to the above or require further information regarding the Privacy Policy please contact us:

Midnight Music Pty Ltd
PO Box 219
Glen Waverley
Victoria 3150
AUSTRALIA

Email address: support@midnightmusic.com