How to Use the Practice Bells

We created some practice resonator bells. These are simply a rectangle of pressboard with a laminated colored copy of the bells glued on top of the board.

The children can use their finger, a spoon, the eraser end of a pencil, etc., to tap on the notes while they “play” a song. They can play along to a recording of the song or sing and play the song while reading the Solfa notation of the song.

The purpose for this is to develop the muscle skills and memory for the song. It is a proven technique for learning music. It can also help children as they compose songs. Children can learn to hear the scale in their heads. They can learn to hear the notes and the relationships of the notes to each other as they listen. Then they can write down a song in their head. I know, because this is how I learned how to do it.

It is always helpful to have a real set of bells or an digitized version so that you can get immediate aural feedback, but when one isn’t available, you can simply practice this way.

The purpose of Delicious Music is to encourage children to make their own music. Please encourage your child to create their own music as well as use the song pages on this site.

I welcome your children’s song submissions to share on the website!