Bells

Materials:

2 identical series of bells from middle C to high C
One series has black and white stands and corresponds to the black and white keys of the piano. The other series have stands of natural, varnished wood (brown bells)
2 green boards with black and white rectangles resembling a piano keyboard. The black and white bells go on the green part behind the corresponding black and white rectangles. The brown bells are placed on the black and white rectangles
A series of bells in duplicate, from middle C to high C. One complete set is mounted on brown stands, the other on white stands in the case of the tones, and on black stands in the case of the semitones. They stand on a green board marked with black and white spaces corresponding to the black and white notes on a piano. A little wooden hammer, a mute which is a flat piece of wood, one end of which is covered with felt, and a bell table
A wooden mallet
A mute (damper)
A tray – large enough to hold two bells
A table large enough to hold all bell material
(Optional: a small side table to provide extra space for manipulation of bells)

Purposes:

Age: 3 ½ and up (note: this work should be done by 4 ½)

Preparation: The child can pair the Sound Cylinders

Preliminary Exercise: Playing one Bell

Invite the child to the bell table. Choose one brown bell to place on the tray. Grasp the stem of the bell between the fingers with the other hand supporting underneath the base. Add the damper and mallet to the tray.
Show the child how to carry the tray and invite them to carry it to a table. The child will turn out the chair.
Pick up the damper in the non-dominant hand, mallet in the dominant hand. Hold the mallet handle lightly with three fingers.
Swing the mallet like a pendulum to show how lightly it is held. Gently strike the bell and listen until it stops naturally.
Strike the bell again, this time using the felt part of the damper on the edge of the bell to stop the sound. Repeat.
Place the mallet and damper on the table and invite the child to play the bell.
Replace the brown bell on the bell table back on the board in its space and replace the damper and mallet.
Invite the child to repeat using a different bell.

**once the child has experience with each of the bells, progress to the presentation

Presentation 1: Pairing (the Diatonic Scale)

Invite the child to the bell table.
Play the brown bells from lowest to highest (ascending) in a diatonic scale on brown and descending on white silencing each bell after it has been played.
Place the mallet and damper on the table and choose three contrasting bells (high, medium, and low), and place on the side table mixed.
Choose a brown bell from the side, place it in front of the first open space on the board. Strike the white bell and then the brown. Stop the sound with the damper if necessary.
- If they match, place it in the space on the board.
- If they are different, move the brown bell to the next open space on the table and strike each bell to compare.

Continue until all are matched.
Remove the same three bells and place them on the side table. Invite the child to match the bells. When the child is finished, invite the child to play the diatonic scale again.

**Once the child can successfully match three bells, on another day you could invite the child to match four bells, then eight bells.

Presentation 2: Grading (the Diatonic Scale)

Play the ascending and descending scale on the brown and white bells silencing each after it has been played.
Invite the child to help you mix up all the brown bells on the side table.
Tell the child you are going to arrange the bells in the same order we just played them.
Choose a brown bell and place it on the table to find the match to middle C. Strike the middle C white bell and then the brown bell.
- If it is the same, leave it as it is on the table.
- If it is different, place it in the discard area, on the right side.

When matched, place the discarded brown bells back on the side table. From now on, you will not strike the white bells.
Select another brown bell, place it next to the middle C brown bell, play middle C, and then the new bell to compare.
If different, place it in the discard area and choose another brown bell to compare.
If next in the sequence, leave and replace rejected bells back with others.
Continue this process with about 3-4 bells, then invite the child to continue finding the next bells in the scale.
When the child is finished have them check against the white bells, play the whole diatonic scale, and replace brown bells on the board.

Presentation 3: Pairing (the Chromatic Scale)

Prepare the table in advance with all the black bells and their corresponding brown bells. Black bells are placed between the white bells, the brown matching bells are placed next to the other brown bells on board.
Play the ascending and descending scale.
Using the exact same pairing technique to pair all 13 bells. You may need a bigger table to keep all the bells on for the pairing process.
You may model the first 3 or 4 bells and then invite the child to pair each set of bells.
Once they have all been placed invite the child to play the ascending and descending scale.

Note: Later, if the child wants to work with the chromatic scale, and it is not set up, show them how to set them up on the board.

Presentation 4: Grading (the Chromatic Scale)

Prepare the table in advance with all the black bells and their corresponding brown bells. Play the ascending and descending scale at least once, maybe twice.
Using the exact same grading technique as before to grade all 13 bells. You may need a bigger table to keep all the bells on for the pairing process. The guide may first do 2 or 3 bells, then invite the child to grade the brown bells.

Control of Error:

Language: The names of the pitches

Following Exercises: None

Memory Games:

Distance Game: Pairing-one set on one table, other set across the room

Grading- build gradation on tables apart from each other

Group Game: Grading-8 children each with a mallet. The children will arrange themselves in the diatonic scale.

Pedagogical Notes:

The sensitive period for Refinement of the Sensory Perceptions fades around 4 ½ so this work must be done before then.
Touching the metal part of the bells will distort the pitch over time. Do not let the children polish the bells. Treat them very gently and dust when needed.
Diatonic Scale: the 8-note scale is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth that duplicates the first an octave higher.
Chromatic Scale: a 13-note scale that uses all 12 semitones in the octave, with the first and last being an octave higher for a total of 13 notes.
Wait to put the bells out at the start of the school year. Let the class settle a little first.
After the presentation of the pairing and grading of the diatonic and chromatic scale-next presentations are dependent on the child’s interest (music literacy).
Anna Maccheroni designed this material and felt so strongly that the white bells never move that she nailed them to the boards.