What are LSAs? – Teaching the VOCABULARY of Music

In last week’s post, I talked about a test I use with my primary kids once a year called PMMA (Primary Measures of Music Audiation). Today I am following up to explain Learning Sequence Activities (LSAs for short), because for me, the two things are inextricably linked together. This is one of the things that I do in my classroom that is straight up Gordon-style Music Learning Theory (these days I consider myself a bit of a mutt, blending Orff through a Music Learning Theory lens).

So what is an LSA, anyway?

LSAs are focused instructional time (5-7 minutes tops) used to teach the “vocabulary” of music. Now, when I say vocabulary, I don’t mean words like tempo, forte, etc. I mean the actual building blocks of music that we use to create MUSICAL sentences – rhythmic and tonal patterns. If you are coming from an Orff background, think Keetman’s building blocks. There is bookS called the Tonal Register and Rhythm Register (available through GIA Publications), that will take your students through increasing levels of difficulty of music skills.

For example, in the tonal register, it starts with students just echoing the first note of a sequence (example: if you were to sing the notes G-A-B, the student would have to sing G). This is to get the students FORCED into audiating (internally processing the music). It progresses through things such as singing the resting tone (tonal center), echoing tonal patterns, adding solfege syllables, determining major versus minor, etc, etc.

How Does It Work?

Each skill works a little differently in terms of how it is presented, but generally speaking, students will be echoing or answering what you sing or chant. There are three different types of patterns:

1. class patterns – whole class echoes/answers you. this the safe place for kids to experiment and learn the new skill
2. teaching patterns – one student sings/answers, but it is scaffolded because the teacher sings the answer with them
3. assessing patterns – the kid sings/chants the answer by themselves

The Reference Guide is essential to correctly implementing your LSAs, so don’t forget to get this book as well. (Not sure why it is separate from the actual register, but luckily all these things are very cheap).

How I keep track of turns.

X = easy pattern passed XX=medium XXX=hard

/= they did the pattern correctly with the teacher (teaching pattern)

_ = they did not do the patter correctly (that way I know that I have gotten to them, but they just haven’t been successful.)

How to Differentiate Your Instruction During LSAs

Within most of the pages on the registers, there are three levels of patterns. Low, medium and hard patterns. Based off the data I got from the PMMA testing (see last weeks post), I know who my high, low and medium students are. Alls students are learning the same concept (echoing duple rhythms using rhythm syllables, for example). However, as you can imagine, some rhythms in duple meter are easier or harder than others. So, you can give harder and harder patterns to your high students, while giving easier patterns to your lower students. Also, students are learning even when it is not their turn to say the pattern, because they are still hearing and absorbing that vocabulary and context. This can be a helpful way to immerse your low students in the content, so that when you finally DO get to their turn, they can be more successful because they have heard lots of examples from their peers.

Okay, so why are LSAs important?

The idea of Music Learning Theory is that music is learned the same way we learn language. Obviously vocabulary is an important part of learning language, and I feel that is an important part of learning musical language as well. Once students have a familiarity with the chunks (for lack of a better term) that make up music, they can do SO MUCH with them. They can find and recognize those patterns in songs. They can learn how to recognize them visually (aka read and write music). They can manipulate them to improvise or compose new things. But it all starts from the vocabulary. This is why I have kept LSAs a constant part of my teaching over the years.

A Deeper Dive

So if any of this piques your interest, the BEST way to really understand LSAs and their value is to take a Music Learning Theory Certification Course – available during the summers around the country.

The Music Learning Theory official website is a great place to start. Check it our here at www.giml.org

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