Music has the power to affect how we feel. Listening to music can make people feel happy, sad, calm or many other emotions. Some music makes us want to get up and dance; other music makes us want to sing along. We often choose to play or listen to a certain type of music based on the mood we're in at that moment.
Help children learn about different aspects of music, such as tempo (speed), melody, harmony, and dynamics (loud/soft), in this musical game. Choose a favorite song and sing it all the way through. You can find lyrics to lots of classic children's songs at http://kids.niehs.nih.gov. When everyone is familiar with the lyrics, start the game. The first person starts to sing the song by changing one thing.
Musical notes are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, A-B-C-D-E-F-G. Each note (letter) sounds a little higher than the one before it. The letters continue to be repeated on an instrument, going higher and lower in pitch. To help people learn and remember the notes, a technique called solfege attaches a sound to a note.
