ASO Festival of Learning and Participation: The Beat of Your Feet

Stan and Mabel Participation Pack (by Paul Rissmann)

Most importantly for the day of the performance, is that students are familiar with the Stan and Mabel story, as well as the participation songs throughout the score. Paul Rissmann has created a Participation Pack (using Prezi software) that will take you step by step through the piece and the songs, in an easy to follow and interactive presentation. You can access and download this resource via the following link

Additional resources have also been provided by the composer via the following links:

Stan and Mabel PowerPoint

Zip file of the audio tracks here:

Listen to (but not download) the entire Ensemble 360 performance here:

The Beat of Your Feet – Additional Ideas (Extension Classroom Activities)

In addition to learning the essential participation parts that will enable students to participate fully throughout the performance, we have put together a list of additional activities and suggestions that you may wish to carry out with students, either before or after the performance day. These activities are provided as suggestions only – we encourage you to adapt and use them in a way that is best suited to your specific year level, class ability and available resources. These activities are directly linked to the Content Descriptions of the Australian Curriculum, Music.

Foundation to Year 2 Content Descriptions

ACAMUM080: Develop aural skills by exploring and imitating sounds, pitch and rhythm patterns using voice, movement and body percussion

ACAMUM081: Sing and play instruments to improvise, practise a repertoire of chants, songs and rhymes, including songs used by cultural groups in the community

ACAMUM082: Create compositions and perform music to communicate ideas to an audience

Year 3 and 4 Content Descriptions

ACAMUM084: Develop aural skills by exploring, imitating and recognising elements of music including dynamics, pitch and rhythm patterns

ACAMUM085: Practise singing, playing instruments and improvising music, using elements of music including rhythm, pitch, dynamics and form in a range of pieces, including in music form the local community

ACAMUM086: Create, perform and record compositions by selecting and organising sounds, silence, temp and volume

Activity Ideas:

Class Orchestra

  • Encourage students to experiment with different sounds that can be created through body percussion – eg. clicking, rubbing hands together, vocal sounds, etc.
  • Choose one particular body percussion sound for the whole class to perform as a group.
  • Discuss the role of the conductor in an orchestra. Consider ways in which hand signals can be used to communicate different speeds, dynamics, expressions, entries etc.
  • Use these hand signals to “conduct” the class. Signal different dynamics (louds and softs) and bring students in at different times.
  • Divide the class into different sections of the “orchestra” (different sound groups) and have each group select a different body percussion sound to perform.
  • Select a student to conduct the class, bringing in eachof the groups at different times. Use hand signals to change the dynamics.
  • Discuss the role of teamwork within an ensemble – what happens when one person doesn’t follow the conductor?
  • Consider the challenges of working together in an ensemble

Instruments of the Orchestra

  • Explore the different instruments played by the animal characters in Jason Chapman’s story.
  • Research these instruments – their families, sounds, registers. There are many interactive online websites that are great for this purpose! For example:
  • Listen to and describe the different sounds and timbres of each instrument. Compare the differences in sound quality and registers between the different families of instruments.
  • Listen to different tracks from the Stan and Mabel recording and try and identify different instruments as they are heard.

Telling a Story Through Music

  • Listen to the music of Stan and Mabel and consider how the music helps tell the story. Discuss how music in television and movies helps tell a story.
  • Identify the moments in Paul Rissmann’s score when the animals are making their journey to Milan (train, taxi, bus, and aeroplane). Consider how the music suggests a sense of urgency and movement.
  • Listen to John Adam’s piece Short Ride in a Fast Machine and consider how a different composer uses music to describe and depict movement of a fast car.
  • Discuss how the class might create a composition that depicts different types of transportation.
  • Experiment with different sounds (percussion instruments, body percussion, vocal sounds) that represent different styles of transport.
  • Create a short composition that depicts a journey
  • Develop a structure for the composition. In doing so, you might wish to consider the following details:
  • type of transport
  • purpose of the journey
  • surroundings passed
  • speed at which the journey is taken
  • arrival destination
  • Work out different sounds to portray the different points of the journey
  • Map these out on a graphic score that students can easily follow
  • Rehearse the composition
  • Record the class performing the composition and play it back to the class.
  • Discuss ways to improve the composition and the performance.

3 Note Compositions:

  • You will notice that the “Stan and Mabel” song is based upon three notes (do, re, mi). Ask students to work out the melodic contour of the 3 note melody, by tracing the pitch in the air as they sing.
  • Determine the order of the 3 pitches and ask students to use solfege hand signs to demonstrate the pitch as they sing
  • Transfer the melody to pitched percussion/instruments. This can be done without the use of accidentals by using the notes C-D-E, F-G-A or G-A-B. Have students play these notes as a class.
  • If you wish to perform the melody with the recording, you will need to play it in the original key, using the notes Eflat, F and G. (If using glockenspiels, you may wish to remove the other notes to help students locate the incorrect pitches).
  • Decide upon a different order to play the notes, but with the same rhythm.
  • Select two different characters in the bookand decide upon the rhythm you would use to say the selected names. (eg. Roadey the duck, Roberta or Bobby the rabbits).
  • Using the same three notes (do, re, mi) work out a new melodyto play or sing, based upon the rhythms of these names.
  • Have each student create a 3 note melody using the rhythms of their own names. Go around the class and listen to the different melodies that students have come up with.