Balloon Time

Anacrusis, Crusis, Metacrusis

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I was so glad to appear on Jessica Grant’s podcast “Afternoon Ti” (Bonus points to her for the great pun) last week. One of the things we talked about was an exercise that uses jumping, and one of the great musical benefits of the exercise is getting the children to think about preparation in the body and in musical expression. If you go listen to that episode, I explain the exercise there.

The kinesthetic motor set I use in that jumping activity is a great set up for our first “Balloon Time” activity. Balloon time is hands down the most popular activity I use in my elementary school. In this post I’ll explain Balloon Time in some detail and include a video of the exercise in action, as well as an audio file you can use in your classroom.

First of all, I’ll say that EVERY student loves balloons. When I pull them out, it doesn’t matter what age or demographic the children belong to, or even adults, they are excited to use the balloons. Whenever we’re using balloons, I find it necessary to really go over some rules beforehand so we can not only avoid chaos, but also so the children maintain the use of balloons as a tool for capturing a sensation in the body… not as a toy to amuse themselves with.

Rule #1 of Balloon Time : Whatever color you get…. You get what you get! We want to avoid being fixated on the color of the balloons, arguing about them, trading, etc.

Rule #2 of Balloon Time : The Balloon goes IN YOUR BELLY BUTTON. This is important. If I say “Belly Button” it is a cue to hold that ballon right against your stomach. Keep your hands still and wait for instructions.

Rule #3 of Balloon Time : All we do, the only thing we do, the only move we make, is TOSS and CATCH. No hitting, no punching, no poking, no tapping, no kicking, no slapping…. just TOSS and CATCH.

If you don’t follow the rules of Balloon Time, I will take your balloon and you can use AN INVISIBLE BALLOON… which works just fine. (No one wants the invisible balloon, they’ll follow the rules)

I outline these rules EVERY TIME we are about to use balloons. It is VERY important.

So after I’ve handed out balloons (saying “belly button” as I hand out each one), the first move is to practice tossing together. I’ll say, “can you toss your balloon at the same time as me?” I give a very clear preparation to my toss, a downward motion first. Then I toss gently, let the balloon float. After I catch it I say “BELLY BUTTON.”

I’ll then assess if everyone threw it at the correct time. At first it’s usually a bit scattered. I’ll point out that if they prepare with me, they’ll toss with me. I’ll try it a few more times until we’re very accurate in tossing together. Now I’ll ask a few other students to lead, showing us their preparation and then toss. We can discuss if it’s easy to predict when they’re about to toss.

Now I’ll ask them to follow the piano. This is interesting… can they hear the preparation and the ensuing strong beat? Really, from a Dalcrozian perspective, this exercise is all about anacrusis, crusis, and metacrusis. Can they sense the pickup notes that lead to the downbeat? Can they allow the balloon to float through the rest of the measure until we’re ready for another anacrusis? Depending on the age of the students, I might start with an 8 beat pattern, or 4. I’m looking for them to make a decision about how high to toss the balloon, in order to predict that it’ll come down in time for the next toss. I’ll encourage them to watch eachother and stay together. There’s a lot to like about this activity.

Now I can change the meter, I’ll typically shorten the meter to 3 beats and ask them to recognize how it feels different. Someone usually recognizes that they have to toss the balloon shorter in order to stay with the groove. I’ll call this the “short toss,” and the other one the tall toss. We can alternate between them and see if they can recognize when it changes.

Notice that I’m NOT asking them to count here… they’re just noticing the amount of time in-between tosses for one meter, and then less for the other. Too often we reduce music to counting… sometimes counting is the right entry point for a concept but often it is cumbersome and unmusical. The balloon allows the student to make a decision about how much space the meter uses without even thinking about numbers.

HERE IS THE LINK FOR THE AUDIO FILE, YOU CAN USE IT IN YOUR CLASS INSTEAD OF PIANO IMPROV

Please leave a comment or some feedback to let me know what’s useful to you. Questions? Clarification? All appreciated.