Dramatic Dialogues

DRAMATIC DIALOGUES

Players: Best with two, could modify for a group

Time: 5 minutes

Ability: All

Age: All

Now that you have gotten used having a musical conversation and have realised with excitement that it can be just as easy as having a normal conversation it’s time to add some emotion!

Like the Sentence Game, begin by using words and then move to music notes.

Say you’re going to start by taking it in turns saying sentences to each other. This should not take long to get the hang of – don’t spend too long on this step.

Now say music sentences to each other, pretend you’re having a conversation.

Vary the types of conversations you have:

For example:

–          Two friends who haven’t seen each other for ages

–          A teacher yelling at a student

–          A musical fight!

–          A conversation where one instrument has to woo the other

Another variation is to challenge one another with an emotion each turn.

For instance I ask for a “bubbly” sentence, and then when it’s my turn the student can ask for a different emotion (maybe “lazy”)

Variations:

• Pick two moods and have one transform into the other (e.g. from frightened to peaceful)
• Add some theory by asking why certain musical ideas create certain emotions: “What about the rhythm makes this sound happy?” “Why does this melody sound sad?” etc

Group Variation:

MUSICAL CHARADES

You could modify this for a group setting like a musical improv version of charades!

Have two or three people get up and have a ‘conversation’ with their instruments under a different theme.

See if the audience (the rest of the class) can guess the emotion or the different characters involved.

NEXT: CALL AND RESPONSE