I just finished up my last session of Piano Training Camp and wanted to share one of the activities we did. (I’ll share more later…) Years ago I had bought a 12 inch parachute for my studio to use in group settings. I have fond memories of the parachute from school and figured we can do some fun musical activities with it in the studio. One of the first things students think about when they see the parachute is P.E. at school as this is usually where they experience it. But in addition to a physical activity (and yes it can get pretty physical), it lends itself well for musical experiences. At the same time that I bought my parachute I also bought a CD called “A World of Parachute Play.” This CD has many familiar songs on it and narrates what the students should do with the music.

In addition to using a CD that is specifically for parachute activities you can do listening/movement activities with any music. Students can be listening for dynamic changes, pitch changes, tempo and articulation changes. And are given instructions in what to do with the parachute when they hear what is going on in the music. For example when the pitch goes higher, they lift the chute higher. When the pitch goes lower, they lower the chute, etc… Another example is when the dynamic is soft they can walk to the right, when it gets loud they can walk to the left. An example of tempo and articulation changes would be the motion of the parachute.

Even though we had to brave the hot Arizona heat, we had a lot of fun!