MAPSCurwen Ladder Choir
Summary
This activity develops students’ audiation, intonation, and part-singing skills through solfège and Curwen hand signs. Students first review individual pitches, then silently audiate intervals or chords shown through hand signs before singing them aloud and checking their intonation with the piano. They gradually move from individual and small-group pitch work to two- and three-part scale patterns and choral warm-ups, learning to maintain their own part, adjust pitch accurately, and hear harmonic relationships within an ensemble.
Procedures
- 1
The teacher reviews the Curwen hand signs for do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti, and the whole class follows the hand signs while softly singing the corresponding solfège syllables in a comfortable speaking-range register.
- 2
The teacher silently shows an interval or chord using hand signs. Students audiate the pitches internally and raise their hands when they feel confident that they are hearing the notes accurately in their minds.
- 3
The whole class then sings the interval or chord together using solfège, and checks the intonation against the piano. Students adjust any pitches that are flat.
- 4
Small-group activity: Invite one student to choose an interval or chord using any of the seven solfège pitches and show it with Curwen hand signs. The piano provides a reference pitch as needed. The other students first hear the pitches internally, then sing them aloud and check the intonation with the piano.
- 5
The full choir sings a simple two-part or three-part interval or chord exercise. For example, using the interval do–mi, the piano first provides the reference pitch la. One lower part begins on do and sings an ascending scale, while the upper part begins on mi and simultaneously sings an ascending scale. The piano is then used to check the intonation.
- 6
Transfer the tuned interval or chord into a two-part or three-part choral warm-up. After singing, use the piano to check the final pitch of each part for intonation accuracy.
Activity Preparation
1. Curwen hand-sign chart;
2. Piano or tuning app;
3. Two-line choral warm-up in solfège.
Activity Sources
- Source Type:
- Shared by colleague
- Source:
- Kodály Institute China / 柯达伊中国 — Kodály Method Teacher Training Materials
- Adaptation Notes:
- The audiation step is made explicit with a silent sign-only round, so students think of the pitch before they sing and choir intonation improves faster.
MAPS teaching activities may come from a variety of sources, including original contributions by the MAPS team, online resources, published materials, activities learned from teachers, activities shared by colleagues, traditional teaching practices, and other sources. When a source can be reasonably identified, we make every effort to acknowledge it on the relevant activity page or in the accompanying reference information.
Some content may be organized, translated, structured, or adapted by the MAPS team for specific teaching contexts. Such editorial or instructional adaptation does not mean that MAPS claims ownership of the underlying third-party material. Rights to third-party content remain with the original authors, publishers, or other lawful rights holders.
If you are an author, copyright holder, or authorized representative and have questions or concerns regarding the source, attribution, or use of any content, please contact us:
Email: musicactivityps@gmail.com
Curwen Ladder Choir
Summary
This activity develops students’ audiation, intonation, and part-singing skills through solfège and Curwen hand signs. Students first review individual pitches, then silently audiate intervals or chords shown through hand signs before singing them aloud and checking their intonation with the piano. They gradually move from individual and small-group pitch work to two- and three-part scale patterns and choral warm-ups, learning to maintain their own part, adjust pitch accurately, and hear harmonic relationships within an ensemble.
Procedures
- 1
The teacher reviews the Curwen hand signs for do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti, and the whole class follows the hand signs while softly singing the corresponding solfège syllables in a comfortable speaking-range register.
- 2
The teacher silently shows an interval or chord using hand signs. Students audiate the pitches internally and raise their hands when they feel confident that they are hearing the notes accurately in their minds.
- 3
The whole class then sings the interval or chord together using solfège, and checks the intonation against the piano. Students adjust any pitches that are flat.
- 4
Small-group activity: Invite one student to choose an interval or chord using any of the seven solfège pitches and show it with Curwen hand signs. The piano provides a reference pitch as needed. The other students first hear the pitches internally, then sing them aloud and check the intonation with the piano.
- 5
The full choir sings a simple two-part or three-part interval or chord exercise. For example, using the interval do–mi, the piano first provides the reference pitch la. One lower part begins on do and sings an ascending scale, while the upper part begins on mi and simultaneously sings an ascending scale. The piano is then used to check the intonation.
- 6
Transfer the tuned interval or chord into a two-part or three-part choral warm-up. After singing, use the piano to check the final pitch of each part for intonation accuracy.
Activity Preparation
1. Curwen hand-sign chart;
2. Piano or tuning app;
3. Two-line choral warm-up in solfège.
Activity Sources
- Source Type:
- Shared by colleague
- Source:
- Kodály Institute China / 柯达伊中国 — Kodály Method Teacher Training Materials
- Adaptation Notes:
- The audiation step is made explicit with a silent sign-only round, so students think of the pitch before they sing and choir intonation improves faster.
MAPS teaching activities may come from a variety of sources, including original contributions by the MAPS team, online resources, published materials, activities learned from teachers, activities shared by colleagues, traditional teaching practices, and other sources. When a source can be reasonably identified, we make every effort to acknowledge it on the relevant activity page or in the accompanying reference information.
Some content may be organized, translated, structured, or adapted by the MAPS team for specific teaching contexts. Such editorial or instructional adaptation does not mean that MAPS claims ownership of the underlying third-party material. Rights to third-party content remain with the original authors, publishers, or other lawful rights holders.
If you are an author, copyright holder, or authorized representative and have questions or concerns regarding the source, attribution, or use of any content, please contact us:
Email: musicactivityps@gmail.com
