USING DRAMA AS A TEACHING TOOL - Reeling & Writhing

Vocal Exercises
TITLE: DIDDLY DAH TITLE: 1 121 12321
LEARNING OUTCOMES: This is excellent for listening
skills, concentration and working together as a
team.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY: Any space where a class
can sit down in a circle and are able to see one
another.
DESCRIPTION: Ask the group to repeat the following
rhyme one line at a time. Do bear in mind the
word diddly (did-a-lee) has three syllables not two,
as this will effect the rhythm of the game:
“Diddly Dah / Diddly Dah / Diddly, Diddly, Diddly
Dah”
Once everyone can say all the words as a complete
sentence repeated over and over, suggest saying
the sentence one word at a time, going round the
circle, for example,A begins by saying;
A: Diddly
B: Dah
C: Diddly
D: Dah
E: Diddly
F: Diddly
G: Diddly
H: Dah
Continue to repeat the sentence round and round
the circle. Encourage speed and volume once the
group have gained confidence.
HINTS AND TIPS:There’s no room for smarty pants
in this game, everyone needs to listen like a hawk
to ensure they say the right word at the right time.
Similarly, each person must speak up so that the
rest of the group can hear accurately.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES: This is a fantastic game to
encourage understanding of mathematical patterns
and logical thought. It’s a brainteaser, demanding
good concentration to be enjoyed with a large
group of people. Once the exercise is known well,
it serves very nicely as a straight vocal warm-up.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY: A piano or recorder to
play a clear starting note around about middle C or
perhaps a few notes higher.
DESCRIPTION: After listening carefully to the starting
note, for example Middle C (though this pitch
may need to be changed according to where your
class are comfortable singing) the first word of the
game is sung “one” to the note middle C.
The game works on the principle that the words
sung (one, two, three etc.) correspond with an
octave, ie. singing from middle C up to D, E, F, G,A,
B and C. 1 = C. 8 = C an octave higher.
The game begins by singing the word “one” to the
note of C and then starting again on the next line
(see below), singing “one two one”. The next line
continues “one two three two one”, following on
to “one two three four three two one” etc. etc.
until the final line “one two three four five six seven
eight seven six five four three two one”.
1
121
12321
1234321
123454321
12345654321
1234567654321
123456787654321
The fun really starts when the group rhythm and
confidence has been well established (this usually
takes a couple of sessions) and the number three is
then ‘rubbed out’ of the pattern leaving a blank
space there instead. For example, we would sing,
“one, one two one, one two _ two one, one two _
four _ two one etc…”
HINTS AND TIPS: Keep a regular pace to the pattern
and don’t think of the exercise as actual
singing so much as thinking out loud to a predetermined
pitch!