Suggestions for exploring the contents of the video at home or in the classroom:

1.  In a circle or with the children scattered around the space, explore together the individual limits of sound height with the voice always using the hand as a reference (hand down – low sound; hand up – sharp sound); first the lowest sound, then the highest sound, then fill the space between these extremes by connecting the sounds with a glissando, as if the voice were a rubber band. It can start as an adult-led exercise, in which everyone mimics the movement of your hand; then each child can replace the adult and direct the sounds emitted by the rest of the group (it can also work with the class divided into small groups playing with each other); finally, each child can individually improvise and explore their voice. With their hands, they can draw in the air and play the corresponding sounds; they can also draw on a sheet and mirror the movement of the marker with their voice. The most important thing is that they experiment and discover the physical limits of their voice in terms of extension (distance between the highest sound and the lowest sound that each one can produce).

2. Set a center note (a pedal note or a chord) – you can use this audio track here--» PEDAL NOTE «--  and do this exercise with her, if you don't have any instruments available; otherwise, with a piano, a guitar or any other instrument capable of reproducing a continuous sound or a chord works well (avoiding the mode setting, omitting the 3rd chord interval). Start by playing a game of melodic imitation, exploring the different pitches related to the chord or pedal note in use; first very small phrases with 2 or 4 beats and gradually go on making larger phrases (as we do in the video after the scale has been presented); then ask the children to improvise. It is normal that it is difficult and that it takes time; children need to hear different melodic drawings many times to feel comfortable repeating these examples freely. Start by exploring joint degrees (notes in a row, without jumps, ascending and descending scale) and gradually introduce small jumps (3rd, 5th, etc.), always using your hand as a reference and listening to the pedal note. This exercise is best led by an adult. You can then explore the same exercise with a monkey game, with lines on a wall, with stairs (as shown in the video). At this point in the work, it doesn't matter much in what way (major or minor) they improvise; what is important is that they explore the different heights of sound in comparison with the pedal note. Most likely, intuitively, they improvise in major mode. The pedal note that we use in the video and that is available at the beginning of this point is E. If you have any difficulty understanding this more technical musical content, you can contact us (projectocardo@gmail.com) or simply explore the video and its contents in a more intuitive way. It is still interesting and rich for children. We are aware that this video presents more difficult content for those who do not have musical training or experience, but we hope that this does not stop you from playing and exploring at least some of the ideas that we have launched here.

3. Associating words with the minor mode (you can use the video and/or vocally explore its possibilities, always with the pedal note) - E minor scale: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E – 3rd and minor 7th; explore the physicality and expressiveness of the minor mode relating to flavors, sensations, colors, emotions, moods - sad, soft, serious, blue, purple, black, heavy, whiny, etc. Each child can choose a word and dance to the music keeping it in mind; one word at a time can also be suggested to the whole group and let them explore these suggestions. For the more embarrassed or even as a second exercise for everyone, drawing or painting these ideas also works very well. Finally, it may be interesting to dance over other musical examples in a minor mode.

4. Learn the melody of the song in minor mode first without words and using your hands to represent the pitch of the sound. Repeat until memorized and finally add the text.

5. Associating words with the major mode (you can use the video and/or vocally explore its possibilities, always with the pedal note) - E Major scale: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E – Major 3rd and 7th; explore physicality and expressiveness in the greatest way relating to flavors, sensations, colors, emotions, moods - happy, bouncy, playful, yellow, orange, white, etc. Each child can choose a word and dance to the music keeping it in mind; one word at a time can also be suggested to the whole group and let them explore these suggestions. For the more embarrassed or even with a second exercise for everyone, drawing or painting also works very well. Finally, it may be interesting to dance over other musical examples in major mode.

6. Sing the melody of the song in major mode, first without words and using your hands to represent the pitch of the sound. Repeat until memorized and finally add the text. Try singing keeping the pulse with a body part of your choice.

7. Walk through space singing the song; keep your feet pulsating and mark the different rhythmic accentuation between Part A and Part B of the song (2/4; 6/8) – refer to the score above and the text of the song written below to understand the structure of the song and this rhythmic difference.

8. Make a mime game based on professions and explore the physical characteristics of each one of them. It is interesting that the professions that appear in the text of the song are mentioned and that what they are is explained, since they are not very common nowadays. Look for and suggest professions that children are unfamiliar with and that have interesting expressive and rhythmic characteristics to explore (farmer, weaver, potter, paver, shepherd, cook, etc.)

9. Learn the choreography and repeat it until it is memorized. Start by slowing down and speeding up. You can choose to do just one of the versions (the paired version is simpler), or both (in pairs/in groups), depending on the age and memory capacity of the group.

10. Starting with performing the choreography and singing over the video, it would be interesting if, little by little, they no longer needed this support. Using the staff attached to point 2 or using an instrument that accompanies them, it is good that they become able to switch from one mode to the other based on the pedal note alone. The adjectives, the expressive characteristics and the physical sensation of each of the modes, once internalized, make this game a very interesting challenge for the ear and for understanding the musical language. Finally, it might be interesting to also show other musical examples of the two modes and play a guessing game to see if it has been internalized.