Dancing Panda Pilot - Activity 6 - “Find the Beat” (October 2020)

Bonjour, Panda Pal! Today we’ll be doing a Music activity called, “Find the beat.”

Pick a song and clap to the beat. Make sure you clap the beat, and not the melody. Choose your own song to clap to or one of these 3 songs:

Moana’s “Logo Te Pate” (2:07)

The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” (3:26)

Madagascar’s “I like to move it, move it” (2:49)

Need some help doing this activity?

Tips:

Try not to pay attention to the lyrics or the melody, but listen for a steady beat.
First try tapping with your finger to find the beat, then tap your foot, and soon enough you’ll feel the beat of a song through your whole body!
Here’s a video of two Panda Pals doing this activity: Coming Soon!

Want More Fun?

Here are some more activities:

Think of some of your favorite songs that have a strong beat. Make a playlist of your favorite songs to clap or dance to.
What are some of your favorite songs that have a slow beat? How might you want to dance or clap to songs that are slower?

Was the activity too hard?

Have the grownup clap to the beat first. Then, do it together with your child, then have your child try to clap to the beat on their own.

Was the activity too easy?

Try clapping the song in double time - that is twice as fast as the regular beat.

Learning Connections

In this activity, children are learning about some basic music theory. The beat is a basic unit of time and is the steady pulse in a song. Per makingmusicmag.com, the beat is also part of the rhythm. “Rhythm is a series of notes in a musical piece – a pattern.” And when a rhythm is combined with pitch, that is a melody.

Additional Resources

Articles for Grownups:

Here’s a fun and informative article on how to find the beat: Get Rhythm: Finding the Beat
And another simple article on how to find the beat: How to Recognize the Beat in Music
Here’s an article that describes the difference between tempo and rhythm: What's the Difference Between Tempo and Rhythm?
Here’s an article that explains scientifically why some people struggle with finding the beat to a song: Why some people just can’t dance or clap to the beat-cant-dance-or-clap-to-the-beat/

Kid-Friendly Resources:

Here’s a great video on how to count music, using Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean: How to Count Music | Exercise to help you find the beat in a song (0:42)
Here’s a fun and quick clapping game song for your child: Clap Clap - Rhythm Lesson (1:50)