Tune Town

(submitted by Lauren)

To make "Tune Town" I make 8 houses using the die-cut machine. On each door I write one of the sol-fege syllables. I also decorate the windows, just to be cute! I designate a section of my room "Tune Town." This bulletin board stays up all year. I make a big hill out of green butcher paper. I make a million die-cut trees and make the hill wooded. I cut a sun and clods and add them. As we learn the sol-fege syllables, I add its house. The houses are arranged on the hill based on how high or low they are in relation to the others. Sometimes I put up a "for sale" sign when we're about to learn a new syllable. This also helps when we are learning to write on the musical staff. I can ask my students, "Who lives right below mi?" Or, "How many steps does it take to get from mi's house to do's house?" It is especially helpful in seeing the relationship between sol and mi. There is a vacant lot between the two, so any time we write sol and mi, we always remember the vacant lot.

The town I live in is a "master-planned community," so I enjoy making all the houses look the same and having some lots be "wooded" lots. When Tune Town was low on the wall, I put up a large "No Trespassing" sign so my students would not lean on the hill. I have laminated all of my houses and I keep the trees and clouds. My older students enjoy keeping up with what my younger students are learning and it helps them remember, too. I have seen sets for this bulletin board at the TMEA (Texas Music Educators' Association) conference for sale, but I think it is neat to make your Tune Town look like the town you live in. It's even fun to decorate the town for the different holidays. You can be as detailed as you like!