I'm always shocked at how popular the triangle is. I have had multiple experiences with 6th graders telling me the one instrument they want to play most before they leave my class is the triangle! There's definitely something magical about them. If you're looking for some fresh ways to use triangles in your classroom, or strategies for using them more effectively, this post is for you.
1. Storage
If you haven't tried my storage "hack" that I figured out years ago then you are definitely missing out. I use a jewelry organizer/ necklace hanger so I can hang the triangles from the hooks and keep the beaters in the bottom. Not only does it prevent the triangles from getting tangled up with each other, but it makes it easier to grab the triangle by the holder to keep them from falling off when you pick it up, and it makes the beaters easy to find and grab as well. You can use any shape you can find that has hooks on top and a base wide enough for triangle beaters- this is just the one I happened to find at the store on clearance years ago:
2. Management and Playing Technique
The biggest game changer that I will never go without again is rubber triangle holders (like these). I don't know why they are so hard to find, because no other triangle holder comes close to being as sturdy and easy for small hands to hold, and most importantly, keeps the triangle stable instead of spinning endlessly in circles every time they strike it.
For students to be able to avoid "playing before I say", I always point out specifically- especially for younger students- that they should keep the beater away from the triangle if they are holding it and waiting. If they are sitting on the floor they can put them down with some distance between them, or if they are sitting in chairs they can hold the triangle on one leg with one hand and the beater in the other hand on the other leg.
I always start off by showing students how to tap on the bottom side (the "base" of the triangle) while holding it just by the holder, making sure nothing is touching the triangle. When students learn half notes in second grade, I show them how to go back and forth in the bottom corner without the gap to play "sustained" notes, which they always think is super fun.
3. Lesson Ideas
Preschool/ Kindergarten: My favorite way to introduce triangles is with the song, "Twinkle Twinkle". I have half the students students play on the last word of each line while the other half sing and do the motions.
1st grade: In 1st grade students notate their own 4-beat rhythm composition for the first time, and after they write the rhythms I have them choose an instrument out of a few choices, including the triangle, to perform their rhythm with.
2nd/ 3rd grade: In 2nd grade students learn half notes and in 3rd grade they learn whole notes, and I show them that only certain classroom instruments can be used to play sustained notes. The triangle is one of the first instruments (along with egg shakers) that I show them how to use to practice playing sustained note rhythms, so we use triangles a lot for rhythm notation reading practice at this age.
4th-6th grade: The triangle is a go-to instrument for 2 basic categories of lesson activities for my older students: soundscapes/ sound effects, and instrumental ensemble arrangements of lyrical pieces. I have a lot of lessons where I create a quick orff arrangement of a song for students to sing and play to practice a specific musical element, whether that's tonality, or a specific rhythm or pitch element, in the upper grades. The triangle is an easy instrument to add as a "color instrument", usually playing on the last beat of each measure or something like that, when the song is more peaceful/ calm, and the students all beg to be the ones to play the triangle! For soundscapes/ sound effects, I find students gravitate to the triangle for any type of "dinging" sound, so it gets used a lot in the videogame composition project, movie music foley project, and soundscape lessons.
I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for using triangles in your classroom! If you want to see how all of these strategies and lesson ideas are incorporated into a fully sequenced curriculum, with all the complete lesson plans and materials to teach them, you can find them in the Organized Chaos K-6 Curriculum. I'd love to hear your favorite ways to use triangles in the comments below as well!
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