Personalize this activity to fit your child!
Log in or create a free account to personalize, save, and track this activity.
Or discover more about TopParent at topparent.ai
Description
From your seats, silently follow one kind of gesture from conductor Pierre Bleuse and notice what the Singapore Symphony Orchestra does next. Compare one cue-and-response pair only at intermission or after the concert.
Play guide
- 1Before the performance begins, choose one visible cue to follow from your seats, such as a broad sweep, a small beat, a lifted hand or a still pause. The child chooses the cue and may change it later.
- 2While the music plays, watch for that cue without pointing across other people or copying it. Notice one thing that happens next, such as more instruments joining, a quieter sound, a new entrance or no obvious change.
- 3Keep every prediction private during the music. The child can think "bigger," "smaller," "same" or "not sure," and may stop watching the conductor whenever they want.
- 4At intermission or after the final applause, take turns completing, "I saw this, then I heard..." Accept different observations and say when neither of you is sure.
- 5Close with one favourite cue-and-response pair. Make clear that you were observing this performance, not decoding a universal conductor language, then follow venue directions for leaving or returning to the hall.
Success signals
Your child selects a cue and notices at least one event that follows it. Your child distinguishes an observation from a guess, including saying "not sure." Parent and child report different details without needing to settle on one correct account.
If it's tricky
The conductor is hard to see. Follow one orchestra section visible from the seat and notice when it starts or stops. Do not change seats, stand or lean into another person's view. Nothing obvious follows the chosen cue. Record that as "no change I could hear" and choose a larger gesture next time. Uncertainty is a valid finding. Your child starts making large conducting movements. Quietly pause the game and return hands to their own space. Save a one-gesture replay for outside the hall after the concert. The child becomes restless or overwhelmed. End the activity and follow staff guidance about stepping out and re-entry. Do not require a final observation.