Earlier this year I purchased a new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and so far my two most-used apps have been Forscore (for reading and annotating sheet music) and Procreate.
Procreate is a drawing/graphic design app and for around US $10 it does SO MUCH. It’s truly amazing.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time watching tutorials to learn the basics, but I wanted to complete a simple project to put some of the skills I had learnt into practice. That’s always the best way to consolidate learning, right?
I decided to create some Kodaly/Curwen hand signs in a variety of styles that I could then share on this blog and inside my Midnight Music Community.
Now, before you all think I’m brilliant at drawing (I’m not!) let me tell you the process:
- I found a collection of public domain images of the hand signs on Wikimedia Commons by Freya Jarman which I could use as a basis for my collection
- I then imported each one into Procreate – into a separate project
- Starting with Do, I traced over the original image with a monoline brush to make a clear black outline version
- I then spent quite a bit of time tidying up the lines in my drawing – zooming in and out to erase unwanted parts or smoothing out the lines by using a smaller brush size
- Once I was happy with the drawing, I then duplicated it so that I had a total of 10 copies
- I went through each duplicate and changed the outline colour and/or fill colour to create the 10 variations
- Finally, I removed (turned off) the background layer so that each version was transparent and then exported them all as PNG files
- Then I started the process over again for Re and all the other next hand signs
Once I had the process worked out it didn’t take too long and it was something I could do in front of the TV at night.
I ended up making the following variations for each pitch:
- Outline versions: black, white, grey, Boomwhacker color
- Filled versions: black, white, 3 different skin tones and Boomwhacker color
That’s a total of 70 images!
Here are some previews:
All the images have a transparent background so you can use them in multiple ways:
- In worksheets
- To make flash cards
- In Google Slides, Powerpoint or Keynote
- Add them to your Canva library
- Use them in your Seesaw Activities
- Use them when creating playalong videos
And so on!
I hope you find these useful!
Can I use these images for commercial purposes?
Yes, as long as you credit Midnight Music in your product details and link back to this blog as your source. However, you are not allowed to share individual image files or this library in its entirety. In other words, you may use the files and images in a design, but you may not share the files themselves.
Educators, you may share these files with your students, but they must be protected behind a login of some kind, such as a classroom portal or via email. Please do not post these files by themselves on a publicly accessible website or platform.
Download your copy
To access the Hand Signs Clip Art, click the button below and a copy will be sent directly into your inbox.
Looking for More Resources for Music Teachers?
Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my business Midnight Music.
I’m a qualified teacher but no, I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through my online professional development space – the Midnight Music Community – where there are tutorial videos, courses, links and downloadable resources.
I like to focus on easy ways to incorporate technology into what you are already doing in your music curriculum through a range of creative projects. I also run live workshops and have presented at countless conferences and other music education events.
If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside the Midnight Music Community.
15 Comments
Hello! I requested the Hand Signs Clip Art, but what arrived in my inbox was a pdf of this blog post, not the colorful images of the hand signs. Did I do something incorrectly?
Ditto
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You just saved me hours of doing this same thing. This is quite an amazing resource.
You’re welcome Ali! I actually had fun making those
Hello!
I would love to use these to make signs to sell in teachers pay teachers, but I want to know if you will allow that. Is this something I can do? Or can I pay you for this to use?
Hi Anne – I’m happy for you to use them as long as they’re not being sold “as is”. If you’re incorporating them into a design, then that’s fine. Thanks for checking!
These are so great! I just discovered your site. Do you have the minor hand symbols as well?
I’m glad you like them! I haven’t done the minor/chromatic ones yet but it’s on my “someday” list. I can’t promise a date when they’ll be ready though – sorry!
Hi, thank you for doing this! I had done something like this 14 years ago but now can’t find the file and was afraid I’d have to do it all again. I’m excited that you have made something that makes *so much sense to have* so accessible.
However, when I click on the “Download your copy” button nothing happens. Is the link broken or is there another link you have to click on?
Thank you!
Hi Kathleen – thanks for the kind comments! When you click on the button, a pop-up window appears where you can enter your email so we can send you the images. If that’s not appearing, it might be possible that you have pop-ups blocked perhaps? If you’re at school it would be worth trying again when you get home in case it’s due to some kind of pop-up blocker the school has in place for their network. I’ve just checked it and it’s working fine for me.
Thanks for offering this. My download turned out to be a handout of the blog post instead….
Hi Wendy! Inside that handout there is a link to a ZIP file download which contains the hand signs – it’s at the bottom of page 4. Now that I’ve looked at it again, I think we’ll probably redo the handout to make it more obvious!
I’m so excited to receive these, but when I click on the link, I only receive the Blog Post Handout explaining how you created the Kodaly Curwin hand signs clip art. I’ve tried a couple times with the same result.
Hello! Inside that handout there is a link to a ZIP file download which contains the hand signs – it’s at the bottom of page 4. Now that I’ve looked at it again, I think we’ll probably redo the handout to make it more obvious!
Thank you for this!! I’m going to make 3-d printed hand sign magnets as a teacher appreciation gift for my daughter’s chorus teacher. You just saved me HOURS of work!