Curated OER
Epic Improvisation
Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....
Curated OER
Jazz Forms and Improvisation
Students listen to an original recording of Louis Armstrong and discuss instrumentation. They identify an AABA song form as they listen. They list similarities between the following: traditional meets modern and small group vs. big band.
Curated OER
A Musical Composition Experience
Upper graders having skills in music performance will extend their abilities through creative musical composition. They'll use Finale 2000 to explore facets of music composition, they'll then compose a piece for their instrument in C, F,...
Curated OER
Improvising Music
Students watch "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" and improvise melodic and rhythmic embellishments for the song "O What A Beautiful Morning" or "Rubber Duckie."
Curated OER
Jazz in America
Learners participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.
Curated OER
Pitched Instruments of African Music
For this African music worksheet, students read about the kora and the xylophone which are types of pitched instruments. A glossary is included in the 2 page article.
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Music of the Middle East
Explore the cultural and religious influences that have shaped music in the Middle East. Classical and traditional music styles are covered in terms of instrumentation and music theory. This slide show would be appropriate for a music...
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Music- Found-Object Orchestra
Young scholars construct simple musical instruments. In this music instructional activity, students read the text Max Found Two Sticks and construct their own instruments from classroom materials.
Curated OER
Improvising in the Birthplace of Jazz
Learners recognize significant developments in New Orleans jazz music. They improvise blues licks using notes from a minor pentatonic scale.
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Consonance and Dissonance Activities
Hone those musical ears to identify consonance and dissonance in music being played live or on a recording. Learners will work through four activities where they will listen to consonant and dissonant notes being played first by the...
Curated OER
Music
Fourth graders are introduced to the ABA form of music through singing and playing instruments. Using music, they practice reading the notations and improvising melodies. They also sing in duets and trios in various keys to end the...
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Blues Improvisation
Students practice playing and improvising while playing the 12 bar blues. They practice compositional skills, evaluate and perform musical pieces focused on the blues.
Curated OER
Jazz: Expression through Improvisation
Students watch a video on improvisation. They improvise original melodies over given chord progressions. They develop criteria to evaluate the merits of improvisational performances and apply the criteria in their personal listening and...
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Vitamin A
Students explore non-locomotor movements and instrument improvisation creating accompaniments to the song "Vitamin A" in this elementary-level General Music lesson. The lesson nutrition messages links and student challenges for advanced...
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Musical Instruments - Percussion
Students research and analyze various percussion instruments from different countries and cultures in this Music lesson plan for the upper-elementary classroom. Emphasis is placed on internet research and hands-on drumming techniques...
Curated OER
Kindergarten Music Time
Little ones are led through a series of rhythmic songs and chants while they march, clap, and use their tummies as percussive instruments. They work on singing in pitch, chunking, and keeping a steady beat.
Curated OER
My Way
Students culminate a humanities project by improvising music to accompany a video of a particular era in US history.
Curated OER
There Ya Go, Bobby McFerrin, Creativity ans Jazz
Students examine the percussion sounds used to create percussive sounds and identify the instruments that Bobby McFerrin imitates in his scat vocals. A scat version of the musical piece "So What" is improvised in this lesson.
Curated OER
Indian Music
In this music worksheet, students will read about the 3 main parts of Indian music, complete 5 short answer questions about those parts, and read descriptions of 4 common Indian instruments.
Curated OER
Composing Your Own Melody
Get the songwriters in your class started early with an engaging music composition activity. After experimenting with an existing melody, class members improvise in a given range of notes and create their own melodies.
SoundTree
Teaching Jazz Structure with 2-track Stereo Digital Audio Software
Melody, solo, melody. After a discussion of the structure of a jazz tune and of improvisation as it relates to jazz, young musicians listen to a jazz CD and then, using 2-track stereo digital audio software, place and label markers in an...
Curated OER
America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)
Students perform a song using correct rhythms, accurate pitches, and dynamic phrasing. They perform an accompaniment to "America" on Orff instruments.
Curated OER
Teaching Dynamics
Second graders discuss the sounds of rainstorms. In this rainstorm lesson, 2nd graders listen to the story Down Comes the Rain and they discuss the change in sounds they hear in a thunder storm. They use percussion instruments to create...
Curated OER
Vitamin A
Students identify and pat the beat. They move to and play quarter notes, half notes, and eighth notes to create a "factory" movement and instrument improvisation. Students get into groups of three. Each person in the group moves to one...