Curated OER
Jam Sessions
Young scholars examine the connection between sense of humor and jazz improvisation by identifying the musical instruments imitated by comedian Bill Cosby. They listen to another recording by Clark Terry and write what they think he...
Curated OER
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Students sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" with others in small groups and as an entire class. Using correct posture, correct rhythms, and accurate pitches, students play improvised melodies as accompaniment to the song. This lesson emphasizes...
Curated OER
Vitamin A
Students identify and pat the beat, move to and play quarter notes, half notes and eighth notes to create a factory movement and instrument improvisation.
Curated OER
What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Students improvise then compose and notate melodies with appropriate accompaniments that are inspired by events that transpired during their summer vacations. Requires a networked keyboard lab.
Curated OER
Music Education, Playing the Blues
This lesson enables students to gain a broader awareness of the basic blues scale and the harmonic structure of the standard blues progression. Students will be given introductory exercises on blues improvisation and will also...
Curated OER
Low Brass: Tibet, Switzerland and Haiti
Students identify sounds played on instruments from around the world. In this music lesson, students listen to music played on various low brass instruments from Tibet, Switzerland and Haiti to determine the differences in pitch...
Curated OER
Que Llueva! It's Raining, It's Pouring!
Students learn to sing a song in another language. For this music lesson, students learn a song about rain in English and Spanish. Students listen to the song Que Llueva in Spanish and It's Raining, It's Pouring in English, sign it...
Curated OER
Rock and Roll with Music and Movement
Fourth graders improvise music and dance to express their analysis of types of rocks. They discuss the three classes of rocks, list describing words, and create a short musical piece and dance to symbolize the rock they are dancing.
Berklee College of Music
Create Your Own Afro-Latin Groove
The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.
Curated OER
Connecting Literature, Writing and Music
High schoolers assess the impact of music to portray emotions and tell stories. Examples are taken from the life of Rosa Parks and a piece of band music called "A Movement for Rosa". Evaluation is accomplished through in-class...
Curated OER
Learning to Play Together
Students listen to and discuss American music genres, specifically ragtime, bebop/bop, and swing, and experiment with improvisation on traditional tunes and rhythms.
Curated OER
Goldilocks and the Bears Make Their Pitch
First graders listen to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and identify the pitch of the bears' voices as high, medium, and low. They improvise on xylophones a melody to accompany the bears in the telling of the story.
Curated OER
Beat Or No Beat
Students keep a steady beat by body movement exercises, improvise, identify a beat/no beat sequence and sing a nursery rhyme from Portugal in this Kindergarten General Music lesson plan. The use of simple rhythmic instruments is required.
Curated OER
Shoes And Singin
Students analyze rhythmic patterns (beat versus no beat), sing an echo song on Solfege syllables, improvise melodies, and express music through creative movement. This lesson is written to meet State and National Standards for the Arts.
Curated OER
12 Days of Christmas
First graders reinforce numerical order as they explore "The 12 Days of Christmas". Composition with instruments is also involved.
Curated OER
"Sakura Sakura" and the Kumoijoshi Scale of Japan
Learners listen to a recording of "Sakura" and determine where it is from. In this global sound lesson, students view pictures of cherry blossoms and connect its significance to Japanese culture. Learners sing the score while...
Curated OER
Everybody's Boppin', Lambert, Hendricks and Ross
Students probe the musical style of scat singing with imitation instruments. While listening to the musical pieces, they identify when one singer finishes and another begins. The singing groups' styles are contrasted in this lesson.
Curated OER
Jazz: Boombox Classroom
In this music activity, students read about improvisation. Students choose their favorite instrument, a saxophone or a bass, and draw a picture of it. Students can then do a small maze.
Curated OER
Roll Over! (There Were Ten In The Bed)
Students practice math, language, and music skills. In this interdisciplinary instructional activity, students learn the song "Roll Over!" practicing repeating word patterns and subtraction skills. Students improvise in the song by...
Curated OER
Bob Marley - Legend Episode #3 - Lesson 2
Learners perform using rhythm instruments with accurate tempo a given syncopated ostinato pattern to accompany a played audio recording of reggae music. They discuss the use of music to express religious and political beliefs.
Curated OER
Rhythm - "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
First graders practice rhythm and beat. For this music lesson, 1st graders sing and clap to the song "Yankee Doodle Dandy". They find the rhythm of the music and practice making rhythm with other instruments.
Curated OER
Phytochemicals
Students create movement, improvise rhythmic accompaniment, practice, and perform the song "Phytochemicals" in this excellent elementary-level General Music lesson. The lesson includes lesson challenges for more advanced students.
Curated OER
"All About Me"
Students perform creative movement to music, sing and improvise using the Solfege syllables do, me, so, and la, and recognize beat vs. no beat in this lesson for the Kindergarten General Music class. Emphasis is on a song called "All...
Curated OER
All About Me - 2
Students recognize beat vs. no beat, sing and improvise on do, me, so, and la, and perform creative movement to music in this Kindergarten Music lesson. Emphasis is placed upon the Wiggy Wiggy Wiggles CD and creative movement exercises.