Leading Learner
Using Music to Tell a Story or Describe a Scene
Young composers demonstrate their understanding of the stylistic features of descriptive music, including pitch, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and timbre, by developing a melody and countermelody for a main character in a story. As part of...
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Parallel Harmonies
What is a parallel harmony? You and your class can explore musical terminology through song. You define what a parallel harmony is, the class identifies parallel harmony in music they hear, and then you all sing some examples together....
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May 22 - Buy a Musical Instrument Day
In this writing prompt worksheet, students learn that May 22 is 'Buy-a-Musical Instrument Day.' Students write whether or not they plan an instrument, how long they've been playing, and why they decided to play the instrument. If...
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Brass Instruments of the Orchestra
In this orchestra activity, 7th graders read about the brass instruments which include the French horn, tuba, trombone, and the trumpet. They fill in the blanks in 8 sentences about the brass section of the orchestra.
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Musical Instruments
Students invent a musical instrument to be played by them. They invent a nonstandard notation for music and compose a short piece to preform for the class using their instrument.
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African Music and Instruments
Students listen to African music and determine its origin. They discuss basic elements of African music and sing an African song. Students examine the rhythm, instruments and culture of Africa. Using various websites, they observe...
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Instruments of the Orchestra Race
Students receive a musical instrument of the orchestra and the family it belongs to. They run when the teacher calls either the instrument or the family.
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The Orchestra: Exploring the Instruments
Young scholars explore the instruments of the orchestra. In this music appreciation lesson, students discover the four families of instruments and research each of them using selected Internet sources.
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Meet the Instrument Families
Fourth graders listen to a recording of a string quartet and ask questions about what kinds of instrument they think they are listening to and describe what they think the instruments look like. Then they discuss musical ideas such as...
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Grouping Musical Instruments
Students study about musical instruments and group them into these categories: percussion, strings, woodwinds, and brass. After discussing these instruments, they independently complete the worksheet.
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An Introduction To The Instruments Of The Orchestra
Young scholars explore a variety of instruments to discover their sound. After watching an orchestra play, students discover the categories of instruments such as woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. In teams, they listen to...
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Boombox Classroom: Mechanical Instruments
In this music worksheet, students draw an illustration of a mechanical instrument they would like to build. They describe the material it would be made from. Students fill in the blanks to describe the mechanical instrument Haydn and...
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Exploring Musical Instruments of the Orchestra
Students listen to "The William Tell Overture," identify instruments, sounds and other characteristics of the music. They compare and contrast orchestra music to large band music. Students discuss the musical composition and how the...
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Playing And Writing Music Basics for the Guitar
Young scholars view DVD "Greatest Guitar God Guide Video Primer," examine and demonstrate understanding of layout of fret board, practice basic fingering patterns, play simple melodies using E and B strings, write original melody, and...
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Learning AB Form: Music
Third grade musicians play Orff instruments while they learn about the AB Form. First they learn part A of a song, then they listen to when the song changes. After they understand the concept of AB form, they learn to play part B. Note:...
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Mariachi Mania
Learners play the beats of mariachi music. In this mariachi lesson plan, students listen to mariachi music and discuss why music is important.
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The Role of the Opera Orchestra
Learners listen to and examine a recording of the opera Don Pasquale and study the various musical instruments in an orchestra. They discuss the difference between a symphony orchestra and an opera orchestra. Finally they play the music...
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Jazz in America
Students explore different instruments and what role they play in Jazz. They also each person's role in a democratic society.
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Loud or soft?
Send this cute activity home with kids, to increase family involvement. They'll consider what would happen if rice was bounced in a tambourine, and then they'll complete a sound activity by makings an instrument out of wax paper and a...
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Tug of War Exercise
Learners hone their acting and imagination by playing tug-o-war with an imaginary rope. Each group works together and pretends to pull the other group over the imaginary line with an imaginary rope. This could be a good improve warm up...
Physics Classroom
Name That Harmonic: Strings
Don't string your class along! Physics scholars discover the fascinating forces behind the music of stringed instruments using an interactive. From a series covering sounds and waves, the interactive asks users to identify nodes and...
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Musical Instruments
In this music worksheet, students write the name of a musical instrument that they would like to play. Students do research and list as many instruments as they can find.
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Melodies and Math: Creating Music with Non-Traditional Instruments
Review the 4/4 and 2/4 time signatures in music with a helpful music theory lesson plan. Young musicians experiment with electronic sounds and create their own musical performance using instruments made from materials found in the...
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Arranging Patriotic Music for Instruments
Young scholars arrange a short piano composition for a group of four to six instruments of their choice. The musical arrangements should be then demonstrated and analyzed by the class as a unit study.