Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...

Create a little harmony with Amani Project! Young musicians create their instruments using found or recycled objects. As an introduction, class members first experiment with sounds they can make with their bodies (clapping, stomping...

A 67-page packet provides instructors with a complete course in the history of Jazz. Lessons look at the roots of jazz in early 20th century African American communities in the southern United States and continues to the New Orleans...

Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.

Two lessons focus on making a beat. Using popular African American music of its time, scholars listen and analyze the rhythm then recreate it with hands drums, and cups. 

Much of Latin American music owes its origins to the slave trade. Peoples from the Yoruban and Dahomean cultures brought with them the distinctive rhythms, time signatures, and eighth note patterns that now characterize Caribbean music....

Africans transported to the Caribbean as part of the transatlantic slave trade brought with them a rich tradition of music and dance. Four lessons teach young musicians the rumba clave rhythm, cascara rhythm, and the 6/8 bell patterns...

Can you create a rock band? Scholars learn about the creation and transmission of sound in a hands-on STEM activity. First, they explore the transmission of sound using a tuning fork. Then, they must solve the problem of missing...

Be an octave above the rest. A musician explains how to write music in different time signatures. An interesting resource continues to demonstrate ratios using the pitch of musical notes and hertz. Pupils use a pitch table and determine...

Let the beat go on. A resource in the Math at the Core MS: Ratios series points out that fractions are integral to musical rhythms. The activity starts with a video to motivate the class. Classmates then work in pairs to create rhythms...

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.

There is an indescrible energy to Latin American music—but if you know your music theory, it's not so indescrible after all. A thorough packet provides definitions for terms like bolero, charanga, shekere, and tumbao before listing...

Perfect for music specialists, classroom teachers, and substitutes, a packet of 18 games includes complete lessons as well as short activities for when you have some extra time at the end of class.

Why does music affect people so deeply? Explore how music impacts the human brain through a video from the American Chemical Society's Reactions series. The narrator discusses the anticipatory elements in different styles of music and...

Expose young elementary students to the works of one of the greatest musical composers, Ludwig van Beethoven. Using three progressive lesson plans to complete the unit, class members are able to distinguish low and high sounds, count the...

Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in detail,...

Beautiful music doesn't just write itself, but if you ever feel bad about procrastinating, remember that Mozart wrote the overture to Don Giovanni the morning it premiered. Introduce young scientists to the elements of sound including...

Here's a packet of music activities designed specifically for children with autism. Kids learn greeting, echo, and repertory songs, as well as rhythmic patterns to play rhythm instruments.

Engage young mathematicians in learning about fractions with this cross-curricular math and music lesson. After listening to and repeating different beat patterns, children realize that musical notes are just another way of representing...

Here is a series of five exercises intended to bring movement, dance, and theater into the classroom. Intended for special ed classes, but appropriate for any grade, learners will pantomime, play pretend, dance, move, and create...

Fourth graders explore the music of Buenos Aires as they hear and then dance the Tango. They practice basic Tango rhythm, learn to sing the song, "Any Turkey can Tango," then practice a few Tango-riffic dance steps with a partner. What a...

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. 

When we play music, we count beats both high and low. This introductory music activity explores tempo and rhythm. Learners will follow along as they clap to the beat, they clap high in the air and low. A very good introductory lesson.