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
AT THE CORRAL
Students study dotted eighth/sixteenth note rhythm pattern using percussion instruments and alternating from "corral to corral" in groups of 4-6. They play the pattern while listening to selected American western theme songs.
Curated OER
DIGITAL WATERWORKS
Students add digitally-produced, water sound effects to a song, using electronic keyboards.
Curated OER
FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS
Young scholars explore the rhythm instruments as part of a rhythm band to accompany the well-known poem, "Five Little Pumpkins." They study instrument names, playing techniques, and playing at the appropriate time. They study how to...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Rainforest Music
Fifth graders examine musical instruments used by the indigenous people of the rainforest, and analyze how music is used in their daily lives. They create a model, using natural materials, of a musical instrument used by indigenous...
Curated OER
THE PEN VS. THE SWORD: LYRICAL RESPONSES TO A NATION AT WAR
Students brainstorm lists of songs that were written in response to American wars; consider the patterns in the lists they create.
Curated OER
Sound Vibrations - Senses
Students experience vibrations using several of their senses, and design a test that uses their sense of hearing to judge the effectiveness of different solids to transmit sound vibrations.
Curated OER
Song Writing
Students write an original song using music composition software such as Music Time. By doing this, students identify another use for the computer besides word processing and games.
Curated OER
Science Hits Activity
Students listen to a song that teaches the elements of the periodic table and write their own song to be used as an aid in remembering scientific information.
Curated OER
Duking It Out
Students read and discuss 'Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mixing Treasures by Duke Ellington and Edvard Grieg,' exploring how jazz transformed European music and the influence jazz has had on modern music. They write musical reviews.
Curated OER
Rhythm Nation
Young scholars read a New York Times article to help them develop an understanding of the history, development, and social influence of various types of world music through the creation of music museum exhibits.
Curated OER
Compositional Techniques: Are There Similarities Between
High schoolers recognize how chromatic scales create tension and pentatonic scales create relaxation as compositional techniques used to create tonality. Also, students aurally recognize the use of mixed or alternating meter as a means...
Curated OER
Rock and Poetry: A Thematic Project
Students become exposed to British poetry. They identify and discuss the thematic connection between a poem and a song of their choice, and enrich their understanding of poetry through an in-depth analysis of literary devices in the song...
Curated OER
GUITARS AS SCULPTURE
Students discuss guitars, pointing out different parts of the guitar, compare/contrast guitars from different times, imagine they are designers hired to build a new age guitar, create many preliminary sketches, choose one, and begin...
Curated OER
Fan(tom) of the Opera
Students explore the ways in which the worlds of popular music and opera can work together to complement the other. They work in small groups to analyze plot, characters, setting and themes of a popular opera using a summary of that...
Curated OER
Kodaly Beat Lesson
Introduce rhythmic beat and melodic beat with a upbeat activity that asks young musicians to clap the beat to their favorite nursery rhyme. To introduce the rest beat, class members use small drums or other percussion instruments to play...
Curated OER
Lesson Exchange: Musical Mathematics (other, Music)
Learners explain note values and relationships, especially dotted rhythms and tied notes by giving them a visual, hands on representation
Curated OER
Rock On
Learners analyze trends in the Grammy Award winners this year and create graphs displaying their findings.
Curated OER
Stand Up And Sing
Students examine pieces of sheet music and identify context, purpose, and perspective with regard to the political, social, and economic conditions existing at that time. They create a cover illustrating a topic of the Progressive Era.
Curated OER
The Beat of Mexico
Students explore mariachi music and create their own rhythm instruments. They study the music of Mexico. They listen to a variety of music, then vote for the song they liked the best.
Curated OER
All Mixed Up
Students explore the emergence of bootlegs, also known as 'mash-ups' (the combination of two songs into one), on the Internet. By researching the musical origins of songs and creating and performing their own bootlegs, students gain a...
Curated OER
Red, White, and Blue Notes
Learners explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.
Curated OER
Playing With Your Food
Students discover about the form and function of traditional musical instruments, then use this knowledge to create non-traditional instruments that replicate the sounds of traditional instruments. They use vegetables to create their...