The introduction to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the finale of his Symphony No. 4 provide young musicians with an opportunity to investigate the music elements composers employ to develop the themes they want to create. They compare the...

What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...

VH1 Music Studio has put out another great lesson that incorporates analysis, compare/contrast, and musical terminology. Kids will listen to the song "Habanera" considering the use of specific instruments in evoking a sense of location....

Upper graders explore the similarities, differences, and depth of pop music from the Romantic era and the 20th century. They listen to selections that exemplify the Baroque, Romantic, and 20th century periods, then create presentations...

Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...

Planning a trip to the symphony? Prepare first-time attendees for the experience with overheads that identify the roles played by the concertmaster, conductor, musicians, and even the audience. The musical families are introduced...

Kids compare and contrast music from the past to the present. They listen to and review the characteristics of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Pop music. Then, they discuss the differences in each and how musical icons from the past...

Music has been used to convey thoughts, feelings, and the human condition for thousands of years. Your class will analyze several songs hear in the animated classic, "Charlie Brown." They will listen to several jazz pieces from the show,...

General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...

Combine math, language arts, music, and dance with an activity focused on "America" from West Side Story. After listening to the song, learners compare the film to Romeo and Juliet, analyze the song's meter, design choreography, plan...

Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory lesson for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Students compose an essay describing various art...

Elementary schoolers are given an overview of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods of music. They focus on the lives of Beethoven and Mozart; two of the greatest composers of all time. After listening to samples their...

Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...

Students make connections between music, the other arts, and other curricular areas. They compare characteristics of two or more arts within a particular historical period or style and cite examples from various cultures.

Over the course of six lessons, scholars try their hand at composing and dancing after a thorough examination of the famous ballet, The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. Participants watch and discuss the performance of two dances, create...

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....

Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...

Take a trip to the Grand Canyon! Lesson one explores how Ferde Grofe painted a musical landscape of America when he wrote the Grand Canyon Suite. Learners then examine art that shows the Grand Canyon in activity two. Finally, activity...

Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

Students examine classical music and the "Art Rock" of 1967. They review classical themes in their original genre and discuss/analyze how pop musicians incorporate theses themes into a variety of pop music genres.

Twelfth graders read lyrics for "My Hometown" and complete a worksheet to identify setting and tone in the song. In this Romanticism activity, 12th graders read Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and...

Young scholars describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of blues music. They compare and analyze two versions of the same 12-bar blues song. They read and identify notation symbols for rhythm and tempo.

Project-based learning in a music theory class? Take note. Young songwriters compose, record, copyright, and promote their original songs. They even design their own CD cover.

Did you know that Vivaldi’s orchestra was largely made up of girls from an orphanage? Fun facts like this fill a 34-page teacher's kit designed to accompany a cross-curricular study of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.