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Ensemble Performance
Students sing or play music in order to complete a self-critique that performance. Working in ensemble groups, students practice and play a piece of music. Ensemble performances are recorded and each member's performance is critiqued...
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Characters in Live Performance
Your intermediate or advanced thespians choose dramatic scenes to perform in duos, small groups, or solo to demonstrate vocal and physical characterization. Use class time to prepare and rehearse. Detailed rubrics work for peer assessment.
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Performance Evaluation
Students evaluate in class performance of music previously prepared by the ensemble. The rubric and assessment criteria are adaptable to any orchestra setting which allows the teacher to choose music to be assessed. Critical thinking...
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Orchestra: Focus on Rhythm and Arranging
High school orchestra is a great place to play music, like The Star Spangled Banner. Upper graders create new rhythms to the old song and perform them with the class. They rehearse their updated versions of the song using their...
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When Shall We Three Meet Again?
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble. Macbeth’s witches provide young actors an opportunity to try their hand at small ensemble acting. Using Act I, scene I of Shakespeare’s play, groups of three take turns...
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A Musical Composition Experience
Upper graders having skills in music performance will extend their abilities through creative musical composition. They'll use Finale 2000 to explore facets of music composition, they'll then compose a piece for their instrument in C, F,...
Classics for Kids
"Mars" from The Planets
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,...
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Focus on Harmony
Harmony is the focus of this band instructional activity. Upper graders play the Star Spangled Banner, while focusing on harmony, chords, and musical voice. This instructional activity includes several suggested cross-curricular activities.
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Theatre: Exploratory Techniques
Using various exploratory techniques, young actors work as an ensemble company to devise, perform and evaluate a piece of theatre for assessment. This outline provides an objective and a list of games and activities that stimulate skills...
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Focus on Phrasing
The band practices The Star Spangled Banner, while focusing on phrasing. They discuss musical phrasing then practice incorporating it in their performance. Cross curricular extension activities are included.
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Ensemble Rehearsal Critique
Students discuss how to critique a musical piece properly. After listening to different types of music, they identify the strengths and weaknesses of the piece. They also develop solutions to the problems in the music for further...
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Boombox Classroom: Ensembles
In this music worksheet, students identify types of ensembles. They order duet, quartet, solo, and trio by the number of performers in each. Students complete a word search, looking for ensemble related words.
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Boombox Classroom: Ensembles
For this music worksheet, students list as many different ensembles as they can. They define ensemble. Students complete a word search, looking for names of ten ensembles. Students are introduced to the bass clef symbol.
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Learning to Play the Panpipes
Students experience what a pan pipe is and how sound is produced on it. Research a brief history of the pan pipe. Employ producing a characteristic tone and be able to produce various pitches. Play a simple melody and ensemble on the pan...
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Garbage Bag Costume Creation
Students create plastic bag costumes for a short scene developed in the classroom. Performances and assessment occur at the end of this quick instructional activity. A very creative mini-project for theatre arts classes.
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Band On Line
In 1996, using the Internet to enhance learning was a new innovation. While the lesson plan here is a bit outdated, it could still provide a basic understanding of how technology can enhance music appreciation. Members of the school band...
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Chinese Percussion Music
Students investigate Chinese percussion instruments and ensemble performances. They play compositions with Chinese percussion instruments such as small gongs, large gongs and drums.
Music Fun
Instruments to Trace Color and Label
Handbells and castanets. Triangles and timpani. Trumpets and trombones. As part of their study of instruments, young musicians label, trace and color the parts of seven instruments. Also included in the resource packet are tracing...
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We Tell Stories
Young readers bring characters to life by working in small groups to script and perform stories that contain a community concept. Detailed questions and activities are outlined for the class. Consider having your groups create...
General Motors Corporation
Jazz
Over the history of the world, music has been at the heart of some of the greatest social and political movements. Scholars discover their musical roots as they dive into the sounds and emotions of renowned jazz players. They see how...
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VH1 Classic Presents: Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Lesson 3
Students in a guitar class perform the Beatles song, Eleonor Rigby and study it's melodic and harmonic structures. They discover the process of arranging the song for a 4-part guitar ensemble.
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What is Opera? Fill in the Blank
For this opera worksheet, students fill in 17 blanks in an essay that explains the composition of an opera. They use the words given in two word banks which include recitative, chorus, solo, ensemble, scenes, aria, and duet.
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Percussion Lesson Plan
Pupils engage in a lesson that is about the beginning music theory and rhythmic notation. They write the music for a percussion ensemble that is 16 measures long. Students incorporate quarter and eight notes with rest that includes fixed...
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George Gershwin
Students explore the life and accomplishments of George Gershwin. They listen to Latin rhythms and practice the rhythmic parts. Students identify Latin instruments George Gershwin added to the orchestra. After practice, they perform a...