Curated OER
Connecting Literature, Writing and Music
Students assess the impact of music to portray emotions and tell stories. Examples are taken from the life of Rosa Parks and a piece of band music called "A Movement for Rosa". Evaluation is accomplished through in-class participation...
Curated OER
Hail to the Chief
Students examine the musical arrangement "Hail to the Chief". In this music history lesson, students listen to and compare jazz, samba, baroque, and march versions of the song. This lesson may be adapted to meet the needs of different...
Curated OER
Focus on Form
Young musicians discuss musical form found in the song, The Star Spangled Banner. They review their parts for the song then practice playing it as a group. Cross-curricular activity suggestions are included.
Curated OER
Singing the Blues with Garageband
Music composition can be easy with a little software assistance. The class uses Garageband to listen to, write, sing, and record a blues song. They listen to the song provided through the software, write their own lyrics to the song,...
Curated OER
Star Spangled Banner: For Orchestra
Middle schoolers practice playing "The Star Spangled Banner" while focusing on phrasing. They work with the instructor to mark the lyrics and music, then play the song using the phrasing indicated. Several cross-curricular extension...
Curated OER
Using Poetry As Inspiration for Composition
A reading of Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" launches an interdisciplinary study of the connection between the meters of a poem and a melody. After identifying the number of beats in each line of the poem, young musicians use...
Curated OER
Exploring Musical Instruments of the Orchestra
High schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Gospel Music
For this music worksheet, students read about the origin of gospel music. Students answer ten essay questions related to their reading.
Curated OER
Gospel Music
For this gospel music worksheet, students read a brief introduction to gospel music and respond to 10 short answer questions regarding it.
Curated OER
Exploring the Musical Shape of Student Names in a One-Computer Classroom
Students demonstrate musical direction while singing alone and with others while reading music. They discuss and demonstrate shapes that describe the music and compare that to melodic direction. Students make music out of the letters...
Curated OER
Music Assessment: 8 measure piece
Eighth graders compose an eight measure piece in a major key that utilized some form of wind instrument, body percussion and voice. They notate their composition on staff paper prior to the assessment and perform their composition.
Curated OER
And You Don't Stop - 30 Years of Hip-Hop, Episode 2, Lesson 3
Students discuss how Run-D.M.C. brought Hip Hop into mainstream popularity. They discuss why melding two styles of music is popular and what the results have been through history. They take two songs and combine elements to make a new...
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 3
Young scholars examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.
Curated OER
J.S. Bach (1685-1750): Sarabande and Gigue form Partita no.4 in D major, BWV 828
Challenge your music students with this worksheet, which includes twenty-one questions about J.S. Bach's Sarabande and Gigue form Partita no.4 in D major, BWV 828. Students compare the two sections (bars 1-12, bars 13-38) by answering...
Curated OER
Rock and Roll with Music and Movement
Fourth graders improvise music and dance to express their analysis of types of rocks. They discuss the three classes of rocks, list describing words, and create a short musical piece and dance to symbolize the rock they are dancing.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Lesson 4
Students choose a theme for a song. They compose a poem, and write music to go along with their poem. The instructor plays the musical accompaniment, and the class votes on the most appropriate rhythmic pattern.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Episode 3: Can I Get A Witness
Learners identify many genres of music that influenced gospel and study examples of gospel music. They explain that gospel music is sacred and is usually performed with sincerity, dignity, and passion with vocal improvisation.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Episode 3: Can I Get A Witness: Lesson 2
High schoolers watch a video on spiritual music, then engage in a discussion about the artists and styles mentioned in the video. They discuss vocal improvisation, and engage in a call and response to "This Little Light Of Mine.'
Curated OER
Musical Form and Sibelius Groovy Music Shapes
Students create a song using the form ABACADAEA. Students listen to a musical piece created by Vivaldi that is an example of this musical form. Then
students use software to create their own musical forms representing this pattern.
Curated OER
Using Garage Band to Enhance 2nd Grade Composition
Your second graders can become composers with a little help from the Garage Band software. You pre-select several drum, piano, and guitar loops for the groups to choose from, then they put them together following an ABA looping pattern....
Curated OER
Outline: Notes of the Treble Clef Staff
Score one for test prep. Young musicians are encouraged to create their own mnemonic devices to prepare themselves for a test on the treble clef staff. Using the provided worksheet, individuals record, in order, the names of the lines...
Curated OER
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.
SoundTree
When The Saints Go Marching In: A Lesson for Middle School Keyboard Lab Students
After listening to a variety of interpretations of "When the Saints Go Marching In," partners compose and then perform their own renditions of this classic before joining a full-class jam session.
Curated OER
Interactive Timeline
Middle schoolers examine the development of ragtime music and its relation to jazz. They participate in an online Interactive timeline and read about the history of ragtime music, listen to examples of music, and in small groups create...