Curated OER
Epic Improvisation
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....
University of North Carolina
Music
Music is a universal pleasure, but writing about it can be a little trickier. An informative handout discusses common types of music writing assignments that one might encounter in a college-level course. Individuals read about musical...
Curated OER
Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry
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...
Curated OER
Roots And Styles Of Black Music - Lesson 1
High schoolers identify many genres of Black music. They identify Black music as a reflection of the culture. They study many historically influential Black music artists, producers, and other contributors.
Curated OER
Responding Syllables: Reading and Music
Shell Silverstein’s “Sick” provides an opportunity for kids to demonstrate their understanding of syllables and phonemes. The class creates a list of descriptive words used in the poem that have more than one syllable, and brainstorm how...
Curated OER
Learning Refrain and Verse
Instruct your young musicians on the terms verse and refrain. They listen to two songs, and point out the verse and refrain as they occur. Students then play drums when they hear the verse and the refrain. Note: Song lyrics, sheet music,...
Curated OER
American Music Styles: Blues - Lesson 2
Students 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.
The Kennedy Center
Fairy Tale Variations
Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...
Curated OER
Theatrical Economics
Read then role-play the characters from story of If You Give A Pig a Pancake. Young actors use improvisation and characterization to create the characters from the story. They will also write and role play original version of the...
Curated OER
Visual Aural Impressions
Students view a piece of impressionist art, listen to a piece of jazz music and then write a piece about the picture in the style of beat poets. They compare their writing and look for differences in their perceptions.
Curated OER
Improvise a Short Story through Jazz
Students evaluate jazz music and a jazz music performance. They collaborate and create an improvised group short story. They improvise a musical piece on found objects.
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...
Curated OER
Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change
Students explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Curated OER
Music Education, Playing the Blues
This instructional activity enables students to gain a broader awareness of the basic blues scale and the harmonic structure of the standard blues progression. Students will be given introductory exercises on blues improvisation and will...
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Episode 3: Can I Get A Witness
Students 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
Dinosaur Stomp
Second graders write a dinosaur poem using information from a research activity. In this dinosaur poetry and music lesson, 2nd graders listen to the book Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp in music class. They work in small groups to...
Curated OER
Subtracting from Ten: Using Math with Music
Students explore basic math functions by singing with their classmates. In this addition and subtraction lesson, students sing the song "5 Green and Speckled Frogs"and complete a list of subtraction problems. Students complete a...
Curated OER
Yes But Dialogue Game (3+)
Students work cooperatively to explore and practice dialogue improvisation.
Curated OER
A Song for Today - Lesson 3
Students analyze musical and topical elements in popular songs and compose song as a classroom effort. They write a short paragraph evaluating the effectiveness of the song in conveying the message of the lyrics.
Curated OER
Jazz: Boombox Classroom
In this music learning exercise, students read about improvisation. Students choose their favorite instrument, a saxophone or a bass, and draw a picture of it. Students can then do a small maze.
Curated OER
The Collaborative Works of Rodgers and Hammerstein: Show Business
Learners study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...
Curated OER
The Cinder-Eyed Cats - Storybook Theater
The pupils listen to the story "The Cinder-Eyed Cats." The students then chose individual parts to play in a theater like production. The pupils move like their character, be it a fish, an octopus, a lobster, a cat, etc. Water music is...
Curated OER
VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel
High schoolers use a Billy Joel song to write a scenerio about it.