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Tinker, Tailor
First graders practice the song "Tinker, Tailor" using percussion instruments, Orff instruments, and their voices in this Music lesson plan for the 1st grade. The lesson plan is intended for use within an Orff unit of study and includes...
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Spanish Instruments, Zim, Zim and La Tarara
Students explore Spanish instruments. In this Spanish music activity, students observe how to play castanets, guitars, tambourines, drums, and bells. Students then listen to and create music featuring the instruments.
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"Nutcracker"
Students recognize the timbre of a celesta by listening to music that contains the celesta. They listen to music from Tchaikovsky's "Danse de la Fee-Dragee" (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies), track #14 and describe how the music...
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The Composer's Blueprint
Students recognize AB and ABA form in music and distinguish between these two forms. They explore meaning of tempo and how to perform accents in written music.
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William Tell Overture: Finale
Students analyze the William Tell Overture for meter and conducting, among other musical concepts in a three-lesson unit. They practice conducting patterns and identify eighth and quarter notes and chord roots.
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Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished" by Franz Schubert
Students review vocabulary words and look at a piece of art work with one subject and play any or all of the familiar musical examples listed. They then identify the melody of each example and make a comparison between the art subject...
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Younger Generation
Students discuss the composer Aaron Copland and the lyricist Ira Gershwin and their significance in/contributions to American music of their time while singing the song "Younger Generation" in the choir setting. Emphasis is placed on...
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Haydn 's Surprise
Students explore the background of Haydn's Surprise and the texture of the music. The teacher uses mouse and lion puppets to demonstrate soft and loud music. They tiptoe and stomp to display the concept. and play a soft/loud singing game.
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B is for Banana
Students practice and perform the song "B is for Banana" using their knowledge of basic rhythms in 4/4 and student-created rhythm accompaniment based on speech. This excellent lesson is provided by the MENC (National Association for...
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Young scholars study the life and music of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They practice listening for the downbeat of a musical selection. They participate in a physical exercise where they march around in a circle and clap to the...
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Chick Corea and Nicolas Economou: "Songs for Children"
Students study the career of Chick Corea, whose work has spanned myriad styles in the past thirty years. They explore the double meaning of "Children's Music" and are introduced to the piano
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A Wing and a Prayer
Fourth graders improvise missing harmony accompaniment for a soloist performing "The Star Spangled Banner." Groups select several familiar melodies that they can produce while individual students take turns improvising a new harmony part.
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Pavane pour une Infante Defunte
Students describe the music in terms related to basic elements such as melody, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, timbre, form, style, etc. They identify timbres heard in "Pavane" by movement and respond by movement to timbre.
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"Laideronette, Empress of the Pagoda" from"Mother Goose Suite" by Maurice Ravel
Students are introduced to the active teacher, composer and pianist Maurice Ravel and his masterpiece "Laideronette, Empress of the Pagoda", from Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel. They utilize aural skills to notate the rhythm of the...
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VH1 Legends Sam Cooke Lesson 2
Students examine the reasons and controversy regarding Sam Cooke's transition from gospel to pop.
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Great Big House
Third graders sing and play the song "Great Big House" in the Orff style using soprano and alto glockenspiels, bass xylophones, bass marimbas, triangles, woodblocks, and the singing voice. The lesson includes step-by-step teacher...
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Haydn's Surprise
Students listen to Haydn's "Surprise" and use the score to create themes and variations with other rhythms. They create poems using Haydn's rhythm in the symphony and research his life. They also use "body percussion" to play parts of...
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(Inside) Out: Lisa Marie Presley
Students reflect on how being the child of a celebrity can effect one's life and career. They analyze the lyrics of Lisa Marie's song "Dirty Laundry" to determine the main theme and emotions expressed by the artist.
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Creating, Notating and Recording an Original Song
Students are provided with a set of parameters, including theme, time
signature, number of measures, and form. Working within these parameters, the class , step by step, goes through the process of
creating, notating, and recording a...
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Halloween Fine Arts Activities
Third graders demonstrate their understanding of crescendo. They achieve dramatic effect in singing the Halloween Song. They sing this song with a gradual crescendo from beginning to end.