Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...

To gain an understanding of color mixing theory and the color wheel, young artists draw a picture, mix up a batch of secondary colors to which they add dish soap, and using straws, bubble up the paint....

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,...

Students explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.

Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.

Students discover the three elements of art. In this visual arts instructional activity, students examine line, shape, and color of works by Torres-Garcia and Picasso. Students then identify the elements of art in works by other artists.

Students examine messages in popular music, and observe the musical elements of the Rhythm and Blues and Rap genres.

Students observe that there are myriad combinations of rhythms to choose from when improvising jazz and blues music, and recognize that while the variations seem infinite, they are in fact finite. They notate a 12 bar blues progression...

Students explore the various rhythmic combinations in jazz and blues music. They watch a video segment, apply a mathematical formula to calculate the number of possible rhythmic combinations, and perform a combination of notes and...

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.

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.

Students discuss the importance of rhythm in rope jumping. They practice turning, then jumping. Students discuss the various types of rhymes. They work in groups for a couple of classes, students rotate from chart to chart trying out...

Singing, clapping, moving up and down with the melody, it all sounds like a great music lesson. Kinder-musicians sing three different songs to practice memory, speaking, and movement skills. They'll move to the melody, build memory with...

Students gain an appreciation for various types of music. Using the music of the past, they compare it with the music of today. In groups, they research periods in which blues and jazz were most popular and write their own piece of music...

High schoolers examine blues music. In this music genres lesson, students discover details about the history of the musical genre and compositional techniques. High schoolers then compose melodies of their own with 12-bar blues chord...

Students examine the musical influences on the emergence of Rock and Roll.

How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...

Students analyze the elements of poetry and jazz. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at the rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, form, free verse, lyricism, and imagery that exist is jazz as well as poetry. 

Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics background rhythms used in R&B. They perform typical R&B accompaniment patterns and develop their own horn section to play background rhythms.

Students learn the basic elements of blues and different lyric structures.

This lesson focuses on how students can learn basic blues percussion patterns by considering the polyrhythms of African drumming and investigating how and why such drums were banned during slavery. Students will listen to several blues...

This lesson examines both the content and form of lyrics in blues songs. In addition to highlighting the basic musical form of a blues song, it also addresses the use of floating verses in blues music, both within the context of the...

Young scholars perform a song, identify melodies, and discuss the history of folk songs.