Students learn to add music note values, and create compositions in 4/4, common time. Using traditional music  notation students may choose to compose for voice or drums. This ruler composition activity uses a familiar math visual to help students see the length or duration of musical notes. Final compositions can be emailed to the teacher for review.

Online chord looping stations and drum machines such as those found on One Motion allow students the opportunity to engage in music creation in a way that is accessible to them without a large theoretical music background. Students can use their intuition and their ears to create music in innovative ways online.

Students use a digital collaboration board to share their “wonderings” about the songs they are listening to in class. The teacher selects 3-4 songs from various cultures. Students add sticky notes to the collaboration board using appropriate music terminology, and share their musical preferences in a respectful manner. Students can have the ability to like or comment on each other’s posts and engage in meaningful conversations in small groups after sharing their wonderings digitally.

Collaborative boards allow students to share ideas and engage with each other via an online platform. When students are learning about the creative process of music creation and composition, students can use an online collaborative board to share lyrics and co-create a song together.

Students use digital research skills to Find Basic Information (F.B.I.) about a composer on websites such as Classic for Kids: Composer Explorer. Students learn about a specific composer, or composers from a specific geographic area, culture, genre, or time period. After gathering information, students write and produce a news program or podcast based on their research.

Students use aural skills to dictate various rhythmic, melodic and/or rhythmic-melodic patterns performed by a teacher. Students should be encouraged to perform their transcription to analyze and compare with the teacher given “prototype”. Based on trial and error, students can reflect and revise their answers many times until they are ready to finalize their student “copy”.

Students explore the connection between music and art by listening to a painting created by the artist V. Kandinsky, using Google arts and Culture: Play a Kandinsky. Students use problem solving skills to explore what Kandinsky might have heard when painting “Yellow-Red-Blue” and bring to life his theory on synesthesia and abstract art. Students explore Kandinsky’s theories on color and sound and the relationship between shapes. After exploring the Kandinsky painting, students create their own paintings in the style of Kandinsky, and explain the color and sound relationships that exist in their original work.

Students use NYU Music Experience Design Lab: Groove Pizza to create drum and unpitched instrument rhythms with math-inspired concepts. Students create grooves using math concepts like shapes, angles and patterns. The circular rhythm app allows students to begin exploration with “specials” pizza presets and add/remove “toppings” to adjust the groove. Final student creations can be shared as a link, downloaded as a .wav or .midi file, and converted to external music notation software.

Students work to create a new original composition using ‘samples'’ or snippets of other students' work. Students create a consent form to collect permission from the original creators of each sample. After choosing which instrument to perform the finished composition on, and practicing, students perform the finished product for the class. A possible extension could be to include opportunities for student collaboration in the form of revisions and edits.

Students explore copyright and intellectual property standards as they relate to music, music technology, and digital citizenship. Students will identify and apply their knowledge of copyright law and licensure to select appropriate licenses for an original work. Students then analyze copyrighted material and understand how to obtain appropriate permission to use the material.

Students use appropriate technology to enrich understanding of music, musicians and composers of music literature being studied. Students can create a research product such as write program notes or create a podcast.

Students identify a specific advocacy message regarding music programs. Students create or remix a short video/audio clip to support that advocacy message. Examples may include “Join Music” “Come To Our Concert,” and “Why Music?”

Using a digital recording platform, create a short video or audio recording to send to a neighboring school of something students have been working on. Issue a challenge to the other school to send a video or audio recording in return.  Students provide feedback to others, and practice performance and audience etiquette on a digital platform.

This game provides accountability and some fun when it comes to rehearsing your ensemble. Using a digital whiteboard or slidedeck, create a Battleship board game that represents each instrument group (can be applied to Band, Orchestra or Choir). Students then take turns “firing” at different sections. Teachers and students are encouraged to provide feedback to sections after each “hit” or “miss” to encourage growth and improvement.

Using teacher-suggested resources, students will select music from appropriate and credible digital sources to plan a concert for a performing ensemble.

Students actively listen to a practice or performance track to practice and improve their individual part. Students are able to listen and learn the various sections of the song, and develop a deeper understanding for how their individual part fits into the larger ensemble sound. Practice and performance tracks can be stored on a students’ learning management system for student practice.

Students use video/audio recording software to review and critique the performance and practice of their peers. Students provide feedback to one another, building community while demonstrating an understanding of music performance, technique, terminology, and technology.

Students explore copyright and intellectual property standards as they relate to music, music technology, and digital citizenship. Students research copyright laws, investigate the trends of copyright throughout history, and make connections to how copyright laws impact music as a creator, performer and consumer. Students can also collaborate to propose their own “Copyright Act'' for the future based on current trends and predictions for future technology.

Students exercise creative thinking skills including, but not limited to, identifying and testing solutions, developing multiple solutions to problems, and participating in an interactive design process through the use of music applications. Students will create and explore interactive experiences designed to facilitate learning in a game-like environment.

Students can explore new musical genres and cultural traditions with music and movement using Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers Map. This interactive map includes audio and visual examples featuring different artists from around the world. Students are able to independently explore historical and cultural aspects of music, or a teacher can utilize the provided lesson plans for a more in-depth unit.