This plan will introduce students to 12-Bar Blues progressions that include Slow Change, Quick Change, and Turnaround options. Students will use the Blues Scale to improvise over the 12-Bar blues progressions.

Students will use creativity, critical thinking skills, and collaboration to develop and produce podcasts that inform and educate listeners on various musical topics.

This plan will provide students with the resources to clean, restring, and tune a classical guitar. Students will also learn about different string types and which kinds of knots are used to string guitars.  

Students will demonstrate understanding of rhythmic symbols and their values (whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes/rests). Students will create note trees to make connections between musical rhythms and mathematics. Students will apply their knowledge of rhythm to express their musical ideas and engage more deeply with music.

Students will experiment with and compose rhythmic grooves to use with their warm-up exercises. Using an online tool, students will create their own backing tracks to put the “fun” back in fundamentals!

This plan combines rote learning with a simplified, one-line tab staff to introduce tablature. Elements of passive learning are included (major and minor scales, triads, common rhythmic figures, etc.) that can be referenced later when pedagogically appropriate. The plan is meant to eventually function as a flexible warm-up that can be expanded according to the ambitions of the instructor.

Students will be introduced to diatonic chords for major and minor keys, learn about primary chord progressions and circle of fifth progressions, and apply their understanding in the creation of new music. Visual references are provided to aid student understanding.

This plan will provide the instructor with an outline and resources to direct students through the formation of a student virtual performance portfolio. Students will use their virtual performance portfolio to collect both individual and ensemble performing artifacts throughout the year to evaluate and critique performances, formulate and justify personal responses to music, and monitor individual practice and progress toward goals.

This plan will provide the teacher and student with the resources to engage in kind and constructive feedback. Students will use music terminology to evaluate, define, and provide feedback to peer performances.

Students will explore copyright and intellectual property standards as they relate to music, music technology, and digital citizenship. Students will explore copyright law, investigate the trends of copyright throughout history, and collaborate to propose their own “Copyright Act” for the future.

In this webinar, we will explore ways that teachers and students can use digital tools in the secondary music classroom for creation and investigation. Topics addressed will include project ideas, integration of audio creation tools into the class structure and environment, and practical issues to consider when choosing hardware and software for these projects.

This resource demonstrates the 2020 Music Standards of Learning for elementary and middle school instrumental music in a chart format that shows the progression of the standards levels: Elementary, MS Beginning, MS Intermediate and MS Advanced.

This resource demonstrates the 2020 Music Standards of Learning for high school instrumental music in a chart format that shows the progression of the standards levels: beginning, intermediate, advanced and artist.

Learn about the music of Brazil. Have you ever wondered how music transforms from notes on a page to something so beautiful it can touch our souls? Mike travels to Harrisonburg, VA to meet a pianist from Brazil, who teaches us about the music of Brazil and performs a lively piece on the piano. Mary guides us in moving our bodies to all of the different musical sounds and we learn to sing a children’s folk song in Portuguese.

This is a playlist that contains 5 videos that are designed to help Middle and High School music teachers incorporate Appalachian music and dance into the curriculum. It was produced by Blue Ridge PBS in collaboration with staff from the VDOE.

Virginia Roots is a video series for middle and high school music that focuses on the role of Appalachian Music and is designed to help teachers incorporate traditional music and art forms into the curriculum.

Episode 2: This video breaks down the classic old time tune, "Cripple Creek" into the individual instrumental parts and brings them all together for a live performance featuring the Biscuit Eaters, a family band comprised of the Wilkerson family. Viewers are introduced the A/B/A/B structure common in many Appalachian tunes and demonstrates the roles of the fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and upright bass.