This plan will outline the process and resources needed to introduce and improve improvisation in an instrumental classroom. Improvisation is important for encouraging creativity and expression while providing a supportive environment that is free of judgment and criticism. 

Students select an instrument and identify instrument’s origins, composers and musicians who feature this instrument, and styles of music where this instrument is featured. Students will also identify the parts and sound science of the instrument. 

This plan outlines an approach for implementing an approachable stick control exercise for percussionists performing on snare, mallets, and timpani. Additionally, it includes strategies to integrate percussionists into most concert wind warm-up sessions (using duple subdivision). The plan also includes ideas on including auxiliary/accessory percussion.

Students will identify basic parts of the ukulele and learn to sing and play a simple folk song utilizing the C major chord with proper strumming technique.

This plan is designed to reinforce students’ ability to recognize and apply whole step/half step patterns to the guitar and foster a deeper understanding of how pitches are organized on the guitar fretboard. Understanding the whole step/half step concept and the ability to apply it are important precursors to successful sight reading and navigation of the fretboard.

Students will explore and identify the basics of melodic direction using aural skills and body percussion or movement. Students will compose their own piece of digital music using stepwise and leapwise melodic direction.

Students will compose short melodic phrases using commonly found household items, such as a rock to create “Melodies that Rock.” Students will explore music contour in relationship to high and low notes, and melodic patterns and motion.

This instructional plan provides the teacher with an outline and resources to guide music students through the process of selecting and pursuing a career path in the 21st century workplace, enabling students to understand music as a field of knowledge.

Students will identify, define and use basic standard and instrument specific notation for pitch with a focus on fluency. The objective of Note Reading Olympics is to assess and improve note reading skills. Students aim to identify as many notes as possible in 60 seconds. Students are able to achieve four levels based on difficulty: Olympic Trials, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Olympic Legend. The resources in this document are specifically designed for orchestra, but the lesson could be adapted for any music discipline.

The music room just became a working professional music studio and live performance venue, complete with a full complement of composers, performers, audio engineers, promoters, stage managers, and a stage crew! Students will work collaboratively to develop understandings of the many careers associated with the performing arts, while composing and premiering an original music work.

In this plan, students will research, discuss, and present ways in which music was used to effect change during various historical periods or events. This particular plan will use the American Civil Rights Movement, South African Apartheid, America’s participation in Vietnam, and current events as examples.

There is a mystery in the music room and students will solve it by working together. In these three short activities, students will actively listen to the order in which instruments perform, work to create a “Blob Opera” quartet, and identify which type of ensemble matches the description. If they get all three secret codes, the music room might just be saved!

Students will demonstrate the creative process by composing an eight-measure composition using the E major pentatonic scale. Notes used include B and C# on the 2nd string and E, F#, and G# on the 1st string. These melody notes will be played using the index and middle finger. Warm-ups and repertoire to prepare students in the key and compositional style are included as resources.

In this lesson, students will learn to identify different note and rest values and how these come together to form short rhythmic patterns. Students will perform rhythmic patterns on their selected instrument using the ‘Rhythm Randomizer’ tool.

Students will record themselves and use a provided rubric to evaluate growth in their playing. This lesson can be used with individual or ensemble performances.

Watch a portrait of a student come to life with the student’s own composition and performance through technology! Students will perform and record a musical greeting using their name and create access to their performance through a portrait with QR codes and websites/applications such as Flipgrid and/or ChatterPix Kids.

This plan introduces rhythm guitar chart reading using open and barre chords. Students will review how to read basic chord charts in order to accompany songs and perform with ensembles.

This lesson will introduce students to proper posture, rest position, and playing position for their instrument. Students will demonstrate understanding of these concepts and their ability to teach them to others.

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.