Participants will receive an overview of strategies and resources aligned to media content created by Blue Ridge Public Media for Appalachian music. The resources developed demonstrate instructional strategies related to music, musicians, instruments, styles, and playing techniques paired with the content created. Instructional resources were developed in collaboration with educators.

The purpose of this document is to highlight standard nine of the 2020 Music Standards of Learning for choral music. This standard in all grade levels relates connecting music content, skills, and processes to career options, college opportunities, and the 21st Century workplace. Teachers and curriculum specialists can use this document to plan a sequence of instruction for grades 6-12 that prepares students for career, college, and workplace connections in music education.

The purpose of this document is to highlight standard nine of the 2020 Music Standards of Learning for elementary music. This standard in all grade levels relates connecting music content, skills, and processes to career options, college opportunities, and the 21st Century workplace. Teachers and curriculum specialists can use this document to plan a sequence of instruction for grades K-5 that prepares students for career, college, and workplace connections in music education.

This document contains a sample list of fine arts careers by discipline, links and resources for exploring fine arts careers, and resources for workbased learning in fine arts courses.

Students will listen to and/or watch a video about differences across America, listen to or view Ray Charles’ rendition of “America the Beautiful” and then have a choice activity: composing a poem or illustrating verses.

Students will learn and practice skills to adjust intonation and pitch. Students will use a short music example to practice the skills learned for adjusting unison notes in real time.

This instructional plan will introduce the foundational skills required for shifting and vibrato, including left-hand independence, proper instrument support, fingerboard navigation, and pre-vibrato motions.  It will offer the teacher step-by-step exercises to teach these skills in a heterogeneous orchestra setting.

This plan will introduce choral students to the basics of aural dictation using solfege. Students will apply knowledge of solfege and counting to dictation skills. Students will find success through the application of solfege by discovering why and how it impacts them as independent musicians.

This plan will allow students to explore and record basic beatboxing sounds. Students will then create a homemade “DJ Board” and use a Makey Makey to make their sounds come to life as they feel like a real DJ.

This instructional plan serves as a resource to provide the instructor with a plan to instruct beginning string players of violin, viola, cello, and double bass (hereafter referred to as “bass”) in proper instrument posture and left-hand position. 

Students will be introduced to the soprano recorder and the technique needed to play the instrument. Students will learn to play a song using the soprano recorder.

Students will compare music from current repertoire to an arrangement or piece of a similar historical genre. Students will view music through a historical lens by understanding the cultural influences of the original piece.

In this lesson, students will perform a 12-bar blues progression, improvise using a simple blues scale and create an original blues piece with lyrics in an AAB form. Students will discuss the background and history of where the blues originated, its early performers and the progression from blues to early forms of rock music.

Students will learn about instruments from a variety of cultures and discuss how these instruments were used. Students will create an instrument from various materials to experiment with sound and playing technique.

Students will demonstrate oral communication and literacy skills by telling and retelling stories with creative dramatics. Students will apply a creative process for music, and improvise with movement and music to enhance a short story or poem.

This instructional plan will provide the teacher with the outline and resources needed to instruct beginning string players of violin, viola, cello, and double bass (hereafter referred to as “bass”) in proper bow hold development.

In this lesson, students will learn to watch and listen critically to choral music performances.

What did colonists do for fun in 18th century Virginia? Let us explore the music and dance of Colonial Virginia and why they were so important to know. What happens when we take those 18th century dance moves and combine them with the trending moves today? Let us find out!

This instructional plan will help teachers guide students’ composition of rhythmic variations. In this lesson, students will listen to musical examples of variations, discuss the aesthetic and artistic value of musical arrangements, and write their own rhythmic variations on scales and melodies.