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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This plan will introduce the foundational skills and methods to develop successful sight-reading through guided practice. These methods provide students with the awareness and confidence to become capable and independent at the sight-reading process.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this plan, students will use the melody from the jazz standard “St. James Infirmary” as a springboard to improvisation. The students will utilize a call and response technique to learn the melody. Then students will learn several ways they can utilize the content within the melody of a song to improvise.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This plan guides teachers in exercising audiation techniques to develop aural skills for young musicians. These skills can be continually developed in warm-ups and literature in call-and-response style instruction.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
One of the key elements of any video is the sound that we hear along with it. In this lesson, students will use video editing software and/or a digital audio workstation (DAW) to record a soundtrack to a film.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students will investigate ways that choral music can influence the community. Using project-based learning, students will research organizations in their community to be the beneficiary of a benefit-type concert. Students will select level-appropriate repertoire and create advertising. This project is imagined to be used for collaborative small groups, but could be adapted to work as an individual project.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This plan provides teachers with the resources to guide students through the analysis of musical time periods which will provide insight into history with a lens through the fine arts. This analysis helps students make connections with contemporaries and world events, in turn, enabling students to perform music with greater depth and style.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students will learn about history and music history through listening, analyzing, and performing works in their instrumental class. Students will gain insight into history through a Fine Arts lens, enabling them to make connections with contemporaries and world events.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students will use a recording platform to layer tracks and produce a small ensemble piece as the only performer. This process encourages individual accountability and emphasizes the importance of ensemble performance skills.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
