Major and Minor Music Use the playlist below as the base for this simple major/minor listening activity. As you listen to the music, have students indicate whether the music is in a major or minor key. They can do this by: Giving a thumbs up (major) or down (minor) Drawing a smiley or sad face […]
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Dynamics Performance Game Use the two dynamics charts below during this activity (click on them to make them full screen) to help your students learn different dynamic terms. For this activity, students can use percussion instruments, their voices, body percussion sounds (like patting their legs with their hands), etc. Ask students to start making sound
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Popsicle Stick Harmonica Follow the directions below to make your own popsicle stick harmonica, using just a few materials for each student Materials per student: Two wide popsicle sticks (tongue depressors) Two thin rubber bands One thick rubber band Two approximately 1 inch straw segments Stretch the thick rubber band around one of the craft
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Practice Conducting Patterns Since most of us can’t just call up an orchestra to conduct, we’ve created a fun playlist so that you can conduct an orchestra you’d like! Use the handy chart below to remind yourself of what conducting music in 2, 3, or 4 looks like. On this playlist, the first four songs
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Composer Spotlight – Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein was one of America’s best-known composers. He was also an accomplished pianist, conductor, and educator. Learning about Leonard Bernstein is a lot of fun because he was alive recently enough that you can see videos of him in action conducting his own music or teaching all about the
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What is Ragtime? Ragtime music is a forerunner of jazz music and was popular around 1900. It grew from African American musical traditions, combining the jig and march styles commonly performed by African American bands. Ragtime became immensely popular as a musical style and a dance. It is called ragtime because of its syncopated, or
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Music Salad! Activity Say the name of each fruit and vegetable out loud. Clap out each syllable. For example, “beet” gets one clap, “lettuce” has two, and “watermelon” has four. Once you’ve practiced each word through, point to an image and have your students say and clap it. As soon as they finish that rhythm,
