Melody Maker Create a melody as a class with nothing but a white board (or chalkboard) and your imagination. One by one, students can choose which note should come next in the melody. It is easiest to just stick with quarter notes. Once you have filled up the number of bars of music you chose […]
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
Major and Minor Music Read More »
Animal Tempos Vocabulary Let’s focus on just four main tempo dynamic markings: andante, moderato, allegro, and presto. Here is a helpful way to imagine four different tempos as animal speeds. Activity Step One: Try acting each animal move while you listen to these four pieces in this playlist: Feel how each animal has a different
Singing scales – Introduction to Major and Minor Most pieces of simple music use one scale throughout the whole piece. A scale is a pattern of notes organized in order of pitch (low to high or high to low). In Western music, scales usually contain 8 notes. Sing a major scale together (or sing along
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
Dynamics Performance Game Read More »
Mystery Choice Tempo Activity Have fun playing with tempos as students learn to feel them with their bodies. Write down different tempo names on slips of paper and put them in a pile or in some sort of container. Create another set of papers that have different body movements on them.Take turns choosing a tempo
Mystery Choice Tempo Activity Read More »
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,
Body Percussion Body percussion activities are a great way for students to explore percussion performance no matter where they are or what instruments you have access to at your school. Follow this body percussion lesson to bring fun, rhythmic learning into your classroom. Sound Exploration Before you start any of the activities below, discuss the
DIY Trumpet & Trombone Make Your Own Instruments Check out a few trumpet and trombone-inspired DIY instruments. Have students gather supplies and make their own instruments in class – or ask them to make them at home. TRUMPETS Soda Bottle Trumpet We love this DIY trumpet because it uses materials you probably already have laying
Make Your Own Instruments Read More »
Percussion Activities – Elementary and Older Find the full activity guide here: Time to Drum! Make Your Own Shekere A shekere is a traditional African instrument, usually made out of a dried gourd. Watch this video to learn more about the shekere. Have your child(ren) follow this great tutorial to make your own shekere at
DIY Percussion Activities Read More »
