Embedded Files
Unit 1
Unit 1
Learning Targets and Success Criteria for this Unit:
We are learning to appreciate different genres of music from a variety of historical and cultural backgrounds. I will know if I am successful if I can engage in a discussion about a musical genre and identify it's historical/cultural background.
We are learning to improve our musical timing and rhythm through movement. I will know I am successful if I can complete a movement exercise while maintaining proper tempo and rhythm.
We are learning to improve our musical literacy. I will know I am successful if I can read/write/play all notes and rhythms.
We are learning about the orchestra. I will know I am successful if I can identify by sight and sound the four families of the orchestra and examples of instruments within those families.
We are learning to sing with proper tone. I will know I am successful if I can sing the correct pitches while keeping my voice at the proper volume.
This is an excellent biography of one of our greatest composers- Ludwig Van Beethoven. Watch this video and learn all about Beethoven's life. After watching, think of 5 facts that you learned about Beethoven.
Watch this cup passing tutorial video and then try it a couple times. You will need one plastic cup. PLEASE DO NOT use glass!!!
You already have a lot of background knowledge on the life of Beethoven. This is my favorite Beethoven piano piece: the second movement from his Pathetique Piano Sonata. The music is slow and expressive. Please watch the video and think about the following questions:
At what period of Beethoven's life do you think he wrote this in?
What does Beethoven seem to be "saying" to you, the listener? What was he thinking about when he wrote this?
What do you think Yundi, the pianist, is thinking about while he is playing?
What is the mood of this piece?
Why do you think Yundi has no written sheets of music and rarely looks down at his fingers?
How does Beethoven use dynamics (soft/medium/loud) in this piece?
See how far you can get in this My Turn/Your Turn game (Call and Response)! What level player are you? You can use a drum if you have one, or just use your knees. Practice every day. Good luck...
Level 1: 0:00-1:13 Easy and short rhythms all on the beat
Level 2: 1:13-2:08 These are still easier, but longer
Level 3: 2:08-3:40 Much trickier rhythms
Level 4: 3:40-5:15 Using more rests and playing on upbeats
Level 5: 5:15-7:15 Congratulations! You are a master!
I had a blast learning the Electric Slide. Give it a try- it's harder than it looks!
Click on the link below to see an interactive map of the instruments of the orchestra. Click on each section to learn more.
https://www.classicsforkids.com/music/instruments_orchestra.php
Here is a fun Line Rider video using one of Beethoven's pieces, his 5th Symphony! Watch the rider:
How do his movements reflect what is happening in the music?
What musical symbols do you see?
It's time to do a project to get to know each other better and be able to share your music interests! It is called "Soundtrack of My Life" and it will have you choose a song for certain categories. Get creative with it! The link to the template presentation with detailed directions is here. It will force you to make a copy so you have your own to edit and change around!
Can you guys do the glide? I can't. But I tried and it was fun to try! See how you do... Remember, everything he is doing is mirrored, which means that when he says LEFT he is using his RIGHT. That way when you do it with him he will look like your reflection in the mirror.
Unit 2
Unit 2
Learning Targets and Success Criteria for this Unit:
We are learning to appreciate different genres of music from a variety of historical and cultural backgrounds. I will know if I am successful if I can engage in a discussion about a musical genre and identify it's historical/cultural background.
We are learning to improve our musical literacy. I will know I am successful if I can read/write/play all notes and rhythms.
We are learning about pitch. I will know if I am successful if I can tell the difference between high pitches and low pitches.
We are learning to improve our musical timing and rhythm through movement. I will know I am successful if I can complete a movement exercise while maintaining proper tempo and rhythm.
We are learning to sing with proper tone. I will know I am successful if I can sing the correct pitches while keeping my voice at the proper volume.
We are learning to create and compose original music. I will know I am successful if I can use various tools to create an original piece of music.
For this unit we'll be taking a closer look at Musical Theater. This video will give us a brief introduction to the history of musical theater.
I will be showing you some really famous scenes from some really famous musicals. Here is the Barn Raising scene from 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. What do you think of the dancing?
This is from a musical that came out just a few years ago, called “La La Land.” Unlike most musicals, this has never been performed live on stage- it’s only ever been a movie. What elements of a musical can be seen in this scene? What are some similarities and differences from this scene and the scene from 7 Brides for 7 Brothers?
Here is a challenging, but fun, game to play that will help you with your pitch recognition. The game will play one of three pitches: low (the button on the left), middle, or high (the button on the right). When you hear the pitch a ball will launch toward your buttons. If it is the low pitch (Do or C), click on the button on the left; if it plays the high pitch (Mi or E), click on the button on the right; the middle pitch (Re or D) is, of course, the button in the middle. This game is difficult, so it may take you several turns to get the hang of it. Good luck!
First go through this short introduction before you play the game…
https://trainer.thetamusic.com/en/content/html5-lesson
Now, you are ready to play..
https://trainer.thetamusic.com/en/content/html5-paddle-pitch
This game will help you with recognizing notes on the staff- something we will be working on all year. It will also teach you where to find the notes on a piano. If the note has a # sign after it, it will be on the black key right above the note, if it has a b sign, it will be the black key below that note. # is called the “sharp” sign and b is called the “flat” sign. To musicians, sharp means to play higher and flat means to play lower (remember, for musicians, higher doesn’t mean louder and lower doesn’t mean quiet). Can you make it to the VIRTUOSO level?
It's time for another dose of Musical Theater… this is a scene from one of my favorite musicals- West Side Story. The music and the dancing in this musical are second to none! In this scene, Anita and her friends are trying to convince Bernardo and his friends that America is a great place to live. Bernardo does not agree- he prefers to live in his home country, Puerto Rico. What style of dance is this? What are some funny lines from this song? An immigrant is someone who was not born in America but lives here now. Do you think you would have a different perspective on this song if you were an immigrant?
Have you ever seen Line Rider? It’s a very popular Youtube series. Here is a fun way to listen to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony- one of the most famous pieces of music ever written. Many people believed that Beethoven wrote this music to express how he felt about continuing to compose music even while he was going deaf. It’s meant to be a triumphant piece of music.
How does it sound to you? What part of your life would this sound good as background music to? Do you recognize any musical symbolism in this?
Do you like Hip-Hop dancing as much as me? What about JT? Well, here is a video with both. This dance might take some practice before you get it perfect. Remember that when you dance you are trying to improve your musical timing using movement. Get that heart-rate up and sweat!
And now for some more musical theater… Here is one of the most iconic performances EVER in a movie- let alone a musical. This is from the film “Singin’ in the Rain,” starring the incredible Gene Kelly. Imagine if an actor like Brad Pitt was also an amazing dancer and singer- that was Gene Kelly. In my opinion, Gene Kelly was the best dancer ever to make a movie and this scene really shows you why. If you notice similarities between this and “La La Land,” you wouldn’t be wrong- “Singin’ in the Rain” was a major inspiration for “La La Land.” On a side note, Gene Kelly was suffering from the flu when he filmed this, but he still did it with a fever of 103 degrees.
Let’s continue our discussion about Musical Theater. Here are two clips from The Sound of Music. These are very famous songs that many of you have probably heard before. In the first scene, Maria is trying to teach the Von Trapp children to sing. In the second, she is trying to comfort them when they are scared by a thunderstorm. Do you think Maria seems like a good Nanny? Which song do you like better?
Now you are ready to play some intermediate rhythms. This is a rhythm reading challenge that uses some of the more difficult rhythms: the dotted quarter note (Ta-i), the single 8th note (ti), and the 8th rest(sss). See if you can play every level correctly.
This is a rhythm and beat game called Up Beat. This game will help you improve your rhythm skills because you’ll be playing rhythms along to music. First choose your level: try starting on beginner and work your way up to the harder levels. Then choose what song you want to play along to. Line your left hand up with A S D on your keyboard and your right hand with J K L. Now go for it! Remember you must play the rhythms to the tempo of the song to earn maximum points. WARNING: You must unblock Adobe Flash Player to play this game.
This is the first number from a musical called "The Lion King." The Lion King started as an animated movie and was later adapted for the stage to be performed live. All of the animals in the stage musical are performed by people using innovative costumes. What animals do you notice in this and how are they portrayed by people?
This clip is from the musical "Wicked," a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. In this story, Glinda, the good witch, and Efelba, the wicked witch, were once friends. You may recognize Efelba's voice- Idina Menzel went on to star as Elsa in Frozen.
Hamilton is the most successful musical of all time. It told the story of the founding of our nation through the eyes of Alexander Hamilton, one of our Founding Fathers. This musical was considered significant because it used many actors of color to portray these early Revolutionaries and used many Rap songs instead of traditional show tunes.
It's time to practice those syncopation rhythms (quarter-8th-quarter note patterns) we have been working on. This is an easy song to sing and an easy rhythm to play, but to do them both at the same time is challenging!
OK, this is SUPER cool! Here is a link to a professional-level drum machine. Start by fooling around with different pre-made drum tracks by clicking on different kits (next to where it says “KIT”). You can alter any parameter you want- experiment by clicking on different things and seeing what happens. When you are ready to compose your own track, click on COMPOSE. In the bottom right of the drum machine, you can choose how many beats long you want your track to be- choose anywhere from 4 beats to 32 beats long. The orange squares tell you which drum plays on which beat. Clicking on an orange square will delete the drum from that beat. Clicking again will replace the drum. This is a really great composition tool and if you put some time into it, you should be able to come up with some really cool rhythms.
Unit 3
Unit 3
Learning Targets and Success Criteria for this Unit:
We are learning to appreciate different genres of music from a variety of historical and cultural backgrounds. I will know if I am successful if I can engage in a discussion about a musical genre and identify it's historical/cultural background.
We are learning about the orchestra. I will know I am successful if I can identify by sight and sound the four families of the orchestra and examples of instruments within those families.
We are learning to create and compose original music. I will know I am successful if I can use various tools to create an original piece of music.
We are learning to improve our musical literacy. I will know I am successful if I can read/write/play all notes and rhythms.
We are learning to improve our musical timing and rhythm through movement. I will know I am successful if I can complete a movement exercise while maintaining proper tempo and rhythm.
We are learning to sing with proper tone. I will know I am successful if I can sing the correct pitches while keeping my voice at the proper volume.
We are learning about pitch. I will know if I am successful if I can tell the difference between high pitches and low pitches.
It's time to talk about one of the most famous bands of all time- The Beatles, consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr! We'll break the Beatles into 3 main periods: early, middle, and late.
Let's start with their early period! This is when the Beatles first were formed, made their first periods, and "conquered" America.
This is a video showing the arrival of the Beatles in other countries (they were British) and a period known as “Beatlemania.” Their fans were crazy! They would scream so loud during their concerts that the Beatles said they couldn’t even hear themselves play! What was it about the Beatles that made fans go so crazy?
After they arrived in America, they played the Ed Sullivan Show, the most popular variety show on TV. The whole world tuned in to see the Beatles perform and it introduced America to the music of the Beatles. This song, “Twist and Shout,” has been used in lots of movies and TV shows. Have you heard this song before? Where have you heard it?
At one point, the Beatles held all of the top 5 songs in America- something that had never been done before and hasn’t been done since. Here is one of their most popular songs, “Yesterday.” Why do you think the other Beatles don’t play on this song?
This is a really fun and addicting activity for creating loops. When you press start an 8-beat loop will begin. Simply drag and drop the different icons onto the different singers and they will begin looping their parts automatically. There are tons of variations that you can make. Click on the menu to make changes, start over, or even record your loop. This is so easy to use that even my 2-year-old made an excellent sounding loop! Did you prefer to have all the singers going at once, or did you keep things more simple? How would you describe the music that you created? There are three different versions of this game. Try all 3!
https://www.incredibox.com/demo/v1
This video takes a closer look at the string family. What do all of the instruments found in the string family have in common? What are the 5 string instruments found in the orchestra? How does a string's length affect it's pitch? What about the thickness of a string?
Let’s get started by talking about the middle period of the Beatles. Believe it or not, the Beatles actually quit giving concerts during this time. They were frustrated by all of the screaming at their concerts and were disappointed that no one could even hear them over all of the noise. They decided to devote all of their time to making songs instead. Many people believe that this decision actually caused the Beatles to start making some of their greatest songs, because they had so much more time to devote to writing and recording music, instead of giving concerts.
Here is the song “Eleanor Rigby.” Listen to this song and try to concentrate on the words. What is this song about? Is it a happy or a sad song? Listen to the song again and concentrate on the music. What instruments do you hear? The Beatles were considered a rock and roll band. What rock and roll instruments do you hear?
Another one of my favorite Beatles songs from this period is called “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Listen to this song and think about what the song is about. How does this song sound different from the Beatles’ music from earlier? Do the members of the Beatles look different? How?
"Hey Jude" is considered by many to be the greatest Beatles song ever recorded. This is the only time it was ever played in front of an audience. It was also the first hit song played on the radio that was this long (most songs were under 3 minutes long). What do you think Paul's lyrics are about? Why do you think the ending goes on so long?
It's time to learn a new dance! This is the most difficult one we have done yet- it has a lot of different moves. I'm hoping the more I practice this the better I will get at it. The important thing is that you are having fun and getting some exercise. It's OK if it's not perfect.
During the Beatles later period, each member of the group decided to write music on their own rather than as a group. They began experimenting with many different styles of music and they wrote some of their most famous songs during this period. This is a song by John Lennon called "Revolution." What do you think the words are about? How would you describe the sound of this song?
The Beatles hadn't played in front of an audience in over 3 years. One cold January day they decided to bring all of their equipment up to the roof of their recording studio and play a concert for anyone that was on the street below. This ended up being their final performance together as a group. Why do you think the greatest rock band in the world decided to end their career as The Beatles this way?
This presentation will teach us about the instruments of the orchestra. When you click on this link it will take you to a website called MusicPlay. Click on the first game- Instruments of the Orchestra. Make sure you click on each instrument to hear what it sounds like. What are the 4 families of the orchestra? Can you name 4 instruments from each family?
This is a really fun song to sing called "Agents of Change." Once there was a really smart man who said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." What do you think he meant by that? What is something that you would really like to change in the world?
In this lesson, we will be looking into the Beatles in the movies. The Beatles starred in three movies together, the first of which was called "A Hard Day's Night" and was about, well... THE BEATLES. The movie explored what it was like to be a Beatle through the eyes of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Here is the opening scene of the movie.
The Beatles' second movie was a comedy farce called HELP. Despite a silly plot it featured the Beatles playing many great new songs that went on to become classics.
The Beatles third movie, "A Magical Mystery Tour," was a very strange and abstract piece of art film. Although it featured many excellent new songs, it was considered by many to be the Beatles' first artistic failure.
This game will help you recognize notes on the staff using a treble clef and a bass clef. Any note to the right of Middle C is the Treble Clef. Any notes to the left of Middle C is the Bass Clef. Use the picture below as a guide to help you. Remember if the note is sharped (#) it is the black key above that note. If a note is flatted (b) it is played on the black key below the note.
Can you make it all the way to Level 10?
Do you want more ear training? If your answer was yes, click on the link below. This game is VERY challenging (I could only make it to level 5) and will help you with recognizing pitches. First listen to all of the notes in the scale (do re mi fa so la ti do) and then start the game. You will hear one note play and then you have to click on the note that played. If you get it right, you will move on to level 2, where you will hear 2 notes play. Level 3 will be a 3 note sequence, and so on. One thing that helped me was singing the notes back a few times after I heard them. Can you beat my level 5 score? If you practiced this for 10 minutes every day, what level do you think you could make it to?
Unit 4
Unit 4
Learning Targets and Success Criteria for this Unit:
We are learning about the orchestra. I will know I am successful if I can identify by sight and sound the four families of the orchestra and examples of instruments within those families.
We are learning to appreciate different genres of music from a variety of historical and cultural backgrounds. I will know if I am successful if I can engage in a discussion about a musical genre and identify it's historical/cultural background.
We are going to be looking at a group that is often overlooked when looking at music history...female composers! We know many female artists today thanks to the rise of the internet, but in the past it was much harder for them to share their works. What are some female musicians and composers you can think of?
Introducing our first Female Composer...Hildgard von Bingen (also known as Hildegard of Bingen)! She's the first female composer in history that we can put a name to as well as a Saint!
Some things to think about while watching this short introduction video...
Where is Hildegard from?
What else was Hildegard famous for aside from her music?
Why was Hildegard writing music for female voices as well as male voices so important?
What type of play did Hildegard write that could also be considered the first opera?
Here we have a chunk of Hildegard's opera: Ordo Virtutum! Start the video about 30 seconds in if you want to skip the silent intro. You do not have to watch all the way through, just long enough to figure out the answers to these questions...
How many main melodies can you hear in the music?
What do you notice about the way that the music is written that differs from how we read music now?
Our second female composer is the amazing Clara Schumann, wife of the composer Robert Schumann! She was also the daughter of the talented piano teacher Frederick Weick and friend to famous composer Johannes Brahms.
Think about the following things while you learn about the life of Clara Schumann...
By what age was Clara already known as a piano prodigy?
What types of songs did Clara compose to perform at her concerts?
Why did Clara have to take over the care of her eight children?
Why did Clara do once she had to give up composing?
Watch this amazing performance of one of Clara's art songs, Dei Lorelei.
What is an art song you ask? An art song is a short piece of music that is typically written for solo voice and piano!
Clara wrote a great many of these during her lifetime, and they are still performed today!
Here is a challenging body percussion game to play. Once you learn the pattern you will play the whole thing at a slow tempo. Then you will slowly increase the tempo (speed of music) and see if you can keep up. Good luck!
If you think you are getting good at body percussion, then check out this video. How long do you think these boys had to practice to get this pattern down perfect?
I'm sure you've all heard of Mozart, but did you know he had a sister who some say was even more talented than him? Her name is Maria Anne Mozart, though she was called Nannerl by friends and family!
Look for the answers to these questions while we watch a short video about her:
What instruments did Nannerl play?
What about her playing did people describe as outstanding?
What did she have a reputation as?
How did she help her brother with his first symphony?
Why did she stop performing?
What did she work as after her brother and husband died?
While none of Nannerl's original compositions have survived to be heard today, we can still find her work using her brother! There is an agreement among music scholars that some of his compositions are actually Nannerl's works published using her brother's name. One such song is Sonata in C for Piano using Four Hands!
Can you guess what Four Hands means when it comes to piano music?
Fanny Mendelssohn is another sister of a famous composer, Felix Mendelssohn! Both of these siblings were amazingly talented!
Here's some things to think about while you learn about her life:
What musical era did Fanny live in?
Why was Fanny able to take music lessons despite being a woman?
What did her father believe she should pursue instead of music?
How did moving to Berlin help Fanny share her music?
What did she compose for her wedding?
How many pieces did she write?
Remember what an art song is? Well Fanny composed those as well! Her art songs are often called lieder- another name for a German art song. The word itself comes from the German word for song, lied!
Just like Clara Schumann's art songs, Fanny's lieder are still performed today!
This is Amusix Violin. To play each note on the violin you must hit the correct letter on your keyboard and hold it down for the correct amount of time (rhythm). See how many levels you can get through. WARNING: You must unblock Adobe Flash Player to play this game.
Moving on to our first American women composer! Amy Beach has composed many beautiful works and is one of the first American composers to achieve international recognition!
Here's some things to listen for during this history video:
Where is Amy Beach from?
Why did she learn to compose in her head rather than at the piano?
What did she have that links sound to color?
Why did her husband stop her from performing?
Why was her first mass so important in her career?
What was she the first president of?
What did she like to incorporate into her works?
Amy Beach's famous Gaelic Symphony is what we call a program piece!
A program piece is a work that is centered around a central idea (for this work, she chose Ireland). The music is supposed to help you evoke an image of different parts of Ireland. Take a listen to part of the first movement and tell me what scene she is trying to get you to picture.
Taken a listen and wondering what the answer was? Well if you guessed a storm along the coast of Ireland, you'd be correct!
Florence Price is one of the most famous composers in our unit, due to her amazing talent as both a female composer and composer of color!
Here's some things to think about as you learn about her history:
What age did she write her first piece of music?
What movement did she have a huge part in in Chicago?
What did she do to make ends meet after her divorce?
What did she earn that gave her national fame?
Why was it historic her piece was played by a major orchestra?
What happened to her works to be rediscovered and played today?
Here is one of the most famous pieces Florence Price wrote: Symphony no. 1! it was the first piece by an African American woman to be played by a major orchestra, a huge feat at the time! Let's give some of it's third movement a listen.
Moving on to our most modern composers!
Here we have Katerina Gimon from Canada. She's so modern that there are no videos about her life! Luckily, she's written her own biography for us to look at!
As you read through her bio, think about these questions...
What awards has she won?
Where does she draw inspiration from for her works?
What did she help to found alongside other artists?
Where did she earn degrees from?
Here we have one of my favorite works of hers, Fire! Fun fact, I have actually sang this one myself!
Fire is from a work called Elements, which contains 4 different songs each representing a different element of nature. This work is special in the fact it has no actual words, only nonsense syllables, and body percussion to create the music!
Our last modern composer is one you should all be familiar with...Taylor Swift! Yes, pop artists can be composers to as long as they write their own music!
While learning about Taylor's life, listen for the answers to these questions...
Who inspired her to start singing and what did they sing?
What age did she start performing?
Why did she turn down her first record label?
What was the name of her debut song?
Here's one of Taylor's most popular songs, Fearless. This is the title song of her second album which she released in 2008 back when I was still in elementary school! This song helped to kickstart her career into stardom.
Now that you've learned about all these amazing female musicians, can you think of how they were similar? What about how they were different? What is one thing they've all had to face?
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