One of the most fun activities my students love is playing “Note Races.” What you do is go outside to the parking lot (one with no or very little traffic) or any area that is paved or cement. Then, I have a few students draw five manuscript lines about 6-8 feet long with about 2-3 feet
To help students understand how timpani can be tuned, demonstrate the effect of membrane tension on pitch. With a coffee can drum (see lessons on Untuned Percussion), pull on the edges of the drumhead to put varying degrees of tension on it, while a student plays a steady drumbeat on it. If the students have
Remember old fashioned piano lessons? Sitting up straight on the hard piano bench where the lovely Mrs Smith would give you a gentle tap on the back of the hand with a ruler if you didn’t curl your fingers properly! Well thankfully times have changed, and (we hope) that piano teachers no longer plan to
Ludwig Van Beethoven has to be one of the most unusual and interesting characters to ever compose music. Here are a few ideas to help introduce him into your music lesson plans: Write a short children's story about the life of Beethoven. Include the most important parts of Beethoven's life that younger children may be
There are numerous resources and lesson plans available from this website to help you if you are planning music lessons. Here is a listening activity to help with showing students about Mozart. Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman” Before beginning this activity with the class, write a selection of emotions/moods on individual small pieces
Planning music lessons? here are a couple of ideas to help you create some fun music resources for your lessons. A couple of ideas for a lesson plan about Franz Joseph Haydn: Encourage the students to pretend that they are Prince Esterhazy, and that they are looking for a new Kapellmeister. Ask them to write
Learning about baroque music has never been as much fun as it is with these music lesson plans. These days Handel's keyboard music is most often performed on a piano. At the time that this music was performed however pianos had not yet been invented, so keyboard music was generally played on a harpsichord. Have
music lesson plans like these ideas are fun to create and fun to do with students: Today when you hear keyboard music by Handel played, it is usually played on a piano. At the time that this music was performed however pianos had not yet been invented, so keyboard music was generally played on a
Here are a few ideas for a music lesson all about the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. You will find many more ideas for music lesson plans in our composers series of printable worksheets. Design a Facebook profile for J.S. Bach. Include “Basic Information” (Network, Birthday, Relationship Status, Religious Views), More “personal information” like work and
I use Mortinson Math blocks to illustrate rhythm when teaching beginners. “One” blocks are quarter notes in their normal position, but turned over (they are hollow inside) they become quarter rests. “Two” bars are half notes. And so on, any bar being a rest up-side-down. I use toothpicks (sharp ends cut off) for bar lines.