Earlier this week, I shared some of my favorite tried-and-true rhythm games and activities for children's choir. Most were focused on keeping the steady beat, moving, listening, improvising, and developing aural skills. Read the full post here . Today, I'm adding to the list with fun and engaging
Music theory worksheets are valuable tools for individuals who are learning or studying music. These worksheets provide structured exercises that focus specifically on note values. With a range of activities and exercises tailored to different skill levels, music theory worksheets help students grasp the concept of note values and their significance in creating rhythm and melodic patterns. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced musician, these worksheets are designed to enhance your understanding of note values and improve your musical performance.
The Music Rhythm Training Course helps you internalize rhythmic patterns through reading practices. Become a master at reading music rhythm notation!
My district is one that is implementing Student Learning Objectives...which are basically large-scale goals for each student in class based on their ability levels. Teachers have to set target scores/learning outcomes for lower level learners to higher level learners. That means there has to be some sort of pre-assessment in order to determine the level of the students. I really have struggled in attempting to create pre-assessments for orchestra. It has been hard to wrap my head around giving a test to see what I know students don't know yet...since I haven't taught the skill, yet. Anyway, I am focusing my learning objective on rhythm. I want to be sure my students are fluent note-readers and rhythm readers. For my pre-test, I will use the 'I Got Rhythm' form that I created. This can be used many different ways and can be a useful tool in a variety of rhythm exercises. For my pre-assessment, I will perform the rhythm from one box on each line...and I will have students circle the rhythm that they think I played. This will help me see if students are already recognizing these rhythms. The rhythms get progressively more difficult as you move down the page, so I will be able to set some learning targets for individual students. Eventually of course, students will demonstrate the ability to perform these rhythms on their own - by the end of year 1. I can also use this form as a rhythm exercise...students can perform the rhythms across and down each line. They can cut them up to make flashcards. You can use the different rhythms for warm-ups and scales.
These fun printable rhythm cards can be used in many ways to help introduce children to music concepts, symbols, patterns and sequences.
Diagrams and easy to follow text that will help musicians learn to read music whether as a singer or instrumentalist.
These charts offer students a guide to help them decipher rhythms and symbols they may encounter in daily classwork or sheet music. This is perfect for a chorus class, general music class, or band class. Students can keep this in their folders as a reference sheet to aid them in their daily work or breaking down new music they are working on. The sheets cover basic rests and the most common rhythm combinations students may encounter. Each sheet uses different variations teachers may teach depending on how they learned Kodaly symbols. For example: Sixteenth notes can be chanted as tika-tika or tiri-tiri. Another rhythm identification practice sheet: Fall Rhythm Match Up Worksheets Find other wonderful resources : Everyday Music Resources Thank you for visiting my shop!
music lessons for home schoolers, music lessons for the young child, peter and the wolf, rhythm, teaching musical form, melody, elementary music
This article explores the most common rhythm syllable systems used in elementary music classrooms today and works through pros and cons for each method.
One of the first things you should learn in music is the types of musical notes and their time values. In this post we'll look at how to notate music including
Choosing songs to teach from in the music room can be tricky business. For one thing, there are an infinite number of songs from which to choose. You can easily put your head down to think of one song to use in a lesson only to look up hours later with stacks of books and binders next to
FIVE Music Rhythm Charts: North American Terminology This ZIP file contains: 1. A pdf file with FIVE rhythm charts aimed at reinforcing students’ understanding and knowledge of rhythm i.e. note names, values and what they look like. The first chart is completed – as seen in the image above. The remaining four charts are the SAME rhythm chart, however, there is a column missing in each. (See thumbnails or preview) These can be printed off for students to complete in class, for homework OR they can be projected and used for class revision/quiz etc. 2. An **editable** PowerPoint of the same rhythm charts! Click in the French Time name column and you will be able to enter the rhythm syllables you use with your classes. Also available using British terminology. CLICK the following link: Rhythm Chart Set using British Terminology ********************************************************************************************************* ♥ CLICK here to check out more quality, ready-to-use resources for the MTR store! ********************************************************************************************************* Follow me on: PINTEREST FACEBOOK Thank you for visiting my store! Kim Maloney #mtrRhythm #mtrTheory ********************************************************************************************************* Customer Tips: Don’t Forget to collect your TPT credit to use on future purchases: Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). Beside each purchase you'll see a Provide Feedback button. Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies and product launches: • Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. That’s all you need to do! You will now receive email updates from the MusicTeacherResources store.
Thank You For Joining the iTapOnline Community! You can view the Rhythm Tree for Tap Dancers below or download it directly here! May this Rhythm Tree give you clarity and confidence in your musicality.
I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to share my latest project with you- I've been working on it for a couple of months now, trying to figure out the whole system before I present it to my students, and I'm finally ready to use them in my classes this week! Presenting: rhythm monster magnets! I love doing composition with all of my students, even as young as Kindergarten, and when I saw Jennifer's idea for rhythm monsters last summer on her blog, The Yellow Brick Road, I was intrigued. Don't those little critters just look so darn cute?!? And I love the idea of showing the number of notes in each beat iconic-ly (Is that a word? Whatevs, you know what I mean). You can check out her post on her original epiphany (using googly eyes and puff balls) here: My problem: I didn't like the idea of trying to glue stuff to puff balls. Trust me, I've done stuff like that before, and it's not pretty. You get little strings all over the glue bottle (or gun, or stick, or whatever you're using to administer adhesive), and it's a struggle to get the bottle away from the strings of glue each time without creating a sticky cobweb all over your face and clothing. I also wanted something more durable- if I'm gonna take the time to make so stinkin' many little monster thingies, they better last for years (and be used by hundreds of students)! So these thoughts have been percolating for about a year, and this summer I finally landed on my solution: magnets! If you've been around a while, you know that magnet boards have become one of my standard fall-backs. They are durable enough for little hands, the materials are pretty cheap, and there are a wide variety of options readily available for materials as well. I will admit, this is no one hour project. If you're ready for a commitment it could probably be a weekend project, but for me I needed to pace myself so I didn't get mad and throw the whole thing out the window- it definitely requires some patience to make everything. But I am THRILLED with the results! To make the basic set with quarter notes, paired eighth notes, and magnet boards, you'll need some magnets (I got these), googly eyes (I had some laying around from my kids' craft supplies but these are the same variety/sizes), craft glue (or better: super glue), and cookie sheets (I found mine for 88c at Walmart). You'll also probably want electrical tape, but you could achieve the same effect with a black sharpie/ paint pen too (more on that later). You can see the trial versions I made, to see how well the glue would hold, in the above picture. So far they are holding up just fine- definitely get glue like the kind you see in the picture. I borrowed some from my art teacher colleague, but you can find it at any craft store. **Update: after 2 years of use I have switched from craft glue to super glue. The craft glue held up pretty well for about a year but then about half of the eyes started falling off in the second year. The super glued ones seem to be pretty much indestructible! For even more durability you can rough up the surface of the magnet before glueing.** I wanted to be able to use my monsters for melodic composition as well, so I made one quarter and one paired eighth in each color and made 7 sets (one for each color group that I have set up for small groups in my room, plus one extra). Since there are 5 colors, I can assign each color to a note in the pentatonic scale for my older students to create melodic compositions. For kindergarten I won't attach any meaning to the colors, and for first and second grade I will give them only enough colors for the notes they are using (sol and mi or mi-sol-la, respectively) if I decide to do anything melodic with them. You could do plenty of fun composition activities if you just stop there, but I really wanted to have quarter rests and half notes as well. I spent a lot of time figuring out the best way to represent those with monsters- I wanted the half note to show one sound that takes up the "space" of two beats, and I wanted the rest to show the "space" of a beat but with no sound. For the half notes, I finally figured out my solution when I saw some mini popsicle sticks at Walmart. I enlisted the help of my 3-year-old's and colored the sticks to match the colors of the magnets (one of each color for each set): I attached the popsicle stick to the bottom of the magnet (yes, the magnet is still strong enough to hold through the stick) and added a single (larger) eye to the top. My idea is that the sticks are like the monsters' tail? I may try to make them look more "realistic" at some point but for now they work ;) For the quarter rests, I bought some clear marbles that have a flat base (made for aquariums and vases and such) and stuck a magnet dot on the bottom. I love this idea because the students can see that the rest takes up a beat but it has not sound- I thought about just using magnets with no eyes but having something transparent seems clearer to me (no pun intended). Time to set up the magnet boards (aka cookie sheets)! This is where things got a little sticky for me (seriously, I'm full of these puns today). You could easily write staff lines, beat boxes, or whatever you want directly onto the cookie sheets and call it a day, but I (in my infinite wisdom) decided that I wanted to use electrical tape so that I didn't have to worry about the lines fading or scratching off, and I could easily change the lines/boxes if I wanted. At first it seemed easy enough: I found these rolls of electrical tape for some ridiculously cheap price like 77c at Walmart and started cutting and taping: The magnets fit perfectly on top of the width of the tape and I was ecstatic! And then I remembered the constant struggle I encounter with students who draw notes "on the line" either above the line or barely touching the line. I needed a way to have them practice and see the line going through the middle of the note head. (Hi, have we met? I'm Miss Obsessive-Perfectionist. Nice to meet you.) So back to the drawing magnet board I went, and I started cutting the strips in half length-wise. Let me tell you, this is where the tantrum almost kicked in. I finally bit the bullet and got myself a paper trimmer for $10 at JoAnn's and there was peace throughout the land (seriously, why did it take me so long to get one anyway?). The other advantage of the thinner lines is that I now had space to put some beat boxes (I had space for 8) directly under the staff lines. I measured the boxes with my half notes to make sure they would take up 2 beats and then split the boxes in half. Now I can have students create rhythmic compositions in the beat boxes: And, if I want, I can have them transfer that to a melodic composition by assigning a solfege note to each color (and have them show me, for example, if do is on the bottom line, where the other notes should go): Are you as excited as I am yet??? Because this is SO COOL!!! I also put a simplified setup on the back of each cookie sheet, with just a line (for unpitched composition) and 4 beat boxes, for my younger students to use. I made 6 cookie sheets (one for each color group in my seating chart- each group has 2-4 students depending on class size). All together, I spent just under $30 for this project (I already had magnet dots and googly eyes on hand- add a couple of dollars if you need to purchase those), and I have a set of composition manipulatives that I hope to use for years to come! I am excited because I think my monsters will help students better understand the rhythmic and melodic concepts they are practicing, get them used to creating their own rhythmic and melodic lines, and engage them in a fun way! I can't wait to use them in my classes this week. I will be having my 2nd graders compose a short rhythmic pattern in their small groups to practice half notes, and my 3rd graders will be creating their first melodic composition to practice the pentatonic scale! After some practice with the monsters I will have them transfer their compositions to a worksheet by writing them out in standard notation. I can't wait to see if I get as many light bulb moments as I expect :) What are your favorite strategies for getting lower elementary students composing? Do you think you might want to create some rhythm monster magnets for your own classroom? Share your thoughts and ideas below!
My district is one that is implementing Student Learning Objectives...which are basically large-scale goals for each student in class base...
Do you have a favorite rhythm game or activity to use in your music lessons? Rhythm is something that always needs review, so you can never have too many
Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of
This article explores the most common rhythm syllable systems used in elementary music classrooms today and works through pros and cons for each method.
[ padding=”0 20px 0 20px”] As guitarists we interact with the musical pulse by playing notes. Some are long and some are short. The diagram below […]
Aside from an appreciation for music, I have no other knowledge of it or possess any talent myself. My son's music teacher’s “tee tee tah” lesson on music notes had my son trying to teach me, though. His curiosity became mine too. To help him learn the names of the music notes and practice some math, I designed this fun activity. Download the music measure mat, cheat sheet, and notes/rests cards here. The objective? See how many different combinations of notes can be used to create a measure of music with a 4/4 time signature. I made some “note” cards and a cheat sheet that showed all the notes and rests and the number of beats each has. After cutting the cards and taping together the music measure mat, my son sorted the cards into piles. Then I told him that the top number in the time signature (4/4) told us that each measure of music should have four beats. Each note does not have 1 beat, some have as little as a half beat, others as much as 4 beats. I told him to fill the measure with notes and rests that added to four beats. He started with the easiest combinations: 1 whole note and then four quarter notes. But they got progressively harder. I had to explain that two half beats equal one beat (I used an apple cut in half to show how two halves equal one whole). Then, the fun really began – using the eighth notes and eighth rests! More and more cards were laid down. This was a great way to boost my son’s music vocabulary and work on counting, addition, and fractions. We made LOTS of different combinations of notes and rests that added to four beats. I lost count after he created 13 measures!
The Rhythm Race: Rhythmic Value Game (BUNDLE) from Shelley Tomich of PitchPublications.com is a great game for music lessons, music classroom centers, or as a resource for your sub plans. Students …
It is now time to add rests to our music. This is basically the same lesson as lesson 8 but it includes the quarter rests. The addition of the rest means there are a lot more options for grouping the notes in sets of 4. Just a reminder that the rest gets one beat just as the quarter note does. Whenever the children are reading and clapping music it is important that the rest be "felt" even though there is no sound. For this lesson you may want to add instruments for variety. I always told my kids that preparing for the instruments would make us successful musicians so we read and clapped the music first to be sure we were ready to transfer it to instruments. Once again you can cut the strips out without the words and let the children find the matching pairs. Then print and cut out individual notes and rests and let the children find new ways to group them into sets of 4. Use these to create a musical piece to play. I created 26 different groupings. Any of the groupings you create are in sets of 4 which means they are in 4/4 time signature - 4 beats to a measure. The children can play these patterns along with any number of songs that are in 4/4 time. Here are some suggestions: Yankee Doodle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CObFQznhls Rainbow Color song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt2DCGYzSsc Wheels on the Bus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nKBKPcycFE Row, Row, Row Your Boat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYLKEePMvIU Be Doodle Dee Dum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI9OaTJyg_Y Dance Myself to Sleep https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQmut5GI7-k&list=AL94UKMTqg-9DC1_3UPjnhZVQhZ2NCqrzH Honker Duckee Dinger Jamboree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdv5uuYrTKQ&list=AL94UKMTqg-9DC1_3UPjnhZVQhZ2NCqrzH
This poster is a visual breakdown of the subdivision of music rhythms. Whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note and sixteenth note values are clearly displayed in a minimal, stylish design. This would be a great tool/art piece for any music room wall!
This Animal Actions Rhythm Game is the perfect way to get things moving and practice listening and note recognition skills at the same time.
The next step to our rhythm lessons is to add rests to the icons we know how to read. We are only going to use quarter note rests that get one beat. They will be named "rest" for the purpose of reading and clapping the rhythm. Instead of clapping on the rest we will take our hands and give a beat into the air. We do want the children to feel that beat and not to do nothing on the rest. Even a rest gets a beat! For example, if we were reading and clapping Ta Ta Ti-Ti Rest it would look like this with our hands: Here are a few of the icons we will be using with the Little Squirrel Game and Chant. You should take the time to teach these before you play the game. You can do a visual match game if you like by printing two copies or if you think the children are going to easily transition to adding rests you might just show them the new icons and explain what to do on the rest and then clap them and say them together. As soon as they are comfortable with these icons you are ready for the Little Squirrel Chant and Game. Little Squirrel Chant Little Squirrel up in the tree, Very soon you’ll hungry be, Hide those acorns in the ground, So your dinner can be found. The four lines of the chant have been purposely written to follow the simple rhythm pattern of Ti-Ti Ti-Ti Ti-Ti Ta. Start by teaching the chant and clapping the rhythm of those words with the children. (It is also time to talk about squirrels and how they work all fall to gather food for the winter. Talk about how they fill their nests with food but how they also go around yards burying nuts in the ground. Scientists have proven that they do indeed remember where they bury their nuts but that they can also smell nuts that are buried. The good news for us is that they do not find 100% of their nuts and then ones not found grow into new trees.) At this point it is really fun for the children to learn to say the chant and play it on a drum at the same time. In the classroom I adapted this to the format listed below. If you are doing this with just a couple of children or even a few, you may adjust it to your needs, of course. Game: 6 children sit around the drums. While the class chants the poem, those children play the drum part. The rest of the class is on the circle. While the poem is being chanted, four children, who are designated the “hiding squirrels”, hide the acorns. (Hiding in this case means placing the acorns somewhere in the room where they are visible.) When the poem is done, one of the drummers will be chosen to keep a steady beat on the drum while all the children, even the other drummers, go find an acorn. After they have found an acorn they must find the person with the same matching acorn and sit together on the circle. The game is over when all the squirrels are home eating dinner with a friend. We then go around the circle and see if the "friends" have the same music and let them clap and say their music for us. Here are the acorns I use for this game. You could invent any number of rhythm patterns for this game and do it on different days. The blank acorns can be used for the back of the acorns if you would like them printed on both sides. FYI: For personal use, I bought an inexpensive pouch laminator (for hot laminating) and then I purchase laminating pouches from Oregon Laminations online. http://www.oregonlam.com/Mini_Letter_Laminating_Pouches_3_mil_hot_8_75_x_11_25_Laminator_Pockets_222mm_x_288mm_75_mic_8_3_4_x_11_1_4.htmlTheir Their prices can't be beat. Best prices for pouch laminators are on Amazon. I use 3 mil. paper. If there is anything that you are going to use multiple times, it is worth the effort to laminate your work to protect it.
Improve your rhythm vocabulary and toolkit to elevate your grooves.
FIVE Music Rhythm Charts: North American Terminology This ZIP file contains: 1. A pdf file with FIVE rhythm charts aimed at reinforcing students’ understanding and knowledge of rhythm i.e. note names, values and what they look like. The first chart is completed – as seen in the image above. The remaining four charts are the SAME rhythm chart, however, there is a column missing in each. (See thumbnails or preview) These can be printed off for students to complete in class, for homework OR they can be projected and used for class revision/quiz etc. 2. An **editable** PowerPoint of the same rhythm charts! Click in the French Time name column and you will be able to enter the rhythm syllables you use with your classes. Also available using British terminology. CLICK the following link: Rhythm Chart Set using British Terminology ********************************************************************************************************* ♥ CLICK here to check out more quality, ready-to-use resources for the MTR store! ********************************************************************************************************* Follow me on: PINTEREST FACEBOOK Thank you for visiting my store! Kim Maloney #mtrRhythm #mtrTheory ********************************************************************************************************* Customer Tips: Don’t Forget to collect your TPT credit to use on future purchases: Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). Beside each purchase you'll see a Provide Feedback button. Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies and product launches: • Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. That’s all you need to do! You will now receive email updates from the MusicTeacherResources store.
Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of
Reinforce the number of beats different rhythms and rests receive in music and give your students practice writing rhythms with these 3 fun worksheets! Students add one rhythm or rest of their choice in each box to complete the equations with the correct number of beats. Includes the following rhythms and rests: 2 beamed eighth notes Quarter note Quarter rest Half note Half rest Dotted half note Whole note Whole rest (it is assumed that the whole rest receives 4 beats) Each worksheet includes 18 music addition questions. Just print and enjoy! An answer key is also included with the different possibilities for each equation (e.g. if two beats are needed, the answer key includes a half note as well as a half rest as possible answers). ---- If you like this product, please consider leaving a review. Reviewing products also gives you credit to put towards future purchases on TpT! Follow me for updates and notifications about new products by clicking here.
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Learn about the types of notes and their beats, sharps and flats, and how to read piano music notes.
Discover the Elements of Music and their meanings so you can improve your music appreciation skills as a musician, performer and composer.
Roll-A-Rhythm Music Game Your music students will have fun playing this rhythm reading dice game! Give students 1 of the 8 Roll-A-Rhythm game cards (laminate or put in a plastic pouch to make the cards reusable). Each player rolls two dice. Match the number on the dice with the number for each box on the card. Clap the rhythm in the box. If rhythm is clapped correctly, that player gets a point. This set includes 8 different Roll-A-Rhythm cards, for differentiation and so they can be used for multiple grade levels. The Roll-A-Rhythm cards range in difficulty from easy to challenging, and include specific rhythmic concepts on each card for scaffolding. A variety of rhythms and note durations are included, such as: quarter notes and rests half notes and rests whole notes and rests eighth notes sixteenth notes dotted quarter notes and rests dotted half notes and rests This is a fun, engaging and hands-on way for students to develop and strengthen their musical skills through play, collaboration and games! With differentiated levels and rhythmic concepts included, this is a must-have resource for any general music teacher! You may also be interested in: Rhythm Cards - The GROWING Bundle (includes ALL rhythm sets at a discounted price) Rhythm Cards – Set #1 (Quarter Notes, Quarter Rests) Rhythm Cards – Set #2 (Eighth Notes, Quarter Notes, Quarter Rests) Rhythm Cards – Set #3 (Quarter Notes, Quarter Rests, Half Notes) Rhythm Cards - Set #4 (Eighth Notes, Quarter Note, Quarter Rest, Half Note) Rhythm Cards - Set #5 (Quarter Notes, Quarter Rests, Eighth Notes, Sixteenth Notes) Want more classroom tips, tricks & ideas? Let's connect! Follow me on Instagram Follow me on TikTok Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on TPT If you like this product, please leave feedback! You will receive TPT credits that can be used on future purchases!
Learn your music rhythm symbols including types of notes, rests, and time signatures.
This is a fantastic way to teach rhythm notation, but it might make you hungry.
Introducing this innovative “Rhythm Math Foldable Game”, designed to enhance mastery of basic note durations in music theory. Ideal for elementary general music classrooms, your music students will love folding this origami rhythm game as they memorize essential note values. The objective: Memorize note durations of quarter, half, dotted half, and whole notes. This product includes: -Printable rhythm origami outline -Folding instruction page -Game play instructions By integrating math concepts into rhythm practice, this music game promotes cross-curricular learning. Students develop not only their musical skills but also their mathematical abilities as they explore rhythm through a mathematical lens. This game can be a yearly addition to your music curriculum! *DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW FOR TPT CREDIT! Follow my store for more projects and ideas: Music Is Life!
Treat your students to a fun Spring edition Colour by Rhythm puzzle! This activity is a great way to reinforce/review the values of basic rhythms. The pictures will emerge as they identify whether each section of the design has two, three, or four beats and add the appropriate color. Pack features 3 unique, ready-to-print designs (butterfly, tree, and flower) as well as solutions! Perfect for supplies, homework, or if you have a couple of extra minutes at the end of your music class. Includes the following rhythms: - Sixteenth notes - Eighth notes - Quarter note - Half note - Dotted half note - Whole note - Quarter rest - Half rest - Whole rest *Now includes an instruction page with space for students to write in how many beats each rhythm and rest receive - perfect for review before completing the puzzles!* ---- If you like this product, please consider leaving a review. Reviewing products also gives you credit to put towards future purchases on TpT! Follow me for updates and notifications about new products by clicking here.
