Best Strategies for Teaching Tempo. Organized Chaos. Elementary general music lesson ideas and tips for teaching tempo, speed, fast and slow effectively.
Trying to understand how to teach solfege? Solfege is an essential strategy for teaching pitch but can be confusing for non-specialists. These solfege lesson plans will make it easy.
Do you teach elementary music to fifth graders? Are you struggling to teach fifth graders? Here are some tips and tricks to help you out!
Do you teach elementary music to fifth graders? Are you struggling to teach fifth graders? Here are some tips and tricks to help you out!
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!
Are you looking for Tips On How To Become A Professional Musician? Our professionals share their advice, tips and tricks on how to make it in the music industry.
Start learning how to read music for beginners today! Teach your kids how to read music notes with fun printable activity ideas.
TEN WAYS FOR POSITIVE PRACTICE By Christy Hodder Www.Scotiasuzuki.org NUMBER ONE: PRACTICE EVERYDAY Make your practIce time a natural part of everyday life in the same place and at the same time. Create a physical space that is peaceful and without distractions. (In this webinar session, you can see some actual exam...
Thinking about starting a new program with your music classes? Not sure what to do? Is this the problem…. Your time is precious, and you don’t want to waste it. Your budget is limited, and you want to get the most bang for your buck. You have limited space in your classroom to store large […]
Preparing for Your First Elementary Music Teaching Job. Organized Chaos. Top 5 suggestions to help you get ready over the summer for your first elementary music job.
Movement lessons your fourth and fifth grade music students will want to do. These are simple & easy lessons for elementary music class.
Have you tried adding orchestra conducting to your elementary music classes? Use these orchestra conducting lesson plan ideas to add another dimension to your music teacher tool box.
Looking for word wall ideas for classroom in music this year? Look no further this blog post will give you ideas and tips to help you to...
If you walk into an elementary classroom, you might notice that everything is color-coded: signs and charts on the wall to labels on bins to pieces of tape marking certain spots on the floor.This is because colors are easy for most young children to recognize and differentiate between.But in music, our baseline is black and white, the colors of standard notation. When first introducing music-reading, it can be challenging for young students to recognize patterns and organize the content visually when everything is black and white.For this reason, color can be a helpful tool when teaching music literacy and developing music-reading skills. “When we use color in a systematic way it can help students retain information better than just using black and white.” (source)
What you put on your classroom walls should reflect what you teach. Read this article to get suggestions about what to post, how, and why!
Best Strategies for Teaching Rhythm. Organized Chaos. Tons of lesson ideas for specific rhythm concepts and general teaching strategies for elementary general music.
Learn all the tips and tricks for playing the rhythm chairs game in the elementary music classroom.
Are you a new music teacher? Need some help on the first year of teaching? Check out these tips for the new music teacher to help you in your first year!
Flashlight routines in music class can be used to reinforce form and keep students engaged and excited about learning. This post shares routines for "Cantina Band" by John Williams and "March" from the Nutcracker as well as tips and tricks for using them successfully in your music classroom.
This is the second blog post in a series devoted to Music workstations. Check out the first blog post about Getting Organized for Music Workstations to learn about planning and setting up your teaching space. In this post we are going to talk about what students will actually do at each workstation. Often the activities that I have students complete in centers are ones that we've already done as a whole group. This gives students confidence and results in less off-task behavior. Not every activity lends itself to this kind of introduction so I always try to include a task card or directions at each station. In the lists below you'll find links to blog posts (mine and others) and products (mine and others) that may help you in planning and creating activities for your students. So...what can students do at a music workstation? Sing Use puppets and Wee Sing songbooks, lyric sheets from songs you are working on or seasonal songs to get students singing! I always tell students that the puppets can sing only. No talking. Include lyric sheets and have students cover part of the page with sticky notes, poker chips or painters tape and sing through it. Great for memory work! Vocalizations-Such a fun way to help students explore their voices. My kiddos love this one and this one. Encore-I love this game! Play Instruments Print out simple folk songs that are color coded to Boomwhackers or hand bells. Rhythm Stick Reading (also try Maraca Rhythm Reading, Triangle Rhythm Reading, Tambourine Rhythm Reading and Rhythm Instrument Reading which uses several instruments.) Pick a story or poem for students to read. Have students add sound effects while reading it out loud. Recorder Composing Station Xylophone Composing Station Work on Rhythm Swat the Rhythm Noodle Notes Craft Stick Rhythms Rhythm Blocks (Mega Blocks) Play Dough Mats (get them here) Musical Yahtzee (Layton Music) Use Martha Stanley’s Mighty Music Grid to practice drawing notes, composing simple rhythm songs to clap together and more. Rap It, Clap It, Music Match It (I love this one and this one. Oooo! And this one is free!) Practice Identifying Pitch Names Treble Clef Twister Staff Wars on the Smartboard or tablets, kids love this! (Shhh! Me too!) Flashnote Derby Bottle Cap Staff-Such a fun way to practice placing notes on lines and spaces, identifying pitch names and “spelling” on the staff. Create an Original Mnemonic Device –Have students brainstorm new sayings to help remember the lines and spaces of the treble clef staff. Matching Games Flashcards and Worksheets Swat the Staff Caterpillar Rhythms-See them in action here. Learn About Instruments Mystery Instruments A brown paper bag, a classroom instrument and a detective sheet. Read about instruments. Apps to Try: JazzyABCs, Garage Band, Virtual Drums, Mini Harp, Music Keys, Piano Pals. Wow...there are so many more amazing apps I could list here, but to save time I'll let you link me up in the comments section. Instrument Family Punch Cards Misspelled Instrument Punch Cards Instrument Coloring Sheets Watch videos about instruments from YouTube. I love the ones that show how an instrument is made. Read Books and Articles about Music and Musicians Set up a classroom library! There are many great books about music, instruments and composers that students love to read. Books that are also songs are great choices as well as books that can be read rhythmically. Composer biographies are great for upper elementary. Check out www.makingmusicfun.net for free biographies and worksheets. Music Alive Explore Composers of the Month Composer Coloring Sheet and Bulletin Board –Bulletin Board pieces could be used in a center. Listen to Great Music Set up a listening center in your classroom and choose music that coordinates with things you are studying in class. Add listening sheets to the station to encourage students to listen for specific musical elements. Color and Write About Music Color by Symbol Color by Dynamics Meet the Composer Coloring Sheets Composer Writing Prompts Younger students can write or draw about music. Musical Writing Prompts Play Games Dynamics Dash and Dynamics Tower-from Denise Gagne’s Music Centers Kits 1 and 2 Bop-It and electronic Simon Says -They are great for rhythm, coordination and melodic memory. Candy Land-convert and use for note differentiation. Musical Jenga Amy Abbott from Music al a Abbott has a great selection of music themed games. Check them out! Everything Else Talk About Tunes- Students pull out a topic and everyone in the group takes a turn answering. Teacher Time-Be a workstation! Use your time with each of the groups to assess pitch matching, instrument skills and more! You can get a bundle of music workstations in this set: Music Workstations MEGA Bundle Whew! That's quite a list to get you started! This is really just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many student centered activities that we can plan as part of our regular curriculum that really let students take the lead in their own education. They are fun and engaging for students and easy to set-up and assess for teachers. Do your students work in centers or workstations in your classroom? What kind of activities do you do? Share with me in the comments. I'm always looking for another great idea to get kids singing, reading, playing and moving! The next post in this series is filled with tips and tricks for making workstations work in your classroom. Music Workstations Tips and Tricks Like these ideas? Pin them for later!
Avoid last-minute stress and fill your music sub tub with these easy and meaningful activities. The best music sub plans are ready in advance!
Teaching the Elements of Music is much easier when you have the right resources that are suitable for your music students. Read on to find...
If you are struggling with teaching high and low in your elementary music classroom, I have a few tried and true strategies...
We've all been there: one class is ahead of the rest of the grade level, it's the last day before a vacation, you're stressed/ tired/ sick and can't think straight to teach a regular lesson, it's a weird schedule day and the kids are spinning in circles, there's a last-minute change and you can't do the lesson you had planned... Whatever the reason, we all have days when we need to step out of our regularly-scheduled sequenced curriculum and do something different for one class period. Sure, you could throw on a movie or pull out some worksheets. But those types of classes can result in lots of behavior difficulties (and no wonder, the students are usually bored!). Here are my favorite ways to use those "one-off" class periods in meaningful musical ways. These ideas are ones that don't require too much thinking on my part, don't require advance planning to set up, can be done with large or small groups, and keep students engaged for an entire class period. 1. instrument merry go round I actually use this activity as a part of my regular "curricular" lessons as well, but it's a good one to pull out when I want everyone to stay focused and engaged but I know they're going to be antsy. I have every student pick out one instrument (usually I limit their options to small percussion on specific shelves in my room) and bring it to sit in a circle on the floor. Then I tell them to play when my hands are open, and stop when I close my hands. If they play/ don't play at the wrong time, they're out for the next round. Once they get the hang of starting and stopping, I have them leave their instrument on the floor, stand up, and move over one spot around the circle. Then they pick up the new instrument and repeat. Keep going around the circle and switching instruments! The great thing about this is I can use it to review a variety of concepts. Instrument names and playing techniques are obvious ones, but I can also teach dynamics by having them play louder/ softer when I hold up dynamic symbols or move my hands bigger or smaller, review instrument classification by calling out certain types to play on different turns, or practice rhythms by having them echo patterns instead of starting/ stopping. Lots of ways to change it up! 2. Musication I purposefully save videos from this awesome YouTube channel to use only for this purpose so that I know students won't get tired of them. They are most well-known for the play-along videos for Boomwhackers and hand chimes with color-coded notes, but there are also play-along videos for percussion (which is great for large groups and younger students), and even chord play-alongs (which I use with ukulele but could also be done with guitar, piano, etc). One other pro tip for these: you can slow down or speed up the videos on YouTube without distorting the sound by clicking on settings (the gear icon at the bottom of the video) and selecting "playback speed". This is a perfect way to keep classes engaged and "up the ante" by repeating the same song but speeding up each time! Of course switching the parts/ notes they're playing is another great way to change it up and keep everyone on their toes. 3. posters I don't do this often but every now and then, especially if I'm under the weather and I don't think the students will be too high-energy, I'll have the class make posters to hang up on the walls. Sometimes I'll have them make posters for an upcoming music event to hang up around the building, including reminders about concert etiquette. Other times I have them make posters about something they're learning: instrument families, a musical element, music vocabulary, etc. Bonus: it's great to have student work to actually display on the walls because most of our student work isn't visual, and administrators (and kids!) love to see that in the classroom! 4. soundscapes There are so many ways to do soundscapes- I've written an entire blog post just about all the ways to do them here- but the most basic one I pull out most often in this scenario is to write down names of places on slips of paper, fold them up and have students draw one from a jar, and then have small groups come up with a soundscape to match that scene using only their voices and found objects they have in the room. So for example if a group has the beach, they may make the sounds of waves by flapping a piece of paper, seagulls with their voice, beachballs getting hit by hitting a chair, etc. If you're reading this right now and thinking ha, I wish I had a sequenced curriculum laid out for me that I could even stray from in the first place! Don't worry, you're definitely not alone- I talk to so many music teachers every week who are planning their lessons week by week or even day by day from scratch! You can get my complete curriculum with all the plans and materials for the entire school year for K-6 general music here, or learn exactly how to make your own in this free e-course here. I hope these lesson ideas are helpful the next time you find yourself in one of those situations- I'll be using a few of them this week after I finish my concerts and try to finish the week until our vacation!
First year elementary music teachers face a lot of difficulties-- this is how to get ready for your first year!
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
Music education ideas, activities, games, and songs | Technology tips for the music classroom | Resources for the elementary music room.
After three music degrees, there were still many things I didn’t know when I started building my portfolio career. Here's what I've learned.
It’s funny, but I couldn’t believe that I never had never put this list together! Teaching Music has not only been my occupation for the last 19 years, but it is also my passion. I love igniting the learning fire in students, and having the privilege of teaching them Music is an added bonus. For […]
Behavior Management for Music Teachers. Organized Chaos. Includes PBIS, Restorative Practices, classroom jobs, routines and procedures, and more for elementary music classroom behavior management strategies.
Learn all about classroom management for elementary music teachers and take control of your general music classroom today!
Discover the Elements of Music and their meanings so you can improve your music appreciation skills as a musician, performer and composer.
How to Set Up Your Elementary Music Room. Organized Chaos. Tips and considerations for setting up your classroom to create the best possible learning environment for your students.
How to teach melody in elementary music class for first year elementary music teachers-- from high and low to solfege to notes on the staff.
I have been teaching a piano unit in my 5th grade general music classes for years now and I love it! I have learned a lot about how to manage the logistics to make it work in the classroom setting over the years, how to manage the logistics of the instruments so that it's not too labor-intensive for me, and how to continue to build on the skills and concepts they're learning while incorporating basic keyboarding skills. Here are my top suggestions for teaching class piano in elementary or middle school general music! This post contains affiliate links. The post is not sponsored and the purchase experience is not affected. Instruments I don't have a class set if keyboards/ pianos, nor do I think anyone needs them. I have almost enough for half of my class, so I have them choose a piano partner and they share (a few have 3 together on one instrument). I don't have them doing anything that uses more than one octave at a time, so it's easy for two of them to play at the same time. In my room I have 2 uprights (one acoustic that is dying a slow death, and one electric that I got to replace the acoustic when it dies) that are permanently set up on opposite sides of the room. The rest of the instruments I have are basic electric keyboards: they are from all different years and slightly different models, but similar to this one. When I first came to this school there were only a handful of keyboards. When I didn't have enough to have the whole class using them at the same time, I printed out one or two octaves of a keyboard and laminated them so that students could practice hand positions, finding notes, etc while they waited their turn to use the real thing. Honestly, they didn't even mind (because piano is inherently cool), and it did actually reduce the noise level significantly. Don't let a limited number of instruments stop you from teaching class piano! Storage/ Set Up I was able to get some shelf space to store my keyboards when we're not using them- there is no way I want to have them set up year-round because they take up too much space (especially considering I only use them in lessons with one grade level out of seven)! The biggest issue for me, then, is getting them set up and torn down quickly before and after class. The best tip I have for that is leaving the plugs plugged into the outlets, and unplugging the cord from the back of the keyboard to store them away. It's a lot faster than trying to find the outlets against the wall each time! I also did away with keyboard stands and have opted to just have them sit on the floor. It's not the best for posture and hand position, but I rotate everyone through the uprights so that they all have chances to sit at an actual piano, and it's worth having more time to spend actually playing the instruments instead of taking more class time to set things up and take them apart! Management Of course one of the hardest things about any type of class instruction on an instrument is getting everyone to stop playing when I need to give instructions! The way I manage that is by having students keep the keyboards off/ lids closed on the pianos when I'm giving directions, and when it's time for them to stop I turn off the lights in the classroom. I tell them ahead of time that when the lights turn off they need to turn off/ close the lid on their instruments, and if they don't do that they miss out on free play time at the end of class. Free play time is another key element to making sure students are staying on task when they're given time to practice- of course they want to try out songs they know by ear, see what all those buttons do, or try to gliss up all the keys. They need time to experiment on their own. I always give them an extra-long free play time the first time they use the instruments at the beginning of the unit, and I try to have some free play time (maybe 1 or 2 minutes) at the end of each lesson. Teaching Methods One thing I've learned with teaching class instruments is to focus on one small skill at a time and give students short practice sessions on each small skill, rather than giving them larger tasks and expecting them to stay on task to practice a more difficult skill for longer periods of time. So if I want them to find C and play in home position with their right hand thumb on C, I'll have them go to the instruments and find C, then stop and have them play C with their thumb, then stop and have them put each finger on the other notes above C. Shorter practice times with focused, achievable tasks keeps everyone on-task during practice sessions! Unit Content The basic outline of my keyboard unit with 5th grade is to find C, play in home position with both hands, each finger playing its own note independently, play one song in home position, and then compose one song using those same notes. It's not a very involved or complicated unit, but it's enough to get everyone acquainted with the layout of the keys and get them comfortable with playing. You can see all of my detailed lesson plans and materials in my 5th grade curriculum as well. If you want to see my tips and lesson ideas for other instruments, whether it's recorders, ukuleles, boomwhackers, xylophones, or other typical classroom instruments, head to this post: What questions do you have about teaching class piano? What tips do you have from your own experiences with keyboards in the general music room? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Looking for games and lessons to teach solfege? These solfa activities will keep your students engaged in learning about melody in music class
5 Ways to Introduce a New Song. Organized Chaos. Engaging and effective ways to introduce new songs to elementary students.
The Music Teacher Administrators Love. A Music Teacher's Guide to Fostering Mutual Respect part 2: Music Teacher Qualities. Organized Chaos. Principal and administrator perspectives on what they think makes a great music teacher.
With over 15 years of teaching experience with students of all ages, Kyle is a patient teacher who makes learning music fun & exciting 🎶 Kyle’s teaching style is informative but relaxed, focusi…
Learn all the tips and tricks for playing the rhythm chairs game in the elementary music classroom.
Enjoy playing more music confidently. The 9 tips in this video tutorial will show you how to: Gain confidence and motivation with successful methods that work. Learn the best ways to eliminate errors when you practice Make the most of your practice time and achieve more. Discover insightful ways to measure your progress. What others
Lesson planning doesn't have to be difficult-- with these tips, you can make lesson plannig easy, even as an elementary music teacher!
