This resource provides information for teachers who lead ensemble rehearsals. Users will be shown how to maximize the progress of the ensemble and keep the rehearsals productive and inspirational.
In this lesson, students listen to poems read aloud, and they discuss the rhythm and sound of poetry. Students then perform poems using musical instruments to emphasize cadence. Using online tools, they learn about line breaks and the way these affect the rhythm of a poem. Finally, students write poems they believe will be enhanced by music and perform them for the class.
In this article, students read aout personal accounts of performance anxiety for instrumentalists. Students read about ways inwhich to reduce anxiety through neuroscience technique exercises such as "self-talk" , affirmation, and perfection. Readers also are introduced to the idea of "The Optimal Performance Concept" which discribes the concept of obtaining peak level achievement even under challenging circumstances.
This site takes you through the process of building a major scale, the essential building block of all key signatures and music. Audio examples of major scales are included with visual examples of how to build a scale. Very useful for beginning instrumental and vocal students.
In this set of lessons, students will gain a fundamental understanding of cool jazz and explore how cool jazz reflected American culture and society in the 1940's and 1950's.
To accomplish goals, members of families must cooperate, just as members of the orchestra must cooperate to create beautiful music. Similarly, students in a classroom have similar constructs; everyone must do their best for themselves as well as for the good of the whole. This lesson helps students understand that an orchestra, a family, and a classroom must work together to accomplish great things.
Copland, an American maverick, becomes a storyteller as he writes about life in the early years of America. His Appalachian Spring helps students understand how people, places and things change over time, while his musical sketch reinforces the six traits of writing.
Through this writing activity students will explore how Aaron Copland uses music to convey a sense of landscape and time.
Why do two composers from the same period of history compose different music? Students will gain an understanding of how culture and history influences music as they analyze and compare the music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, and learn how these composers used special sounds to enhance their music.
This lesson takes advantage of students' interest in music and audio sharing as part of a persuasive debate unit. Students investigate the controversial topic of downloading music from the Internet. They draw upon their prior knowledge and experience by discussing their own sources of music and Internet practices, then conduct internet research to investigate the history and legal issues of copyright infringement.
Students will be introduced to and develop a basic understanding of copyright laws. They will identify musical examples of copyright infringement.
In this series of lessons, students will research the lyrical and dramatic structure of opera through internet sources and audio examples. Students will cooperatively discuss similar and different elements of opera stories vs. their own lives. Finally, students will create a one-act opera based on their own life experiences that has both singing and spoken (recitative) parts, and simple original accompaniment using classroom percusion instruments.
This lesson uses Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid as a stimulus for creative thinking. The students will listen to Copland's Billy the Kid, listening for changes in tempo and dynamics. Then the students will create an abstract painting, and describe the tempo and dynamics they heard in a written composition.
DSOKids is the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s magical doorway to a world of musical fun and learning for students, parents and teachers. The site’s mission is to provide attractive, accessible and child-friendly resources that introduce symphonic music, the orchestra and its instruments, and to encourage both adults and young people to explore the world of the symphony orchestra.
After gaining familiarity with the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, students are asked to write a letter to these composers, expressing an understanding of how the history and culture of one"™s life can be reflected in a composer"™s music. Students also create a bio-poem to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the composer"™s thoughts and feelings about his life and music.
This lesson branches out into diatonic seventh chord labeling and construction. Major and minor keys are discussed, and visual and keyboard representation is given. Essential for advancing theory and composition students.
This lesson site introduces diatonic triads within a scale. Essential in intermediate and advancing theory and composition. Audio and visual examples are given.
This article talks about performance anxiety from a very scientific point of view, and is good for both musicians and non-musicians regarding any type of performance anxiety. Discusses psychological reasoning for anxiety and offers some preventitive measures.
In this lesson, the student demonstrates an awareness of where a melody and melody fragments enter different voice parts, and adjusts dynamically to enable the listener to perceive these events. Each student uses a rubric to make critical evaluations of the performance.
In this lesson, students work in cooperative groups to create a "ditty" to teach the characteristics that distinguish literary forms to younger students. The ditty is performed before the class.