In this lesson are opportunities for teaching and learning about some ways in which music is aligned with visual art. A sampling of songs from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is presented, alongside the cover art relevant to the songs. Several well-known pieces are featured from the wide array of recordings first envisioned by Folkways Records' founder Moses Asch in the 1940s. Singing, chanting, and movement experiences are featured alongside examinations and discussion of the photographs and imaginative artwork of the historical album covers.

Every orchestra is made up of families "“ four to be exact. This lesson invites you to meet these wonderfully diverse families and the members who make up the voice we hear at the symphony.

Students will identify the character, setting, and plot of the story of Ballet of the Elephants and listen to Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant, composed by Igor Stravinsky for the ballet. Students will then listen to a piece of unidentified music to create their own character, setting, and plot diagram. They will use this diagram to create their own story that includes characters, a setting, and a plot (beginning, middle, and end).

Students examine and listen to a variety of forms of music to learn about the cultural, geographic, and stylistic diversity available within the United States.

Students will be taught the correlation of Native American music and rhythm. They will also create their own Native American musical instrument and develop a rhythm of their own. Students will understand the basics of rhythm and develop their own rhythms.

Students will learn to appreciate the process of telling a story through song, while learning basic musical skills like rhythm, singing on pitch, and call-and-response format.

Students will understand the basic elements of a fanfare, and the significant role fanfares have played in history as a means of communicating information and emotions.

Open the eyes of your students to the beauty and power of American and world folk songs and stories through the iconic figure of Pete Seeger. Explore his important work in promoting peace, understanding, community, and wonder through song.

Open the eyes of your students to the beauty and power of American and world folk
songs and stories through the iconic figure of Pete Seeger. Explore his important work
in promoting peace, understanding, community, and wonder through song.

Students will listen to Copland's Rodeo, Saturday Night Waltz, and discuss the dynamics and tempo of the composition. Students will learn about different aspects of pioneer life, focusing on the art of quilt making. Students will help make an actual quilt from muslin and calico print fabric, and contribute a paper square to the class crazy quilt.

This lesson was created for primary age students but can easily be adapted into the intermediate or middle school social studies lesson. Students will explore a period of time when African Americans were striving to make their mark on American music. Ragtime music will be experienced through listening to classics, observing performances, researching the life of Scott Joplin, learning dances, and wearing self-made costumes of the era. They will reflect on the Ragtime music, the struggle of African Americans, and the life skills of successful people who perservere.

Students will practice following a pattern and become familiar with the concept of beat in music. They will be introduced to tempo. They will gain experience playing the beat on non-pitched rhythm instruments, at various tempos. This activity will culminate in the creation of a rhythm piece.

Students will listen to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, discuss what spring time means, and create a list of adjectives for the music. Then, they will watch the part of the Disney film Fantasia that re-interprets the same music. Students will add to their list of adjectives, retell the film's story, and compare the original music to the film's story. After listening again, and moving to the music, they will write and draw a response.

‘Embolada” is a form of poetry and song that has set refrains. The refrains allow
singers to organize their next improvised stanza in their heads—even as the music is
sounding. (McGowan,1991) This form of traditional music is active in the northeastern
region of Brazil. Embolada has a fast rhythm and complex tone that deftly incorporate varied
lyrics and onomatopoeia. Embolada is mostly improvised following a dialogue by the
“Embolador”, who sings while hitting the Pandeiro at short intervals in between verses. The
singer needs considerable skill, experience, and a sense of humor . Embolada is sung in the
streets; it is influenced by American rap music and African music. Using the Embolada
rhythm, students can improvise lyrics and sing solo.

"˜Embolada" is a form of poetry and song that has set refrains. The refrains allow singers to organize their next improvised stanza in their heads"”even as the music is sounding. (McGowan,1991) This form of traditional music is active in the northeastern region of Brazil. Embolada has a fast rhythm and complex tone that deftly incorporate varied lyrics and onomatopoeia. Embolada is mostly improvised following a dialogue by the "Embolador", who sings while hitting the Pandeiro at short intervals in between verses. The singer needs considerable skill, experience, and a sense of humor . Embolada is sung in the streets; it is influenced by American rap music and African music. Using the Embolada rhythm, students can improvise lyrics and sing solo.

Students learn a Scottish folk song and make up their own versus. This could be used as a wrap up for a unit on Scottish music and culture.

Students learn that it is possible to use some of the same strategies for understanding music that we use to understand literature. Students have an opportunity to identify a musical theme when played by in a variety of styles.

Students will compare and contrast Stravinsky's Rite of Spring to Vivaldi's Four Seasons, La Primavera (Spring). Pair the music of Stravinksy with the art of Edvard Munch. Pair the music of Vivaldi with the art of Claude Monet. Discuss the similarities and differences. Discuss Josef Albers'Homage to the Square entitled "The High Spring". Discuss how color and mood are connected. Create a color square in the style of Josef Albers to represent the pairings of Stravinsky and Munch and the pairing of Vivaldi and Monet.