Composition

Tech Talk Tuesday – iPads in the Music Classroom: 5 Best Apps for Music Class

So this is my 3rd year using iPads in my music classroom. When I moved to Clark Creek Elementary STEM Academy to open the school in 2012, I piloted a 16-iPad lab as a part of a music technology pilot. Since Clark Creek is a STEM Academy, this was a perfect pairing of the ArtsContinue reading “Tech Talk Tuesday – iPads in the Music Classroom: 5 Best Apps for Music Class”

Recorder Resources

Happy New Year! Today was our first day back to school in 2013 and I am excited for what the remainder of the school year holds for my students and I in music class! With the arrival of January, for many of you, is also the arrival of a shipment of new recorders (or breakingContinue reading “Recorder Resources”

Fall Music Lessons on Pitch and Ostinato

I wanted to share two new Lesson Plans/Units I have on TpT. Yes, these are paid, because it took me many hours to develop, test, and produce them. But I think that you will find them to be fun, educational, and engaging lessons you can implement in your classroom with little to no extra planningContinue reading “Fall Music Lessons on Pitch and Ostinato”

Boomwhackers Resources Courtesy of Music Therapist Kat Fulton

I follow a lot of music therapists in the blog world, since I regularly teach self-contained autism classes at my current school. Music therapists have amazing ideas for working with all kinds of people, not just people with special needs or who need “music therapy.” I think all music educators can benefit from a goodContinue reading “Boomwhackers Resources Courtesy of Music Therapist Kat Fulton”

Boomwhackers® Flashcards

Boomwhackers® Do you love using your Boomwhackers®as much as I love mine? I finally, after 7 years of teaching music, bought 4 sets of Boomwhackers® and they have been the best, “funnest” addition to my classroom in recent years. My students and I use Boomwhackers® for a plethora of music learning activities… Pitch – Boomwhackers®, justContinue reading “Boomwhackers® Flashcards”

Valentine’s Day Project in Real Life!

Valentine’s Day Recorder Composition Project So last week I posted a composition lesson for Valentine’s Day. Last Friday was the beginning of my new rotation and I tried the lesson out on my 3rd and 4th grade recorder students. It was a big hit and a huge success! We read the poem, clapped the rhythms,Continue reading “Valentine’s Day Project in Real Life!”

Valentine’s Day Music Composition Project

Holidays are always fun to incorporate into material for music class lessons. Valentine’s Day is difficult though, being that there’s not a whole lot of Valentine’s music around – it’s not like we’re listening to a Valentine’s holiday station on the radio 😀 So if the music doesn’t exist, why not write it?!?! That was theContinue reading “Valentine’s Day Music Composition Project”

Music Video With A Message: Black Eyed Peas Project – Part 3

Using the poetry we wrote in response to listening to “One Tribe” by the Black Eyed Peas, my students and I used GarageBand on our classroom iMac with a Yamaha MIDI keyboard to compose beats and loops and to record our poetry as a rap. Each of my 6 classes composed a verse to theContinue reading “Music Video With A Message: Black Eyed Peas Project – Part 3”

Poetry and Peace: Black Eyed Peas Project – Part 2

The development of the Black Eyed Peas Project was an amazing process to witness. Today I will share with you our process of writing the poetry that became the lyrics to our song. Below are some of the chart pages we worked with while brainstorming and writing. (Note: I do almost everything digitally in myContinue reading “Poetry and Peace: Black Eyed Peas Project – Part 2”

Composition Inspiration: Black Eyed Peas Project – Part 1

Pangea? Passion? Tribe? Poseidon? Amnesia? Can you define these terms? My fourth graders did last week. Immediately following that we listened to/watched the following video…. What a powerful message! My students were amazed that we listened to Black Eyed Peas in music class. And I was amazed at their response to this song. We hadContinue reading “Composition Inspiration: Black Eyed Peas Project – Part 1”