Write for the NAfME Blog SEARCH & FILTER Search Category Subscribe to NAfME Notes Subscribe to NAfME Notes, our biweekly e-newsletter, to receive highlights from the blog and other NAfME news in your inbox. Subscribe Now Write for the NAfME Blog Interested in sharing your experience with the music education…
Do you need some music for your elementary music classroom? Here is a variety to choose from ranging from “easy” to “intermediate” levels. You can print the sheet music an…
Security and privacy concept graphics. Simple graphic with red Top Secret stamp on white background, and a yellow envelope with Top Secret stamped on it.
Do you have fraying mallets and a very small budget? This was my problem. But, it is not a problem anymore! I was brave and patient and learned how to rewrap my own mallets. The photo above shows blue mallets that were very frayed. The red mallets have been rewrapped by me! With a little patience and practice, you can learn how to wrap mallets too and free up some money in your classroom budget for other resources. Before gaining the courage to make that first cut and unwrap a mallet, I watched at least 2 hours of video tutorials. There are several different techniques and videos out there in cyberspace, but I found that Episode 198 from Drummer Talk provides the most comprehensive and clear demonstration. I suggest you watch this entire video BEFORE attempting to wrap your own mallets. These are the supplies Dave Kropf suggests before beginning your project: Scissors Darning Needles (Size 18) Yarn (Size 3) As you wrap and cross the yarn over the top of the mallet, it should be placed off-center. This creates a nice crown which will be stitched to keep the yarn in place. When first attempting to wrap, I found it easiest to keep the yarn off-center on mallets that have more of a flattened core on top. If you have one, begin with this style core rather than a spherical core. After wrapping about 4 mallets, I found a groove and my wrapping and rotating technique became more automatic. During several evenings, I would sit on the couch and wrap mallets while watching television. Below, you can see many of the mallets I have rewrapped. The mallets with the white shafts were crowned with the technique Dave uses in the video because that is how they were crowned from the factory. Most of the mallets with black shafts were crowned with a back-stitch because I tried to imitate how they came from the factory. I encourage you to find some confidence and attempt to learn something new! After wrapping several pairs, I looked back at the first pair I wrapped and decided to cut them off and rewrap them again! My technique had improved so quickly, that I was not happy with my first pair anymore. I even got a little wild and crazy and made RAINBOW MALLETS!!! These are a great incentive. I reward a student who is doing a great job and allow them to play with the rainbow mallets like a ROCK STAR! Go forth! Be brave! Happy wrapping! Update: This post has been featured on the March 2016 Music Education Blog Carnival. Check out the rest of the carnival by clicking this link.
Music education ideas, activities, games, and songs | Technology tips for the music classroom | Resources for the elementary music room.
Top 3 Units for Middle School General Music. Organized Chaos. Ideas and resources for project based learning with middle school general music students. World music, composition, and careers in music.
My husband is the art teacher and often has extra materials he can't use. (Many parents donate excess graph paper, card stock, and other supplies.) I spied several brightly colored tongue depressors in his room a few weeks ago. When I asked if he had plans for them, he said "no" and gladly handed them over. We've been preparing do and reviewing sol mi la songs in 2nd grade so I thought the sticks would provide a different way to practice constructing known songs. I used the following songs: Ickle Ockle Blue Bottle No Robbers Out Today Lucy Locket We Are Dancing in the Forest I have a SMART Board file with each song written out in stick notation (with the solfa written in underneath the rhythm.) After printing out copies of each song I cut them up in 4 beat phrases and glued each phrase on one side of the stick. On the other side is a small picture indicating what song the phrase is from. (You can see the little pictures near the song titles.) After reviewing the songs, we made a circle and students select one stick each. (One fun way to choose sticks is to play Apple Tree and have the eliminated student pick a stick until everyone has one.) Students identify their "teammates" by finding those who have the same color and picture on their song stick. Each team rebuilds their assigned song as a team and practices singing and body signing the song. Once a team is confident their song is built correctly, they request a song sheet from me and check to see if it matches. 2nd graders check their song Are all of my students able to put together a known sol mi la song from memory with the stick notation? No way. How can make this activity a successful learning experience for everyone? Well... Many students will benefit from being in a group where they can work together. Some students with stronger skills have the option of building their song with a partner, (there are always uneven groups so this is a great way divvy out the song sticks.) Some groups build their song with the song sheet in hand. Yes, they are essentially copying the song. This is still a reinforcement of the melody, rhythm and form of the song and those students can still be successful. I'm all about doing the same old thing in a slightly different way. (And I just love those colorful song sticks!)
I wanted to share something from our Treasurer. She learned these rules from her Level I course with Gretchen Wahlberg and Sandy Lantz. She teaches them by clapping the rhythm, then depending on th…
Do you love to add science lessons into your music class? Or a science teacher and want to use music to help students understand sound? Use Boomwhackers!
This article contains a few videos and teaching ideas for using STOMP in the music classroom
As winter break is ending, I've been compiling rhythm games to play as a review during the first weeks back to school. I am planning to use ...
With these Film in Music Lessons and Worksheets for Middle School and General Music, you can help your students learn about the Elements of Music while listening to some of their favorite movie soundtracks. Each of the no prep lessons include a variety of activities for film in music history, readin...
Listening journals in Music help develop musical literacy as students learn to think critically and explore their own emotional responses to music.
Movement lessons your fourth and fifth grade music students will want to do. These are simple & easy lessons for elementary music class.
So, I absolutely LOVE the anchor charts I’ve been seeing on blogs and on Pinterest. Apparently, anchor charts are supposed to be minimalistic so as not to confuse the children with extra inf…
Rhythm Race Rhythm Race is a quick game for 2 or more players. I made the game for students who are...
Looking for a way for students to independently practice melodic notation? This activity is perfect for music stations or music centers! It allows your students to practice writing melodies containing the pitches sol and mi. Plus, the foldable cards are self-checking--the notated melody is on the inside of the card! What you get: 24 melody cards. The pitches are written on the outside of the card and the melody (notated on the staff) is on the inside of the card. The cards have one-line and three-line staff options. Both one-line and three-line student music staves Teacher and student instructions All parts of this product are available in both color and black & white. Like what you see? Check out my other products! Melody Maker (La/Sol/Mi) Melody Maker (Do) Melody Maker (Re) Fall Leaves Melody Match-Up: Sol/Mi Fall Leaves Melody Match-Up Beginner/Intermediate Bundle I would love to hear from you! Contact me with any questions or comments! Follow me on Instagram for a peek into my music room!
Write for the NAfME Blog SEARCH & FILTER Search Category Subscribe to NAfME Notes Subscribe to NAfME Notes, our biweekly e-newsletter, to receive highlights from the blog and other NAfME news in your inbox. Subscribe Now Write for the NAfME Blog Interested in sharing your experience with the music education…
Canoe Song
This is the second post about how I introduced the kids to quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, etc. Be sure to visit the first post: Introducing Quarter Notes, Half Notes and Whole Notes Here are some games that are set to go, but that we have not yet played together. I'm sharing it now, though, along with my other music-related resources. Move forward the value of the note you pick up (thus, a half-note moves forward 2 spaces, a quarter note moves forward 1 space, a whole note moves ahead 4 spaces, etc.) Climb the Mountain Sheet: Cards for Climb the Mountain Game: I made the die with a different note (quarter, half, dotted-half, whole note and eighth note) on each side. Musical Yahtzee Sheets are from here: http://laytonmusic.wordpress.com/2007/12/03/musical-yahtzee/ We also used The Big Book of Music Games, Grades K – 5. (Affiliate Link) This is a great resource for learning music symbols & notes. It is NOT a book for playing musical games like singing games or group games (such as square dancing type activities), but is absolutely perfect for our purposes (learning notes, various music symbols, learning about intervals, etc.). This book of more than 275 pages of games and activities you can photocopy. It’s really awesome! UPDATE, Fall 2015: My youngest is now 7 and this semester the kids will be learning/reviewing notes, rhythm, music notation and more. Using a lot of free resources, I have put our Music Curriculum plans together into a 8-week plan (it might take us longer) that is a free download over at my new location, homeschoolden.com. The packet is 15 pages or so AND it has hyperlinks to many *amazing* free music resources (including the ones I show below and dozens more!). Again, you will find that new post over at my new location, homeschoolden.com: Free Beginner's Music Curriculum: Learning Notes, Rhythm, Music Notation and more See you there! ~Liesl You'll find links to lots of the different games and activities we'll be using: Free Beginner's Music Curriculum: Learning Notes, Rhythm, Music Notation and more Follow our Musical Journey in Pictures this Semester (Fall 2015): Free Beginners Music Curriculum packet Music Curriculum: Week One — See what we actually did during the first week with photos. Music Theory Curriculum: Week Two — Post on Wed. 9/15/2015 We used the Climb the Mountain Game you see above! Plus did a number of other activities. Music Curriculum: Week Three in Pictures P.S. You might be interested in these related posts. These are also free! Kids Songs Packet Patriotic Songs for Kids You might be interested in these free composer resources if you are doing Music Appreciation. Composer cards, poster, lapbook and more: Music Appreciation: Famous Music Composers See you soon over at our new location: homeschoolden.com or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page. ~Liesl Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.
This past week has pretty much been insane! Sometimes I forget how much time it takes for me to settle into my routines (both at school and ...
Top 3 Units for Middle School General Music. Organized Chaos. Ideas and resources for project based learning with middle school general music students. World music, composition, and careers in music.
Digital sheet music for piano (keyboard), intermediate version 2.
SECOND BOOK PRATICAL ST.TROMBA: For Cornet and Trumpet : Getchell, Robert W.: Amazon.it: Libri
Run from the Farmer | Free Sheet Music Orff Orchestration (Digital Print) - Visit MakingMusicFun.net for more free and premium sheet music, music lesson plans, and great composer resources.
Do you want to give your children a truly BEAUTIFUL music education, but don't know where to start? The SQUILT LIVE! community is a vibrant group of children and parents who are learning tremendous amounts about composers, music history, music theory, instruments, the grammar of music, and MUCH more. It is a community where children as young as 3 and as old as 16 are learning side by side about timeless pieces of music. (Many of their parents are reclaiming their own music educations by participating in the lessons, too.) It is an online opportunity where children can receive live lessons, participate in a myriad of recorded lessons, access monthly lesson calendars, and have an expert music educator at their disposal. Unless you are a member of SQUILT LIVE!, it's hard to describe the tremendous value of this type of music education - so today I wanted you to hear from one of our parents. This email arrived shortly after a month of our studying Claude Debussy and his Children's Corner suite in SQUILT LIVE! This mother perfectly captures the heart and spirit of what SQUILT LIVE! is all about. Note: Text in parentheses is a note from me about the lesson. All other words are from this lovely mom. Louis and Marion are some of our younger members, but this goes to show you that our youngest ones are capable of SO MUCH! SQUILT LIVE! - A Parent Testimonial Louis and Marion are just 6.5 years old and they (and mom!) love music with Miss Mary. This week’s Debussy lesson inspired some musical note sea creatures and someone was really making an effort to follow those musical terms. By the end, we had some treble clef-inspired snails moving across the page and a grand piano! (In this lesson our goal was to learn about how Debussy had been inspired by the Classical era composer, Clementi, when he wrote his piece Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum. We talked about similarities and differences between the two pieces.) We aren’t using the pages entirely as intended yet, but they follow along with the correct pages and I let them draw as they like. They get a little upset if I skip printing any pages, because they really want to follow along with Miss Mary. So, they get a full printout in a special folder. (I encourage parents and children to strive for whatever they can do - some things the littles will understand, others they will understand later. The key is EXPOSURE. The older children will benefit from every part of the lesson. Each lesson has a detailed lesson packet with activities for older and younger children.) They remembered studying Debussy last year and a couple of details from his life, mentioned in last year’s lesson. They love the First Discovery Music books about composers. We have been collecting that series since you recommended one in a lesson last year. They love the daily listening calendar, too. We listen to it each day at lunch. It is a beautiful way to call the kids to the table and share that experience together with food for hungry bellies! (Each month we have a listening calendar with a selection curated for each day that goes along with our monthly theme.) Thank you for all that you do! We’ve been so blessed by you! Join SQUILT LIVE! today! Learn More About SQUILT LIVE! All of the details of our membership can be found here. Some other things to consider: Join us at ANY time - we have no opening or closing of our membership doors. Membership includes access to over FIFTY pre-recorded lessons, all searchable in our index to the archives. Our live lessons are a great way for you to outsource something - and for your children to participate in a safe and fun online learning experience. Your teacher (Miss Mary) has over 25 years of experience teaching in elementary school music classrooms, homeschool co-ops, and private settings. She is a degreed music educator and classically trained pianist, and the mother of two teens. We offer a printable lesson packet and quiz at the end of each lesson - perfect for those homeschoolers that need to keep these records for their portfolios. We work with MANY charter schools. Recommend us to your charter if we aren't already a vendor. If you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer them! Simply leave a comment below or email us at [email protected]. Join SQUILT LIVE! today!
A printable to give the ear a workout. Sing the game, Hopscotch!
