My Super-dooper Musical Cooper

This precious little guy (my grandson Cooper) feels 'musical magic' in every bone of his body! It's amazing how naturally little ones respond to music. Treat yourself to a half-minute chuckle : )

Beautiful Music Quote

                               Music adds so much to life!
I enjoy creating these posters, and I hope my blog visitors and TPT customers enjoy them too : )   These JPEG files, FREE for your home or classroom use, can be printed. (Just click on the image, and a higher resolution file will open for you.)  If you use these electronically, please give credit by linking to my blog.

Rain Songs are "so mi!"

Spring fever has hit, and I'm having so much fun lately with childrens' songs about rain! The rain theme itself inspires manipulatives and fun visuals, plus the simple melodies inspire meaningful rhythm and pitch explorations, improvisations and composition. A few of my favorites (simple as they are) include: Rain, Rain Go Away (so-mi-la); It's Raining, It's Pouring (so-mi-la); Rain, Come Wet Me (so-mi-re-do), Rain on the Green Grass (do-re-mi-so-la), and Rain is Falling All Around (diatonic).

The first four mentioned can actually be sung as partner songs because their tone sets fall within the pentatonic scale... and that inspires ostinatos! Here are a couple of  'rain' ostinatos, color-coded for Boomwhackers or bells. This is a JPEG file so you can click on it to save it, and then project, enlarge, and print it if desired.  

I have created some excellent lesson plan sets and teaching materials around the rain theme for spring. (So much experience, work and time has gone into these!) You can check out preview files of these sets by clicking on the cover pages below.

These raindrop note heads are a sample from my newest publication, Rain on the Green Grass Musi-Kit. You may also save and print this FREEBIE. Happy spring, everybody!

Partner Song Freebie

In addition to rounds, partner songs are a great way to help students develop singing independence and harmony skills. I have always been fascinated with this technique, and have long kept a running list of songs with common chord structures. These familiar favorites can be sung and accompanied as stand-alone pieces or sung simultaneously as partner songs. (A few rounds are included as well.) Young and old alike enjoy singing partner songs. If you don't have colored Boomwhackers or bells, you can apply colored stickers to plain instruments, homemade pipe chimes or boom pipes. Here's the link where you can download this free chart: 

 

Freebie - One-Chord Partner Songs to Sing, Bing & Boom

This 'freebie' is a sample page from my 50 Color Chord-inated Partner Tunes to Sing, Bing & Boom, which includes four sets of songs organized around common chord patterns (three keys). This one-chord set is, of course, the simplest in the collection. If you're ready for a wider variety of chord patterns and folk songs, you can find the complete set at
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/50-Partner-Tunes-to-Sing-Bing-Boom

The Powerful Force of RHYTHM

Rhythm, in a broad sense, is the framework by which we organize all ideas -- musical, mathematical, linguistic, categorical, visual/spatial, kinesthetic. When we facilitate students in developing a strong rhythmic foundation, the other musical elements more easily and naturally fall into place.

 

This set of rhythm lesson plans and printables is one of my all-time favorites!

 

 

Rhythm Railroad

Plato Knew It All Along

I'm currently involved in designing and implementing a large-scale district-wide arts integration project, and I often reflect on quotes by Plato. Just wondering... Why is it that we must 're-invent the wheel' when Plato knew it all along?

Rhythm Instrument Activities

Oh, the joy of making music with children! There is nothing quite like facilitating rhythm band experiences for young students and knowing the skills you're teaching will be the foundation of life-long music making and appreciation.

I recently e-published a set of rhythm instrument icon cards with lesson plans which has been very successful with grades K-4. If you're looking for some educational, engaging and easy ways to explore and create with rhythm instruments, please check this product out:

 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhythm-Band-Musi-Kit-Printables-Lessons
This instructional unit (six lesson plans and 17 pages of high-quality printables) is based on many years of experimenting and discovering how to help children understand and develop early rhythm reading and playing skills. As some of you may have also discovered, the technique of using/combining one-beat rhythm cards is very effective. I've combined this technique with icons for the different timbres of non-tuned percussion groups, and the results are delightful! Experiment with these ideas yourself, or save a lot of prep time with this ready-to-go RHYTHM BAND MUSI-KIT. (30 hours of work for $6? What a bargain!)

Also, I have created (and continue to compile) a PLAYLIST of rhythmic music appropriate for play-alongs in Spotify. If you use Spotify, you can access this list (free). Here's the link:  Rhythmic Pieces for Movement or Play-Alongs

As I was searching for some new and interesting recorded music for children to play rhythm instruments with, I came across this resource in Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books/about/101_Rhythm_Instrument_Activities.html?id=EsmfIUPEqQgC
You'll find some practical and fun ideas here. About 1/3 of the book is accesable online, and the e-book is $10 through Google Books.

For very young students, I also recommend a few of Hap Palmer's pieces from his album Rhythms on Parade. You can audit and download selections online or order the CD for around $14. Here's a link to his Web page where he shares the lyrics to his songs and some activity suggestions: http://www.happalmer.com/files/Lyrics%20Rhythms%20on%20Parade.html

Do you have a favorite rhythm band resource others might like to know about? If so, please leave a comment : )

 

Freebie - Music Teacher's Tool Kit

Here's a link to a free music teacher resource I've created.  It includes 14 pages of templates for elementary music instruction and activities. I'm pasting a couple of sample pages above. Enjoy : )

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Music-Teachers-Toolbox-Staff-and-Beat-Map-Templates

Every child is an artist... and every artist listens to his/her inner child.

 

Today I was privileged to teach an all-day workshop to an amazing group of music teachers, and the day was filled with the joyful synergy of learning, creating and making music. I made this new little poster tonight as I've reflected on how remaining an artist keeps us young and excited about life, and yes, even our work. Actually, my work feels like play quite often : )

Believe it or not, today also brought the blessing of another grandchild, my third new grandson in the past three weeks. I will travel to meet him tomorrow, and I can hardly wait!

Expressing Feelings through Music

I've had an INCREDIBLY JOYOUS week with the birth of TWO grandsons on the same day -- two different families but only four hours apart! I was also able to attend the annual UMEA conference in St. George. It was wonderful to see so many friends and colleagues and gather and share ideas. I enjoyed pouring my happy feelings into my violin tonight, and then created this little poster to celebrate being able to express my joy and gratitude through music. (Visitors can click on this image and print or save it.) en-JOY!