The graffiti board is a technique that can be used in classrooms across the many teaching disciplines and age groups.

Recently I used this technique to lead my class of Year 9 students into thinking about and discussing the elements of music.

I asked each student to think of a word that is used to describe the sound of music. I had to emphasize that I didn’t want words that described  how it made them feel….. such as happy or relaxed, only words that described the sound of the music itself.

I then gave a couple of examples by asking – what words can be used to describe a lullaby? Soft and slow were the first answers to come from the students. After this they were on a roll!

One after another each student came up and wrote a word on the GRAFFITI board!

This continued until the flow of words slowed and the GRAFFITI board was looking very full!

The next step was to categorize the words according to the elements  of music.

I deliberately choose the word FAST and asked what the word described about music. The initial reply was that it described the speed of the music. It is important to establish the correct terminology at this point and so after a little more prompting; the students gave me the word TEMPO.

Students were then asked to locate other words on the GRAFFITI board that described the TEMPO of music.

We continued this way in order to establish the other elements of  music.

Finally students were given a worksheet on which they were asked to write each of the words on the Graffiti board in the column of the correct element of music. 

Click HERE to download the ELEMENTS of MUSIC worksheet

Musical Analysis

Things to consider when writing a musical analysis

State overall:

• Key
• Metre
• Tempo
• Instrumentation
• Form

Melody

• Does it start immediately, or can you hear an introduction first?
• Does it move in leaps or steps?
• Is it legato (smooth) or staccato-like (short and detached)?
• Is the approximate range, small or large?
• Are the phrases balanced or uneven?
• Are there clear cut cadence points?
• Is it motivic or lyrical?
• Is there frequent and consistent use of sequence
• Are there other compositional devices such as arpeggios,leaps, repeated notes and imitation (where melodic motifs are being played in another part)?

Harmony/Tonality

• Is it major or minor, modal, atonal, polytonal?
• What keys are used and how are they related to each other, if at all?
• Does it use another scale or tonal-system?
• Does it use chromatic chords?
• Does it have treatment and resolution of dissonance, any unresolved dissonance?
• Does it have clear cadence points, consistent harmonic rhythm (when does the harmony change)?

Rhythm/Metre

• Is the beat obvious or is it more hidden?
• Is it in simple or compound time? Duple, triple or quadruple
• time?
• Do the parts (various instruments) play the same rhythm, or are there different rhythmic patterns for each part?
• Are there irregular metres and time changes?
• Are there rhythmic contrasts e.g. 3 against 2?
• Are the note values all very similar or constantly changing?
• Is there a simple rhythmic pattern, of perhaps one note per beat, or is the rhythm more complex than that?
• Does the rhythm develop or is it made up of repeated rhythmic motives

Instrumentation

• What instruments is the pieced scored for?
• At what point do more instruments come in?
• Can you hear one or more solo instruments in the work?
• What role do the various instruments play? (Are they all playing the same thing or do some play thematic material and some play an accompaniment role?)

 Timbre/Dynamics

• How is the sound built up?
• Is the use of dynamics unexpected or logical?
• How does sound intensity (loudness or softness) contribute to the music?

 Texture

• Does one texture predominate (polyphonic, homophonic, monophonic) or is it  mixture?
• Is it thick and heavy or light? What makes it so?

 Form

• Is the structure clear? e.g. binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variation.
• Is it free flowing, episodic, through composed or cyclical?
• Is it determined by factors outside the music? e.g. words or story.

FREE: PDF Download of How to Write a Musical Analysis

Beat-boxing flute: Super Mario Brothers Theme

Click here to view the embedded video.

This song was written especially for Kristin. Sony Classical commissioned award-winning song writer Jeanine Tesori to write “The Girl in 14G” for Kristin’s debut CD, “Let Yourself Go”.

All my vocal students love this video; it shows Kristin’s ability as both an operatic and pop singer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

SUCCESSFUL LESSON

I have a special needs student in one of my music classes. He has Asperger’s syndrome. He is 12 years old and has had very little formal music training.

Recently he completed his first ever Composition Task by following a strategy that I believe worked quite well. This task ran over TWO lessons.

Task:

Compose/create a four bar melody with four beats in each bar and notate it on the treble stave.

APPROACH: LESSON

RHYTHM:

• The student was asked to clap rhythms that were four beats long. (I demonstrated some to get the ball rolling)

• After coming up with a few different four bar rhythms, the student chose two that he liked and together we notated the rhythms on a blank piece of paper. (no stave involved at this point)

• He chose the following:    

• This two bar rhythm was repeated to make the four bars of rhythm needed for his melody:

• We spent some time clapping through the rhythm so it would be remembered when the student moved on to composing the melody for his rhythm

MELODY

• To compose the melody we used a virtual keyboard found on the following site. (I believe an important point at this stage of the process was that the student was more comfortable at a computer keyboard with a virtual keyboard than a piano or musical keyboard.)

http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/

• After exploring the different instrument sounds and drum beats available, the student chose the piano to work with.

• His task was to ‘tap’ out his rhythm on any of the WHITE keys between G and D1 (that way the F# and any mention of key signature was avoided)

• As the student came up with a sequence of notes that he liked  (working on ONE bar at a time AND tapping the notes out to the rhythm he’s chosen), I noted the letter names on his sheet of paper.

• He could do this by either clicking on the ‘keys’ on the computer screen or by using the computers keyboard: G = G, H = A, J = B,  K = C and L = D

• This is what he came up with:                                                                                    G      A      B      B      G      D     C      B       G      A      B      C      D      B    A    G

APPROACH: LESSON  

Notating the composition

To begin today’s lesson we clapped through the four bar rhythm and played through the melody using the notes the student had chosen on the keyboard.

Then it was time to notate the melody in the treble stave

I gave the student the following information/worksheet (which I had typed up since that last lesson):

YOUR RHYTHM:

YOUR MELODY:

G      A      B      B      G      D      C     B      G     A     B     C     D      B     A    G

COMBINE the RHYTHM and MELODY 

The rhythm was on the page and the student had to write the letter names under the corresponding notes. E.g.

The student was then asked to notate his composition/melody onto the stave, combining the rhythm with the melody notes he’d chosen.

AND he DID it!!

This process worked very well. Not only did the student complete the task, but perhaps more importantly it had given him a great sense of achievement. He had composed and notation his own melody which he could also play!

MY FAVOURITE APPS……… so far!

My new iPad is one week old today!

I am having a great time downloading apps, music and books.

I downloaded the book “The Element” by Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica which I am really looking forward to reading!

Two apps that I am really enjoying at the moment are:

1. Shazam

Shazam ‘listens’ to recorded music (doesn’t work with LIVE music) and tells you:

           -the title of the song

          – artist, and

          – gives you a pic of the album cover

A record of the information is kept in My Tags 

I find this REALLY handy because I often hear a song and think – Ohhhhh that would be great for a lesson on… or, that song would fit the theme of my next concert ….. or what a great song for my choir…….    But I don’t know the name of the song!  Shazam tells me! And I can go back and check on the title etc. later because it’s saved to my iPhone or iPad.

Shazam is FREE

2. TuneIn Radio

The other app I’m having fun with is TuneIn Radio. This app allows me to tune into radio stations around the world!

You can pre-set your favourite stations.

When you first open the app it goes to browse which gives you a huge list of radio stations and what is currently playing on each!

You can record the song – or a snippet of it and keep it in your favourites.

I was listening to some wonderful instrumental music from Puerto Rico last night!

TuneIn is also FREE!

What are some of your favourite apps?

WORLD MUSIC RESOURCES  

Three great resources for your World Music Unit                                                                                                                                                                                                            

1.  World Music Research Task

Students are given a list of 26 world music instruments.

Their task is to match the instruments in the first column to their country of origin.

A list of countries is provided for the students to choose from.

Students write the country next to the instrument in the second column of the table.

In the third column, students must categorize the instruments as either chordophone, aerophone, membranophone or idiophone. CLICK HERE

2.  World Music Research and Oral Presentation

No prior music knowledge is needed for this activity. This is an in-depth research and oral presentation task for students.
It requires students to choose a country and research the instruments and music of that country. There are SIX pages in all:

PAGE 1: outlines the task. There are six criteria areas for students to address.

PAGE 2: is a teacher marking sheet for assessment.

PAGE 3: is a table of suggested countries for research and a column to enter student names so you can keep track of the country each student is researching.

PAGES 4 and 5 is a list of internet sites where students might find information.

PAGE 6: has a list of tips and ideas for the teacher.

Students really enjoy this task and they learn heaps about the music of many different countries! CLICK HERE

3.  World Music Crossword Puzzle

This is s fantastic resource to include in a unit on World Music or as revision.

It is also a good activity to leave for your class when you are away.

A teachers answer sheet is included. CLICK HERE

Tips for Making Your Practice Time Really Count!

• Practice a little EVERY day; this is far more beneficial that one or two long practice sessions a week.

 

• Have a certain time each day that is set aside specifically for your practice. It will then become part of your daily routine.

 

• Split your daily practice into even smaller time chunks i.e. technical work in the morning and pieces in the afternoon/evening.

 

• Learn each piece a phrase at a time. Practice each phrase SLOWLY until you have it and then go to the next phrase.

 

• Starting at the beginning of the piece and playing through to the end each time you practice is not an effective use of your time! You are merely practicing mistakes!

 

• Don’t practice mistakes or you will become very good at playing them!

 

• Sometimes start in the middle of your piece and work to the end.

 

• Regularly record yourself and listen carefully to it.

 

• Practice the hard bits – not just the bits you like.

 

• Listen to your pieces being played by the great players.

               Download Practice Tips FREE!   CLICK HERE

           Recommended Resource: CLICK HERE

The 12 Benefits of Music Education

• Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds.
• There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day.
• Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and assumptions. Questions about the arts do not have only one right answer.
• Recent studies show that students who study the arts are more successful on standardized tests such as the SAT. They also achieve higher grades in high school.
• A study of the arts provides children with an internal glimpse of other cultures and teaches them to be empathetic towards the people of these cultures. This development of compassion and empathy, as opposed to development of greed and a “me first” attitude, provides a bridge across cultural chasms that leads to respect of other races at an early age.
• Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work. These standards, when applied to a student’s own work, demand a new level of excellence and require students to stretch their inner resources.
• In music, a mistake is a mistake; the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work.
• Music study enhances teamwork skills and discipline. In order for an orchestra to sound good, all players must work together harmoniously towards a single goal, the performance, and must commit to learning music, attending rehearsals, and practicing.
• Music provides children with a means of self-expression. Now that there is relative security in the basics of existence, the challenge is to make life meaningful and to reach for a higher stage of development. Everyone needs to be in touch at some time in his life with his core, with what he is and what he feels. Self-esteem is a by-product of this self-expression.
• Music study develops skills that are necessary in the workplace. It focuses on “doing,” as opposed to observing, and teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world. Employers are looking for multi-dimensional workers with the sort of flexible and supple intellects that music education helps to create as described above. In the music classroom, students can also learn to better communicate and cooperate with one another.
• Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing, and something that will occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later. Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her potential.
• An arts education exposes children to the incomparable.

Carolyn Phillips is the author of the Twelve Benefits of Music Education. She is the Former Executive Director of the Norwalk Youth Symphony, CT.

YouTube Video: A case for Music Education in our Schools!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music Advocacy Resource: CLICK HERE

Remembering the names of the lines and spaces has always proven a little challenging to many new music students. When it comes time to learn the Bass clef as well as the Treble clef it often becomes even more confusing!

Here is a series of videos from MusicK8.com that uses the power of song to aid the learning process!

TREBLE LINES

Click here to view the embedded video.

TREBLE SPACES

Click here to view the embedded video.

BASS LINES and SPACES

Click here to view the embedded video.

ADDITION RESOURCE:  POWERPOINT

A 24 slide PowerPoint introducing students to the lines and spaces of the treble and bass clef!

The Ppt carefully and thoroughly leads students through understanding the lines and spaces of both clefs with revision quizzes along the way.

For the final revision slides, answers slides are provided for students to check their work!

You will find this an invaluable resource – clearly set out and easy for students to understand! CHECK it OUT