general music
Bridges to New Understanding Kathy Bartling, WMEA State Chair, General Music
The general music curriculum is dedi- cated to giving stu- dents a wide range of musical experi- ences. Our songs, listening lessons and units of study cover music that is from different cultures,
different historical periods and different genres. Selecting quality music literature is imperative to a quality general music curriculum.
It is sometimes thought that our elemen- tary students have a very limited knowl- edge of different kinds of music and so it is the music educator’s goal to teach them about lots of “new” music that is outside
of their experience. In reality, students come to us with years of hearing music in their homes. We teach students from many different countries and cultures. We teach students whose parents have diverse tastes in listening to music at home, from opera to hip hop. So connecting what they have already experienced to “new” musical experiences creates a deeper and richer music teaching atmosphere.
So, how do we connect the music cur- riculum to students’ previous experiences? Here are a few examples.
• Song Treasure Hunts – Ask stu- dents to record or sing their favor- ite lullabies or children’s songs that their parents sang to them. Make a class collection and compare them. Connect the lullabies to “Hush
Little Baby,” “All the Pretty Little Horses” or other famous lullabies.
• Playground Extravaganza – Teach “Miss Mary Mack” or “Have you ever, ever, ever?” and ask students to bring in singing games and playground chants that they use every day. Compare the rhythms and melodies. Discuss how this music has been used his- torically for centuries. Learn new chants.
• Movie Music – Use the main theme from Star Wars to describe smooth and jagged melodic con- tours. The A part of this movie theme is very jagged and the B section is very smooth. Have them draw or use a listening map. Then connect the concept of melodic contour by giving students the same experience with a classical orchestral piece. Explore those movie themes! There is a lot of great literature there that students hear at home that can be used to teach concepts.
The Singing Statesmen 50th Anniversary
Celebrating 50 years of amazing music
26
• Composing – After studying a piece of music that contains an ABA form, have students use Super Duper Music Looper, or GarageBand software to compose a song in the same ABA form. They can use any genre or instrumenta- tion that they wish. You may end up with a jazz or rock ABA song.
Concert Dr. Gary R. Schwartzhoff, conductor
Sat., May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Department of Music and Theatre Arts
uwec.ly/mus-the #uwec
• Homework – Older kids love to look for good music using iTunes or the Internet. After studying a song that has a particular music element or concept that you want to emphasize, have them bring in songs that match what they were studying. An example might be to bring in a song that changes tempo or has a call and response form.
• Technology – Connect to students’ passion for technology by asking
April 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
