May 25, 2011
For Sorry Day (26 May 2011) or for Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June 2011) listen to Black Arm Band’s music on YouTube (www.youtube.com) and discuss the band’s motivation for performing (read on). Listen to Gurrumul Yunupingu’s soulful music (eg. Wiyathul) while doing written work (www.grooveshark.com lets you listen for free).
Black Arm Band has just been asked to perform at the London Olympics in 2012
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/25/3226432.htm
The aim of Black Arm Band (www.blackarmband.com.au) is: “It is a creative meeting place for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists and producers to develop, perform, promote and celebrate contemporary Australian Indigenous music as a symbol of resilience and hope in the spirit and action of reconciliation.”
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May 28, 2011
“A Great Landscape” was a 2008 DVD created by www.vea.com.au and is available via Click View. It discusses Indigenous self-expression through music, focussing on a Hip Hop band.
If you want to show this 36 min video to your class for Reconciliation Week (or any other week), here are some possible questions:
Name a famous Indigenous Australian band – “Yothu __________________________ ”
Name a famous Indigenous Australian Hip Hop band? ________________ and the Young ___________________________
Do Indigenous people own their land? If not, then what is the relationship between Indigenous people and the land?
How does music support Indigenous identity?
What do lyrics describe in Indigenous music?
What is empowerment?
Music and song allow indigenous people to share _________________ with a wider community and audience.
Clapping and click sticks are ___________ - phones
Didgeridoos are ____________ - phones
In the past, who was NOT allowed to play didgeridoo, according to sacred law?
Is Indigenous Australian history always written down?
What political issues do contemporary Indigenous artists address?
How can music be used as a means of protest?
What type of band was “No Fixed Address”? Reggae, Folk, Pop or Hip Hop?
When did Archie Roach come to fame, with the song “Took the Children Away”?
During the Sydney 2000 Olympics, what did “Midnight Oil” have written on their costumes? Why?
Who is Shane Howard?
“Solid Rock” was the first Pop song to feature the didgeridoo. About what were the lyrics written?
What prevents some Indigenous artists from accessing mainstream venues (at times)?
What is CAAMA?
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June 20, 2011
Aboriginal stories about life and life-cycles revolve around 4 different natural elements.
Sun, Moon, Water, Land
Divide your class into 4 groups, each labelled Sun, Moon, Water or Land. In 15 minutes they will choose classroom instruments and/or sound sources to depict their label … Each group performs to the rest of the class … Discuss and decide upon a logical order for the soundscape sections … Perform all 4 sections in their order.
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June 1, 2010
Go to resource: Brass Instruments and Pitch, Percussion Instruments and Pitch, String Instruments and Pitch, & Woodwind Instruments and Pitch are four lessons that cover how to make basic musical instruments. The lessons are written by Leslie Thomas and published by the Kennedy Center US. The production of sound through string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments is explored. The lessons are designed for K-4 students (US).
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June 1, 2010
Go to resource: Acting Up, A Melodrama, published by the Kennedy Center, US, and written by Mary Beth Bauernschub, is a unit based on the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. In this unit, students incorporate their own music compositions into a student-produced melodrama. The unit also utilizes and explores drama and arts language.
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January 11, 2011
Sample Units from Australian Music Educators Assoc (Vic) – under the heading “aMuse VELS Support Documents”
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April 23, 2012
THIS website offers free samples of music to be used for ANZAC Day. Perhaps teach a lesson on what each piece represents and why they are played on ANZAC Day. Background info HERE. Sheet music HERE.
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March 8, 2010
Go to resource: Approaches to Learning and Teaching – The Arts (Music) Level 3 (Vic) outlines music standards and activities that could be incorporated in lesson planning.
The approaches are published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority in order to implement VELS.
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March 8, 2010
Go to resource: Approaches to Learning and Teaching – The Arts (Music) Level 4 (Vic) outlines music standards and activities that could be incorporated in lesson planning.
The approaches are published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority in order to implement VELS.
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March 8, 2010
Go to resource: Approaches to Learning and Teaching – The Arts (Music) Level 5 (Vic) outlines music standards and activities that could be incorporated in lesson planning.
The approaches are published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority in order to implement VELS.
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February 15, 2011
ArtsAlive.ca – US website with lots of free lesson plans, recordings and interactive Music websites
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February 15, 2010
Go to resource: ArtsEdge Kennedy Centre Music Lesson Plans (USA) offers dozens of music lesson plans, many of which are integrated with other subjects such as science and maths. Each lesson plan is graded according to age level, arts subject, and other subjects. ArtsEdge is a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and is a partner of Thinkinfinity, a consortium of USA national education organisations. ArtsEdge’s aim is to implement arts programs in schools.
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May 22, 2011
Register your school in Australia’s biggest music program
Our program song has been recorded and is now up on the website for your listening pleasure. There are already 500 schools registered to take part in this year’s program which will unite more than half a million students in the performance of ‘We’ve Got The Music’ on Thursday, 1st September at 11.30am. Don’t forget participation in the program is FREE. The audio files, arrangements, lyric sheet and classroom activity kit: it’s all downloadable once you register your school.
So listen to the song, register now and get your school community on board!
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May 24, 2012
HERE is a scene from Baraka called “Balinese monkey chant”. Baraka is a feature-length film without any script. Show this scene to a class, and discuss the role of music in eastern cultures, how a film can be created without any scripted text, the importance of music in films … Enjoy!
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February 2, 2011
free lesson ideas – cross-curricular ideas for teachings working with students after a natural disaster, particularly focused on ways to express feelings
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June 1, 2010
Go to resource: Chinese Instruments is a two-lesson unit published by ArtsEdge, Kennedy Center (USA) and written by Mary Beth Bauernschub. The unit introduces students to Chinese instruments through research and listening. In addition, students create an instrument using recycled materials. The unit is suitable for Years 3 and 4 students (USA).
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March 3, 2010
Go to resource: Classics for Kids is a podcast station that streams classical music suitable for children.
In addition the site has links to composition and creating games, lesson plans, information about classical music, and links to advocacy and articles on classical music for parents and teachers.
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March 3, 2010
Go to resource: Classics for Kids Lesson Plans (USA) are classical music lesson plans designed for students aged 5 to 11 years of age.
Each lesson was designed and written by Dr Kay Edwards of Miami University and outcomes of each lesson plan are outlined. Composers covered include Haydn, Rossini, Mozart and Kodaly.
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March 7, 2012
Write a brief paragraph about covers in books (introduce the words ‘cover’ and original’). Watch THIS original video of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, followed by THIS cover version by The Muppets. Ask students what stayed the same and what differed in the cover version.
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June 14, 2011
Lesson idea: Write songs, create a song book, and create illustrations.
Here’s an example from Pine Creek Primary School:
http://acmf.com.au/our-initiatives/indigenous-isolated-regions/
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June 19, 2011
Use the 3 main notes from the chorus of this year’s MUSIC: COUNT US IN program song “We’ve Got the Music” to create a 3-tone drum melody.
(1) Group your classroom drums or classroom percussion or junk percussion into three different groups (high, middle and low)
(2) Allocate the lowest drums to B-flat, the middle drums to C and the highest drums to E-flat.
(3) Re-create the chorus melody on 3 different drums: “Get on your feet, feel your heartbeat, we’ve got the music. We’re not too proud to sing it out loud, we’re not afraid to use it.”
Try the activity aurally, playing along with the MP3 found at www.musiccountusin.org.au
(4) Write the drum tune on the board using letters: L = low drums, M = medium drums, H = high drums
LM LM L MM M M M LH M
ML M M ML LM M MMMM LH M
(5) If your school has signed up for “Music: Count Us In”, then you can access the free backing-track (‘For Teachers’ section) and play the drum melody along with the chorus.
This lesson was inspired by “Izo Beat” from Islington Public School
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July 19, 2011
Lesson Idea: Ask Middle School students to create their own way of writing music. Students might work in groups or individually.
Use the book “Notations 21: Visualizing Music Notation” for some interesting examples / inspiration. (Many pages are shown free online.)
Share ideas with the class, explaining how the new notation ‘works’.
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December 20, 2009
Go to resource: Creative Resources for Primary Schools. This Dept of Education and Training (NSW) page has links to DET-published resources including Arts Action, Sync or Swing, and Vocal-Ease. These resources can be ordered and purchased through this page.
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August 6, 2011
The ‘Music Count Us In’ Dance movie is now uploaded to the MCUI wiki. You can find it, with all the other teacher resources HERE.
See if your classes can dance along with these characters …. DANCE VIDEO LINK
Then play along with the JellyBeans-style ONLINE percussion score
Ask the class to invent new moves or actions for the song “We’ve Got the Music”
Watch the Auslan video and learn hand-signs for this year’s MUSIC: COUNT US IN SONG … AUSLAN VIDEO LINK
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April 10, 2011
http://doublebassblog.org/2011/04/hal-robinson-plays-orchestral-excerpts.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
An instructional video on playing orchestral excerpts on Double Bass, as performed by Hal Robinson.
The visual quality is very raw, but the Double Bass sound is amazing.
A good video to show Middle School students who are studying instruments of the orchestra.
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September 5, 2011
Watch this YouTube clip about a frog being chased by a snake (with very dramatic orchestral music). Discuss the way the music changes our perspective on the visual images. Ask students if they notice anything about the editing, as well (ie. what’s happening on the screen during loud percussion sections, etc). Can you think of any other films/advertisements that are well-matched to dramatic music?
Watch this YouTube clip about a lion being re-united with its human parents. About 1.5 mins through, the music is perfectly timed to match the physical reunion. Discuss this with the students, then brainstorm any other songs that would suit this video clip.
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May 9, 2012
Eurovision telecasting starts late May 2012. Introduce the concept to students with THIS YouTube clip – clips from 2011 Eurovision contest. Then show the 2011 winner HERE. Discuss with students the way visual effects and dancing can enhance (or detract from) a performance. ENJOY!
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July 22, 2011
Flame Award applications are due Monday 29th August – be part of the $15 000 prize pool. ALL Australian schools are invited to apply (Primary & Secondary).
Lesson idea: play some laid-back music, hand out paper and pencils, and ask students to write down and/or draw what they love about MUSIC at your school. Display some of the responses on school noticeboards / websites and around your music classroom 
Copy some of their ideas into your Flame Award submission
ENTER FLAME AWARDS HERE
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April 27, 2011
http://www.makingmusicfun.net/pdf/worksheets/composer-employment-application-worksheet.pdf
This fun, free worksheet, asks students to fill in a mock job application, requiring biographical details of a composer. The website www.makingmusicfun.net includes biographical information and other fun activities.
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January 12, 2012
HERE is a FREE e-book of classroom games (Music) for anyone to use (from FunMusicCo). Mostly primary-oriented, but could stretch to Year 7. Create a lesson out of games … Enjoy!
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March 3, 2011
free worksheet – Sarah Lantz has made a cute, free worksheet which uses clover leaves to help kids practise the notes in a major chord
Lesson idea – help students to fill in the clover leaves (with chord notes) then play them on keyboard, glocks, guitar …
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January 20, 2012
jozzbeatinteractive.com/jellymusic-pilot
Jozzbeat is offering FREE access to its new online Music education software (for 5-13 year olds) from February to April 2012. Click on the above link to find out more information. The program suits classroom teachers without ANY musical background, as well as being fun for music specialists. It requires having a digital projector or interactive whiteboard in the classroom, and giving brief feedback after lessons.
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December 12, 2011
THIS WEBSITE is a rich source of free (and paid for) music games on a computer. Just download and play. My favourites are Staff Wars 1.2 (teaching notation reading), JamaMambo (rhythm reading) and Rhythm Dictation. Put the games on a digital projector and teach concepts to the class as needed. ENJOY!
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September 13, 2011
Go to this link: Ray Foo … Click on “Music Games/Quizzes” half way down the left side to find dozens of free online quizzes and games to drill music theory. Send students to this page and let them explore – learning through games.
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July 6, 2011
www.jozzbeat.com/MCUI2011/home
This is a fun way to learn / teach the Music: Count Us In song for 2011 (We’ve Got the Music). In fact, the song will teach itself, all ready for the massed-music-making MCUI event on 1st September, 2011.
If you don’t yet have a free login, and have registered for Music: Count Us In, please send an email to mcui.admin@mca.org.au requesting a Jozzbeat login.
ENJOY!!!
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March 8, 2011
Dr Watson’s podcasts – a MASSIVE and free resource from an American lecturer in music, which has dozens of podcasts, many of which have free lesson guides and activity sheets attached. Topics include “what music means to me”, “repetition in music”, “bad boys in classical music”, “modality” …
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October 19, 2011
Click here to download FREE teaching kits for teaching pop music to Middle School students – using the Musical Futures approach. Handouts include song lyrics, keyboard chord fingerings & guitar chord fingerings.
Thanks to Coombeshead Academy for sharing their resources freely
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February 4, 2010
Go to resource: Free Primary School Lesson Plans & Education Resources is a general site that offers primary school resources submitted by site users. Resources are listed according to subject area, including creative arts, and music. The site offers links to organisations and other lesson plan search engines.
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February 9, 2012
www.funmusicco.com/rhythmclock/
FunMusicCo has prepared a video tutorial on how to prepare and use a rhythm clock (suits primary and perhaps Year 7). All the files you might need are also free on the website.
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September 22, 2011
Here is a free lesson from Klerrisa Music re. Mashing Up 2 Bruno Mars songs which have the same chord progression.
If you sign up to the Klerrisa mailing list, you get free access to a dozen more free sample lessons (Middle school & Secondary).
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January 10, 2012
HERE are some free worksheets from makingmusicfun.net – naming notes and intervals in bass and treble clef. Make up a booklet for students to work through when they have a few spare minutes at a time.
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June 1, 2011
Select 4 very different pieces of music. Divide students into teams of 2-4 students. Hand out blank paper (to be divided into 4 sections). Teams are to secretly discuss the music (while it plays) and write down answers to 5 questions. After each ’round’, teams share their answers with the class, and the teacher allocates 1 point for each correct answer. After 4 rounds (equating to 4 pieces of music), tally up the points (out of a possible total of 20).
Suggested questions: What is the mood of the piece and does it change at all? What instruments do you hear (instrumentation)? What nationality do you think it is? What is the message or story behind the music? Is it fast or slow (tempo)?
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July 3, 2011
There’s a wacky, catchy kids song on YouTube – in English, he is “Gummy Bear” … in French he is “Funny Bear”. The first half of the song is in C major, and the melody uses A, C, D & E, so it suits glockenspiels or beginner keyboards.
Lesson idea: Practise alternate hand slapping on thighs: 6 taps starting on left … short rest … 6 taps starting on left … 14 taps starting on right. Play the YouTube clip to Middle School students. Get the kids singing the chorus. Add in the ‘hand slapping on thighs’ pattern during the chorus (it fits with the chorus rhythm). Ask students to figure out the melody, which starts on A.
Extension: see if students can alternate their glockenspiel mallet hands (as per the hand slapping warm-up).
Melody: A A A C A A – - A A A C E E – - E E E D D D D D D D E D C A – -
Further extension: Write the chorus melody on the board as a row of quavers and quaver rests. Ask students to help put in the bar-lines and time signature.
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April 15, 2011
April 2011 saw the launch of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu’s second album. Gurrumul is a spectacular, Indigenous Australian musician who was born blind, and grew up singing and playing guitar.
Lesson idea: Listen to one of Gurrumul’s tracks (all songs feature his language-of-birth, while some include English as well). Describe the tune, harmonies, vocal quality (which Stinge has described as “the sound of a higher being”), chord progressions, etc … then try to guess what the lyrics mean.
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August 1, 2011
Play some well-known songs on glockenspiel (reading the letters of the alphabet), then guess their name.
eg. E D C D E E E D D D E G G
is Mary Had a Little Lamb
Glock aural activity
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November 11, 2011
Watch the Gruffalo film on YouTube (about 30 minutes long).
Discuss (or ask students to take notes on) the music which accompanies each new character. Discuss what instruments are used to make the audience feel scared or wary. Brainstorm the ways in which music has been used to turn a 5 minute picture-story book into a 30 minute film.
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July 2, 2010
Go to resource: Haunting Music (ArtsEdge USA) is a six-lesson unit that focuses on program music through exploration of ’spooky’ orchestral works by Berlioz and Saint-Saens.The unit is published and written by ArtsEdge, the Kennedy Center, USA. The lessons include analysis of musical works, storywriting, and creating a class mural. The unit is recommended for Grades 4 to 7 (USA).
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February 15, 2010
Go to resource: HotChalk (USA) is a site that offers lesson plans, grouped according to different disciplines and age ranges, including music. The site is free for users. Lesson plans were collated by trained educator Kyle Austin Yamnitz and students at the University of Missouri.
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July 13, 2011
http://www.smh.com.au/national/aboriginal-anthem-a-truly-uplifting-experience-20110706-1h2el.html#ixzz1Rfy25DsN
This article in the Herald Sun describes the process for creating an indigenous translation for Advance Australia Fair (for NAIDOC week). Free teachers’ notes are found HERE. A kit has also been released ($26) with advice on how to teach the song.
“This is about changing the way we teach and appreciate the language, culture and traditions of Aboriginal people,” Mr Garrett said.
A short example of the video teaching kit is found HERE along with ‘how to purchase the kit’ information.
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January 7, 2011
Go to resource: Phil Tulga presents a list of interactive activities and lesson plans which combine Music with Science, Language and Maths.
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February 15, 2011
KET – this website provides free Music lesson plans for 5-18 year olds. NOTE: Some of the content requires additional KET resources (videos).
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September 21, 2010
Go to resource: Kiravanu is an opera written by James Humberstone and Mary Elizabeth, specifically designed for children and integrated with the curriculum.Online resources are available through the site to support performances of Kiravanu in schools. It was first developed in MLC, Sydney, and resources include cross-curricula lesson plans to assist with implementation of this opera production in schools.
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March 28, 2011
free lesson content (facts PLUS free assignment worksheet) on interpreting clefs and notation http://www.lessontutor.com/eesMusic1.html
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May 10, 2011
Introductory Keyboard Lesson for Middle School
Turn off the keyboards, and explain how to make a chord – play one, miss one, play one, miss one, play one. If a scale is like flowing water, then a chord is a block of ice!
Write up the chord progressions for The Beatles’ song “Let It Be” (which uses only C major, F major, G major and A minor).
Ask students to create chords (sound off!) with one or two hands. The teacher moves around the room, asking students to make the chords of C, F, G and A minor (explaining that the right hand thumb goes on the chord’s name) after which each student (int turn) may turn on the power and practise making chords (out loud this time).
Work through the chords of “Let It Be” as a class of keyboards, with the teacher singing (calling out chords) & playing piano / guitar to accompany.
Ask students to look for patterns in the chord progressions (ie. repeated lines and the fact that every phrases moves to G major in the 2nd chord), then memorise the song chords. Ask for a small group of students to test out their memory and play the whole song as a small ensemble.
To end the lesson, students might have a few free minutes to create their own chord progressions.
ENJOY!
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June 3, 2011
wrightstuffmusic.com/in-the-classroom/making-music-fun/
Wright Stuff Music offers a list of links for fun online music activities (K-12)
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January 10, 2011
Guided questions for listening to music – a great way to settle students at the start of a Middle School Music lesson. Free list of suggested ‘listening questions’ here.
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March 19, 2011
http://ht.ly/4gile
“The Inspired Classroom” website offers concrete lesson ideas on teaching ESL and LOTE students in the Music classroom.
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September 5, 2011
CLICK HERE to make your own bingo cards (using musical instruments and/or symbols)
or CLICK HERE to print off a set of bingo cards, ready-to-go, using instrument pictures.
Lesson idea: the caller will mix up the actual names of the instruments / symbols with descriptions (eg. 1 beat note, saxophone, largest stringed instrument, triangle …)
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April 19, 2011
Have you signed up yet to be part of Making Music Being Well?
This national initiative, which takes place from 16 – 22 May, is a collaboration between Music: Play for Life and the Australian Music Therapy Association and it’s all about a grassroots celebration of the links between music making and wellbeing.
When you register to participate – it’s FREE – we’ll send you event posters, stickers and brochures and you’ll get access to lots of downloadable resources including event planning and promotional tips. How you participate is up to you.
The best way to be involved is to take something you may already have planned for that week and hitch it to the national wagon of Making Music Being Well 2011. You don’t have to do something on every day during the week – one event is enough. Your event will be outlined on the MMBW website and you and your group members or students will be helping to shine the national spotlight on an important fact: music is good for you!
Here are a few ideas based on previous years: Open the doors to the community for your rehearsal that falls within the MMBW week and turn it into a free performance. Take your choir or group to a nursing home, hospital or school. Organise a big sing at your workplace. Turn a school assembly into a musical celebration and tell students and parents about the value and benefits of making music. Convene a drum circle in your school playground. Run an open mic session at your local pub or club. Organise a gathering of community music leaders and organisers in your area and discuss how you could pool resources and share skills.
Register to be part of it at www.makingmusicbeingwell.org.au
AND … don’t forget – registration for our biggest school music initiative, Music: Count Us In, opens soon too!
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April 2, 2011
Teach the chorus melody of Mamma Mia using letter names, or the numbers:
21 21 112321 2 1 4 444 3 1
Put the melody onto keyboards (using finger numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4) or glockenspiels (C, D, E and F)
Talk about the relationship between numbers and pitch names
Play with a recording of Mamma Mia, transposed down into C major (using digital music editing software such as Audacity, Reaper or GarageBand)
Try to sing and play at the same time!
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June 15, 2011
Talk about mash-ups with your middle school music class – where musicians take lots of songs and mix them into a new musical work. Try mashing up the MUSIC. COUNT US IN song for 2011 – the stem files (MP3) for which are freely available here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QspTBmTar5U Elephant Song medley from Moulin Rouge (a mash-up)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e5kJl9-oV0&feature=related The same Elephant Song medley from Moulin Rouge, but this clip inserts the ORIGINAL versions of songs
Sensitive New Age Cow Persons wrote a new Australian Anthem, which mashes 13 iconic Australian songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BiQxIP0-FQ
Adam Hills has put the words of the real Australian Anthem to ‘Working Class Man’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okHs4308nJc&feature=related
A lesson plan on mash-ups can be found in ‘Instant Lessons in Music – Book 4‘ available from Blake Education.
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August 31, 2011
More free lessons are available on musiccountusin2011.wikispaces.com
Try out the Boomwhackers playalong movie (played on glockenspeiel or boomwhackers) & Ukulele playalong movie
Some Queensland schools have recently unblocked the JellyBeans style online-percussion and singing videos, which are great fun! LINK IS HERE Most states have been enjoying this site for a few months now
Bring on September 1st @11.30am
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August 24, 2011
Watch this YOUTUBE CLIP of the MozART Group from Poland. It is an entertaining collage of Classical String Quartets re-interpreted
Now choose a Classical piece of music (Google search for the Classical Top 100) or nursery rhyme and change it drastically … into pop, funk, country, metal, etc. You may wish to write lyrics to go with the Classical melody. OR
Choose a piece of pop music and arrange it for a classical ensemble. Start by putting the vocal line into an instrument, then find chords to go underneath.
HINT: Google search for the song name + free + midi. You may well be able to save a midi file from the internet, which will open in Finale / Audacity / Sibelius, etc.
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January 1, 2011
Go to resource: Music Teacher Resource Site (UK) MTRS is a free website designed for UK Music teachers – lots of free lesson plans and online resources
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June 17, 2011
http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/remository?func=select&id=45
The 2011 (free) Teaching Kit for “We’ve Got the Music” just went online. It features free lesson ideas and teaching resources for Primary and Middle School classes, as well as brilliant ideas for inclusion and special needs. It is designed for generalist classroom teachers and music teachers alike.
All feedback welcome. Bring on 1st September 2011!!
If you haven’t signed up, please do, then you’ll be able to view the Teaching Kit.
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June 1, 2011
Watch this space – the teaching kit for Music Count Us In 2011 is coming soon. It’s full of free ideas to enhance music education delivery in your school, including cross-curricular lesson ideas. Many free ensemble charts are already on the website www.musiccountusin.org.au . Don’t be scared of signing up – it’s really easy!
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February 9, 2010
Go to resource: Music Education at About.com (USA) is a listing of lesson plans submitted by teachers and endorsed by academics.The lesson plans are for various age groups and stages of students. There are also links to specific subject/genre areas, for example, 80s music.
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July 21, 2011
A cute 4 minute video to share with any year level.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAY1UoQYMHk
After watching the movie, ask your class to create some more musical artwork.
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November 6, 2011
Watch the film clip of ‘In Your Arms’ which was made using Jelly Beans – YouTube LINK HERE … then watch the ‘making of’ video LINK HERE. Discuss other whacky ideas for making music film clips.
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April 15, 2011
On April 12th 2011, a dozen talented teenage singer-songwriters were mentored by John Foreman, Claire Bowditch, Holly Throsby, Rai Thistlethwayte (Thirsty Merc) and Kavyen Temperley (Eskimo Joe).
The result was the 2011 song for Music. Count Us In (1st September 2011).
Watch this space for free lesson plans, free MP3 material, free Professional Development (for teachers) and free instrumental arrangements. Let’s get more music in more Australian schools!! www.musiccountusin.org.au
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May 8, 2011
http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/
This year’s program song is about to hit the air-waves. Registration is being accepted by schools for the 2011 massed singing event on September 1st, 2011 @ 11.30am (AEST).
Associated free lesson plans, teaching kits, free MP3, sheet music, and instrumental arrangements will soon be available via the website.
Signing up via the website is free and easy!! http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/
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July 16, 2011
Lesson Idea: In the spirit of “Musical Futures”, give your students access to the MP3 of “We’ve Got the Music” … divide them into groups of 4-6 with drums / guitars / keyboards / ukuleles / percussion, etc … ask them to come up with their OWN version of “We’ve Got the Music” (about 30 mins) simply by using their ears, playing along with the MP3, experimenting and supporting each other … share their performance attempt with the class.
The key factor is that the student performance SHOULD sound different from the original MP3, reflecting the group’s creative interpretation.
“We’ve Got the Music” is the 2011 program song for MUSIC: COUNT US IN
www.musiccountusin.org.au
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April 19, 2011
The National Folk Festival (Australia) is developing educational resources. These include a free CD of 2009 festival highlights & IWB resources about the fiddle.
http://forteachersforstudents.com.au/NFF/
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April 2, 2011
Fresh off the printing press – Instant Lessons in Music (Vols 3, 4 & 5) – photocopiable /digital lessons designed to enhance school Music programs OR leave for Emergency teachers (without the need for musical competency) – suits 11-16 year old Music classes – written by an Australian teacher for Australian students.
Vol 3: Music in Australia
Vol 4: Everyday musicality
Vol 5: Theory, composition & song-writing
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January 13, 2011
New Millenium Records – a rich resource for free lesson content. Most lessons are paragraphs of typed information embedded with free audio files or video clips to support the text.
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January 25, 2011
New Zealand Curriculum Exemplars – several exemplar lessons for Primary and Secondary School Music (New Zealand)
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November 23, 2011
Here’s a lesson idea inspired by YouTube’s “Picture Songs”. Ask a group of students to find 16 interesting / weird photos online and put them in a chosen order. Using another group’s pictures, groups create 4 beats worth of lyrics for each picture. Try to rhyme some of the lyrics. Ask a guitar-playing to vamp a 4-chord progression (eg. C, Am, F, G) while each group raps or songs their 16 lines of lyrics.
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February 4, 2010
Go to resource: Primary Lesson Plans NSW is a site published by NSW Country Areas Program, and contains lesson plans grouped under subject areas and stages, including music. The site also includes links to CAP events such as professional learning.
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March 10, 2011
A lesson idea for “National Sorry Day” … or any day.
Watch the Colli Crew’s song about reconciliation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsWo9CxqsN8&feature=related
In small groups, brainstorm phrases that rhyme with “reconciliation” and “it’s up to us”
Watch the Colli Crew’s 2010 ARIA Award winning song “Change the Game” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0rJajbIs-o
Create a class rap, make an audio recording, and place it on the school’s website.
Email a link (or a copy of the song) to schools.mpfl@mca.org.au
Listen to Indigenous Australian music from “Black Arm Band”, “Saltwater Band”, “Gurrumul Yunupingu” and “Archie Roach” on YouTube, iTunes, CD or GrooveShark.
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September 30, 2011
In early November, 2011, ABC will release a tribute album to 20 years of The Wiggles! 20 of Australia’s great contemporary artists have covered 20 Wiggles songs (eg. Clare Bowditch & The Audreys). The final track is a Wiggles mash-up.
LESSON IDEA: Ask students to re-interpret or mash-up Wiggles songs before the album is released in November
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February 26, 2012
Play rhythm bingo with a middle school class using crotchets and quavers. HERE is a free website for printing out a class set of bingo cards (thanks to DSMusic). The teacher starts by clapping the rhythms, then hands the job over to a student or two.
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March 28, 2011
http://www.lessontutor.com/eesmusic3.html
Free lesson content = facts on time signatures & grouping of beats in a bar
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December 13, 2009
Go to resource: Roll over Beethoven was written by Donald Robertson and Gail Cork, 1987. The kit is designed to support the teaching of contemporary music (Australian rock) in secondary schools, and ties in with the NSW secondary school music syllabus. The kits also contains wallcharts, cassettes, teachers manual.
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May 8, 2011
Listen to the first minute or so of each track from the recent Royal Wedding (soundtrack available from iTunes).
For each piece of music, discuss the time signature (how many beats per bar) and the instrumentation (which instruments and voices are heard).
Discuss the sound of hymns – organ introduction & massed voices singing throughout (rarely changing colour or texture). Decide which tracks from the Royal Wedding are hymns.
Discuss the process of commissioning a new piece of music. John Rutter was commissioned to compose “This is the Day” to be sung as an anthem for this wedding (performed 29/4/2011).
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January 9, 2012
Watch a tribute to Ruby Hunter HERE. Download a file of Ruby Hunter’s lyrics from HERE. Ask students to choose one song, and analyse the rhyming pattern, structure & message of one of Ruby’s songs. FYI The dominant messages in Ruby’s music are “Stolen Generation” and “Indigenous Women’s Issues”. Her CD can be bought HERE.
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February 4, 2010
Go to resource: Sibelius Groovy Music is a software program that assists with teaching music to five to eleven year old students. The program can be used by generalist and specialist music teachers. Additional resources are available to support the software including lesson plans, stickers, charts etc.
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February 23, 2011
Use Savage Garden’s song “Affirmation” to inspire song writing. Students listen to the song, while filling in THIS CLOZE activity. Discuss the meaning of an ‘affirmation’. Then students work in small groups to write their own verse. Each line must begin with “I believe …” and be about the same phrase length.
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May 13, 2012
Here is a powerpoint presentation to show students … before asking them to write a song for 500 000 students to perform on November 1st, 2012 in Australia. Write individually or as a group. Keep the lyrics positive and optimistic.
Music: Count Us In has full details – due 25 May, 2012. $1000 up for grabs!
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June 10, 2011
www.funmusicco.com/squiltsheet.pdf
FunMusicCo has provided a free worksheet for use with ANY music listening activity.
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March 7, 2010
Go to resource: Stage 2 Music Resources are published by the Department of Education and Training (NSW).
The resources support classroom teaching that meet NSW syllabus requirements for and include: Stage 2 Program Overview; Stage 2 Skill and Concept Development; Stage 2 Blank Program Overview for planning learning experiences; Concept Based Programming Chart (blank); Thematic Programming Chart (blank); Adapting the ‘Etchings’ Unit for each stage; and Adapting the ‘Funge alafia’ Unit for each stage.
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October 24, 2011
acmf.com.au/results/
The above website links to the 2011 prize-winners of the Australian Children’s Music Foundation song-writing competition. Categories catered for students aged 5 through to 18. LESSON IDEA: Listen to the winning songs (from the website) for each class’s age-category and discuss the strengths and musical elements of each winning song.
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February 9, 2010
Go to resource: Teacher’s Toolkit is a website that lists resources for classroom teachers of students 5 to 13 years old. The site has links to lesson plans for Creative Arts teaching, homework activities, and other resources, such as their magazines and newsletters. Lesson plans are uploaded by users of the site.
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February 9, 2010
Go to resource: Creative Arts lesson plans posted by teachers – some links no longer work. Each teacher has 10MB free web space to post resources online for others to view and use. The site is hosted by the Australian Council for Computers in Education.
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January 13, 2011
TeachersNetwork.org – an excellent website (by US teachers for teachers) with free lesson plans. Most lessons require computers as a resource or tool for quality Music lessons – from Bach to Rap! Some lessons include rubrics for assessment.
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December 7, 2011
HERE is a free worksheet from FunMusicCo which uses mobile phones (alpha-numeric buttons) to help students to learn the definitions of Italian terms. After completing the sheet, students could create their own worksheet using mobile phone buttons.
HERE is a free video explaining how to use the worksheet.
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May 22, 2011
Top Gear’s “Middle East episode” sees the 3 Top Gear presenters driving up some Iraqi hills (towards the start of the episode) with sinister music in the background. Soon after, they have an epiphany that the region is much safer than they had imagined. As they drive back down the Iraqi hills, the scenery is the same but the background music is fun and light.
LESSON IDEA: Watch the Top Gear episode up until the Iraqi hills re-appear. Pause each time music is played and discuss the mood and instrumentation of the background music. Finally, discuss the effect that music has on our perception of TV images.
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February 26, 2012
Deb Smith has written up a Torres Strait song HERE along with a series of challenging actions. Suits middle school students.
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August 27, 2011
Organise students into table groups. Inform them you will play 5 pieces of music from 5 different centuries (1600’s 1700’s 1800’s 1900’s 2000’s). Use iTunes library or GrooveShark to play 5 very different pieces of music. Each team must discuss (quietly) which century belongs to each piece of music. Score 2 points for each correct century or 2 points for being 100 years either side. Score 1 bonus point for every correct reason given for answer!
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May 17, 2011
On Sunday 20 February 2011, Damon Gameau took out first prize for the 19th annual Movie Extra Tropfest in front of crowds of 150,000 nationwide. The film was titled “ANIMAL BEATBOX”. It creates a type of beat-box using only animal words – verbal percussion of sorts!
Watch the YouTube clip of Animal Beatbox (giggle and smile) then ask students to come up with a list of animals with 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 syllables. Next, they can form groups to create a poem, rap, beat-box or verse. Finally, practise saying the animal beat-box creation over a djembe beat, drum-kit beat or electronic loop. ENJOY!!
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November 30, 2011
Play some of the free (MP3) TV themes from THIS website, and ask teams of students to guess the TV show. Encourage students to sing along and make musical comments. Write up the notes for “I Dream of Jeannie” (D A A G B A G C A A G B A G D A A G B A G C) to play on glockenspiel or keyboard. Next, ask students to suggest (other) TV shows with good music or theme songs. Then, show THIS YouTube clip of a medley of TV themes and THIS YouTube clip. Finally, ask students to string together their own medley of TV themes.
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July 24, 2011
http://www.ujam.com/
Online song-creation … start by humming a melody into the computer … choose instruments, styles, form … publish a song
A lesson plan of its own – since the webpage guides you through each selection.
NB: You will need to create a login.
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February 24, 2012
THIS free lesson plan link is a teaser for a new Ukulele method book.
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March 23, 2011
There’s a new way to let students view YouTube clips online … www.viewpure.com. The teacher copies the URL address from a YouTube clip, pastes it onto the viewpure.com website, clicks “create”, and it creates a new webpage (which students can view) with the YouTube clip on its own (without ads or comments). Copy and paste the newly create URL address and give it to your students.
Here’s an example I entered into ViewPure of ACO playing to surfing footage …
http://viewpure.com/m0NJyVCQpIs
HINT: Don’t click on the “Download” button (bottom of ViewPure screen) – it is only advertising!
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February 15, 2012
Bring 2 instruments into the classroom (I used cello and guitar). Ask the students to find similarities and differences. Students should put the characteristics into a Venn digram (= 2 over-lapping circles, with the over-lapping portion being for the common characteristics) in pairs or individually. Play a CD in the background, which features the two instruments you have chosen. Suits middle school students.
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January 2, 2011
Go to resource: VOSA (Vic Orff Schulwerk Assoc) Resources, articles, ideas and lesson plans for incorporating the Orff approach to Music education (hands-on percussion and ensembles). Resources are split into two sections: Early Childhood resources (aged 0 – 
& ages 9+. Also includes ideas for Music and movement.
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March 5, 2011
Waltzing Matilda free historical resources – LESSON IDEA: explore the content on the Music Australia webpage (old sheet music and old jazz recordings of “Waltzing Matilda”) … listen to and discuss the differences between the old recordings (found at the bottom of the webpage) and the way “Waltzing Matilda” is performed/sung today
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June 28, 2011
We’ve got the Music & Music: Count Us In online resources are up and going, Jozzbeat-style. They are accessed via this page:
www.jozzbeat.com/MCUI2011/home
Jozzbeat will give each school a free log-in (after the school has registered for Music: Count Us In at www.musiccountusin.org.au)
OR
Existing customers of Jozzbeat that come through as MCUI registrees can just use their existing JozzBeat website password/username to access the resources.
Grab a group of kids, log on, learn the song, add some percussion, and have a fun lesson
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June 12, 2011
www.musicgames.us/
Online music games. Play air guitar, drum beats and be a DJ.
Lesson idea: Let students loose on this website, and ask them to screen-shot their creations or take notes on what they learn.
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November 6, 2011
Here are some amusing (string) clips to share with students of all ages:
(1) I Will Survive (2) Pachelbel’s Canon (3) Titanic by MozART Group & while you’re having fun … (4) Hedwig’s Theme on Wine glasses
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