A lesson plan doesn’t have to be complex, and teachers who have been in the game a while can do it almost without thinking, however they always have to be prepared with something ready to do in their lessons.

In our area of music there are a few tips that make elementary classes much more fun, both for the students and the teacher.

1. Mix up the activities

You know the old saying: “Too much of a good thing…” – well in teaching there is never a more true statement! To teach a game or song that the children enjoy over and over again will eventually make them get bored of it, so stop while the going is good and move onto something else!

2.Each segment should be short and to the point

Short 5-10 minute activities are always best, depending on what you are doing of course. In a general music/singing lesson at elementary level you would normally start with a song or two, break it up with some percussion or rhythm work and them move onto another song and maybe a game at the end.

3. Break up the routine with something unexpected!

Keep the students guessing about what might come next in your classes! You should always keep some stability of course, but you may wish to break it up by heading out to the playground for a lesson with some games, or visiting another class to sing them a song. If you do this every now and then and it works for you students might start really loving your classes!

4. Keep them guessing with surprises!

Young children especially love getting a surprise! Get your students inspired by having a reward for the best singer one class, then the most well behaved the next! Having little incentives are a great idea, but if you can mix it up with surprises every now and then it’ll be even more effective.

5. Call it a “game”

You can call just about any activity a “game” and approach it as such, it’ll become much more fun! So if you’re going to do rhythm clapping for example, instead of saying “Let’s do some rhythm work”…. say “Lets play a rhythm game!” with a big smile on your face! You’ll be amazed at the difference one small change to the way you describe it makes!

6.Keep plenty in reserve

Whenever you’re lesson planning make sure that you keep plenty of material in reserve, and always have far more than you need for each lesson. You can always have a bunch of simple music theory worksheets copied and ready if you need them, and learn a couple of songs that you know will work every time.

Your music lesson plans will be much more fun and enjoyable for your students with a couple of these simple ideas.

Kevin Tuck is an experienced music teacher, having taught music both in schools and in his own music school business. Kevin is now editor of music teaching materials for the Fun Music Company.

“Für Elise” Bagatelle in A minor

Listen to the beginning of “Fur Elise” and sing together the well-known opening melody (the first nine notes). Now play the whole piece, this time counting how many times melody appears. You could work individually or in groups. (For teacher’s reference: The melody appears 16 times.)

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, 1st Movement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c4x0yuKpeY

“A Fifth of Beethoven” recorded and adapted by Walter Murphy, featured on “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. (For a bit of fun!)

Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.2- “Sonata quasi una fantasia” (“Moonlight”)

Rondo a Capriccio for piano in G major, op.129 “Die Wut über den verlornen Groschen” (“Rage over a lost penny”)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqDj5186hUk

String Quartet No.13, Op.130 – Cavatina

The students can make simple brass instruments. You will need a sharp knife or scissors and large plastic bottles (for example soft-drink bottles) Cut the bottom off a plastic bottle. Buzz your lips into the neck of the bottle and try to get different tones. Different sized and shaped bottles can be used for different effects. Use the cut-off bottom of the bottle as a “wah wah mute” like trumpeters use plungers or hats.

Measure things in “trumpets” and “horns.” An uncoiled trumpet would stretch about 6 feet or 1.8 meters. An uncoiled horn would stretch about 12 feet or 3.6 meters. The students can cut strings into pieces of this length. Invite students to measure things in the classroom using their strings. e.g. the blackboard might be 2 trumpets long, and the hallway might be 5 horns in length. Smaller things could be measured by folding the strings e.g. if you have to fold the trumpet string three times to measure a desk, then the desk is 1/3 the size of a trumpet Some estimation and rounding is going to be necessary to make this exercise work As a possible homework assignment, ask students to measure their bedrooms, beds, family vehicles, yards, etc., and report back the next class. This exercise will help students visualise the amount of tubing that it takes to make a trumpet or horn

Recommended listening:A good piece featuring the trumpet and horn is:Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra, II. Giuoco delle coppie (Game of Pairs)

A lesson plan doesn’t have to be complex, and teachers who have been in the game a while can do it almost without thinking, however they do always have something ready and a lesson plan in their head or on paper.

Teaching Music should be a lot of fun, and there are a few ideas that can make it more fun for both the teacher and the class.

1. Do a variety of activities

There is a saying that goes “Too much of a good thing….”, and in teaching is is very apt! Even if the children love a particular game or song they will eventually lose interest in it, so make sure you stop while they are still liking it and move onto a new one.

2.Each segment should be short and to the point

Depending on the nature of the lesson it it always best to structure your lesson into short 5-10 minute segments. In a general music/singing lesson at elementary level you would normally start with a song or two, break it up with some percussion or rhythm work and them move onto another song and maybe a game at the end.

3. Do something unexpected every now and then!

Its definitely a good thing to keep the students guessing about what they might expect next! You should always keep some stability of course, but you may wish to break it up by heading out to the playground for a lesson with some games, or visiting another class to sing them a song. Do something unexpected and you’ll suddenly find that some students really love coming to your class!

4. Have a surprise around every corner

All children love surprises, especially young children! Get your students inspired by having a reward for the best singer one class, then the most well behaved the next! Having little incentives are a great idea, but if you can mix it up with surprises every now and then it’ll be even more effective.

Don’t call it “work” – its a “game”!

Any activity will be more fun if you approach it like you would approach playing a game! So if you’re going to do rhythm clapping for example, instead of saying “Let’s do some rhythm work”…. say “Lets play a rhythm game!” with a big smile on your face! You’ll be amazed at the difference one small change to the way you describe it makes!

Always have plenty of “spares” up your sleeve!

Whenever you’re lesson planning make sure that you keep plenty of material in reserve, and always have far more than you need for each lesson. This isn’t that hard – just have a couple of songs that you know well that you can pull out if you need them, and a few music theory worksheets that you know will be fun and easy.

Your music lesson plans will be much more fun and enjoyable for your students with a couple of these simple ideas.

In Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s childhood house has been turned into a museum. Have the students draw a design for the front cover of the brochure for this museum, showcasing why Mozart is still so popular today.

Mozart Museum Guided Tours. Pretend that members of the class have been chosen to be the new tour guides for the Mozart Museum Work in groups to explore one item each that may be in the Museum (it doesn’t necessarily have to be there…use your imagination). Use a prop to represent your item (a table for a piano, a notebook and pencil for music manuscript and quill pen etc) and develop a short talk to be included in the guided tour about some things that may have occurred at that place/room or with that item. The classroom could be set up as the museum, with the class moving from item to item and the relevant group giving their talk and answering questions. You could even video the presentations and have mozart music playing in the background.

Here are few ideas of items to include: Mozart’s piano, Mozart’s violin, the family dining table (with some stories about what may have occurred there), Mozart’s fancy clothes, a piece of manuscript paper containing a copy of some of Mozart’s music…maybe tell the story about how and when it was written, or get some more ideas from the Mozart Museum website.

Submitted by Joy Shreckengost 

There is nothing like the old saying “If you don’t prepare, then prepare to fail”. Once you have a bit of experience under your belt however, then preparing lesson plans does not have to be as complicated as it was when you first start teaching.

For those who are just starting out, here are a few guidelines for creating compelling music lesson plans.

1. Consider the students age group and situation

A very good starting point when you are preparing a lesson is to think about the maturity of the children you are teaching. What are their likes and dislikes? What sort of music do they listen to on a regular basis? Are there any other cultural influences that affect them a their current development level? Are they at an age where they are extremely hesitant to do anything in-front of their peers?

Whenever you create a music lesson plan, in your head or on paper these are the things that you need to consider. This is why ready made, fit all situations lesson plan usually doesn’t work. Each individual class and student needs to have the lesson plan tailored to their individual needs. When a teacher has been in the classroom for a few years they are usually able to do these adaptations on the spot, and may seem to not have to prepare at all. When you are just starting however a good starting plan is to spend a few minutes researching the age group, and learning how they think and interact with each other.

2. Always plan more than you’ll need, keep spare a few extra music theory worksheets!

Often you’ll prepare a lesson with (say) ten activities. Sometimes when you use this lesson you’ll only get through five points and the lesson will be over. If you were to do the same lesson with a different class you might go through all ten points and there will still be another 20 minutes left! Its always an excellent idea to have a backup plan just in case you need more than you anticipate. Have copies of spare worksheets, or an interactive game on hand so that you can always go to at the end if you have a few spare minutes.

3. Include a mixture of activities.

In many schools the curriculum is planned for set lessons for the week: one lesson will practical, one theory etc. However if its possible, why not try to vary it around a bit? If you’re not limited by rooms try spending half the lesson on practical, then moving into theory based on the materials you were just playing. Keep the students enthused by not letting them know what to expect!

4. Think simple – then expand

if you’re working on something a little complicate, you may want to have a backup which is a very simplified version – just in case! This is particularly needed if working with young students. For example if you’re introducing a new piece of music in a practical lesson you may wish to plan for the scenario of it being way too hard for the students. Start with a section that you know the students will be able to play, then come back and deal with the harder sections.

5. Listen to feedback

Students are often extremely subtle in the way they give feedback to teachers. Students (particularly teenagers) will never say “Mrs Jones I thought you did a brilliant job today, you gave us a lesson that was lots of fun and we learned heaps.” It might happen in your dreams, but not in real life! What you will see is students eager to come to your classes, and happy to have a joke with you at an appropriate time. You’ll also see students putting band or orchestra ahead of their other activities. When this happens, you’ll know that what you are doing is on the right track.

Saxophones are a very popular instrument, having uses in many genres of music, from Classical to Jazz and Rock. Saxophones are often featured in “big band” music.”Big Band” music often features the saxophone. The typical “big band” sax section consists of two altos, two tenors, and a baritone. Players typically double on other woodwind instruments in the saxophone section.

Here are a few ideas for learning the names of the saxophone family. Students can be divided into groups of four Distribute any remainders into other groups to make a few groups of five. Ask students to arrange themselves by height within each group, and make labels or cards for the saxophone which corresponds to their size – baritone, tenor, alto and soprano saxophone (groups of five can continue onto bass saxophone). In other words, the shortest student will be the soprano saxophone, the next smallest the alto saxophone, and so on.

Repeat the exercise with other attributes – birthday, shoe size, length of hair, etc.

If the students can read notes, distribute pieces of paper with single notes on them, and ask the students in each group to arrange the notes from lowest to highest and match them to the appropriate saxophones.

Students may respond to completing some of these tasks without speaking for a quieter classroom and an extra challenge.

Suggested Listening:World Saxophone Quartet, Metamorphosis album. Elektra Nonesuch 9 79258-2

Learning about the parts of the instruments is easy if you play this game: play Pin the Parts on the Cello or or Double Bass (a variation on Pin the Tail on the Donkey). In this game, blindfolded participants attempt to pin paper instrument parts (for example the scroll or endpin) on a picture of a double bass or a cello.

Another fun game is to have the students collect objects or pictures of different sizes (e.g., tree, car, mobile phone, ball, train etc.)The students then have to speak or show their pairs of objects and indicate the relative size relationships with the words double bass(for large) or cello(for smaller)e.g. baseball, beach ball would be cello, double bass, and train, feather would be double bass, cello This will help students remember the relative sizes of the instruments, which students often have trouble remembering. If you have already covered the violin and viola, you can extend this game to include all four string instruments, i.e., comparing violin with cello and so on.

These are just an excerpt from the music lesson plans available from the fun music company

Here are a few excellent pieces featuring the cello and double bass:

Camille Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals, XIV. The Swan (featuring solo cello). Several commercial recordings are available, but note that the recording with Leonard Bernstein as narrator features double bass instead of cello.

Edgar Meyer, Double Concerto for Double Bass, Cello, and Orchestra (available on CD or as mp3 download from Amazon.com).

Elgar Cello Concerto, first movement

Have a look at the keyboard percussion instruments, the xylophone, marimba and Glockenspiel, and show the students how they are laid out just like a piano. Students may enjoy making a “paperphone.” Students can cut out rectangular bars of continually smaller sizes out of paper and glue them to thick cardboard or a large sheet of paper. You can then put labels on the bars.

Demonstrate how resonance can amplify the sound of an instrument. With a xylophone or marimba you can remove one bar and try and play it with no resonator (pipe or box) underneath. Then compare the difference with placing it over the resonating chamber. You will likely need to experiment with bars and tube size before finding a combination that resonates well.

Recommended listening: Béla Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, III. Adagio. This movement has prominent parts for xylophone and timpani. The timpani performs glissandi throughout, an excellent demonstration of its pitch capabilities.

These are just a couple of ideas for creating music lesson plans about percussion instruments.