« Adapting Music Games to suit Special Needs Classes | Home | 22 ways you can find more music students with minimal cost! »
A St Patricks Day Activity For Music Classes
By janice | March 1, 2009
With St Patricks Day coming up on Tuesday March the 17th this year… why not celebrate it with your music classes by showing them a video clip of the musical “Riverdance” featuring loads of Irish Dancing and music? This will be sure to start a great discussion, and you could even adapt it for additional homework exercises or projects.
Here is a inspirational clip I found on You-tube which features over 100 “Riverdance” performers on stage at a special olympics performance all covered in an 8 minute performance.
Here are some questions for discussion or research you could use with your classes based on the performance:
Who was the composer of this piece of music?
Why do you think this piece was composed?
Who were the two presenters of the performance and why do you think they were chosen?
Which genre or style is this music an example of?
What is the style or genre of this piece of music?
The lead dancers of this performance used a dominant colour- Why do you think this colour was chosen and what does it mean?
Are there any solo passages in the piece? If so for which performers or instruments?
What instruments can you hear and see throughout this performance?
What time signatures were used within this piece?
What are the main features of the piece?
What parts of the performance did you enjoy most?
Give this performance a rating out of 10
Today marks an important worldwide celebration? What is the celebration and why do we celebrate it?
If you are looking for some more general information on “Riverdance” or Irish instruments. You may also find the following sites useful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverdance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Whelan
http://www.culkinschool.com/education_music.htm
There are currently no comments highlighted.| No | comment » |
Topics: Classroom Music, Music Teaching, Video, lesson ideas, music lesson plans, music teacher resources
