Music Teacher Freebies

Hello everyone! After taking the summer off (and then some) from blogging, I am refreshed and ready to start posting more regularly. One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that I have been able to learn and use free music teaching resources developed by fellow music teachers all over the world. Now, it's my turn to start sharing some music teacher freebies. 

Active Listening Handout

When I'm really organized, I have a set of audio and/or video clips lined up for students to listen to. I used to aim for a weekly "Clip of the Week" but we just go too busy. When my students and I do the Clip of the Week exercise, I normally bring out this Active Listening handout to help guide my students in the art of active listening.

These sheets, like all materials I will be sharing here, are free to download and print for teaching and private study only.

 Ways to Describe Music

My younger brother attended Piano Camp for several years in a row. I attended once as an adult. We both had the pleasure of working with Ingrid Clarfield of Westminster Choir College. She had a sheet with some adjectives to help students play more expressively.

Inspired, I found more adjectives and used my basic desktop layout skills to create this handout. One side lists various expressive adjectives while the other has what is the beginning of Maestro's Music Tricks with a bit of a music practice guide, entitled, "Am I Done Yet?"

Visual Music Practice Planners (AKA "Assignment Sheets")

This summer, I researched teaching strategies for autistic students. I don't have any students with autism (that I know of), but there is a person in one of my volunteer groups that might be.

When I looked at various planners and To Do Lists, I realized that this concept would work well for my highly visual-kinesthetic learners (see Teaching Music Using VARK Learning Preferences). I came up with these assignment sheets:

Visual Planner #1: Ideal for younger students, highly visual-kinesthetic learners, and autistic students. I laminated the sheet. Cutting up the practice squares and trying to position them carefully on a laminator sheet was quite the challenge.

Visual Planner #2: For older visual learners. Probably can work with some students on the autism spectrum.

Visual Assignment Sheet #3:Good for multi-modal students with a high score in visual learning.

Lesson Assignment Sheet and Practice Diary for Read/

Write Learners, Teens and Above

I have some students who will be distracted by all the colours. This plain Jane assignment sheet is perfect for them.

Next week, I will share my student incentive program.

Music through the Ages Exploration Engages Students

This year, my students are exploring a different genre of music every month. Sometimes, it's a quick study. Sometimes it's just a case of listening to a CD or watching youtube and then discussing the music afterward. My student Namitha calls our exploration, "Music through the Ages". Last month, we explored the Classical period. Their comments on the music were colourful, ranging from "it sounds like someone's being chased" during Beethoven's 5th Symphony to "it sounds happy yet sad" for Mozart's Rondo alla Turk. The intermediate students have started to notice patterns that are similar to their pieces (sonata allegro form, anyone?).

This month, I've fast forwarded the timeline to the present for them to explore pop, rock and country. One student classified Carrie Underwood as "country", while the next day, one classified her as "pop". We listened to a couple of her songs and I asked them to tell me what madeJust a Dream more country than Cowboy Cassanova. A similar scenario happened with Taylor Swift.

(FYI: my students said it was the instrumentation and drum groove used that differentiated the styles).

After listening to The Beatles, I asked my student Tess what she thought of song and the style. "What am I supposed to say?" she asked me.

"The truth," I replied. "Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Doesn't make you feel anything?"

She discovered that it doesn't make her feel anything and that it's a style she'll probably stay away from.

A few days later, I learned that young Gabe loves the 80s band Journey ("They're just cool!").

That's what it's all about for me, showing them what's out there. I hope by the end of the year, they will have a better idea of just how wide and diverse music is and along the way, find out what they would like to explore further (or avoid like the plague). If their active listening skills improve along the way as we discuss melody, timbre, rhythm, form and texture - all the better!

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