Music & song tool box

Music is the result of combining sounds (vocal, instrumental, mechanical) in succession or combination that is an aesthetically pleasing expression of harmony, emotion, or other form of beauty.

The process of composing music can be considered a science or art of combining and arranging the different elements of music to create music.

Elements of music

  • Chord two or more tones played simultaneous. Used to make harmony.
  • Duration is the length of sounds and silences and the use of different rhythm patterns (long or short).
  • Form is what holds the components of a musical piece into a cohesive whole.
  • Harmony is the arrangement of simultaneous tones and chords.
  • Loudness / volume is the energy of vibration. How loud or soft the sound is.
  • Melody / tune sequence of tones for a musical effect.
  • Pitch is a part of sound that is caused by the frequency. It can be high or low and singular or simultaneous.
  • Rhythm is the arrangement of length of sounds and silence in the stream of time and stress on each sound.
  • Style is the mode of presentation, construction, or execution of basic components of sound according to its function or cultural dimensions (popular, jazz, classical...).
  • Texture is the structure or pattern of the sounds. It is the linear or vertical properties of the density of a musical composition.
  • Timbre / tone is the quality or tone color of the sound. It is what enables us to identify sounds with their source. Flute or clarinet...
  • Tempo is the pace of performance. Measured by beats per minute.
  • Volume / loudness is the energy of vibration. Heard as loudness or softness.
  • Vibrato is a rapid modulation of pitch or timbre / tone. Used to create

Resources

Activities

  • Listen to music and identify different elements.
  • Respond to music learners listen to in journals with their personal response to the music and what elements they believe caused that reaction.
  • Create a class list (play list) of music the class has evaluated or to study to or to ...
  • Create a piece of music.
  • Make a list that describes different styles of music and what is similar and different between the different styles.
  • Listen to a piece of music and write the emotions and feelings that you have from listening to the piece.
  • Listen to music and identify different elements.

Assessment

Music elements Checklist

Elements Outcome Yes No Comment
Pitch Identifies high and low pitch and the effect it has on the listeners      
Duration Identifies lengths of sound, silence and the effect they have on the listeners      
Loudness Identifies loud and soft sounds and how it affects the meaning of the music to the listeners      
Timbre Identifies possible sources of sounds or describes what a sound sounds like and the effect it might have on the listeners      
Texture Identifies patterns of sound and how they fit or do not fit together and the effect each might have on the listeners      
Form Remarks on how a piece does or doesn't fit together      
Style Identifies styles of music and different pieces of music with similar or different styles.      

 

Music elements rubric

Elements Emergent Proficient Advanced
Pitch Identifies high and low pitch. Describes how high and low pitch fit within a piece and the effects they can haves on the listener. Uses pitch changes in the creation of an original piece.
Duration Identifies lengths of sound and silence. Describes how lengths of sound and silence fit within a piece and the effects they can have on the listeners. Uses duration in the creation of an original piece.
Loudness Identifies loud and soft sounds. Describes how loud and soft sounds fit within a piece and how it effects the meaning of the music to the listeners. Uses changes in loudness in the creation of an original piece.
Timbre Identifies possible sources of sounds or describes what a sound sounds like. Describes how different sounds combine to create a piece of music and describes the effect it might have on the listeners Chooses timbre for a particular purpose when creating an original piece.
Texture Identifies patterns of sound and how they fit or do not fit together and the effect each might have on the listeners. Explains patterns of sound and how they fit or do not fit together and the effect each might have on the listeners. Chooses texture for a particular purpose when creating an original piece.
Form Remarks on how a piece does or doesn't fit together Explains how a piece fits or does not fit together and the effect its form might have on the listeners. Creates a form for a particular purpose when creating an original piece.
Styleh Identifies styles of music and different pieces of music with similar or different styles. Compares and contrasts styles of different pieces of music and what effect the major characteristics can have on the listener. Can describe how and why they did or did not use a style when creating their original piece.

 

Music genre with samples

Popular

  • Kelly Clarkson If you paid close attention to the lyrics of Kelly Clarkson's song Breakaway, then I suggest you give them a listen or read. How might you use this song to motivatae or benefit learning and education? --- Lyrics
  • Shinedown - Second chance
  • Lady Gaga - critique

Punk - rock

  • Patti Smith poetry and punk rock
  • Joan Jett Sinner The release of Sinners by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 25 years after her break-out single I Love Rock-N-Roll with the Runaways, soared up the charts, but she was by no means an overnight success. Bio.

Classical

 

Country western

 

Rap

album coverEminem - Enjoys - Reading the dictionary and rhymes words virtually nonstop. Also jots down words and phrases all day as he hears or thinks of interesting words. Collects them and puts them in notebooks and a case. He calls it stocking ammo. He was bullied in school. Never met his father. His mother didn't have a steady job and moved often. When he attemded school it would sometimes be two or three different ones a year. He dropped out of school at ninth grade.

Jazz

 

Blues

 

Bluegrass

 

Childrens

The Bear Went over the Mountain

Sung to For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
To see what he could see.
And all that he could see,
And all that he could see,
Was the other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain,
Was all that he could see.

The bear went over the river (3X's)
To see what he could see
And all that he could see,
And all that he could see,
Was the other side of the river
The other side of the river
The other side of the river
Was all that he could see

The bear went over the meadow (3X's)
To see what he could see
And all that he could see,
And all that he could see,
Was the other side of the meadow
The other side of the meadow
The other side of the meadow
Was all that he could see

He found another bear there
He found another bear there
He found another bear there
Who could have been his twin
Who could have been his twin
Who could have been his twin
He found another bear there
He found another bear there
He found another bear there
And off they went to play
He found another bear there
And off they went to play

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Source: Introduced in 1947 in the California Folklore Society in the Western Folklore collection. It was published in American Folk Songs for Children. by Ruth Crawford Seeger (Author), Barbara Cooney (Illustrator) 1948

The itsy bitsy spider
Went up the water spout.

Down came the rain
And washed the spider out

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
and the itsy bitsy spider
Went up the spout again.

Finger play

Alternately touch the thumb of one hand to the index finger of the other.
Hold both hands up and wiggle the fingers as the hands are lowered.
Sweep the hands from side to side.
Raise both hands and sweep to the sides to form a semicircle as the sun.
Wiggle fingers upwards. (As in the first line)

 

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
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