About This Lesson
To teach the beginning string students about the elements of music I use a powerpoint to demonstrate each element and add activities to each element. For melody, I ask the students to think of their favorite song and get it playing in their minds. I then ask them to all sing it at the same time so no one gets embarrassed. The students like this and I then tell them that they just sang the melody of the song (the part of the music that they remember, can sing, and hum). Next is harmony..the music beneath the melody to enhance it and make it sound fuller. I then ask them to think of their favorite song again, and this time I say on the count of three sing the harmony. This is met with silence...I then play a simple song on the piano, first the melody, then the harmony , then joined together to demonstrate the beauty of harmony. Then comes the students favorite part of the lesson...rhythm. We talk about rhythm being the heartbeat of music. I show them a definition of rhythm being sounds and silence to create a beat. I ask them to think about their day so far and identify places that they heard a rhythmic sound. some examples are clock alarm, baby crying, lockers closing, shoes walking in a hallway, etc. I then ask the students to form a circle and repeat a pattern that I clap and stomp. The lesson is put into practice during the activity when I ask students to create a rhythm band using anything around the classroom to create a melody, add harmony, and make a rhythm. The challenge is that no one can do exactly what anyone else is doing to create sound for the impromptu musical composition.
