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BlockChain RHYTHM! - A fast-paced listening game!
By Jason Litt
This is a great resource to get your kids to work collaboratively as a team (or by themselves if you wish) to identify rhythms as they hear them!
In BlockChain Rhythm, students are given a set of 4 cubes with quarter notes, eighth note pairs, and quarter rests written on them (this is optional, but if you have these, it makes it a challenge for them if you have time to write them out!).
After hearing the rhythm example, they must "rubix cube style" arrange the rhythm that they heard in the right order that it is played. However, the first one to do it the fastest WINS!
Alternatively, you could play this by having the students write it down, have notation cards, or any other method you prescribe. Students can work together in teams of 1, 2, 4, or however may you wish.
To do it as a race: if you have a large and elongated classroom, try setting the blocks 10-15 feet away from the students. Students then have to run one by one and build each beat, go back and tag the next student, and build the second beat, and on and so forth until all four beats are completed.
There are 12 4-beat rhythm examples included in this. All you need to do is play the example and advance the powerpoint slide to show the correct answer!
Have a great time with this!
Hi Fi - An Original Tubano/Djembe/Tambourine Percussion Composition!
By Jason Litt
In "Hi-Fi", introduce your kids to some great music from indigenous instruments from Africa! Using your classroom Djembe or Tubanos, learn the music by rote by taking it one rehearsal section at a time (with rehearsal markings [A], [B], [C], and so forth). This is terrific practice with your older students who want to work on alternating hands, especially in the selected meter of 3/4
The notation on the first space F is a bass (middle of the drum) and the notation on the third space C is a tone (four fingers near the rim of the drum, pitched a bit higher)
At the end, wrap it up and put on a show! Want to layer it?
Use this in class, a concert, a parent showcase, admin, faculty and staff, whatever you wish!
Have a terrific time with this one :)
By Jason Litt
The follow-up to "Rhythm Wind Up and PITCH! and MELODY Wind Up and PITCH!"
______________________________________
This one will get the kids on their edge of their seats!
You will need 1 thing for this particular game:
The students will see an instrument at the bottom of their screen and memorize the timbre of the instrument (should know beforehand what it is and how it sounds!) They will then hear a musical example of an endless loop of orchestral and band instruments playing in all different ranges from low to high (Teacher will click the speaker icon to play)
Take a listen...
....
....
One of the instruments will be the instrument that is on the screen. AS SOON AS THEY HEAR THAT INSTRUMENT, they throw their suction cup ball at the target. The first kid who gets it correct is the winner (and make sure you advance the slide to make the target turn green) :)
Obviously, we cannot play this as a class because of
The amount of suction cup balls tossed at the screen would be insane
Team A v Team B would be a bit more competitive and only two balls would be launched at once
If you don't have a whiteboard/projection screen, you can alternatively have the students raise their hand when they hear it and choose the kid who has their hand up the fastest.
Have a great time with this fast paced game!
Write the Room - EMOJI Edition!
By Jason Litt
In a fast-paced game geared up to get your upper level elementary school students excited, we present to you "Write the Room - EMOJI Edition!"
The game is simple as ever. Scattered around your music room are 12 rhythms (which you can cut out and affix anywhere you'd like) with a corresponding emoji attached to the rhythm.
You will make teams (or play individually!) and a pair of students from each team.
You will then play a sound clip for all of the students to hear. Their job is to listen to the clip, think of the rhythm in their head, and race around the room to find the emoji with the rhythm that they just heard!
The students race back to the board and presses on the emoji they think they heard (there will be a multiple choice of three rhythms, which one of them is the correct on). You will advance the slide and the correct emoji rhythm will turn green.
Play this through 12 rounds and keep score of which team wins or you can do it as an individual assessment. The kids LOVE this as they are assessing themselves by listening to the rhythm, remembering it, and identifying it somewhere in the room.
Have a great time with this one!
Rhythm Star (a rhythm reading and independence game!)
By Jason Litt
Looking for a great beginning of the year activity that'll get some of your older kids involved?
In "Rhythm Star", students will see eight boxes stacked vertically. The box on the left is for their left hand, the box on the right is for their right hand. In each box will be a series of dots, either filled in, or blank.
A dot that is filled in will be one sound to the beat, a dot that is left blank will be no sound (read as a rest).
Students will read the rhythm from the top to bottom (vertically) with assigned instruments on their left hand and right hand. For this activity, Artie's stickstations come in handy, so have the students use a pad as their left implement and a tambourine as their right.
Read down the rhythms from top to bottom, and advance the slides once the class masters the rhythms with their left and right hand simultaneously! As the students progress through the game, there are 5 levels of difficulty
Quarter notes
Eighth notes
Quarter rests
Poly-rhythms (this one is FUN!)
Triplets
Play this with some music in the background, either an instrumental track 100-120bpm or some of their favorite pop music as they play along and master the rhythms only to continue to advance in the level.
The class is awarded 50 points each time an example is playing correctly in unison. A fun and competitive way for your younger kids to practice sight reading rhythms!
Keepy Uppy (from "Bluey") - RHYTHM BASKETBALL!
By Jason Litt
RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with the popular theme from the "Keepy Uppy" episode of Bluey, a fan favorite amongst elementary schoolers from K-5!
There are four all-color coded slides along with the form identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats (most are repeated 2 or 4 times).
Here's the track so you can play along...
Rhythm Star (a game for rhythm practice and independence!)
By Jason Litt
Looking for a great anytime of the year activity to get your upper grade level kids engaged? In Rhythm Star, students will see eight boxes stacked vertically. The box on the left is for their left hand, the box on the right is for their right hand. In each box will be a series of dots, either filled in, or blank (counted as a rest).
Each box represents one beat and each dot represents one sound.
Students will read the rhythm from the top to bottom (vertically) with both hands simultaneously performing the rhythms.
For this activity, Artie's stickstations come in handy, so have the students use a pad as their left hand percussion instrument and a tambourine as their right hand percussion instrument. You can situate these on the floor, table, or desk (completely adaptable!)
Read down the rhythms from top to bottom, and advance the slides once the class masters the rhythms with their left and right hand simultaneously! As the students progress through the game, there are 5 levels of difficulty:
Level 1: Quarter Notes
Level 2: Eighth Notes
Level 3: Quarter rests
Level 4: Poly-rhythms (this one is FUN!)
Level 5: Triplets
Play this with some music in the background, either an instrumental track 100-120bpm or some of their favorite pop music as they play along and master the rhythms only to continue to advance in the level.
The class is awarded 50 points each time an example is played correctly in unison. A fun and competitive way for younger kids to practice sight reading rhythms and gain independence in both hands!
By Jason Litt
With “Rhythms Around the Horn”, students will see four rhythm squares on the powerpoint (or PDF), all of them containing different rhythms.
For starters, have the entire class perform rhythm 1 (with instruments, vocalizing, clapping, patting, etc), then rhythm 2, then 3, and then finally 4.
After students understand the rhythms, then you can have the rhythms all be performed several different ways...
There are 4 levels of rhythms all with increasing difficulty
Have a great time with this!
Meter Reader - Fill-in-the-Blank Time Signature Practice!
By Jason Litt
With "Meter Reader", students will see a 4/4, 3/4, or 2/4 meter with typical rhythms inside the measure.
There will be an empty box within the measure and students will have to figure out which corresponding rhythm completes the measure.
There are 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4 examples with quarter, whole, eighth and half note rhythms and rest patterns and also dotted quarter and half note rhythms.
There are multiple ways of assessment -- play as a class, individually, or team against team!
Have a great time with this!
Bar Line Blitz! (Identifying measures in simple rhythm patterns)
By Jason Litt
Down, Set, HUT!
In Bar Line Blitz, student will see a meter with several beats of music – except the bar lines are missing to separate the measures from each other!
They will will see 2 or more line placeholders (small grey lines) in between notes. One of the placeholders is where the bar line should go… but which one is it?
Identify where the bar line should be placed and the correct area will illuminate
green if it is accurate!
Play team vs team, A vs B, or individually... and enhance it by playing some fun football music in the background (search NFL themes or college football fight songs on YouTube) ;)
There are 4 levels (4 quarters if you wish) of varying difficulties. The last quarter, they students will need to identify where it should be placed without any small grey lined hashmarks
Have a great time with this one!
By Jason Litt
Ready to talk about Forte and Piano in any of your grades? Drum it up, Dynamically II will get your kids reading dynamics like a pro!
First, we start off with an introduction to Forte and Piano with a clip from Music K8's animated series (included), and then get into the game:
Students are issued hand drums (or djembes, tubanos, orff instruments, rhythm sticks, whatever you wish!) and dynamics are shown on the screen. The teacher points to the dynamic (optional) as the kids play along on their instruments while the background music (included) helps them keep on beat! After the students master the dynamics, the teacher advances the slide and dynamic shifts get a little harder each time.
Have a ball with this and let me know if you have any questions!
Three tracks at various tempi are included (slow for the little kids, and medium and fast for the bigger kids)
Body Percussion Dynamic Challenge! (4 beat patterns)
By Jason Litt
No need to have drums, recorders, or even auxiliary instruments for this one! If you don't have access, are traveling to rooms, or want to give a change to your curriculum try "Body Percussion Dynamic Challenge"!
There are nearly 30 Dynamic rhythm in each level with CLAPS, PATS , STOMPS, and SNAPS, and CHEST PATS, all indicated on the powerpoint slide with icons. Count your kids off with a few prep beats and watch them go!
If the kids master the rhythm with the appropriate dynamics, advance the slide and see how far they can get! (scoreboard included!)
Also terrific for reading in some of the younger grades who are not familiar with standard notation and need a warmup to reading using these icons.
Use the included background tracks (90bpm to 110bpm) or put on your favorite music so the kids can jam along (or choose your own)!
Here are the 4 levels:
By Jason Litt
Trying to wean the kids off of the letter names but want to do it easily? Start with a warmup! In "Super Simple Recorder Warmups", you'll receive 25 4-beat exercises designed to warmup your kids while working on quarter and half note patterns.
Use the background accompaniment tracks if you wish (ranging from 80bpm to 117bpm) and reinforce the notes of the staff and rhythms throughout before heading into your recorder activity!
Included in this version are the recorder notes, G, A, B, and C
Boom-ong Us! (Boomwhacker Imposter)
By Jason Litt
A twist on the "Poison Pattern" game we all know and love, Boom-ong us, will have students all have 1 (or 2 to make it a little more engaging!) boomwhackers.
They will be shown a pattern of 3 or 4 boomwhackers that will be known as the
imposter. The boomwhackers, from left to right, will be played as quarter notes one by one. Then, students will play an assortment of boomwhacker notes one by one on the following slides.
If the IMPOSTER Boomwhacker melody is shown, do not play it! If the students play it (either 1 note, or the entire melody), they will receive a strike. Play the game until all the students receive 3 strikes (or 5 strikes if you wish) as a class or until they get to the end.
There is a countdown meter on the bottom to show the class how many rounds they have to complete before the end. If they finish it without using all 3 of their strikes, they win!
Play by itself, with you accompanying, or with the background drum beats provided (tempos in the 80s to 110s)
Have a great time with this!
RHYTHM FOUR CORNERS! (Class Rhythm Game)
By Jason Litt
RHYTHM FOUR CORNERS!
· To play Four Corners, ensure all students understand quarter notes, eighth note pairs, half notes, and quarter rests.
· Number each side of the room 1, 2, 3, and 4 (or alternatively, color code it green, blue, red, or purple with floor tape)
· They will hear a 9 second timer. Students will have a chance to walk to one of four corners and stay there for the duration of the round.
· On the next slide, the rhythms will appear in each corner and you will play back one of four the rhythms (provided on the Teacher Guide powerpoint). You can use that or you can play a rhythm of your choice (up to you!)
· The students will have to guess which rhythm the teacher played by showing it with their fingers (1, 2, 3, or 4)
· The teacher then reveals to the students which rhythm it was (#1, #2, #3 or #4) and the students who are in that corner are OUT!
· Keep repeating until no kids are left!
Included are 18 examples (you can switch it up each time and do different rhythms each time), the teacher guide, the 9 second timer embedded in the powerpoint file, and instructions
Leaf it to the Rhythm - Autumn-Themed Rhythmic Identification!
By Jason Litt
Getting ready for fall and working with your younger kids to identify rhythms can be easy with "Leaf it to the Rhythm"!
In this lesson with 12 rhythmic examples, students will see an item that you would typically see in the fall (i.e. - Migrating Birds, Columbus Day, Rake, Jack o Lantern, etc) along with 3 rhythms below.
Which rhythm best fits the item? Have the students choose the rhythm that best matches (you can either do this as teams, have the students select it at the whiteboard/projection screen, or even race to hit it first!), advanced the slide, and then find out the correct answered illuminated in green!
Examples have series of quarter rests, quarter notes, eighth note pairs, and triplets. Terrific for reinforcing rhythms in the younger grades but can definitely work to pass some time in the older grades as well!
Own the Beat or Take a SEAT! (Rhythm/Ear Training Game)
By Jason Litt
In Own the Beat or Take a Seat the teacher will play a four to eight beat rhythm (as displayed on the powerpoint). After teaching them the rhythm, the entire class will perform the rhythm back in unison
Then, the teacher will ask the class to repeat the rhythm a certain amount of times (1 time, 2 times, 4 times, etc)
What do students have to do? OWN THAT BEAT...!
Students will perform the rhythm on rhythm sticks, drums, Orff instruments, their hands, their laps, however you do it!
Students will have to focus on performing that rhythm exactly how it is written
... and of course, focus on repeating the rhythm for the EXACT many times as stated ... or else...
TAKE A SEAT! If a student plays an extra beat or an extra part of the rhythm after the class has ended playing it, they have to take a seat (either on the floor, in the circle, on their chair, however you want to do it)
The class will then repeat the rhythm again the amount of times listed until it is played without an extra beat or part of the rhythm. The ones who took a seat are allowed to stand back up again and join the game already in progress
...Then you go to the next level!
Play the rhythm 5 times....
Play the rhythm 6 times...
_Play the rhythm 7 times....
_
(but of course if there's an extra beat... that student takes a seat, and you go back to performing where you left off to get that student back in!)
THEN ONTO THE NEXT LEVEL
Dependent on how fluent your class is, you can use this as part of a lesson, a good chunk of it, or even continue it onto the next weeks lesson to see how good they really are (and what level they can get to)
Play it with a ten minute time and keep score of which class can get the highest by the 3rd week or the 4th week?
Possibilities are endless!
Play it as is or some background music (I like to throw on some 80s, 90s, or clean pop just to get a groove going). Enjoy this game
Whack-a-Note (Whack-a-Mole game!)
By Jason Litt
Channel your inner Chuck E. Cheese with this new way of learning the lines and spaces of the treble clef staff!
In “Whack-a-Note”, students will see a note shown by the farmer on the treble clef staff (either a line or a space). Then a mole or two, or three or more, will pop up with several note names (letters A through G). Students will take their trusty mallet and WHACK that mole that is showing the letter that matches the note shown.
For the mallet choice, you can use a soft stick, a boomwhacker, or purchase one or two of these here.
After you show the note, advance the slide and the moles will pop up. As soon as the student hits the right answer, you advance the slide and the correct mole will disappear. The game is controlled solely by the teacher by operating the powerpoint slides
You can do this individually, team vs team, or even student vs teacher!
Have a blast with this!
Inspector Interval - Identifying Intervals (2nd-7ths)
By Jason Litt
End of the year review or just starting up with aural theory? Try on "Inspector Interval"!
In this fast paced game, students will do a brief review of how a musical interval is defined and jump right into the contest -- have an interval on the treble clef staff appear and TEAM A or TEAM B will have to name the interval as fast as they can!
There are no qualities of intervals (major 2nd, minor 6th, etc), just interval names by itself. There will always be a grounded "F", so the intervals will be built on top of that
We usually play this game 'around the world' style. We start off on the left side or right side of the the room and the first two people stand up and you flash an interval on the screen. The student who gets the note correct gets to move onto the next child in the class while the other student sits. That student has to make their way through the entire class before being deemed champion... but they could be beat at ANY TIME! You can mix it up, left side, right side, boys/girls, etc. Kids get ultra competitive!
... or use it as an individual activity!
Boom in a FLASH! (Boomwhackers against the clock!)
By Jason Litt
Want to engage your competitive 4th and 5th graders (and even some younger grades) towards the end of the year (or any time of year for that matter?) Try on this brand new game "Boom in a FLASH"
In "Boom in a FLASH", students will see one Boomwhacker color appear on the screen (PowerPoint presentation). The student who is holding that Boomwhacker must play the note (on the ground, hand, elbow, desk, whatever have you!), and then they automatically advance to the next slide...
... to another color!
Keep it going, keep reading because... they're being timed! They will have 30 seconds to amass as many notes as they can (timer included) before the time runs out and they look at their high score (which is kept below).
There are 4 "50" score levels in this presentation. All you do as a teacher is start the clock, start the presentation, and manually press the "next slide" button to advance each time they get it correct. Tally up the points at the end for the high score!
You can play this....
It sure gets these kids paying attention (because they're held accountable for playing their note when their color is up!).