“It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception.”
~ Albert Einstein’s response, when asked what sparked his theory of relativity.
Did you know?
High school music students score higher on SATs in both verbal and math than their peers. In 2001, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 41 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework/experience in the arts.
Source: Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College Board, compiled by Music Educators National Conference, 2001.
Ideas from Past Grants
Can You Feel the Rhythm? Trying to teach kids to hear the difference between a whole note and a half note? Need to reach a kinesthetic learner? How about teaching students about beat and rhythm by using basketballs and jump bands. At the Bates School, students used movement and everyday objects to get a better understanding of concepts that might be hard to reach with only their ears.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Watch, Listen and Learn: To give Instrumental Music students a sense of the dedication that goes into a career as a concert performer, one teacher purchased scores of music performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After studying these pieces and discussing the related topics of the historical backgrounds of the composers, key signature, meter, instrumentation, form, style, melody and harmony, students were able to attend an open rehearsal by the BSO and hear these scores brought to life.
Let’s Jam: When one teacher wanted to teach 8th graders about the rhythms of other cultures, he/she approached it from many angles. Students watched videos of the cultures that were studied (including Africa, Latin America, China and North America)Â and then listened to percussion-based music and explored its significance to each culture. After learning different rhythmic patterns, they came together in a daily drum circle to “jam” and created their own wonderful music.
Stomp, Boom, Blast: Inspired by the popular Off-Broadway show “Stomp”, this teacher decided to bring the idea of using everyday objects to make beautiful music into his classroom. By teaching students to use items like push brooms, pencils, rulers and waste baskets to create multi-layered musical compositions, this project was able to demonstrate that music is truly accessible to everyone.
Resources
For more projects in this category, go to kidsinneed.net
