It is December 1st and for some of us, this means concert season. For some of us, it means that we completed a concert in November and might feel relaxed. For others, it means that we are looking ahead to a concert season that occurs in January. However, whatever it means, for many of us it marks a time of excitement, joy, music-making, but also stress.

During the month of December, I vow to post, or at least tweet a reference to a previous post, something each day that will hopefully inspire or give you an idea or tip to use in your classroom. There is nothing better for me at this time of year than collaborating, reading posts, or just finding resources from other elementary music educators who teach every day and work diligently at trying to inspire their music students.

Rhythm Play-Alongs

I love using rhythm play-along videos in the following ways:

• To practice a rhythm that was introduced as a part of the prepare, present, and practice sequence in the Kodály approach.
• To review rhythm patterns as a part of the retrieval process when teaching students musical concepts. As opposed to teaching it once and then testing on it, bring the concept back throughout the year for retrieval practice so the students will learn and recall it better.
• To use in a class that occurs right before a break.

Pequeño Mozart‘s YouTube Channel

Pequeño has been creating rhythm play-along videos for years. They are free and can be found on the YouTube channel. There are many that include various famous pieces and musical styles. They also cover numerous rhythm patterns. The one featured in this lesson is Jingle Bells.

Jingle Bells

In this video, the focus is on the quarter, half, and whole notes, as well as the whole rest. When I use a video in class, I create a manipulative to review the rhythm patterns found in the song. This assists in practicing the patterns before the students have to perform them. I can also ask a student to solo the pattern to assess their reading and performing of the pattern.

This manipulative is in the format of Google Slides. By clicking on this link (also seen below), you are given a copy of the manipulative that you can choose to edit to your liking. If you want the original, just click the link again and you will create another copy from the original.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UxutvDQB3lnHWSN9BO4JetwaJsPXkeRVcLDxWLqHkus/copy

Enjoy! Let’s make this time of year with concerts and busyness, a great one!