About This Lesson
Teach students how to deepen their appreciation of music with these flexible music appreciation exercises!
These classroom-ready handouts can work with songs of your choice or songs the students choose. The exercises are a great way to get students into a quiet, listening, reflective mode. They can work for classes in music, or as a flexible classroom bell ringer / warm-up (or cool down) in other subjects. These exercises are designed for grades 6-12.
- In the Music Listening Exercise, students listen and watch a musical performance. It invites students to describe elements of the performance and the song itself. Students can fill out their answers on the one-page printable worksheet. These questions can also be used for class discussion.
- In the Song Analysis Exercise, students listen to and then analyze and interpret a song. This one-page printable worksheet features a graphic organizer where students can analyze the content, context and significance of the song they have chosen, and also share their subject reactions to the song. This exercise works well as a homework assignment. Students' responses be used as prewriting for an essay of one or two pages. It can also be the basis for class presentations.
About the Series
These exercises were created as part of our collection of teaching resources for My Music with Rhiannon Giddens. This award-winning PBS series features musical performances and conversations with multicultural musicians in the Silk Road Ensemble’s American Railroad project. The project presents a musical exploration of the cultures that were first connected by the building of America's Transcontinental Railroad. Learn more about teaching about music, the diverse cultural fabric of America, and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad with My Music with Rhiannon Giddens.
