Artists and Their Music

Summary

In this lesson, students will actively explore the music of three different artists, singing and/or playing along their songs. To find out some more biographical information, they will do a group research on one musician and present their findings to the class. The students will then engage in a discussion about how the knowledge of artists' biography changes the perception of their music.

_{The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons. If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.}

⏰ Time: 45 min

🎓 Grades: 5-12

🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson students will know and/or be able to...

• Independently research the biographies of musicians;
• Prepare a presentation on an artist and their music;
• Describe the musical style of an artist;
• Understand different musical genres.

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

• Basic notation & singing;
• Basic rhythm.

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI

Song suggestions:

Inspiration

🕐 5 min - Three favorites

• Ask your students:

What are your favorite singers and bands?

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• Invite each student to choose one artist they like from the Solfeg.io Song library and write it down.
• Count their votes and decide on the class' three favorite artists.

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min - Listen

• Choose one of the three artists, select a song from this artist from the Solfeg.io Song Library;
• Listen to the chorus of the song with the class;
• Then, play the chorus again and ask your students to sing along!
• Repeat these steps for other two artists and their songs too: listen and sing along!

Practice

🕐 15 min - Exercise 1 - Let's Find Something!

• Split the class into three groups. Each group chooses one from the three previously selected musicians.
• Ask students to find information about the artist and their music. They can use these websites:

General information about artists and their lives: https://biography.com

To learn about music genres, check out https://musicmap.info/

• Students should try to find some interesting information they didn't know about the artist, as well as learn more about their music. Inform students that they will have to present their findings and include this information in their presentation:

3 fun facts from the artist's biography;

A short description of their music and their musical style/genre;

2 photos of the artist, taken in different times.

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🕐 10 min - Exercise 2 - Presentation

• Each group shortly presents to the class what they learned about their artist.
• After each presentation, have a short Question & Answer session with the students from the other groups.
• Ask the students:

What more would you like to find out about the musician?

Reflection

🕐 5 min - Discussion

• What's the most surprising thing you learned about the musicians and their music?
• Has any of the information you heard made you change your mind about the musicians, for example,

Do you like any of the musicians more (or less) than you did before the lesson?

Would you like to check out their music more?

Beyond the Lesson

Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by…

• Exploring the music and the biographies of other artists represented in the Solfeg.io Song library.