Music Theory

Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation

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Music Theory
Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation
Online Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan
Online Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan

Summary

This lesson is about syncopation – students will learn the meaning of syncopation, determine the length of syncopated quarter and eighth notes, learn to clap syncopated motives and find syncopated notes in a song. For additional learning, students can take the chatbot class “Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation” as a homework.

 

⏰ Time: 40 min

🎓 Grades: 4-6

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

  • Identify syncopated rhythms
  • Clap syncopated rhythms
  • Make a connection between syncopated rhythms and genres of music

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

  • Basic signs and symbols on the staff
  • Knowledge of note values and notation
  • Different genres of music

💻 Materials:

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

 

Visual presentation

 

Song suggestions:

 

Start of your lesson

🕐 5 min - Set up the classroom

  • Log into Solfeg.io;
  • Load your chosen song;
  • Find the part of the song you want to play for your students

 

Inspiration

  • Tell students some facts about the songs - you can pick some facts from the song descriptions which are already provided for you
  • Ask students which songs on the radio they really enjoy

 

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min - Q & A

  • Open the class with a discussion on syncopation.
    • What is syncopation?
    • How do you know a rhythm is syncopated?
    • Where do you think you hear syncopated rhythms?
    • What does a syncopated rhythm look like?
    • Can you make a syncopated rhythm?
  • You can have an open discussion and/or record the answers on your board!

 

Practice

🕐 10 min - Exercise 1:

  • Set up your projector;
  • Listen to Bad Liar by Selena Gomez;
  • Get students to clap the beat while the song is playing and see if they can figure out which instrument is playing the syncopated rhythm.
  • Then, get students to switch and clap along to the syncopated rhythm. Once you feel like they are comfortable with clapping to the beat of the song and the rhythm, divide the room and get half the class to clap to the beat and half to clap along with the syncopated rhythm. Then get them to switch!

🕐 7 min - Exercise 2:

  • Choose another song;
  • Pair students up and have them try to figure out the syncopations in the song. Working with their partner, they should practice clapping or tapping to both the beat and to the syncopated rhythm. The teacher can play the songs on repeat, giving a couple minutes between each play so students can focus and discuss their ideas.
  • While the students are working, the teacher can circle the room to provide support and help where needed. When you feel like students are ready, get pairings to perform the beat and syncopation in front of the class.

🕐 7 min - Exercise 3

  • Choose another song;
  • Go through these same steps of clapping or tapping the syncopated rhythms;
  • Try to perform the Rhythm section of the whole song with Solfeg.io

 

Reflection

🕐 5 min - Q & A

  • Points of discussion
    • Did you play better when you clapped/tapped the rhythms?
    • What are the commonalities between all three of these songs?
    • What are some other songs you know that have syncopation?

 

Beyond the Lesson

  • Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
    • Doing a research activity where they find their own songs with syncopation in them.
    • Taking a song that is not syncopated and trying to perform it with syncopation.
    Capture.PNG
    • Doing the “Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation” class as a homework

 

This lesson plan was created by Gina, a middle school music teacher and creator behind @musicpluscoffee

Gina received her Bachelor's of Music Education in 2014 and currently teaches music at a K-5 school. She is passionate about making music resources that are cute and modern, while keeping the fun and love for music alive! She believes music is important, music is powerful and that music can bring people together. That is why she is so passionate about what she creates.

"It has been such a pleasure getting to know the Solfeg.io program and the people behind it who are also very passionate about music. I look forward to hearing and seeing how you use these lesson plans I created in your classroom so please reach out to me on instagram @musicpluscoffee."

Summary

This lesson is about syncopation - students will use the online class 'Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation' with robot chatbot guidance as a home assignment. This lesson is about syncopation – students will learn the meaning of syncopation, determine the length of syncopated quarter and eighth notes, learn to clap syncopated motives and find syncopated notes in a song.

 

⏰ Time: 40 min

🎓 Grades: 4-6

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

  • Identify syncopated rhythms
  • Clap syncopated rhythms
  • Make a connection between syncopated rhythms and genres of music

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

  • Basic signs and symbols on the staff
  • Knowledge of note values and notation
  • Different genres of music

💻 Materials:

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

!!! If this is the first online setup lesson for your class, we recommend starting with an onboarding lesson using this presentation explaining how solfeg.io works. Download it here. If the class is more than 10 students, this might take some 30 minutes to register and go through the app.

🤳 Video conference call provider:

  • Google Hangouts is recommended, as students only need a Google account and don’t need to install the program in advance. You can share a link however best works for you. Read how to set it up here.

 

Visual presentation

 

Song suggestions:

 

Start of your lesson

🕐 5 min - Announcement for Students

  • Instructions for your next lesson...
    • Open this Google video call link via phone: Insert your unique Google Hangouts invite link here
    • Access your Solfeg.io account via desktop: Insert your unique Solfeg.io invite link here
    • The online class will be 45 minutes. For optimal learning, find a room with little background noise.
    • We will be learning how to recognize and clap syncopated rhythms.

🕐 5 min - Setting Up an Online Classroom

  • Send your video conference call link to students. For best results:
    • Encourage them to make this call via mobile device for optimal sound management
    • Make sure everyone can hear and see you.
  • Students log into Solfeg.io on their desktop
  • Students mute their microphone to hear you clearly. They should unmute if they want to ask a question.
  • Teacher preloads one of the suggested songs for this lesson.

 

Inspiration:

  • Tell students some facts about the songs - you can pick some facts from the song descriptions which are already provided for you
  • Ask students which songs on the radio they really enjoy

 

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min - Q & A

  • Tell your students the fundamentals to know about syncopation:
    • What is syncopation?
    • How do you know a rhythm is syncopated?
    • Where do you think you hear syncopated rhythms?
    • What does a syncopated rhythm look like?
    • Can you make a syncopated rhythm?

 

Practice

  • Lead students to the Classes section in Solfeg.io;
Capture.PNG
  • Show them where the “Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation” class is located;
  • Tell them to take the class to learn more about recognizing and clapping syncopation (30 min)!

 

Reflection

Check if your students understood the material by testing their knowledge at the start of next lesson!

🕐 5 min - Exercise 1

  • Show a syncopated rhythm and select students to clap the rhythm.
  • Discuss their performances and possible improvements.

🕐 5 min - Exercise 2

  • Show students an unfinished syncopated rhythm with an eighth note in the middle and ask students to show how the full rhythm should look and what notes it should contain.
  • Follow up on your students’ answers.

 

Beyond the Lesson

  • Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
    • Doing a research activity where they find their own songs with syncopation in them.
    • Taking a song that is not syncopated and trying to perform it with syncopation.

 

Summary

This lesson is about syncopation – students will learn the meaning of syncopation, determine the length of syncopated quarter and eighth notes, learn to clap syncopated motives and find syncopated notes in a song. For additional learning, students can take the chatbot class “Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation” as a homework.

 

⏰ Time: 40 min

🎓 Grades: 4-6

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

  • Identify syncopated rhythms
  • Clap syncopated rhythms
  • Make a connection between syncopated rhythms and genres of music

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

  • Basic signs and symbols on the staff
  • Knowledge of note values and notation
  • Different genres of music

💻 Materials:

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

 

Visual presentation

 

Song suggestions:

 

Start of your lesson

🕐 5 min - Set up the classroom

  • Log into Solfeg.io;
  • Load your chosen song;
  • Find the part of the song you want to play for your students

 

Inspiration

  • Tell students some facts about the songs - you can pick some facts from the song descriptions which are already provided for you
  • Ask students which songs on the radio they really enjoy

 

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min - Q & A

  • Open the class with a discussion on syncopation.
    • What is syncopation?
    • How do you know a rhythm is syncopated?
    • Where do you think you hear syncopated rhythms?
    • What does a syncopated rhythm look like?
    • Can you make a syncopated rhythm?
  • You can have an open discussion and/or record the answers on your board!

 

Practice

🕐 10 min - Exercise 1:

  • Set up your projector;
  • Listen to Bad Liar by Selena Gomez;
  • Get students to clap the beat while the song is playing and see if they can figure out which instrument is playing the syncopated rhythm.
  • Then, get students to switch and clap along to the syncopated rhythm. Once you feel like they are comfortable with clapping to the beat of the song and the rhythm, divide the room and get half the class to clap to the beat and half to clap along with the syncopated rhythm. Then get them to switch!

🕐 7 min - Exercise 2:

  • Choose another song;
  • Pair students up and have them try to figure out the syncopations in the song. Working with their partner, they should practice clapping or tapping to both the beat and to the syncopated rhythm. The teacher can play the songs on repeat, giving a couple minutes between each play so students can focus and discuss their ideas.
  • While the students are working, the teacher can circle the room to provide support and help where needed. When you feel like students are ready, get pairings to perform the beat and syncopation in front of the class.

🕐 7 min - Exercise 3

  • Choose another song;
  • Go through these same steps of clapping or tapping the syncopated rhythms;
  • Try to perform the Rhythm section of the whole song with Solfeg.io

 

Reflection

🕐 5 min - Q & A

  • Points of discussion
    • Did you play better when you clapped/tapped the rhythms?
    • What are the commonalities between all three of these songs?
    • What are some other songs you know that have syncopation?

 

Beyond the Lesson

  • Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
    • Doing a research activity where they find their own songs with syncopation in them.
    • Taking a song that is not syncopated and trying to perform it with syncopation.
    Capture.PNG
    • Doing the “Intermediate Rhythms: Syncopation” class as a homework

 

This lesson plan was created by Gina, a middle school music teacher and creator behind @musicpluscoffee

Gina received her Bachelor's of Music Education in 2014 and currently teaches music at a K-5 school. She is passionate about making music resources that are cute and modern, while keeping the fun and love for music alive! She believes music is important, music is powerful and that music can bring people together. That is why she is so passionate about what she creates.

"It has been such a pleasure getting to know the Solfeg.io program and the people behind it who are also very passionate about music. I look forward to hearing and seeing how you use these lesson plans I created in your classroom so please reach out to me on instagram @musicpluscoffee."

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