Music Theory

Simple rhythms in songs

Home
Music Theory
Simple rhythms in songs
Online Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan

Time: 45 min
Grades: 4-12
Goal: Playing and understanding simple rhythms; Understanding different musical elements and building blocks; Writing the notes and labeling note lengths of the rhythms;
Cross-curricular element: music genres; playing by ear; song arrangement structure;
Prior Knowledge: Rhythm pyramid
Teaching aids: Solfeg.io app, loudspeakers, computer, internet access, projector, whiteboard, staff paper, pen, percussion instruments
Song suggestions:

 

🕐 5 min Inspire

  • Choose a song from ‘Song suggestions’ list. For example, ‘One Touch‘ by Jess Glynne. 
  • Ask students to take percussion instruments (you can also use clapping and beat-boxing)
  • Turn off the projector/screen (or ask students to close their eyes).
  • Click ‘Play’ and turn on the song.
  • Use the song's backing track and clap/play the rhythm motifs of the song. Ask your students to play and copy you by ear.


🕐 10 min Warm-up

  • Turn the projector/screen back on.
  • Choose one of the rhythm tracks that are suitable for your students, for example, ‘Kick’ track (located on the bottom);
  • Open ‘Sound Controls’ and press the ‘solo’ function to the track which you chose to learn
  • Ask the class to take their staff paper.
  • Click ‘Play’ for the rhythm track and ask students to follow the screen and write down:
  • All the note lengths and rests they can see in this track;
  • Most common/repeating rhythm patterns in this track;
  • Repeat the record of the track, if needed.
  • Ask students to name the elements they found and write them on a whiteboard.

🕐 25 min Practice

  • Open ‘Sound Controls’ and ‘mute’ all rhythm tracks.
  • Click the ‘Play’ button and play/clap each element that is written on the whiteboard 4-8 times together with the class (use the song as a backing track).
  • ‘Unmute’ all rhythm tracks for full band sound.
  • Choose a part of the song, for example, ‘Verse 1’,
  • Arrange the speed of the record with the ‘slow down’ function if needed.
  • Click ‘Play’ and perform the chosen rhythm track part together with the class.
  • Let your students play the rhythm on their own with the record;
  • If the class is ready, you can learn the next part, for example, ‘Chorus 1’, etc.

🕐 5 min Reflection

  • ‘Mute’ the rhythm track that your class has learned;
  • Click ‘Play’ and let your class play the rhythm from beginning to the end with the backing track.  (You can skip complicated bars or song parts and focus on keeping the tempo).
  • Give positive feedback to each other and pointers to improve.
  • When you learn another rhythm track, try playing it together with another rhythm track.

Homeworks:

  • Try to play the rhythm you just learned and sing the lead vocals of the song at the same time.
  • Practice playing the other rhythm tracks of the same song learned in the class;
  • Pick another song from the ‘Suggested songs’ list and play one of the rhythm tracks.

‍

Summary

This lesson is about the basics of the rhythm - students will use the online class “Simple rhythms in songs” with robot chatbot guidance as home assignment. Students will learn to clap the quarter notes, eight notes, half notes, whole notes and rests in the chosen song. Practical tasks are based on clapping and will not need to use rhythm instruments (if students have drums or some percussion, they can start with clapping and then transit to a rhythm instrument). Lesson consists of setting up the online class, inspiring part, home assignment with explanation what will happen in the chatbot class and knowledge test (that also can be in the beginning of the next lesson).

 

⏰ Time: 45 min

🎓 Grades: 5-12

🎯 Goals:

  • Clapping and understanding simple rhythms;
  • Beats and upbeats;
  • Understanding different musical elements and building blocks;
  • Rhythm patterns and subdivisions

🎼 Cross-curricular element: Instrument groups, Music genres, drumming

💡 Prior Knowledge: Rhythm values

💻 Teaching aids:

  • Solfeg.io app best used with Chrome browser 
  • Computer and access to WIFI
  • (optional) Percussion instruments

!!! 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:

  • We recommend Google Hangouts, you can read how to set it up and download it here.

📣 Class announcement template: download here

 

Visual presentation

 

Song suggestions:


A cover of
Riptide
VANCE JOY
A cover of
With Or Without You
U2
A cover of
Timebomb
WALK THE MOON

 

Start of your lesson

🕐 10 min - Setting up an online classroom

  • Send a video conference call link to the students and encourage them to make this call via mobile device for optimal sound management. Make sure that everyone can hear and see you;
  • Ask students to log into Solfeg.io on their desktop devices for the optimal experience. 
  • After it’s done, ask students to mute their microphone on devices to hear you clearly. If they want to ask something, they should unmute.

 

Inspiration

🕐 5 min - Starting class with inspiration

Teacher (student microphones are on mute)

  • Choose a song from the ‘Song suggestions’ list. For example, ‘Timebomb‘ by Walk The Moon.  Tell your students about the song! You can pick some facts from the song description.
  • Share the screen, click ‘Play’ and ask students to pay attention to the sound of rhythm instruments.

Students unmute microphones, while answer

  • Discuss the song, for example,
    What rhythm instruments do they hear in the song? What other instruments are there? Etc..
  • Select one student for each question to answer
rsz_canva_-_woman_using_a_tablet.jpg

 

Home assignement

🕐 10 min - Tell about the simple rhythm

  • Show the rhythm pyramid and explain students what are the functions of rhythm and basic elements of it (Rhythm is everything pertaining to the temporal quality (duration) of the musical sound. /Harvard Dictionary Of Music/)
  • Discuss about how the rhythm values are equal to each other;
  • Share the screen, show the images, count the beats and clap the example (according to the song - in  ¾ or 4/4)

image3.jpg

image4.jpg

🕐 15 min - How to give home assignment

  • Show the ‘Classes’ section and find the class ‘Simple rhythms in songs’
Capture.PNG
  • Tell students that chatbot will ask them questions and they should click on the answers, watch the videos and repeat exercises that robot Sol gives.
  • Share the screen and show how the chatbot class works;

 

Knowledge test

(would be done at the beginning of the next class)

🕐 10 min - Test your students knowledge

  • Select any of the students and ask to unmute their microphone when performing.
  • Ask to play the song they chose in chatbot class ‘Simple rhythms in songs’ and clap the rhythm exercises they’ve learned.
  • Select students one by one for each performance.
  • Discuss, how did they do?

Time: 45 min
Grades: 4-12
Goal: Playing and understanding simple rhythms; Understanding different musical elements and building blocks; Writing the notes and labeling note lengths of the rhythms;
Cross-curricular element: music genres; playing by ear; song arrangement structure;
Prior Knowledge: Rhythm pyramid
Teaching aids: Solfeg.io app, loudspeakers, computer, internet access, projector, whiteboard, staff paper, pen, percussion instruments
Song suggestions:

 

🕐 5 min Inspire

  • Choose a song from ‘Song suggestions’ list. For example, ‘One Touch‘ by Jess Glynne. 
  • Ask students to take percussion instruments (you can also use clapping and beat-boxing)
  • Turn off the projector/screen (or ask students to close their eyes).
  • Click ‘Play’ and turn on the song.
  • Use the song's backing track and clap/play the rhythm motifs of the song. Ask your students to play and copy you by ear.


🕐 10 min Warm-up

  • Turn the projector/screen back on.
  • Choose one of the rhythm tracks that are suitable for your students, for example, ‘Kick’ track (located on the bottom);
  • Open ‘Sound Controls’ and press the ‘solo’ function to the track which you chose to learn
  • Ask the class to take their staff paper.
  • Click ‘Play’ for the rhythm track and ask students to follow the screen and write down:
  • All the note lengths and rests they can see in this track;
  • Most common/repeating rhythm patterns in this track;
  • Repeat the record of the track, if needed.
  • Ask students to name the elements they found and write them on a whiteboard.

🕐 25 min Practice

  • Open ‘Sound Controls’ and ‘mute’ all rhythm tracks.
  • Click the ‘Play’ button and play/clap each element that is written on the whiteboard 4-8 times together with the class (use the song as a backing track).
  • ‘Unmute’ all rhythm tracks for full band sound.
  • Choose a part of the song, for example, ‘Verse 1’,
  • Arrange the speed of the record with the ‘slow down’ function if needed.
  • Click ‘Play’ and perform the chosen rhythm track part together with the class.
  • Let your students play the rhythm on their own with the record;
  • If the class is ready, you can learn the next part, for example, ‘Chorus 1’, etc.

🕐 5 min Reflection

  • ‘Mute’ the rhythm track that your class has learned;
  • Click ‘Play’ and let your class play the rhythm from beginning to the end with the backing track.  (You can skip complicated bars or song parts and focus on keeping the tempo).
  • Give positive feedback to each other and pointers to improve.
  • When you learn another rhythm track, try playing it together with another rhythm track.

Homeworks:

  • Try to play the rhythm you just learned and sing the lead vocals of the song at the same time.
  • Practice playing the other rhythm tracks of the same song learned in the class;
  • Pick another song from the ‘Suggested songs’ list and play one of the rhythm tracks.

‍

You might be interested

© 2017 - Solfeg.io
TM