Music Teacher's Helper Blog

I think it’s safe to say that most kids do not look forward to studying classical music. This year, as I was planning my unit on classical music for my Music Appreciation class, I decided get a little creative and hi tech with my teaching methods. I came up with a few methods of using technology to enhance the lessons. They are all project based. My students love getting creative with projects, they love music, and they love technology. It’s a match made in heaven, so here’s what I came up with.MY SPACE PAGES

Have each student create a My Space page about an individual composer. Each student has to include a photo, mp3s of the composer’s music, information in the BIO Section, etc. If MySpace is banned at your school, try Virb.com.

BLOGS

Another idea is to have each student write a blog about a composer. They should write a few entries, and some of the assignments should include a post reviewing one of the composer’s pieces, a post about the composer’s life, and a post about an intresting story about the composer’s life.

PODCASTS

This is my personal fave, and if you have the equipment, your kids will have a lot of fun with it. The easiest way to do this is with a current Mac laptop that has Garageband and a built in microphone. It’s easiest if the students do this in groups. Have each group choose a different composer. Each group should write a script that includes the composer’s childhood, career, and family life bios. And of course, the composer’s music should be played.

Hope this helps. I’ll be interested in hearing what some of you are doing to make classical music more exciting for your students.