3rd grade composed Phone Ringtones using Chrome Music Lab. They submitted them to me via Seesaw and then we picked a few class favorites, posted them to this padlet, and I Tweeted it to some of the major phone companies (iPhone, Motorola, Samsung, etc.) None of them responded, but the kids were stoked about it.

I usually start major/minor in the last week of October because it’s the perfect time to learn about “spooky” music.  I use “Pumpkin Bones” by Quaver, then show them Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the piano keyboard, then I show them how I can make it sound spooky or sad by changing two notes, playing it in minor.  Then I change the rhythm to match Pumpkin Bones. Pumpkin Bones sounds just like Twinkle Twinkle in minor!  Then, I play Pumpkin Bones in major and show how it sounds too happy.

 

Next, I play some YouTube videos to further demonstrate Major/Minor.  I show Chase Holfelder’s video of him singing the Star Spangled Banner in minor.  Then I show some “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” videos – the original, one by Iz, one by Me First And The Gimmee Gimmees. We talk about how they are all in major, they all sound happy, some sound peaceful or daydreamy, some sound happy and energetic, but they all sounded happy (I don’t play the full videos because the songs are quite long).  Then, I play Chase Holfelder’s version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, sung in minor key, and we talk about how it sounds lonely, angry, and whiney – all possible just because he switched the notes to the minor key.

(If you haven’t come across Chase Holfelder’s videos yet, you should watch more of them; they’re really good.)

 

Next, we continue with the activities in the Quaver Curriculum, 4^th grade Lesson 8, Major & Minor. We go through the lesson more or less as written, until we get to pg. 8.

On pg. 8 of that lesson, the kids are supposed to create their own major/minor melody on the screen and then listen to how it sounds.  Instead, I pass out color-coded pitched instruments (I have color-coded glockenspiels, but any pitched instrument would work – I prefer color-coded), and I show the kids that they can improvise on the notes in the chord, playing along with the backing track.  For example, when I say “E minor” they play any pattern they want on yellow, red, and white notes only (EGB).  When I say “C major,” they play any pattern they want on blue, yellow and red (CEG).  I also tell them if they get lost or are unsure of what to play, they can just play yellow and red only(E & G), since those notes are in both chords.  I also hold up the colors they can play, so they have a visual cue, and I switch when the chord changes.

 

All this spans about two class periods.  So far, the kids are loving this lesson.