Music tech activities for music advocacy
March is Music In Our Schools Month in the USA and I wanted to share a few ideas for activities that incorporate technology that you could use to shine a spotlight on what you do. Some are quick and some are more involved and even if you’re not in the USA, they are useful music advocacy activities.
Please let me know if you try any of them – I’d love to see some pictures or a video!
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1. Create a “Music Makes Me” rap project
Adapt my Rap My name lesson plan (download a copy here) to create a “Music Makes Me” rap. You can use the same process, but adjust the structure of the rap to something like the following:
Line 1: I like music and it makes me…..(student fills in the gap with a word of their choice)
Line 2 & 3:………… (student choice – elaborate on the first line – needs to fill one measure of time)
Line 4: I like that. Oh yeah I like that
2. Compose a “Music Inspires Me To….” song
Write a sentence or poem titled “Music Inspires Me To…”, then compose a melody to go with it. Students can use the Chrome Music Lab Melody Maker tool (an online step sequencer) to help create the melody. Once they’ve finished, they can record their song in GarageBand, Soundtrap, Mixcraft, Logic, Soundation or other similar software.
3. Make a “Famous Music Quotes” video
Students could each make a short video of themselves reading a well-known music quote (I have a collection here that you can use) and perhaps talk about why that quote resonates with them. You could then edit all the videos from each class together into a compilation video and add some uplifting background music.
4. Create a “Morning Announcements Theme Song”
Students could compose a theme song for your morning announcements and record it in your software of choice. This would make a good group project and different classes could be assigned to specific weeks of the month.
5. Record a radio show: The Music Report
Have different classes or music ensembles each create a short episode of The Music Report – a student radio show about what’s going on in music in your school. They could share performance successes, compositions, rehearsal progress, talk about how school instruments and equipment are making a difference and so on. You could broadcast the radio show episodes in the mornings, or even submit the show to iTunes as a podcast (which makes it easy for parents to access and will show off your school activities publicly).
6. Make “Artwork That Sings”
Students can create posters with an inspirational music theme and add a QR code to the poster that – when scanned – takes the viewer to an audio recording or video recording of the student singing or performing. This would be a good way to “display” the recordings that students have created in projects 1, 2, 3 or 5 above.
7. Make “Badges/buttons That Sing”
Similar to the above, students can record a quote about music, a saying or a short song and then upload it somewhere (Dropbox, Google Drive or Soundcloud are all good options). They can then create a QR code put the QR codes on badges/buttons and give them to staff, students and parents to wear. Viewers can scan the code to hear the student recording.
8. Make a “Music In Your Life” interactive poster
Create Thinglink poster with images of places you hear music
link videos, audio clips and articles
9. Celebrate “This Day In Music History”
For each day of Music In Our Schools month, students can research what happened on this day in music history. There are a couple of useful websites that can help:
Students could then share their findings by creating a one-page presentation in Powerpoint or Keynote or Google Slides that includes images, text, links and video.
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4 Comments
[…] I do only have about 2,500 vinyls. There is a possibility there. I’ll look through the albums and pull together a list of those I have re-bought or am in the process of re-buying on CD. I have little time, and there are just too many to sort through. So, I’ll keep pulling stuff out blindly, and if it’s too obvious (Sgt. O.K., no rules then. If you can possibly get your hands on any of these, I guarantee you evenings of listening pleasure, and you will encourage a new high-minded circle of friends, although one or two choices will lead some of your old pals to think you completely barmy. Music In Our Schools Month – 9 Music Tech Activities for Music Advocacy | Midnight Music. […]
Thank you, Katie, for these creative ways to combine music advocacy with music technology!
You’re welcome Janelle! Let me know if you try any of them.
Music can play such an important role for the development of early childhood.