Since 1998, Google has periodically decorated the company logo to celebrate notable events, anniversaries and historical figures and over the years more than 2000 Google Doodles have been created.
Early Google Doodles were simple illustrations, but over the years have become more complex, more frequent and best of all – more interactive. In 2010, the first interactive Google Doodle was created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man and features a “playable” online version of the game.
My favourite Google Doodles though are the music-related ones – especially those that allow you and your students to learn more about an artist or event and also to create your own music. Here are 9 excellent Google Doodles that you can use in your music classes.
1. 44th Anniversary of the Birth of Hip Hop
This Google Doodle celebrates the 44th anniversary of the birth of hip hop and features an eye-catching custom logo designed by graffiti artist Cey Adams. The doodle takes you through a guided history of hip hop as an art form, narrated by Fab 5 Freddy (former host of “Yo! MTV Raps”) – with an emphasis on the social and cultural influences.
Students can explore DJ techniques using the on-screen turntables. A tutorial walks them through how to work the turntables to create a mix using a crateful of classic hip hop tracks. There are 10 goals students can work through.
2. Celebrating Ludwig van Beethoven’s 245th Year
This highly interactive Google Doodle is actually a puzzle. It celebrates the 245th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. It was designed by Leon Hong, artist Nate Swinehart, and engineers Jonathan Shneier and Jordan Thompson.
Students can combine their musical ear and sight reading skills to put the pieces of some of Beethoven’s best known works back together. These include his Fifth Symphony, Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata, and Ode to Joy.
3. John Lennon’s 70th Birthday
John Lennon is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, and this Google Doodle honors his memory, in celebration of what would have been his 70th birthday, with their first ever animated video doodle, set to his song “Imagine.”
4. Claude Debussy’s 151st Birthday
This Google Doodle celebrates the anniversary of Claude Debussy’s 151st birthday. It features an animated night scene on a river outside of a city, set to the tune of “Clair de Lune.” The lights in the city twinkle in time with the music.
Students can learn how the different elements of this Google Doodle came together in the Doodle description.
5. Clara Rockmore’s 105th Birthday
This Google Doodle celebrates the 105th birthday of Clara Rockmore, a former violinist, who, due to an injury, gravitated to an instrument more easily played..the theremin. She was instrumental in the development of this unusual instrument, suggesting it have five octaves instead of three. Clara Rockmore became a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic in the 1930’s.
With this Google Doodle, students can go through a series of three lessons in order to get comfortable using the online version of the theremin. Once they complete their lessons, they are free to experiment with creating their own melodies.
6. Bartolomeo Cristofori’s 360th Birthday
This Google Doodle celebrates the 360th birthday of Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the pianoforte, now commonly known as the piano.
Students can see an inside view of the piano in action, and they can control how soft or loud the piano is played. This demonstrates the correlation between how hard or soft the piano key is pressed and how loud or soft the volume becomes. This is a great visual representation of how sound works.
7. Freddie Mercury’s 65th Birthday
Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest vocalists in modern history and the lead singer of the band “Queen.” This Google Doodle celebrates what would have been his 65th birthday, and features the Queen song “Don’t Stop Me Now.” The animation features different artistic styles, including some early 1980’s video-game type of graphics.
Below the Google Doodle, students can read more about Freddie Mercury, as described by Brian May, guitarist for the band Queen, about what made Freddie so great as a performer, and as a person.
This Google Doodle celebrates the 96th birthday of Les Paul, inventor, and pioneer of the solid-body electric guitar.
Students can play and record musical patterns and melodies and get a hyperlink afterward which they can share with family and friends.
9. Robert Moog’s 78th Birthday
This interactive Google Doodle celebrates the 78th birthday of Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesiser. This synthesiser brought modern music to new heights in the late 1960s and was featured on albums from The Doors, The Byrds, and The Monkees, just to name a few.
Students can create sounds and melodies using their mouse or computer keyboard to control the synthesiser seen on the screen. They can also record their creations with the 4 track recorder, which is next to the synthesizer, and get a hyperlink to share with family and friends.
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14 Comments
For some reason it’s not actually coming to my email box. I’ve checked spam etc (even though your emails don’t usually go there) but it hasn’t arrived. Can you send again?
Thanks,
Sharon
Hi Sharon – I’ve just sent a copy directly to your email. Hopefully it works ok this time!
ohmygod i just learned that freddie and i have the same birthday.
Does anyone know how to get them to be full screen versions of the Doodle?
For example Katie shared this version of the Hip Hop
https://www.google.com/doodles/44th-anniversary-of-the-birth-of-hip-hop
but I somehow managed to get this version
https://www.google.com/logos/2017/hiphop/hiphop17.html
i want to be able to listen to the music of google doodle games but not play them, the 2020 earth day google doodle game has nice peaceful music and i would like to listen to it but when i play it and go to a different tab, the music turns off and turns back on when i go to the tab with the game on it.
I’m not sure there’s a way to solve that unfortunately
And i can’t find a video with the music on it either.
Katie,
First, thank you from a full heart for being such a tremendously helpful resource during this incredibly challenging time. Your site and free webinars have been a beacon of light for those of us sailing through uncharted waters.
Secondly, is there a way to remove or block the open google access to the internet so these can be shared with students in the 2nd-5th grade range? There are links to FB, twitter, etc…
Thanks for your help with this question if you have the time,
Charmaine Hamann, Washington, DC
Thank you for the lovely comments Charmaine. I don’t think there is a way to do that unfortunately. You could ask your school IT person about it – I suspect that the social media site links would be blocked on your school network anyway (you and your students may be teaching/learning from home right now however!)
Are the Les Paul and Dr. Moog doodle still producing sound and still actively interactive? I would love to share these amazing resources with students, especially during this time of remote learning.
They were working last time I looked at them, but I just checked and I’m not hearing any sound from either of them 🙁
They work if you reload the website link.
this sight is awesome.I love it so much.
you can check out Selena Quintanilla or BB King for active doodles to replace the two that aren’t working