Lesson of the Month: Defining Music Tuning up our Ears
Written by Louise Pascale
Sound is around us all the
time; for some of us the sounds are musical, others might perceive them
as noise. This unit was created as a vehicle for students to gain an
awareness of those sounds and learn ways to create new sounds together.
This unit is not about creating professional voices or professional
musicians; it is about using music to create a sense of belonging, to
assist in learning any subject and to provide every student with the
vehicle for creative expression.
As we incorporate the theories
on learning styles and multiple intelligence into our classrooms, it
is apparent that music must be included as an integral part of every
student's experience in school. This unit was designed, not to teach
music as a separate subject, but as tool for teaching other subjects.
The unit focuses on sound, silence and the exploration of sound in the
environment. This is the most basic definition of music. By centering
the unit on these basic issues, the lessons are more inclusive of a
wide range of ages and abilities of students.
Objective:
To define music in general terms and begin an investigation of environmental
sounds.
Topic Question:
What is music? Does everyone like the same kinds of music? Is the sound
of a clanging trash can music? Is a singing bird music? Is the sound
of water flowing music?
Exploration:
Ask everyone to think of something that defines music. (Go around the
room and let students make suggestions). Write comments down on the
board. Look at all the ideas and see what they have in common. What
is the most common denominator. (See if you can get a basic definition:
music = sound and silence.)
Focus:
"I'd like everyone to close their eyes and listen to the sounds
in the room. What do you hear? What is a pleasant sound? Do you hear
sounds you don't like? Do you hear sounds going on outside this room?"
Ask the students to open
their eyes. (If the children are capable of writing, have them write
their comments down. Otherwise, have them discuss it orally.)
Take the students on a quiet
walk around the school. Have them make note of all the sounds they hear.
Split the class into small groups or go all together as a class. You
could make a diagram of the school and have students go to a particular
spot.
When you return from you
'sound walk' sit down and compare notes. What sounds did you notice?
Which sounds did you miss? Categorize the sounds: mechanical, nature,
human produced, loud, soft, annoying, pleasant, etc.
Have the students begin 'sound
diaries'. Ask them to notice the sounds at home and in school. Write
down things they hear. A good starting point is: What was the loudest
sound you heard today? What is the softest sound you heard? What is
the most pleasant sound you heard today? What is a memorable sound you
have heard sometime in your life?
Talk to family members and
ask them if they remember sounds that are no longer heard - extinct
sounds. What are possibly endangered sounds?
Materials:
paper, pencil
Vocabulary:
sound, silence, music, endangered, extinct
Curriculum Connections/Linkages:
Listening skills, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills, discrimination
of sounds, discrimination, decision making, problem solving,
Language skills: Students engage in writing when they keep their sound
diaries. They can develop questions for interviews with family members.
Create poetry related to sounds.
Science: Link the study of sound to methods of research. What process
does one use when collecting research? How does something become extinct?
How does this apply to other scientific areas?
Math: Math skills are incorporated when creating the school diagram
for the sound walk. Graph the results of the sounds.
Adaptations:
If you are unable to take your class out of the room, you could isolate
sounds for the group.
If children are unable to write, you could record their ideas or chart
them as a class.
