| Musical Patterns
Do you know anyone who can't hum the opening bars of Beethoven's 5th
Symphony? Its memorable beginning notes form a pattern, or motif, that
is repeated in various ways throughout the movements. The Beatles knew
about musical patterns, and so did Frank Sinatra.
Music has always been a part of the human experience--from ancient man's
humming while he clubbed a mastadon--to inspiring reflections of man's
religious beliefs--to delightfully complex classical fugues--to commericial
jingles that play over and over in our minds.
Sample some of the following activities to learn more about musical patterns.
Places To Go | People To See | Things To Do | Teacher Resources | Bibliography
Places To Go
The following are places to go (some real and some virtual) to find out
about patterns in music.
Midi Karaoke
Surf on over to Karaoke Land and sing along to your favorite tunes.
The
New York Philharmonic Kid Zone
Visit this world-renowned
orchestra and make your own musical patterns. This site lets you explore
the ways a piece of music can sound when played by different instruments.
Country
Music Hall of Fame: The Roots of Country
Travel to the Country
Music Hall of Fame and discover the origins of country music. According
to this site, American country music patterns come from the folk traditions
of the British Isles . These musical traditions, once in America , intertwined
with other immigrant music as well as the music of African slaves to evolve
into American country music.
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
Glide on over to the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame and see what the big deal was about the musical patterns of Elvis’s
gyrating hips.
Africa
Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent
Listen to the amazing rhythms
and patterns of African music.
People To See
Fred
Astaire
Get to know Fred Astaire and discover his fascinating rhythms.
Buddy Holly
Meet Buddy Holly and learn about his contributions to the musical genre
rock and roll.
American
Treasures of the Library of Congress
God Bless America, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, and There's No Business
Like Show Business are a few of the songs written by Irving Berlin. Learn
more about the musical patterns of this prolific song writer.
Strings
in the Mountains
Experience the musical patterns created by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart through
this interactive website.
Bobby
McFerrin
An innovative vocalist, composer, and conductor, Bobby McFerrin is famous
for his rhythmic vocal explorations. His joyous ditty “Don’t
Worry, Be Happy” hit the #1 spot on pop charts in almost every country
in the world in the late 80s.
Ladysmith Black
Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a Zulu choir who sings a rhythmic a cappella
music known as mbaqanga, Isicathamlya or “township jive.”
It was born in the mines of South Africa, where black laborers, living
in camps far from home, developed a style of competitive singing and dancing
to pass the time. Ladysmith Black Mambazo has come to represent the traditional
culture of South Africa in the eyes of many music fans worldwide.
Yale
University: Oral History American Music
Meet dozens of American musicians and
experience their personal musical patterns. In this primary source collection,
you can hear video and audio recordings of musicians telling their stories
in their own voices. You can hear Aaron Copland explain how he named his
work, Appalachian
Spring.
PBS:
I Hear America Singing
Visit with the composers and
musicians who used their unique musical patterns to “define the American
song saga.”
Arts
Alive: Great Composers
Make the acquaintance
of musical pattern aficionados.
Library
of Congress: Omaha Indian Music
Get to know Omaha Native Americans
and listen to the patterns of their music.
Things To Do
World of Rhythm
Explore the pattern of rhythm.
Campfire
Songs
What is the pattern to the classic song, Do Your Ears Hang Low? Find the
lyrics to all your favorites from this website.
Essentials
of Music
Locate basic information about classical music patterns.
Polka Patterns
Check out this “tongue-in-cheek” song that recognizes that
patterns are indeed everywhere.
San
Francisco Symphony Kids Fun With Music
Explore the language
of music. The patterns in musical language organize sounds so that instead
of noise, you get music.
Duke
University: Historic American Sheet Music
Browse through musical patterns
of over 3000 pieces of sheet music published in the United States between
1850 and 1920.
FunBrain:
The Piano Player
Test your ability to work with
musical patterns. Play this musical game and see how well you do.
Historic
American Sheet Music
Study music patterns by accessing
digital images of 3042 pieces of 19th and early 20th century American sheet
music.
Yodel Course
Discover the musical patterns in yodeling. If
you learn to yodel from this website, they will send you an official
Certificate of Yodelology. However, this site does contain a disclaimer
from the creator of the yodeling course in which he claims, “I
take no responsibility for the consequences of yodeling in social situations.” If
you become an accomplished yodeler, this informative website can direct
you to yodeling hot spots where your newfound skills will be appreciated.
Scholastic:
History of Jazz
Jazz
has its own unique blend of musical patterns. Learn about the swing rhythms
of this American musical genre.
Lincoln
Center: The Blues
Discover
the rhythmic patterns of the blues.
8 Notes
Learn about musical patterns by downloading free
sheet music from several musical genres.
Teacher Resources
Online activities are a listing of internet
sites with fun, interesting, and educational tasks attached to each one.
(You can learn how to use this WWW
Activities tool created by UEN for Utah educators).
Virtual Field Trips are teacher and student-created
tours of curricular topics. (You can learn how to use this UEN Virtual
Field Trip tool created by UEN for Utah educators).
Lesson Plans/Webquests
Bibliography
- The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Music. New York : Kingfisher,
1996.
- Ardley, Neil. Music : An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, N.Y.
: Facts on File, 1986.
- Dixon, Malcolm. Sound and Music. Mankato, Minn. : Smart Apple Media,
1999.
- Hart, Avery. Kids Make Music! : Clapping and Tapping from Bach to
Rock. Charlotte, Vt. : Williamson Pub., 1993.
- Love, Presley. Rock Lyrics Trivia : Quiz Book. Honolulu : Hi-Lite
Pub. Co., c1992.
- Pogue, David. Classical Music for Dummies. Foster City, CA : IDG Books,
c1997.
- Rowe, Julian. Music. Crystal Lake, IL : Rigby Interactive Library,
c1997.
- Schleifer, Martha Furman. Women Composers : Music Through the Ages.
New York : G.K. Hall, c1996.
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