Music cards

Jazz

A highly improvisational genre that blends the features of several other genres, including the blues and folk, to create an all new and distinctly American form of art. Jazz grew out of the African American communities in New Orleans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Almost all instruments can be used to perform jazz, but most jazz combos will feature at a minimum a keyboard, a drummer, and a bass player. Brass instruments and woodwind instruments are also featured prominently in jazz.

Jingles

Advertising jingles are ubiquitous, and students will likely be able to bring in examples to share with the class. Because jingles are incredibly catchy, students enjoy singing and creating them. Consider having students adapt popular jingles by changing the lyrics or asking them to create a jingle for a particular product or content area.

Bluegrass

Developed in Appalachia when settlers from the United Kingdom and Ireland began writing songs about their day-to-day life in their new home. Also called "mountain music," bluegrass is typically played on acoustic stringed instruments including the fiddle, the banjo, the guitar, the mandolin, and the string bass.

Teaching Genres of Music

Elementary school students benefit from learning about many different genres of music. A genre refers to a category of musical styles that share similar attributes and traditions. Below, you'll find information about key genres.

Game Song

Game songs are always a hit with students. Clapping songs, such as "Patty Cake," help emphasize rhythm and motor skills. Various "naming" songs such as "Who Took the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?" work well for class introductions, and songs like "Let Us Chase the Squirrel" are easily paired with choreographed/coordinated movements.

Vocal Parts

Operas and choral music use the following classifications to describe voice types and vocal ranges. Each category can be further broken down into subcategories based on vocal ranges, colors, or timbres. These categories include: Soprano: the highest vocal range for women. Mezzo-soprano: the middle vocal range for women. Contralto: the lowest vocal range for women. Tenor: the highest vocal range for men. Baritone: the middle vocal range for men. Bass: the lowest vocal range for men.

Rote Learning

Rote learning, in which students learn songs by ear, is an excellent strategy for teaching simple songs to students who cannot yet read music. The following steps will allow you to teach songs by rote: Introduce the song by telling students about its cultural context, genre, etc. Perform the song energetically to the students. Lead learners through the song, having them repeat each phrase after you. If the song is in a language that is unfamiliar to students, you may want to speak the words before you sing them. Master one part of the song before moving on to new material, taking care to address mistakes as they happen. Practice the song multiple times.

The teacher should strive to use diverse music in lessons frequently.

Teachers should regularly sing or play music from diverse cultures and time periods and have students identify differences and similarities in musical elements. Teachers can use these opportunities to describe the influence of various cultures and historical events on musical forms and styles of the past and popular music today.

US Culture in Music

The United States is culturally and ethnically diverse. Both native peoples and those who immigrated have greatly impacted all aspects of American life. This is clearly reflected in the musical heritage of the United States. European and African influences, in particular, have mixed to create genres heard today.

Singing and Playing Instruments

There are many methods used for teaching students to sing or play instruments expressively. In the elementary classroom it is not necessary to first teach music theory and follow a traditional exercise of learning to read music before singing or playing. The Kodaly Concept is one example of how teachers can allow students to experience music first hand while they are learning how to sing.

Effective dance instructors identify and showcase folk and traditional dances.

When possible, explain who took part in these particular styles of dance and if and when they had a certain social or cultural purpose. Bring in other aspects of fine arts by exploring historical music and theatrical movement and dance. For example, the impacts of history should be explained to students when possible.

Types of Instruments

Woodwind instruments: Tubular instruments with a series of holes that can be opened and closed to change the pitch. Some woodwind instruments produce sound by air blown across a tone hole (flutes and piccolos). Some woodwinds use a piece of cane called a reed (clarinet, saxophone, oboe, English horn, and bassoon). Woodwinds are typically—but not always—made of wood. The following instruments belong to the woodwind family: Flute Piccolo Clarinet Saxophone Oboe English horn Bassoon Brass instruments: Brass instruments consist of a series of tubes. Players produce sound by vibrating their lips into a mouthpiece, which causes the instrument to vibrate and produce sound. Different pitches are created by varying the length of these tubes (through valves and slides) and changing the speed of vibration in the mouthpiece. Brass instruments are typically made of brass. The following instruments belong to the brass family: Trumpet Cornet French horn Trombone Baritone (also called a Euphonium) Tuba Sousaphone Stringed instruments: Instruments that use strings to produce sounds. There are two types of string instruments: Bowed instruments: Produce sound when a bow is moved across the strings. Players produce different pitches by changing the position of their fingers on a fingerboard (violins, violas, cellos, and string basses). Plucked instruments: For plucked instruments with few strings, including the guitar and banjo, players produce different pitches by changing the position of their fingers on a fretboard. For many-stringed instruments such as the harp or lute, players provide different pitches by plucking different strings that are tuned to produce specific pitches. Percussion instruments: Instruments that are shaken or hit to produce sound. There are two types of percussion instruments: Pitched instruments: Can produce differently pitched sounds and can be used to play melodies. These include the xylophone, glockenspiel, marimba, vibraphone, and timpani. Non-pitched instruments: Used to provide rhythm. These includes drums (snare, bass), triangles, gongs, castanets, rattles, cowbells, woodblocks, tambourines, maracas, claves, and whistles. Keyboard instruments: Instruments that use keys or buttons to produce different pitches, but depending on how the sound is produced, keyboard instruments may also be included among the other families of instruments listed above or in the electronic family of instruments, which uses electricity to produce sound. Common keyboard instruments include: Piano Harpsichord Organ Accordion Keytar (a keyboard guitar) Synthesizer

Rock and Roll (Rock)

combines elements from the blues and country music to form a new genre in the 1950s. Featuring simple melodies and a driving beat, rock music generally features an electric guitar, drums, and bass.

Hip Hop

is a relatively recent genre. It emerged in the 1970s in America, and like jazz and the blues, its roots are distinctly African American. Unlike the blues, however, hip hop grew out of urban communities. Hip hop is a highly rhythmic genre that often features samples from other songs and rhythmic vocals.

Rap

is popular music that originated within African American communities. Includes words recited quickly to beats that are rhythmic and usually electronic and pre-recorded. Generally included under the umbrella of hip hop, but not all hip hop songs feature rapping.

Pop

music emerged from Rock and Roll in multiple Western countries during the 1950s. It is defined by its basic structure (typically verse-chorus-verse) and chord progressions, catchy melodies, and simple lyrics. Because pop music borrows heavily from multiple genres and cultures, instrumentation can vary widely from song to song.

Country

music grew out of the rural South in the early twentieth century. The first country musicians were primarily white, working-class Americans who combined elements from multiple folk genres, including folk music, popular songs, traditional ballads, and cowboy songs, to create a new genre. Contemporary country music keeps some of these original traits, but it owes much to Pop and Rock genres. Typically features the fiddle, guitar, banjo, steel guitar, bass, drums, and a keyboard.

Blues

African Americans from the rural south developed the blues in the late nineteenth century, combining elements of traditional African forms with folk music and Christian hymns. This type of music features simple rhythmic and harmonic structures, and the lyrics often express feelings of dissatisfaction or sadness. The guitar is almost always used in blues music.

Folk Songs

Considered the music "of the people." Traditionally associated with the laboring or agricultural classes, folk songs offered a way for cultures, especially those without written records, to transmit key values, stories, and customs from one generation to the next. Folk songs are generally associated with national or regional cultures, so they offer an excellent opportunity to study cultures from around the world. Instruments used in folk songs vary depending on culture, but they typically feature stringed instruments, wind instruments, and percussion.

Spirituals

Developed by enslaved people of African descent who were brought to America Combines Christian hymns with the patterns of traditional African folk songs Many spirituals feature a call-and-response format, in which a leader sings a line and a group responds. Because spirituals were born out of slavery, incorporate age-appropriate historical information into your lesson. You may also want to coordinate with the students' history teachers so that your lessons on spirituals coincide with a unit on slavery in the students' history or social studies courses.

Opera

Dramatic musical form that includes singing to orchestral accompaniment. Operas are typically associated with the Italian Renaissance, but their roots are in Greek drama, which combined acting with song and dance. Typically grand in scale, operas incorporate vocal soloists, choruses, orchestras, elaborate costumes, and scenery to tell a story for audiences. Popular operas include Carmen, Don Giovanni, The Barber of Seville, The Magic Flute, and Tosca. Because passages from operas are frequently featured in commercials and film scores, students may already be familiar with some of these works.

Teaching Different Types of Songs

Elementary school students will benefit from learning many different types of songs. Below is an overview of common song types taught and performed in elementary school music classes, along with instructional strategies for each.

Gospel Music

Expresses Christian themes and varies widely across different denominations and cultures. Popular variants include the gospel blues, bluegrass gospel, and Christian country music. Gospel songs typically consist of hymns and spirituals that feature keyboard instruments (piano and/or organ) and harmonized vocals.

The Kodály Concept

Holistic, experience-based approach that emphasizes the pleasure of music and the importance of the human voice. Named after Zoltán Kodály, a Hungarian music teacher and composer, who believed that singing is the best way to develop a feel for music and that it should precede instrumental instruction. Folk songs and other traditional works play a key role in the Kodály Concept, because they not only teach children about rhythm, meter, and melody, but they also provide insight into human cultures from around the world. Kodály believed that learning solfège would allow students to understand how notes relate to one another, which would in turn help them develop the ability to sight sing, or sing a piece of music without having heard it before. Solfège: system for singing notes Key to the Kodály Concept Uses the syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, and do to represent each tone in the major scale The Kodály Concept uses "movable-do" solfège, in which do can represent any pitch.

Teaching Diverse Styles of Dance

In all areas of learning, it is important that students be exposed to a wide range of cultural variation and diversity. Not only does diversity allow for a more complete understanding of dance, but it will also increase the likelihood of finding a particular area of interest for the most students.

Staff: Set of five lines and four spaces. Each line and space represents a specific musical pitch. Measures: In music, notes are grouped together in measures (or bars). Single bar lines indicate where measures begin and end. Double bar lines indicate a change in the music, including the beginning of a new section or a new key signature. Clef: The French word for "key," indicates the pitch of the notes written on the staff, e.g. treble clef, bass clef.

Key Signature: Set of flats and sharps placed on the staff to indicate which notes should be performed at higher or lower pitches than their natural pitches on the staff. Time Signature: Appears after the clef and key signature, tells you the meter that a piece of music uses. The time signature consists of two numbers. The top number tells you how many beats occur in each measure (or bar). The bottom number tells you which note value is equivalent to one beat.

Reading Music

Learning to read music is one of the most fundamental skills that students learn in elementary music classes. The sheet music for "Frère Jacques," a popular round, provides an overview of the key terms that students will need to know when they begin learning to read music.

Lullaby

Lullabies are soft, gentle songs, often sung by parents to their children. Lullabies not only help establish emotional bonds between adults and children, but they also convey important information about human relationships and cultural traditions. Because most world cultures feature lullabies, they offer excellent opportunities for students to compare and contrast works from different cultural contexts.

Classroom Management

Music instruction has numerous benefits for elementary school students, including increased cultural literacy and improved performance in core subjects. Research has shown that active, hands-on learning makes music classes fun for students and helps them retain key information. Consider incorporating one or more of the following active learning strategies to increase student engagement: Active Listening: Play selections from various genres and have the students brainstorm a list of the key features for each of the genres. Activities like this will help students become more comfortable using musical terminology. Movement: Incorporate movement and sound (hand signs, jumping, clapping, foot tapping, body percussion, snapping, etc.) into your instruction whenever possible. Doing so will not only be fun for students, but it will also help them internalize key concepts such as rhythm and meter. Instruments and Objects: When possible, demonstrate key concepts by allowing students to play instruments (recorders, keyboards, ukuleles, etc.) or create sounds with everyday objects (sticks, blocks, pot lids, etc.). Experimenting with sound will help students understand concepts such as pitch, rhythm, meter, and dynamics. Composition: When teaching different genres, you might encourage students to adapt one of the songs that you're studying into a different genre. You might also ask students to compose their own works in the style of a particular genre or composer. Organization in any classroom will benefit student-led activities. Give students responsibilities in all group work. Include detailed instructions, deliverables, and outcomes. Change student roles when appropriate to allow students to learn a variety of methods for analyzing information and creating great work.

Texas Culture in Music

Music is a method for expressing emotion as well as storytelling. Texas has a strong history of culturally and ethnically diverse musical traditions. Use resources on your campus to share historical examples of musicians from Texas and identify local musicians to visit the school who can share the rich musical heritage.

Purpose of Music

Music plays an important role as both a reflection and commentary on culture and society. There is a broad range of musical styles that reflect life experiences, tell stories, and entertain. The following are some examples of the styles of music and the importance they hold within everyday life.

Sight Singing

Once students are familiar with solfège and rhythm, you can teach them sight singing. Have students clap and count the rhythm out loud using numbers. For example, in a measure that features a quarter note, four eighth notes, and a quarter note, students would say "ONE two-and three-and four" while clapping along. Students review the piece on their own and identify spots that might prove troublesome. Use solfège syllables to make your way through the piece without stopping, even though students will make mistakes. Go back to the beginning of the piece and work through it measure by measure.

Tejano

Originating among the Mexican-American populations in Central and Southern Texas, Tejano music (also called Tex-Mex music) is an upbeat genre that blends pop, rock, folk, polka, and Latin influences. Typically features the bajo sexto (a Mexican stringed instrument), horns, drums, congas, keyboards, electric guitar, bass, and the accordion.

Elements of Music

Pitch: How high or low a sound is perceived to be Intervals: The difference between two pitches Intonation: Accuracy in pitch when singing or playing an instrument Flat: Playing or singing below pitch Sharp: Playing or singing above pitch Dynamics: How loudly or softly a performer should play or sing a passage Crescendo (cresc.): To continuously increase volume Diminuendo (dim.): To continuously decrease volume Forte (f): To play or sing loudly Mezzo-Forte (mf): To play or sing moderately loudly Mezzo-Piano (mp): To play or sign moderately softly Piano (p): To play or sing softly Forte-Piano (fp): To play or sing loudly then immediately softly Rhythm: Music's pattern in time; has three parts: Beat: The pulse. A rhythmic unit of time Tempo: The speed at which a piece of music is played or sung Meter: Musical time features patterns of strong beats and weak beats; some syllables receive stronger emphasis than others. Melody: The tune played by a series of notes Form: The structure of music, many forms - binary, ternary, theme and variation, etc. Timbre: The quality of a tone, generally used to describe differences in sounds played or sung at the same pitch and loudness, but by different instruments and/or voices. Depending on the instrument, terms like bright, dark, warm, and harsh might be used to describe tone quality.

Music Terminology

Staff: Set of five lines and four spaces. Each line and space represents a specific musical pitch. Grand Staff: Two staffs joined by a brace. Generally, the great staff joins the bass and treble clefs; middle C is located on a ledger line between the two. Ledger Lines: Notate the pitches that occur above or below the staff. Measures: In music, notes are grouped together in measures (or bars). Single bar lines indicate where measures begin and end. Double bar lines indicate a change in the music, including the beginning of a new section or a new key signature. Clef: The French word for "key," indicates the pitch of the notes written on the staff. Key Signatures: Set of flats and sharps placed on the staff to indicate which notes should be performed at higher or lower pitches than their natural pitches on the staff. Time Signature: Appears after the clef and key signature, tells you the meter that a piece of music uses. The time signature consists of two numbers. The top number tells you how many beats occur in each measure (or bar). The bottom number tells you which note value is equivalent to one beat. Beamed Notes: For ease of reading, beams can join eighth and sixteenth notes together.

Classroom Management - Routines and Structure

Students are positively impacted when clear timelines and guides for how and when to use particular spaces in the classroom. Repeat steps and processes across multiple activities to reinforce good organizational practices. The following are suggestions for how to maintain an orderly and effective classroom when including music in the lessons: Have signs posted so students know when they are allowed to make noise and when it is important for them to be listening to instruction. Assign spaces for small groups to rehearse; if the performance space must be shared, post a timer in the room and require students to move spaces accordingly. Include a class schedule on the board each day, so students know when to move on to the next activity. Include routine to your daily lessons as much as possible, such as songs that are sung during transition times and when it is time to end class.

Helping with Memorization

Students often find mnemonic devices useful for remembering which pitches are associated with each line and space. For lines in treble clef, the statements "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" or "Every Good Boy Does Fine" help students remember that the lines are pitched at E, G, B, D, and F. Similarly, students often find it easy to remember that the spaces in treble clef spell FACE. For lines in bass clef, the statements "Grizzly Bears Don't Fly Airplanes" or "Good Boys Deserve Favor Always" can help students remember that the lines are pitched at G, B, D, F, and A. "All Cows Eat Grass" will help them remember that the spaces in bass clef are pitched at A, C, E, and G. Consider having students work together in groups to create their own mnemonic devices for the lines and spaces in treble and bass clefs. Allowing them to put their imaginations to good use will help them remember what they've learned!

Music Analysis

Students should understand and use the proper music terminology when describing and critiquing performances. Students of different ages and abilities will analyze pieces at varied levels, but all students should be expected to listen and identify different types of voices and instruments from a variety of genres and cultures. Separate personal enjoyment and preference from analyzing a performance or piece of music. Students might not enjoy listening to classical pieces, but they should be able to describe and identify the merits and areas for improvement in any recording. Remember, it is important to equip students with the knowledge of the historical context of any piece of music. Have students start from the facts about a piece using musical vocabulary and then have them use critical thinking skills to apply value to analysis. The teacher will also need to utilize criteria for evaluating the musical performances of their students. This will include the student's abilities to demonstrate an understanding of the elements of music and synthesize their learning during a musical performance. Some criteria teachers will be expected to critique are posture, pitch, execution, transitions, and presentation. Teachers should provide a rubric and encourage self-critique for students of all ages and abilities.

Teaching Improvisation

Teaching improvisation, in which students apply what they've learned to creating their own musical patterns or compositions, can seem intimidating to a novice teacher, but it's actually a simple process. The following strategies will help incorporate improvisation into lessons for students at different levels: Begin with rhythm. Keeping a steady 4/4 beat, have students use body percussion (having students clap or drum on their laps) to create rhythmic patterns. This is an excellent way to reinforce lessons about note values. Introduce melody. Once students have mastered rhythmical improvisation, introduce melodic improvisation. For early learners, you might consider using syllables or animal sounds; with more advanced learners, consider introducing solfège. Include instruments. If students have access to instruments, have them improvise their own melodies. This is an excellent way to reinforce lessons on key, pitch, scales, and harmony.

Music Standards - Texas

The fine arts incorporate the study of dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts to offer unique experiences and empower students to explore realities, relationships, and ideas. These disciplines engage and motivate all students through active learning, critical thinking, and innovative problem solving. The fine arts develop cognitive functioning and increase student academic achievement, higher-order thinking, communication, and collaboration skills, making the fine arts applicable to college readiness, career opportunities, workplace environments, social skills, and everyday life. Students develop aesthetic and cultural awareness through exploration, leading to creative expression. Creativity, encouraged through the study of the fine arts, is essential to nurture and develop the whole child. As students move through Kindergarten, middle school, and high school, their musical abilities mature and become more complex. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) define Four Strands of Learning that follow students through the development of their music literacy. Four Strands of Learning: Foundations: Music Literacy Fostered through reading, writing, re-producing, and creating music, thus developing a student's intellect. Creative Expression Students apply their music literacy and the critical-thinking skills in music to sing, play, read, write, and/or move. Historical and Cultural Relevance By experiencing musical periods and styles, students will understand the relevance of music to history, culture, and the world, including the relationship of music to other academic disciplines and the vocational possibilities offered. Critical Evaluation and Response Through critical listening, students analyze, evaluate, and respond to music, developing criteria for making critical judgments and informed choices.

Music Careers

The music teacher must always remember to share a variety of music with their students. Not only is this a great way to connect with young people, but it also will allow them to experience artists and genres they might not otherwise know about. Many students will have a favorite band or artist, and will recognize being a performer as a career opportunity. However, there are a vast number of options outside of popular music careers. Orchestras alone can include more than 100 different instrumentalists and performers. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble that combines multiple families of instruments. They sometimes, but not always, accompany choruses or vocalists. Orchestras typically perform classical works, but they also are used to record film scores. Full orchestras combine all four families of instruments: Woodwinds Brass Strings Percussion Conductors lead orchestras. They not only keep the orchestra in sync, using a baton to set the tempo and provide entry cues for musicians, but they also help interpret a musical work, providing a unifying vision that helps large groups of musicians stay on the same page in terms of tone, dynamics, and mood. Symphony orchestras consists of at least 90 musicians and play symphonies and other classical works. Symphony orchestras typically perform in grand concert halls. Chamber orchestras are a group of 15 to 45 musicians who play chamber works or works written to be performed in a smaller, more intimate space. Symphonic bands feature woodwinds, brass, and percussion, but no strings, except for occasionally a double bass. Not all careers in music are performance related. Though there is a broad range of performing roles outside of being a famous recording artist, students should have an understanding of other roles within the music field. Music Therapists are professionals that use music to help people improve their health or functional processes through creative means. Sound Engineers mix music in live venues, like theaters, conferences, and concerts. They ensure that the sound is perfect for an audience. Producers manage the sound recording for a band or an artist. Publishers are organizations that ensure both the performers and the writers are paid for their work. These organizations help artists get paid when their music is on a commercial or tv show, for example.

Diverse Opportunities for Students

The music teacher must be sure to include diverse opportunities that involve students in activities that promote enjoyment and understanding of music. By providing students with a wide range of opportunities to make and respond to music, they can develop music literacy. A simple way to promote music literacy is to inform students about local live musical performances and encourage them to attend. Many larger cities have community performance groups that hold free or low cost performances or local symphonies that have regular outdoor performances. If those kinds of resources are not available, take your students to visit the high school or middle school band or orchestra classes. Many schools have bands that perform at sporting events or in theatre performances. Reach out to teachers at other schools to find ways that your students can experience concerts. This will greatly increase their understanding and appreciation for music. In addition to encouraging students to attend musical performances in their community, it is also important that students experience the opportunity to perform their own music in a variety of ways, even outside the music classroom. It is possible to use music as a vehicle for assessment in any content area. Students love to create their own songs and jingles that clearly show their learning. Creating songs is also a terrific method for memorizing facts that might seem daunting. These learning opportunities double as mini-performances for the students.

Music and Cross-Curricular Content

The music teacher should communicate with the students' classroom teachers to determine what content area they are currently studying and collaborate ways to extend and reinforce the students' learning. Music class provides many opportunities to connect to student learning in other content areas: Art: When preparing for a performance, students can create backdrops and props. Physical Education: Students can learn to do exercises to different rhythms and beat counts. Health: Students can learn songs to help them remember the names of their bones and organs. Writing: Students can write songs that rhyme or use their spelling words. Science: Students create musical arrangements to remember complex concepts such as the water cycle, and can sing them in rounds or perform them for other classes. Reading: Students read lyrics and sing songs that contain their weekly sight words or vocabulary words. Note Values and Math Because teaching note values is essentially teaching fractions, you might find it helpful to use an analogy that students can readily understand. You may, for instance, use an entire pizza to represent a whole note, and then cut the pizza into the appropriate number of slices to represent half, quarter, and eighth notes.

Musical Arrangement

The music teacher should guide students in learning new songs and creating original works that include vocal arrangements, percussion, and musical instruments working together. This does not have to be a complex activity. Many familiar songs from school and camp activities are used to teach complex content and musical skills. Round A round is a song in which two or more people sing exactly the same melody, but they begin at different times. Popular rounds include "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "Three Blind Mice," "Frère Jacques," and "The Farmer in the Dell." When teaching students to sing rounds, begin by having the entire group sing in unison. Then, as students become more familiar with the words, rhythm, and melody, have students begin singing at different times. Creating choreography for different parts of the song or having students walk around the room as they sing their parts will add interest and excitement. Partner Song Whereas a round features two or more people singing the same songs at different times, a partner song features two or more people singing two different songs at the same time to create harmony and counterpoint (in which two or more melodies are played in conjunction with one another). Partner songs have similar harmonic structures and lengths. Have each group practice their part individually before coming together. These activities can be included in a lesson to encourage memorization skills, challenge a student's capacity to manage several tasks at once, as well as provide a mnemonic device for memorizing content unrelated to music. As students are able to handle more complex musical arrangements, percussion and melody instruments can be added.

Types of Notes and Rests

The time signature determines the duration of each note, for example: In 4/4 time, a quarter note represents one beat In 6/8 time, an eighth note represents one beat The charts below provide the values for notes and rests in 4/4 time and 6/8 time. Adding a dot to a note or rest increases its duration by half. Note Symbol Value in 4/4 Time Value in 6/8 Time Whole Note 4 beats N/A Dotted Half Note 3 beats 6 beats Half Note 2 beats N/A Dotted Quarter Note 1.5 beats 3 beats Quarter Note 1 beat 2 beats Dotted Eighth Note 3/4 beat 1 1/2 beats Eighth Note 1/2 beat 1 beat Sixteenth Note 1/4 beat 1/2 beat Rest Symbol Value in 4/4 Time Value in 6/8 Time Whole Rest 4 beats N/A Half Rest 2 beats N/A Quarter Rest 1 beat 2 beats Eighth Rest 1/2 beat 1 beat Sixteenth Rest 1/4 beat 1/2 beat

Work Songs

Work songs are connected with manual labor, such as agricultural work or railroad work, and were used to help workers stay in unison as they completed their tasks. Work songs were particularly popular among slave workers of African descent, often used as a means of creatively venting frustration with their situation. Like spirituals, many work songs are derived from African folk songs and feature a call-and-response format, in which a leader sings a line and the group responds. Because work songs are closely associated with slavery, incorporate age-appropriate historical information into your lesson. You may also want to coordinate with the students' history teachers so that your lessons on work songs coincide with a unit on slavery in the students' history or social studies courses.