Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Creating a Musical Hook

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

2, 3, 4

Overview

This video is a 20-minute lesson on how to write a chorus for a song. Ms. Ashley from the Lincoln Center demonstrates the characteristics of writing a good chorus and guides students as they create their own chorus using 3 principles: a theme, lines that rhyme, and a catchy melody.

    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Music

    AE17.MU.2.2

    Generate musical patterns and ideas within the context of a given tonality and meter.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.2.2

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest
    • Strong/ weak beat — 2/4; 3/4 meter
    • Accelerando/ ritardando
    Melody
    • Pitch Set: Do , Re, Mi, So, La
    • Five-line staff
    • Treble clef
    • Names of lines/ spaces (treble staff)
    Harmony
    • Melodic ostinati
    • Partner songs
    Form
    • AAB, AABA, Rondo
    • Verse/ Refrain
    Expression
    • Orchestral instrument families
    • Piano (p), forte (f)
    • Crescendo/ decrescendo
    • Orchestral Music: programmatic
    • Indigenous music: Native American
    • American music: slave songs, colonial folk songs
    Other
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (B3-D5)1
    • Mallet/ drumming technique: alternating hands

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Perform original melodic patterns in do pentatonic as an introduction to a known song.
    • Perform original rhythmic patterns on body percussion or unpitched percussion, containing eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest, as an introduction to a known chant.
    Creating
    • Create a melody on pitched instruments using speech rhythms from a selected poem.
    • Improvise with a partner in question/answer style, using pitched or unpitched percussion instruments.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Notate speech rhythms from a selected poem, using iconic or standard notation.
    • Using music composition software, create an original composition based on a personally selected topic.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Refine compositions based on self-evaluation of a recorded performance.
    • Indicate dynamic markings for original compositions.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Music

    AE17.MU.3.2

    Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms and melodies) within a given tonality and/or meter.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.3.2

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Bar lines
    • Measures
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Low So, Low La, High Do
    • Treble clef reading (Mi, Re, Do)
    • Middle C to high G
    • Ledger lines
    Harmony
    • Partner songs
    • Rounds
    • Ostinati
    Form
    • Theme and variations
    • Coda
    • D.S. al coda
    • Repeat sign
    • Fermata
    Expression
    • Phrase/ phrasing
    • Pianissimo (pp), fortissimo (ff)
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Orchestral instruments: 4 families
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Bb3 - Eb5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Play a variety of classroom instruments with proper technique.
    • Use the head voice to produce a light, clear sound employing breath support and maintaining appropriate posture.
    Creating
    • Use pitch and rhythm to improvise vocal, instrumental, and/or movement ideas within a context (such as question and answer phrases or simple accompaniment/ostinato).
    Reading/ Writing
    • Use iconic or standard notation and/or recording technology to sequence and document personal musical ideas.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Demonstrate a final version of personal musical ideas using created vocal, instrumental, or movement pieces through performance.
    • Develop criteria to critique and refine selected musical examples.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 4 - Music

    AE17.MU.4.2

    Generate musical ideas within related tonalities and meters.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.4.2

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Conducting patterns in
    • Syncopation
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, Ti
    • Treble clef reading (La, So, Mi, Re, Do)
    • Middle C through High B
    • Create melodic sequences
    • Half-step
    • Whole step
    Harmony
    • Canons
    • Chord components
    • Chord progression (I, V)
    • Crossover bordun
    Form
    • Phrasing: antecedent and consequent
    • D.C. al coda
    • Fine
    Expression
    • pp through ff
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Orchestra instruments within the 4 families
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (A3-E5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • With limited guidance, perform simple chord progressions on pitched instruments.
    • Play a variety of classroom instruments with proper technique.
    • Use the head voice to produce a light, clear sound employing breath support and maintaining appropriate posture.
    Creating
    • With limited guidance, improvise or compose a 2-4 measure musical idea, a pentatonic melody, or a rhythm pattern using age-appropriate note values.
    • Create vocal harmony using rounds, ostinati, canons and partner songs.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Use notation and/or recording technology to document personal musical ideas.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Describe the way sound is produced by various instruments and the human voice.
    • Listen, identify and respond to music of different composers and world cultures.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Audio/Video

    Resource Provider

    Lincoln Center
    Accessibility

    Accessibility

    Video resources: includes closed captioning or subtitles
    License
    ALSDE LOGO