Motivation:

• Music, Tempo and Beats – Understanding that the tempo of the music can give us a clue as to how we feel listening to the music.

• 21. Vignette ABT_FB3_05: Music and SingingLinks to an external site.

 

Medium:

Designed in Google Slides and used youtube to insert video/songs. This is accessible through Google Classroom, SmartBoards, printouts (if decided to play songs on other device and have student point to column of choice), and zoom (through share screen).

 

Computational Concepts:

• Algorithmic Thinking 

  • Beats within a song are the rhythm or tempo of a song (calculated as beats per minute (BPM))

  • This beat is usually felt by the listener and usually drives the listener to feel (mood) according to the song’s rhythm

  • Connecting certain beats/rhythm to a certain mood respectively – eg: fast BPM = happy or excited, slow BPM = sad

  • Matching BPM to how a song “feels”.

 

Objectives:

The Objective is to match the video/song to the column. Songs operate in tempo or beats per minute. Videos demonstrating fast and slow tempo are in each respective column as well as a video to explain tempo before the last exercise. Since in music there can be more than one tempo, depending on if the listener is counting the beats per minute in rhythm or melody, it will be interesting to see what the student hears and how they will sort the music. This is why we start with the happy and sad sort first, to encourage the listener to hear the melody first. For best results, it is encouraged to have students voice their thinking process out loud while sorting and after making a selection.

 

Task Complexity:

• Task 1: Sort songs into different moods (sad, happy).

• Task 2: Sort songs between fast and slow. (Can end here).

• Task 3: Sort songs into different tempos with a metronome as an example.

 

Directions:

Start with the Happy and Sad task first, and have the student listen to the model videos in each column. Have the student select a video/song and listen to the song (or a portion of it), then the student will explain if the song belongs in the sad column or the happy column and why. The student will drag the selected video/song to their chosen column. Then move on to the next video/song, repeating the same process until all the video/songs have been sorted. Please move video/songs back to the side for the next person if done in whole group. If done in Google Classroom, students will be able to leave the video/songs in the column for the teacher to look back on later.

 

Second task will be the Slow and Happy exercise. Like in the first task, students will begin by listening to the model videos in each column. Have the student select a video/song and listen to the song (or a portion of it), then the student will explain if the song belongs in the slow column or the fast column and why. The student will drag the selected video/song to their chosen column. Then move on to the next video/song, repeating the same process until all the video/songs have been sorted. Please move video/songs back to the side for the next person if done in whole group. If done in Google Classroom, students will be able to leave the video/songs in the column for the teacher to look back on later.

 

For the third task (and the hardest - it is ok to end at the last task if this would be too difficult for the student) the student will watch a short video on tempo (it is located after the 2nd task and before the third). Like in the first and second task, students will begin by listening to the model videos in each column. Have the student select a video/song and listen to the song (or a portion of it), then the student will explain if the song belongs in the 70-80 BPM column or the 160-170 BPM column and why. The student will drag the selected video/song to their chosen column. Then move on to the next video/song, repeating the same process until all the video/songs have been sorted. Please move video/songs back to the side for the next person if done in whole group. If done in Google Classroom, students will be able to leave the video/songs in the column for the teacher to look back on later.

 

Questions to ask the student:

Happy/Sad:

Why did you choose that song for that column?

Why did you think that song was happy/sad?

 

Slow/Fast:

Why did you choose that song for that column?

Why did you think that song was fast/slow?

 

70-80BPM/160-170BPM:

Why did you choose that song for that column?

Why did you think that song matched that tempo?

 

Notes:

• One thing to notice is whether the student listens to the melody (singing) or the rhythm (instruments, usually percussive) as this affects whether the song will be sorted into fast or slow in some cases. 

• Do not use in presentation mode. Unless wanting to use the student point method. If wanting to use the click-and-drag method, slides will need to be used in edit mode.

 

Reusability:

This assessment is optimally used in Google Classroom, where the teacher can assign a copy to each student. However, the slides can be used in whole class/group format; videos will need to be put back to the sides of the slide after each use. The teacher could also utilize the point method instead of the click-and-drag method if they didn’t want to “reset” each slide after every use.

 

Links:

Assessment:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oZF6MUMJ5D5qsSuSdNlsiBZQU1M7Tk_pdO9PV3DySYU/edit?usp=sharing

 

Songs are linked within the assessment module.

 

Music used:

 

Sad and Happy

Lift Me Up (Rihianna/Black Panther) - 44 bpm

Almost There (reprise)(Princess and the Frog) - 48 bpm

The Apology Song (Book of Life) - 52 bpm

 

Brown Skin Girl (Beyonce/The Lion King)- 120 bpm

Colombia, Mi Encanto (Encanto)- 124 bpm

Quien Este Feliz (If You’re Happy)- 186 bpm

 

Slow and Fast

El Chorrito (The Trickle)- 52 bpm

Cielito Lindo (Lin Manual Mirando y Mandy Gonzalez) - 56 bpm

Remember Me (Reunion) (Coco) - 60bpm

 

We don’t talk about Bruno (Encanto) - 103 bpm

Un Poco Loco (Coco)- 126 bpm

Somos como las flores (We are like the Flowers) - 155 bpm

 

BPM (70-80 + 160-170)

No Woman No Cry (Tems/Black Panther) - 74 bpm

What a wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) - 77bpm

Beauty and the Beast (Ariana Grande, John Legend) - 81 bpm

 

Almost There (Princess and the Frog) - 160bpm

Circle of Life (The Lion King)- 162 bpm

Video (India.Arie SImpson) - 170 bpm