Don't Worry!

Don't worry, I'm still here!  I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything on the social networks, and an even longer time since I've written a new blog post.  This has been a busy year full of change for me.  I've been working hard on my Master's Degree of Educational Technology, and I'm happy to announce that I should graduate in May!  I've spent the past two years helping my elementary music department develop, write, and roll out a new curriculum.  This is our first year using it, and although it's a strong curriculum, there is a lot of change, and that leads to a lot of extra work.  A lot of extra work means less time to write.  There's also one more thing...

I've also been getting ready to be a DAD!!!  My wife is due to deliver this week, and I wanted to make sure I got some new stuff out to my followers before my entire life is flipped upside down.  So please, don't worry... be happy!

Sing & Play with Bobby

In this post, you'll learn how you can use "Don't Worry Be Happy" to help teach harmony.  Yes, that may be one of my weakest and weirdest transitions I've ever made, but it works, right?  Even if it doesn't, don't worry... be happy!

My sixth grade students have recently been working on singing in three parts.  We have practiced singing a couple rounds, we sang a Music Express version of "We Go Together" from Grease which has a three part ending, and last week we sang three part harmony to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

As I mentioned above, we rolled out a new curriculum, and I randomly get new ideas all the time.  I didn't have my students sing Bobby McFerrin's hit song, "Don't Worry Be Happy," this year, but I really wish I had because it would be perfect!  You can easily use his website to show how layering parts together can create not only harmony, but an entire song.  Have students choose which part to add to put the full song together.  "Don't Worry Be Happy" has the melody, harmony to the melody, vocal percussion, bass, and three rhythm tracks.  "Just Enough" has the melody, two vocal percussion tracks, two bass tracks, and three riff tracks.  You can play one part at a time to show what it sounds like, then layer them together.  You can let the students choose which parts to add or delete creating their own version of the song.

Incredibox

Incredibox is another amazing website that shows students how layering parts together can create harmony and entire pieces.  There are now four versions of Incredibox.  Each one works the same, but each has different tracks.  My students LOVE creating their own songs with Incredibox.  Students can also record their pieces and share them on Facebook, Twitter, and email.  If you're looking for detailed instructions, then you have to check out Katie Wardrobe's website.  She's another amazing music educator and tech guru, and I'm not even going to attempt rewriting her amazing instructions in my own words.

More Bobby McFerrin

A few years ago, Bobby McFerrin was a panelist for the World Science Festival.  In the video below, he does a wonderful demonstration of how people from all over the world can identify the pentatonic scale.  I tried this activity with my students, and they loved it!  You can keep it simple by using specific notes such as Mi-So-La, or Do-Re-Mi.  It's great for visual and kinesthetic learners.

Music Express Magazine

I love Music Express Magazine, and last year they arranged a kid-friendly version of "Don't Worry Be Happy" in their December issue.  Even though I've been working on three-part harmony with my 6th graders, it's obviously easier to start with two-part harmony.  The Music Express version has some nice two-part harmony in it, and would transition nicely to the Sing and Play website activity mentioned above.  Here is John Jacobson doing his choreography to the piece:

Final Thoughts

Singing in three parts can be challenging.  Finding fun, engaging, and quality songs and activities is one of the best ways to meet your learning target.  I hope you have found these resources helpful!  Next year, I plan on having my students sing the two-part harmony version of "Don't Worry Be Happy" from Music Express, play with "Sing & Play with Bobby" and "Incredibox" online for a while, then transition to three-part harmony with some other songs.

As I mentioned above, my wife and I are expecting our first baby this week.  We are having a little girl, and I cannot wait to meet her!  I know that I will be busy again for a while trying to learn how to take care of her, so thank you for understanding why I won't be posting as often.  I do promise, however, that I will continue writing and sharing ideas as I find time.  I appreciate all of you for checking out my blog, and thanks for sharing it with your friends and colleagues.  Make sure to follow IWB Music on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.  Take care, and don't worry... BE HAPPY!

Mr. Rogers' Stop Light (Tempo)

I keep a link to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood PBS Kids website on my classroom page for my young students to explore at home.  Occasionally I will show a video clip from his site featuring music, but most of the time I just let kids visit it on their own time.  For some reason last week I was looking over the site, and came across the Stop Light Game.  Just as the lights shine in the stop light, a light suddenly turned on in my head!

Philharmonia Orchestra Instrument Guides

I recently came across the website for the Philharmonia Orchestra, and discovered that they have a wonderful set of Instrument Video Guides featuring many of the instruments of the orchestra.  All of the standard instruments of the orchestra are included, and they also feature some fun ones like the contrabass clarinet or the celeste.  Learn more after the jump!

Isle of Friday Afternoons

Isle of Tune is one of the best ways to let your students create music on their own at school or at home.  Simply put down a road, a few cars, street lights, houses, trees, plants, and voilà: they have created a song!  I encourage all of you to experiment with Isle of Tune for a while.  Before you know it, half of your day has disappeared creating music!  This site is so intuitive and easy for students pick up, that I have had many emails from teachers and parents sharing with me how much they love this site! Not only can you create songs, but you can also use Isle of Tune as a fun teaching tool.

Boom!

Behold! The Wall of Whackers!

Boomwhackers are great for the elementary music classroom, but they are such a pain to store.  For the past six years I have kept my large Boomwhackers in laundry baskets and my smaller ones in buckets.  It looked messy and was hard to find the tubes I needed.  I just moved to a new classroom with a very long, empty wall.  I knew I wanted to use the large space for a word wall (which as you can see is still on the to-do list,) but then I found this....

@IWBMusic

IWB Music now has its own twitter feed!  Simply press the button "Follow @IWBMusic" below, and you're all set! Remember, you can also follow IWB Music on Facebook and Google+.

Tweets by @IWBMusic

Kansas City Symphony Kinderkonzert

Photo credit: kcsymphony.org

I have the wonderful opportunity to take a grade level of my students to see Peter and the Wolf and Other Symphonic Tales performed by the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts next week.  Peter and the Wolf was one of my favorite pieces growing up, and I am incredibly excited to share it with another generation of young musicians!  The Electric Media Manager for the symphony is a good friend of mine and she shared a series of videos the symphony is using to promote the concert and to educate young musicians about the piece.  These videos feature an introduction by Assistant Conductor, Aram Demirjian and an explanation of each character's traits by local actor and narrator, Alex Espy.  The first video is an introduction to Peter:

Check out the KC Symphony's YouTube channel for more videos each day this week!

New World Symphony

Last week I rehearsed Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" with the Lee's Symphony Symphony Orchestra in preparation for their fall classic.  Although I love performing, this rehearsal reminded me of why I'm an educator and not fighting tooth and nail for coveted symphony gigs around the world.  I had never played "The New World Symphony" before, and it was quite obvious within a few measures of sight reading that I wasn't as familiar with the piece as I had originally thought.  I knew I had homework to do, and I knew exactly where to go:  Carnegie Hall's listening adventures!

Carnegie Hall's listening adventure for Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 provides a detailed, animated listening map for the entire New World Symphony.  I love how the melody of most of the themes is either shown on a musical staff or shown with contour lines.  These are the three themes from the first movement:

The interactive maps provide a great tool for teaching form, contour, motifs, and instruments of the orchestra.  It also provides a great cross curricular opportunity for teaching history, geography, and storytelling.  I don't recommend going through the entire symphony in one lesson or even through one unit unless you are teaching older students.  I do recommend using one movement at a time to help supplement your and objectives.

Carnegie Hall has provided a "How to use this site" page to help you design a lesson that works best for you.  They also have an Activities page for each movement of the symphony.  These activities can be a great way to assess your students and to check for understanding.

You can believe that when I perform this piece at the Lee's Summit Symphony's Fall Classic on October 13 (yes, that's a shameless plug,) I will be imagining the sailing ships, dancers, and locomotives.

If you liked this online tool, you will love Carnegie Hall's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.  You can check out my blog posts about the YPGO here:

• Part One: Introduction and Four Families
• Part Two: Woodwind Pond

Back to School

Summer break is over, and I'm already three days into the new school year!  I decided to take the summer off from blogging as well, but I'm back and ready to share more interactive activities for the music classroom.

My goal with IWBMusic this year is to post shorter entries more often.  I might share a new site or resource, or I might share an old favorite that I'm using in the classroom at the time.  The second goal I have for this blog is to write longer, more detailed reviews and lessons every few months.  I had originally set a goal to write a long entry each month, but that wasn't working well for me.  I think this new goal will get me writing and posting more often.

Click Here for GWEMusic

To get things started this year, I invite you to check out my classroom links page.  It is a collection of interactive music sites I have found over the years.  Because the web address my school district uses is very long, I always walk through how to find the site with my students.  Next, I always review how to use this links page with my students because there are literally hundreds of links on here.

I created a "categories" section at the top of the page to help with navigation.  It's not the best in the world, but it helps.  I also put a small screenshot with each link to help visual learners find the sites quickly.  I have found and used other thorough collections of music websites, but I find that even if the links are alphabetical, I have a hard time finding the links that I like when they are completely text-based.  I have found that a small picture helps immensely.

I hope that you find my collection useful.  I also hope that you have a great start to the new school year.  I look forward to sharing more often this year.  Please remember to check out the IWBMusic Facebook page and Google+ page, and please leave comments and share the resources!

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - Part Two: Woodwind Pond

Carnegie Hall's listening adventure, "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," takes you and your students on a fun safari through the African wilderness in a hunt for all of the instruments played in the orchestra. This is the second part of my five-part resource for this excellent website. If you missed the previous post, you can click here for the Four Families Introduction resources.

Chuck Vanderchuck's "Something Something" Explosion!

Chuck Vanderchuck's "Something Something" Explosion! is a great way to introduce different styles of popular music to your students.  Chuck, his friend Ramona, and his dog Zeppelin are trying to get to the big gig at the mall, and it's your job to help them get there!

Melody Street

Melody Street has been around for a couple of years now, but I just came across this fun site about a month ago.  When you enter the site, you are immediately introduced to Val Violin, one of the main characters who live on Melody Street.  As you walk around exploring Melody Street, you can meet more instrument friends who will let you to play games, watch videos, and listen to music.  It is very kid friendly, and does a great job of introducing music to kids.  I will let you explore the main website and all it has to offer on your own.  I want to make sure you are aware of a few other things this great site has to offer.  Read on to learn all about this great interactive website!

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - Part One: Introduction and the Four Families

Benjamin Britten's "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" is one of the staples for introducing the instruments and instrument families of the orchestra to students. There are a lot of interactive websites out there that attempt to teach the instruments to students, but why mess with a good thing? Carnegie Hall didn't mess with a good thing; they improved it!

Carnegie Hall's "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" takes your students on an online safari to find all of the instruments in the orchestra in the wild. It is up to you, Violet, and her Uncle Ollie to find them, collect them, and guide them to the orchestra stage.

Through the game you follow the form of the actual music.  You start by listening to the full orchestra play the theme, followed by the four families playing the theme, followed by the individual instrument variations, and ending with the fugue.

This online adventure can take a long time to complete, so I am breaking it up into five parts:

1. The introduction and four families

2. The woodwind family

3. The strings family

4. The brass family

5. The percussion family and finale

IWB Music Going Social

IWB Music is now on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter, and is ready to share great interactive music resources!  You can add +IWB Music to your circles by pressing the link here:

While you're on the page, you can also press the +1 button if you like something I have posted, or the "Share this page" button if you'd like to share it with your circles.  Those buttons will look like this:

If you like fun resources to use in your classroom, then you should also "like" IWB Music on Facebook.  Simply press the "like" button below, and feel free to press the share button to spread these great ideas!

Finally, you can keep up with all things new on IWB Music through my Twitter feed.  Press the button below to follow @WEBraune.

Follow @webraune

IWB Music is all about sharing great ideas, so have fun making and sharing music!

Les Paul Google Doodle

Mashable.com recently posted their list of the 30 Best Google Doodles of 2011, and number 11 on the list (any Spinal Tap fans out there?) was the Google tribute to Les Paul's 96th birthday.  What a great way to make music history fun!


Your students can simply strum the strings to create music.  You can also discuss the major scale, intervals, and chords by playing the notes on a computer keyboard.  Each row will play the same scale, and you can press up to four notes at a time to create chords.


Finally, have fun recording and sharing your compositions!  Simply press the record button, play a song, and press the record button again to end your song.  You will be given a link with your composition to share with other students, teachers, parents, or friends.  Click here for an example of a little tune I made to sound a bit like The Who's "Baba O'Riley."  Try sharing your composition links in the comment section below!


Rock on, and happy new year!

The Nutcracker

I know, I know, I know... Winter break is just around the corner, and it is way too late to get started on a unit about the holiday classic, The Nutcracker.  I am writing this blog to simply share some of the great interactive Nutcracker resources that are out there either because I used them, or because I'm like you and just found them, too!

Introducing the Staff

Every Good Boy Does Fine
Memorize it.  Got it?  Good... here's your quiz.


BORING!!!  Leaning the names of the lines and spaces on the staff doesn't have to put your students to sleep.  There are tons of songs, video clips, games, and tools that can make it easy to remember those pesky seven letters.  Here are three of my favorites:

Creating Music - Block Game

image via www.creatingmusic.com

Click here to go to The Block Game

This game comes from the Morton Subotnick website Creating Music.  Use blocks to create simple melodies.  Memorize your composition, and then try to find it again by listening to it.  I used this game with my students when we were working on songs with Do, Re, and Mi.  Here is a description of each difficulty and level setting:

Easy - Level 1 - 3 beats with 3 pitches (Do, Re, Mi)

Easy - Level 2 - 3 beats with 6 pitches (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La)

Easy - Level 3 - 3 beats with 8 pitches (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do - full Major scale)

Medium - Level 1 - 5 beats with 3 pitches (Do, Re, Mi)

Medium - Level 2 - 5 beats with 6 pitches (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La)

Medium - Level 3 - 5 beats with 8 pitches (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do - full Major scale)

Hard - Level 1 - 8 beats with 3 pitches (Do, Re, Mi)

Hard - Level 2 - 8 beats with 6 pitches (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La)

Hard - Level 3 - 8 beats with 8 pitches (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do - full Major scale)

Sample Lesson Plan by Will Braune:

Hands Symphony

image via www.handsonlycpr.org

Click here to go to Hands Symphony

I just got re-certified in CPR yesterday, and it made me think of the great website.  The American Heart Association reminds us that hands can do incredible things!  Use loops of different hand sounds to create rhythmic patterns.  You can create patterns in hip-hop, dance, and Latin styles.  Have your students mimic the sounds together to create your own Hands Symphony in the classroom!

UPDATE: Unfortunately the American Heart Association has taken down the "Hands Symphony" website and has replaced it with a different kind of music-related site.  Hands Only CPR teaches you how you can help save a life.  The song they recommend you use to find the steady beat for chest compressions is "Staying Alive" by the Bee-Gee's.  It's not as cool of a site (for a music educator,) but it's still pretty groovy!

Rhythm Trainer

image via www.therhythmtrainer.com

Click here to go to The Rhythm Trainer

This is one the sites that I use on a near daily basis.  It can be used with the whole class on an Interactive Whiteboard, or it can be used by each student in a computer lab or wireless laptop lab.

There are two modes to the site.  In "Mode A," the students listen to a rhythm and transcribe what they hear by pressing each beat's rhythmic pattern.  In "Mode B," the students are shown a rhythm, and are given four audio examples to choose from to make a correct match.

I use this site mostly on my IWB at the beginning of each class.  It's a fun way to get the class started, and the students are learning to identify and read rhythms.