3rd Grade Music Composition Resources

The next level in the Rock'n'Rollin' method books! In R'n'R 2, we transition from a simple 3-line staff, to a full 5-line staff. The book focuses on getting students used to reading and playing on the 5-line staff. Other concepts in the book include stickings and rudiments, time signatures, rests, and introduces note and rest names like Quarters, Half's, and Whole's. Color is still used throughout the book to help with the transition on the staff.

The book itself is 100 pages and includes various activities, pages for composition, and a practice tracker in the back. At the end of the book, students may also fill out the Awesomeness Certificate to show they've completed the book!

Please note, this book is licensed for you to make multiple copies for teachers and students. You may duplicate as needed!

The NFL season is BACK! Your older grade level kids will love RED ZONE

RHYTHMS!

Students will see an NFL team and their corresponding mascot and the students will have to spell out the team and mascot combo with that's right... RHYTHM!

The students will have to decipher the rhythmic syllables using triplets, eighth note pairs, and quarter notes. The rhythm will be shown on the animation on the next slide.

• You can either have the students notate it out on whiteboards...
• make rhythm cards or tiles
• have them write it on the board
• make it a race between A team vs B team to spell it out
• or however you can imagine!

There are 14 teams with 14 unique rhythms that the students will have to decipher. Here comes the kickoff!

This is a great resource to get your kids to work collaboratively as a team (or by themselves if you wish) to identify rhythms as they hear them!

In BlockChain Rhythm, students are given a set of 4 cubes with quarter notes, eighth note pairs, and quarter rests written on them (this is optional, but if you have these, it makes it a challenge for them if you have time to write them out!).

After hearing the rhythm example, they must "rubix cube style" arrange the rhythm that they heard in the right order that it is played. However, the first one to do it the fastest WINS!

Alternatively, you could play this by having the students write it down, have notation cards, or any other method you prescribe. Students can work together in teams of 1, 2, 4, or however may you wish.

To do it as a race: if you have a large and elongated classroom, try setting the blocks 10-15 feet away from the students. Students then have to run one by one and build each beat, go back and tag the next student, and build the second beat, and on and so forth until all four beats are completed.

There are 12 4-beat rhythm examples included in this. All you need to do is play the example and advance the powerpoint slide to show the correct answer!

Have a great time with this!

If you've ever played Poison Pattern/Poison Rhythm or similar, you already know how it goes. Give the students a set of rhythms to play but one of them is the poison rhythm, which the students should NOT play. If they are, they're either out, lose points, or the teacher gains points (if you're playing against the class)

In this new twist, it's the same premise as students will play back each set of rhythms one-by-one as given by the teacher. However, there will be one rhythm that has a rest on a specific beat (beat 1, 3, 5, whichever the slide specifies)

AVOID THAT RHYTHM AT ALL COSTS!

So for instance, the students may play any rhythm, but avoid the rhythm that has a rest on Beat Number 2

Advance the slide and your students will see various rhythms composed of quarter notes and eighth notes _with the quarter rest landing on different beats.

_...just avoid playing the rhythm on BEAT NUMBER 2!

There are five different levels of rhythms all composed of the quarters and paired eighth sets with the rests switching back and forth between beats. All you need to do is give the students a four beat prep, then they'll read it back (either vocally, with rhythm sticks, classroom instruments, etc)

Wanna make it harder?

• Up the tempo and transition time in between slides
• Choose a pop or instrumental song at a higher BPM to distract them
• Alternate teams or have 1v1 and award points to the winners!

Have a great time with the new version of a classic game!

Level 2, sixteenth note patterns and eighth note rests coming soon!

Need to connect with your kids with their video game music through general music? Involve them in bucket drumming with the Theme from Angry Birds

There is one color coded slide along with the form identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats (most are repeated 4). Then, apply it to drums!

All regular notation is to be played on the buckets (or drums, or ground, however you wish), and the X notation (with a down stem) are played as stick clicks above their head (or you could apply it to a tambourine or other auxiliary instrument)

This is a great resource for your beginning bucket drummers as it's only one page long with a lot of repeated passages and rudimentary rhythms!

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DehK\_Y0TUbE

Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!

Terms of Use:

All images/photos/clip art in this resource were created by me.

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*** Looking for more BUCKET DRUMMING resources? *** Find them here!

In "The Early Bird", introduce your kids to some great music from indigenous instruments from Africa! Using your classroom Djembe or Tubanos, learn the music by rote by taking it one rehearsal section at a time (with rehearsal markings [A], [B], [C], and so forth). This is terrific practice with your older students who want to work on alternating hands, especially with trickier syncopations!

The notation on the first space F is a bass (middle of the drum) and the notation on the third space C is a tone (four fingers near the rim of the drum, pitched a bit higher)

At the end, wrap it up and put on a show! Want to layer it?

• Have tambourines or shakers play on specified beats (try 2 and 4)
• Have shakers play 16th notes all the way throughout or in specific sections
• Have half the class play 1st and 3rd measures, the other half play 2nd and 4th measures
• Do it in a round! :)

Use this in class, a concert, a parent showcase, admin, faculty and staff, whatever you wish!

Have a terrific time with this one :)

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with a classical throwback made popular by the YouTube influencer VADrum -- here's his cover of the "Radetzky March" by Johann Strauss!

There are five all-color coded slides along with the form identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats (most are repeated 2 or 3 times).

• For this, your students will each have a basketball (can be regulation size or smaller) and bounce their ball on the ground each time they see a basketball icon. Each basketball icon is denoted as a quarter note. The rests are in between each ball for the students to hold the ball.

• There's also a "pat" icon with a hand below the basketball icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat

The orchestral mp3 track with background drums can be found here:

https://youtu.be/OedHrRV7pkQ

Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!

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Looking for even MORE Rhythm Basketball pieces? Find 'em here!

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with a tune that's sure to get your bouncing right along -- a trap remix of the theme from MINECRAFT!

There are two all-color coded slides along with the form identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats

• For this, your students will each have a basketball (can be regulation size or smaller) and bounce their ball on the ground each time they see a basketball icon. Each basketball icon is denoted as a quarter note. The rests are in between each ball for the students to hold the ball.

• There's also a "pat" icon with a hand below the basketball icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL4i9FKuiEA

Have fun with this and let us know how it goes!

In a fast-paced game geared up to get your upper level elementary school students excited, we present to you "Write the Room - EMOJI Edition!"

The game is simple as ever. Scattered around your music room are 12 rhythms (which you can cut out and affix anywhere you'd like) with a corresponding emoji attached to the rhythm.

You will make teams (or play individually!) and a pair of students from each team.

You will then play a sound clip for all of the students to hear. Their job is to listen to the clip, think of the rhythm in their head, and race around the room to find the emoji with the rhythm that they just heard!

The students race back to the board and presses on the emoji they think they heard (there will be a multiple choice of three rhythms, which one of them is the correct on). You will advance the slide and the correct emoji rhythm will turn green.

Play this through 12 rounds and keep score of which team wins or you can do it as an individual assessment. The kids LOVE this as they are assessing themselves by listening to the rhythm, remembering it, and identifying it somewhere in the room.

Have a great time with this one!

Switching gears into November, we present to you "Thanksgiving Rhythm Compositions" for your students!

Included are two printable and reproducable 8.5x11" sheets with 9 thanksgiving themed rhythms on them. Print these out and use to have students, groups of students, or even teachers and interns compose their own rhythms!

• Compose the rhythms however you wish... 2 beats long, 4 beats long, 8 beats long, etc
  • Speak it out (to themselves and the class)
  • Play it out (rhythm sticks, drums, etc)
  • Mix it up
  • Collaborate with others
  • Turn it into a round, a canon, a two part, etc

Print, cut, and go! Included rhythms are quarter note, eighth note pairs, triplets, and four sixteenth note

RHYTHM BASKETBALL is in with a tune that's sure to get your kids singing and bouncing right along dwith the smash hit "The Wellerman - TRAP Remix"

There are three all-color coded slides along with the form identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats (most are repeated 4 times).

• For this, your students will each have a basketball (can be regulation size or smaller) and bounce their ball on the ground each time they see a basketball icon. Each basketball icon is denoted as a quarter note. The rests are in between each ball for the students to hold the ball.

• There's also a "pat" icon with a hand below the basketball icon itself, so you will have the student hold the basketball in one hand and pat the ball on the beat

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://youtu.be/9A6XcFE4CL8

The newest sensation, "Write the Room" has an 8-bit twist as we present to you a MINECRAFT Notation version of the popular game!

In Write the Room, students will all receive a sheet of paper with 9 answer boxes with a Minecraft character representing each box. There will be 9 sheets (placed strategically around the room by you!) that students will have to find and write the rhythm down that accompanies that character. Once all 9 answers are completed, they will show to you to verify that all rhythms are correct!

To play:

• Print the "Write the Room" Minecraft master file to 5 sheets and cut along the dotted lines. Place these anywhere you wish around the room (and of course, the level of difficulty of where to place it is COMPLETELY up to you!)
• Print a class set of the "Write the Room" Minecraft Student Answer sheets (it's okay if it's not in color, it can be in black and white or grayscale, the students will know the characters by heart!)
• Make sure everyone has something to write with it and... GO!

Play some music in the background and have the kids roam around the room as fast as they can. Neatness counts! :D

How do you find a winner? Up to you! Top 3, Top 5, best handwriting, fastest pair, fastest group, up to you!

Have a great time with this!

Reviewing Orff with your kids? This may be the game format you're looking for!

An authentic jeopardy game board with categories that students can elect to pick!
The amounts, as imagined, are $200, $400, $600, $800, or $1000 answers.

After clicking on the amount, the answer will appear on the next slide.
Hand Me a Note - Discussing the pitches on the Orff instruments

Technique - Techniques on Orff instruments (middle of the bar, "handlebars", etc)
Mallet Madness - Descriptions and anatomy of mallets (rubber, yarn, wood)

Family Time! - The instruments within the family from the Bass all the way to the Glockenspiel

Students (keeping in true Jeopardy! fashion) can answer in the form of a question

"What is a Soprano"

"What is Yarn"

"What is C"

After the money is awarded (You can split sides of your class, boys vs girls, class vs class, however you want it!), there is a link in the bottom right hand corner to go back to the title screen and game board.

After extracting the ZIP file, make sure to install the Jeopardy! font included, or else you'll see random characters all over -- not good eats!

Email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com or leave a comment if you have any questions. Happy Jeopardy...ing!

In Rhythm Color Lineup, students all receive a baggie of six cards (you can just cut out Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple cards from construction paper) to use to decipher the rhythm being played.

They will then listen to a musical example of a rhythm with notes shown on their colored cards (although their cards will be blank, but be representative of the rhythm)...but they’re not in the right order!

The students will then line up your colors from left to right as you hear the rhythm being played, and check your answer afterward by advancing the slide!

All slides include the embedded sound file in it (with 8 beats of prep before the rhythm example) and you get 10 examples to illustrate for your kids

Have a colorful time with this one!

The newest sensation, "Write the Room" has an athletic twist to surely get your 4th and 5th grade boys engaged too as we present to you an NFL Notation version of the popular game!

In Write the Room, students will all receive a sheet of paper with 9 answer boxes with an NFL logo representing each box. There will be 9 sheets (placed strategically around the room by you!) that students will have to find and write the rhythm down that accompanies that logo. Once all 9 answers are completed, they will show to you to verify that all rhythms are correct!

To play:

• Print the "Write the Room" NFL master file to 5 sheets and cut along the dotted lines. Place these anywhere you wish around the room (and of course, the level of difficulty of where to place it is COMPLETELY up to you!)
• Print a class set of the "Write the Room" NFL Student Answer sheets (it's okay if it's not in color, it can be in black and white or grayscale, the students will know the teams by heart!)
• Make sure everyone has something to write with it and... GO!

Play some music in the background and have the kids roam around the room as fast as they can. Neatness counts! :D

How do you find a winner? Up to you! Top 3, Top 5, best handwriting, fastest pair, fastest group, up to you!

Have a great time with this!

Wanna get your Orff Ensemble moving and grooving but don't know where to start? Get percussive with an original composition named "Birds of a Feather" for Soprano, Alto, and Bass Xylophone/Metallophones!

This Orff Ensemble orchestration provides parts for Soprano, Alto, and Bass Xylophone/Metallophone All parts work together and you can perform the arrangement with all or just some of the parts.

You are free to dissect melodies and harmonies to what you wish, or play right from the beginning to the end. There are 3 four-measure sections to teach your kids (by rote), and you can arrange and label these sections ("A" at measure 1, "B" at measure 5, and "C" and measure 9) in any form you want. ABACA. ABABCAB. AABBCC, etc!

Included are:

• Part for Soprano

• Part for Alto

• Part for Bass

What's it sound like? Check out the preview and see if it's a good fit!

Get your class on beat! Included are 24 background tracks with ethnic flair -- tablas, bongos, electric kits, and drum sets for your kids to jam with. The 24 tracks vary from 95 bpm all the way to 125 bpm (there are 6 different tracks with 4 different tempo)

Want a sneak peak? Give the preview a sample of some of the tracks!

I use these in my class for Orff, Boomwhacker, Rhythm Sticks, Dancing, Movement, or singing activities. The tracks go for about 1 minute each, but you can manipulate a longer track by having it stay on repeat for as long as you wish

Have fun!

***75% OFF FOR ONE WEEK ONLY!***

9.9.22 to 9.18.22!

Inspired from the MyRhythm App, here's a fun game you can play with some of your older kids to help reinforce rhythms, independence, steady beat, and more!
In Rhythm Latitudes, students will see two rectangles stacked on top of each other. In each rectangle (now known as a beat), there are two circles inside (denoted as eighth notes).
Top Rectangle

· If the first circle is illuminated green on the top rectangle, the students will play using their LEFT HAND either an instrument (maybe a tambourine, drum, rhythm stick, whatever you wish) or their hand to pat their lap
· If two circles are illuminated green on the top rectangle, the students will play using their LEFT HAND either an instrument (maybe a tambourine, drum, rhythm stick, whatever you wish) or their hand to pat their lap like two eighth notes

Bottom Rectangle

· If the first circle is illuminated green on the bottom rectangle, the students will play using their RIGHT HAND either an instrument (maybe a tambourine, drum, rhythm stick, whatever you wish) or their hand to pat their lap
· If two circles are illuminated green on the bottom rectangle, the students will play using their RIGHT HAND either an instrument (maybe a tambourine, drum, rhythm stick, whatever you wish) or their hand to pat their lap like two eighth notes

You will receive 4 levels of mastery with this (4 beats, 6 beats, offbeats, and rests) and accompanying mp3 groove background tracks (or you can play it with some of your favorite pop music).
Procedure:

· Teach the first pages of Left Hand rhythms on top, Right Hand rhythms on bottom
· Review included practice rhythms
· Then count off the kids and go!
· If they master it, move onto the next slide until completed (or until time runs out)

Cup rhythms are terrific for your students of all ages! Inexpensive plastic cups from the dollar store, Target, or others make excellent substitutes for percussion instruments and in unison played together, solidifies steady beat, rhythm acuity, and gets everyone playing as an ensemble!

In this arrangement of Imagine Dragons' hit from 2022, the newly released "Bones"!

students will read each corresponding colored section along with the form identifier for the amount of times played.

Discuss form with the students and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats. Then, apply it your class set of cups (to be done on the ground, in their seat, or however)!

Notation is as follows:

• CUP WITH ARROW - to be played by striking the cup (upside down) on the floor
• CUP WITH HAND - to be played with cup on the floor and patting the top of the cup
• CLAP - hands clap once
• QUARTER REST - one beat rest

Here's the track so you can play along...

https://youtu.be/kK9g0XTxSM0

Down, Set, HUT!

In Bar Line Blitz, student will see a meter with several beats of music – except the bar lines are missing to separate the measures from each other!

They will will see 2 or more line placeholders (small grey lines) in between notes. One of the placeholders is where the bar line should go… but which one is it?

Identify where the bar line should be placed and the correct area will illuminate
green if it is accurate!

Play team vs team, A vs B, or individually... and enhance it by playing some fun football music in the background (search NFL themes or college football fight songs on YouTube) ;)

There are 4 levels (4 quarters if you wish) of varying difficulties. The last quarter, they students will need to identify where it should be placed without any small grey lined hashmarks

Have a great time with this one!