High School Music Composition Resources

St. Patrick's Bucket Drumming Bundle! - 20% off!

By Jason Litt

In this St. Patricks Day Bucket Drumming 4pack, you will get 4 great bucket drumming arrangements at 20% off when purchased all together

Included are the following Bucket Drumming arrangements for all of your little leprechauns to play with!

Arrangements are designed from 4th grade all the way up to middle school, so these are typically designed for some of the older kids.

For notation:

  • All regular notation is to be played on the buckets (or drums, or ground, however you wish),

  • The X notation that is stacked with quarter notes are played as shots (think like a marching band snare drum -- playing the drum and stick simultaneously as a rimshot or on top of each other -- whatever will you get you the best accent!)

  • 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)

$12.25
$9.80
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MUSIC ESCAPE ROOM - Super Rhythm Rally!

By Jason Litt

Looking for a fun, exciting, challenging, and engaging way to reach students in your upper elementary or lower middle school grades? Try this all-inclusive lesson that will get your kids racing against the clock and each other with The Great Escape!

In “THE GREAT ESCAPE”, students will be given a specific amount of time to perform tasks successfully (as designed by the teacher). Each one of these tasks is a musical task and the theme for this escape room are rhythms.

There are five rooms, and in each room are several "tasks" students will have to perform (either individually, as a class, A vs B, side by side, or however you wish). As soon as the task is completed, advance the slide for the correct answer (the teacher will control the game).

After a certain number of tasks, a key will be issued to exit the room and head into another room with a different set of tasks.

The five rooms and tasks are as follows:

  • Room One: The Library (Perform the Rhythm shown)
  • Room Two: The Kitchen (Identify Rhythm)
  • Room Three: The Den (Perform the Rhythm BACKWARDS)
  • Room Four: The Boiler Room (Identify Rhythmic Value)
  • Room Five: The Lobby (Perform Polyrhythms (1-4 groups of class split)
  • Room Five: The Lobby (Diagonal Rhythms and Shapes)

If students complete all tasks and open the door to all five rooms they win the game!

You can play this one of four ways

  • Set a timer (5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc). You can designate how long students should receive to complete the entire game
  • Keep track of time to beat another class or grade level
  • Keep track of time and try again during another class to name it faster
  • Play it side vs side, boys vs girls, and see who can get to the end the fastest (or before time ends)

If you would like music to accompany this to make it a bit more engaging, try using this in the background:

Escape Room Background Music

Have a terrific time with this and let us know how it goes!

$5.99

The Throne Room/End Credits, Star Wars (with mp3!) - BUCKET DRUMMING!

By Jason Litt

A departure from our typical popular music fare, we now offer you "The Throne Room/End Credits" from John Williams' Star Wars franchise covered by famous YouTuber 331ERock!

There are five color coded slides along with the form and instrumental identifiers listed next to each phrase. Discuss form with the students (a great way to talk about the variations of the theme with inclusion or exclusions of certain instrument groupings) and teach them (by rote) the rhythms on the powerpoint with the corresponding repeats. 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 one is great to work on off beats and extensions of themes. It switches around a lot so it is sure to keep your kids engaged :)

Great resource to prepare for if.... May the Fourth is coming up!

The track is included in this resource for you to play right along!

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Looking for more BUCKET DRUMMING resources? Find them here!

$7.25
$5.88

Rhythm Reading 101 (* Distance Learning Approved! *)

By Jason Litt

This is the MECCA of all Rhythm Flash Cards for your singers, instrumentalists, and approachable rhythms for all grades!

In Rhythm Reading 101, there are 100 slides of an assortment rhythmic patterns for all of your music students arranged by levels of difficulty, Round 1 to Round 10.

You can assign these as:

*Flash Cards for individuals

*Flash Cards for groups

*Instrumentalists to play (Orff, Recorder, Bucket Drumming, classroom instruments, etc)

*Vocalists
*Beginning band students

*and more!

These slides may be printed out and given to students, shown up on the whiteboard, or assigned to students digitally through distance learning. The 10 rounds included are

Round 1:
Ten separate 4 beat quarter and eighth note patterns

Round 2:
Ten separate 4 beat quarter, eighth note, and quarter rest patterns

Round 3:
Ten separate 4 beat quarter, eighth note, and eighth rest patterns

Round 4:
Ten separate 4 beat quarter, eighth note, quarter rest and eighth rest patterns

Round 5:
Ten separate 8 beat quarter, eighth note, and quarter rest patterns

Round 6:
Ten separate 8 beat quarter, eighth note, and eight rest patterns

Round 7:
Ten separate 8 beat quarter, eighth note, quarter rest, and eighth rest patterns

Round 8:
Ten separate 4 beat quarter, eighth note, eighth-two-sixteenth patterns

Round 9:
Ten separate 4 beat quarter, eighth note, two-sixteenth-eighth, quarter rest patterns

Round 10:
Ten separate 4 beat quarter, eighth note, eighth-two-sixteenth, two-sixteenth-eighth, quarter rest, and eighth rest patterns

WHEW!

Have a great time!

$7.50
$5.50

Identify Form in Pop Music - Part FIVE!

By Jason Litt

The #1 selling "Identify Form in Pop Music!" has multiple follow versions! In addition to the Original Version, you can download Part TWO (2014), Part THREE (2015), Part FOUR (2017), Part SIX (2019) and Part SEVEN (2021) below:

Identify Form in Pop Music PART TWO

Identify Form in Pop Music PART THREE

Identify Form in Pop Music PART FOUR

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SIX

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SEVEN

_____________________________________________

We're BACK and our high tech theme has taken over the layout for 2018 in the follow-up to the #1 selling "Identify Form in Pop Music" series, we now bring you

Part FIVE!

Kids love their pop music, right? Want to integrate it into your classroom? This is great lesson to do with 4th and 5th graders that lets them listen to their favorite pop music (as always, kid friendly 100% CLEAN!) while learning about musical form!

The lesson begins with an introduction to popular music and how the music is formulated by the artists songwriters. We talk about the intro, verse, chorus, bridge, and outro, and include the collision and the channel and then go onto our activity.

I cut out cards... a whole bunch of intros, verses, chorus, bridges, outros, channels, and collisions (or you can do it with a whiteboard/marker, or even as a unison class response) and give them to each student, then have have the kids sit on the floor. I then play an mp3 of a song which has 10 second clips of each of the sections (there is about a 2 second gap in between each clip and all clips are safe for little ears -- no profanity!) and have the students identify them by spelling them out on the floor in front of them. This works great if you're putting kids into groups of 2 or 3 as they try to figure out the form of the song.

It's a great compromise to having your kids listen to their music and still satisfy a 4th and 5th grade standard in identifying the structure of music!

The 2018 hit list:

Believer - Imagine Dragons

Feel it Still - Portugal

For the First Time - Darius Rucker

Good Old Days - Mackelmore

Let You Down - NF

Lights Down Low - MAX

Meant to Be - Bebe Rexha ft. Florida-Georgia Line

New Rules - Dua Lipa

Perfect - Ed Sheeran

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com

Have fun, kids LOVE this!

$6.50
$5.25

Identify Form in Pop Music - Part TWO!

By Jason Litt

The #1 selling "Identify Form in Pop Music!" has multiple follow versions! In addition to the Original Version, you can download Part THREE (2015), Part FOUR (2017), Part FIVE (2018) Part SIX (2019) and Part SEVEN (2021) below:

Identify Form in Pop Music PART THREE

Identify Form in Pop Music PART FOUR

Identify Form in Pop Music PART FIVE

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SIX

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SEVEN

________________________________________

Redone and remodeled from the beginning to end with more colorful layouts and updated music, the 2014 follow-up to the #1 selling "Identify Form in Pop Music"... here's part TWO!

Kids love their pop music, right? Want to integrate it into your classroom? This is great lesson to do with 4th and 5th graders that lets them listen to their favorite pop music while learning about musical form!

The lesson begins with a video introduction to form and then talks about elements of pop music and how it ascribes to a specific form. We talk about the intro, verse, chorus, bridge, and outro, and include (different from the 2013 version) the collision and the channel and then go onto our activity.

I cut out cards... a whole bunch of intros, verses, chorus, bridges, outros, channels, and collisons (or you can do it with a whiteboard/marker, or even as a unison class response) and give them to each student, then have have the kids sit on the floor. I then play an mp3 of a song which has 10 second clips of each of the sections (there is about a 2 second gap in between each clip and all clips are safe for little ears -- no profanity!) and have the students identify them by spelling them out on the floor in front of them

A great compromise to having your kids listen to their music and still satisfy a 4th and 5th grade standard in identifying the structure of music!

The 2014 hit list:

Best Day of My Life - American Authors

Burn - Ellie Goulding

Neon Lights - Demi Lovato

Let it Go - Idina Menzel (this will SURELY get your class sold!)

Happy - Pharrell Williams

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

Pompeii - Bastille

Light 'em Up - Fall Out Boy

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com

Have fun, kids LOVE this!

$6.55
$5.15

Identify Form in Pop Music - Part FOUR!

By Jason Litt

The #1 selling "Identify Form in Pop Music!" has multiple follow versions! In addition to the Original Version, you can download Part TWO (2014), Part THREE (2015), Part FIVE (2018) Part SIX (2019) and Part SEVEN (2021) below:

Identify Form in Pop Music PART TWO

Identify Form in Pop Music PART THREE

Identify Form in Pop Music PART FIVE

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SIX

Identify Form in Pop Music PART SEVEN

Tweaked from the 2015 version from the beginning to end with more eye catching layouts and updated music, the 2017 follow-up to the #1 selling "Identify Form in Pop Music" series, we now present to you

Part FOUR!

Kids love their pop music, right? Want to integrate it into your classroom? This is great lesson to do with 4th and 5th graders that lets them listen to their favorite pop music while learning about musical form!

The lesson begins with an introduction to popular music and how the music is formulated by the artists songwriters. We talk about the intro, verse, chorus, bridge, and outro, and include the collision and the channel and then go onto our activity.

I cut out cards... a whole bunch of intros, verses, chorus, bridges, outros, channels, and collisions (or you can do it with a whiteboard/marker, or even as a unison class response) and give them to each student, then have have the kids sit on the floor. I then play an mp3 of a song which has 10 second clips of each of the sections (there is about a 2 second gap in between each clip and all clips are safe for little ears -- no profanity!) and have the students identify them by spelling them out on the floor in front of them. This works great if you're putting kids into groups of 2 or 3 as they try to figure out the form of the song.

It's a great compromise to having your kids listen to their music and still satisfy a 4th and 5th grade standard in identifying the structure of music!

The 2017 hit list:

Can't Stop the Feeling - Justin Timberlake

Love on the Brain - Rihanna

This Town - Niall Horan

Treat You Better - Shawn Mendes

Don't Let Me Down - The Chainsmokers

Heathens - Twenty-One Pilots

Water Under the Bridge - Adele

May We All - Florida-Georgia Line

The Greatest - Sia

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment email me at jasonlitt@gmail.com

Have fun, kids LOVE this!

PS - Need more and haven't been to Part 3, Part 2, and Part 1? Here are the links below!

Identify Form in Pop Music - Part THREE!

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Identify-Form-in-Pop-Music-PART-THREE-1808420

Identify Form in Pop Music - Part TWO!

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Identify-Form-in-Pop-Music-PART-TWO-1213858

Identify Form in Pop Music

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Identify-Form-in-Pop-Music-677524

$6.55
$5.15