Different Ways to Use Music in the Classroom
Music greatly affects our mood, feelings, and our energy levels. We use music to set the tone for events. Some music reminds of memories – of what was happening and how we felt. We use music to express ourselves, and understand our thoughts and feelings.
Because of the power that music holds on how we are feeling, this makes it a great tool to use in the classroom as it sparks deeper discussion and understanding. Music can even help students to make an emotional connection to topics – driving their understanding and retention of a topic even more.
There are many different ways that music can be used and reasons to use music in the classroom that can be a really helpful tool for students. Here are a few:
- Start off the day/class
- Setting tone or mood
- Getting students moving
- Brain breaks
- Background music - focus
- Memorizing facts
- Reflection and deeper thinking
So many people think that they are not able to incorporate music into their classroom because they are not musically inclined. This is definitely not the case, as there are many other ways you can use music without having to play or sing yourself.
How you decide to use music in the classroom is totally up to you, but any of them can have a huge impact on the learning experience for the students. Below is a list of ways that you can use music in the classroom whether you are creating the music yourself or listening to others’ music.
- Playing instruments – as a group or individually
- Singing or vocal – as a group or individually
- Listening to other artists – live or recorded
- Writing songs
- Creating playlists
- Watching music videos
- Creating music videos
Below are the album art videos for two songs that are used in our Rock Digi (rockdigi.org) curriculum. Each song has a very different vibe and message. While you are listening to the songs, please take some time to reflect on the following questions:
- What did the song make you think about?
- How did the song make you feel?
- How would students benefit from this song and its message?
- How did the songs impact your learning experience?
I’m Alright:
We Are Different:
If you have any questions on how to incorporate music into the classroom, please feel free to contact us – we would love to help!
For more info about Rock Digi or how we use music to teach Social Emotional Learning (SEL), visit rockdigi.org to view some sample lessons!
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