New LEGO Rhythm Gallery for Download

Click on the picture below to download the Lego Rhythm Gallery:

Music Center Downloads

Hi there!
I have received some emails asking for the files I used for my centers. I tried to link them all to each post, but I may have missed some. Click here to access all of the center files. Please let me know if there are any you are unable to download...they should all be available for public access...

Also, click here to download Lego for the Smartboard!

Music Centers

I have just started centers in music for this month and thought I'd share what we are doing! Feel free to use/share/adapt any of these materials as needed!

Kindergarten Centers: (click on a link for materials & instructions)

• Fly Swat
• Musical Groceries
• Lego Music
• Graphic Notation Station
• Rhythms of the Heart
• ABC Sing With Me
• Sound Stories

Grade 1/2/3 Centers: (click on a link for materials & instructions)

• Fly Swat
• Boomwhacker Melodies
• Musical Groceries
• Lego Music
• Dice Music
• Graphic Notation Station
• Sound Stories

Grade 4/5 Centers: (click on a link for materials & instructions)

• Fly Swat
• Boomwhacker Melodies/Name That Tune
• Lego Music
• Dice Music
• Meter Race
• Graphic Notation Station
• Sound Stories

Centers: Name That Tune

I got this idea from Katie Traxler's site.
Students look at a folder that has notes on the music staff. They need to find the following pieces (each cut into laminated strips) and add them to the folder:
- the song title
- the note names
- the lyrics

They may want to find those pieces first and then play, or the may want to play the notes first to help them figure it out!

Click on the link below to download materials:
Name That Tune Poster




Again, I used the same scanned music from this book:

After laminating, I cut each song into pieces:
1) the notes on the staff
2) the note names
3) the lyrics
4) the titles
In each folder I glued the notes on the staff, leaving spaces for the note name strips, lyric strips and title strips.

Centers: Boomwhacker Melodies

At this center students play songs on the Boomwhackers. They have a couple of options: they can play the already made songs (see below) or they can make their own songs with coloured circles. A second part this station is Name That Tune.

Click on the link below to download materials:
Boomwhacker Melodies Poster

I have scanned and printed out the boomwhacker songs from this book:

 In their group they can choose a song and practice playing it together.

I also have laminated cutouts of circles that match the Boomwhacker colours, each labeled with the appropriate solfege name. Students can lay them out in any order and compose their own Boomwhacker music.

Centers: ABC, Sing With Me

I got this idea from Mrs. Kings Music Room blog. Kindergarten students place a bingo chip or a button over a letter of the alphabet in a printout of the ABC song. When they sing the song, they make the letter covered with the button a rest. Then they continue adding buttons and singing again with more rests.

It would be fun to add more songs to as well (ie. Mary Had A Little Lamb, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle, etc.).

Click the links below to download materials:
ABC Sing With Me Poster
ABC Song Printout

Centers: Sound Stories

At this center, I provide a basket of books that are conducive to adding instruments. Students choose a story and pick instruments to help tell the story. If they have a completed project, they can perform it for the class. I provide a sheet for them to keep track of their ideas if they want to use it.

Click on the links below to download materials:
Sound Stories Poster
Sound Stories Worksheet

Center: Rhythms of the Heart

This is one of my kindergarten centers. At this center, students create 4-beat rhythm patterns using sticks (for Ta's & Ti-Ti's) and pipe cleaners (for rest). I have strips of poster board with 4 hearts outlined on each - this is where they create their patterns. Once they have laid out the sticks and pipe cleaners on their heart beat sheet, they copy the rhythm pattern onto their worksheet (to help them practice writing music notes). They can also play their patterns on a non-pitched percussion instrument.

Click on the links below to download materials:
Rhythms of the Heart Poster
Rhythms of the Heart Worksheet

Centers: Meter Race

 At this station, students play against each other in a race to complete 4 measures of rhythm. Players alternate rolling the music dice, and add the rhythm on the dice to a measure on their own paper. They can only add the rhythm in a place where it will fit (ie. if they roll a half note, but only have one beat left in measure one, they can put it in measure two). If they roll a rhythm that they can't use (ie. if they roll a dotted half note but don't have a measure that has three free beats left) they lose that turn.

I put the music dice into little clear containers from the dollar store to keep the dice from getting lost in the room - students are to keep the die in the containers and simply shake them to roll.

Click on the links below to download materials:
Meter Race Poster
Meter Race Worksheet


To download the Smartboard file that can be used as a demonstration for this center, click here.

Centers: Lego Music

At the Lego Music center, students create rhythm patterns with pre-marked Lego pieces.

To download a Smartboard file that can be used to prepare students for this center, click here.

I bought flat sheets of Lego base sheets at Wal-Mart, and cut them into strips. I took the (2-bump) Lego pieces and wrote numbers on them (1 to 4) to represent the beats. I put them on the base strip and added 4 bar lines.

I drew on each of the Lego pieces as follows:

 Once students have created their 4-bar rhythm pattern, they copy it onto their Lego worksheet.
Click here to download the worksheet.

Students can then practice playing their rhythm on an instrument.