Making a Case for Music

To preface this post, you really need to glance over the previous blog post here.

In summary, this year I, The Techie Teacher, do solemnly promise to use music with more purpose during the 2014-2015 school year. Not willy-nilly, pandora-ing like I used to.

A few things to consider:

First.....Match the music to the activity (duhhhhh...) You know, slow music for journaling and upbeat for fastwriting. Mind-blowing, right?

Second......Choose music without lyrics when students need to concentrate. This is one I know from experience. There is no way that I can grade something that I have to read and process if I have music with words or the tv going.

Quantum Learning adds the next few reasons.

The brain can only concentrate on one new thing at a time.
Lyrics may distract the brain from learning.
If new information is being processed or learned, music with lyrics may be using valuable space in our working memory.

Choosing the right kind of music can not only signal our students to start or end and activity, but it can also help our students who struggle with hearing the noise from lights and other distracting noises around our classroom by create a "white noise". This is especially helpful for our ADHD/ADD and Autistic kiddos.

As we orchestrate learning in our classrooms, we need to purposefully choose music to guide our students into the best learning state. Music sets the mood, changes states, and supports the learning environment. Music stimulates, rejuvenates, and strengthens learning both consciously and unconsciously.

So, what kind of music do we need to purposefully play in our classrooms? Well, they fall into four categories: Upbeat lyrical, upbeat non-lyrical, slow/medium lyrical, and slow/medium non-lyrical.

UPBEAT LYRICAL

 Happy by Pharrell Williams
Counting Stars by One Republic
Firework by Katy Perry
Stronger by Kelly Clarkson
These can be used from come-in songs, moving seats, distributing papers/supplies, or other transitions. I would think that any song that I choose for a transition should only be about 30 seconds long. In another post, I will show a tutorial with how to cut a song, as well as a post with what songs I will be using for what transitions.
Glee and KidsBop are good resources for this one

UPBEAT NON-LYRICAL

Pretty much anything by The Piano Guys! I like this one, this one, and this one too.
Pirates of the Caribbean Theme Song
Tron Movie Theme
Chariots of Fire
Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel
This music is best for fast-writing, group work, project creation, or seat work

SLOW/MEDIUM LYRICAL

Hey, There Delilah by the Plain White T's
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
A Thousand Years By Christina Perri
Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips
I See the Light from Tangled
I can see myself using this type of music for a "one-song break", transitions, or a group activity not requiring focused attention.

SLOW/MEDIUM NON-LYRICAL

This is specifically Baroque music. (Think Mozart and Handel)
This music should be played at a barely audible level and should be used during testing and times of deep focus. All of this is based on Dr. Lozanoff's research that found that the beats per minute calmed our heartbeat and allowed our brains to be in the healthiest state for learning and retaining knowledge.

Want to know what songs I'm going to play in my classroom? You'll have to wait for the next blog post!

What are your favorite songs/music to play in the classroom?