Overview
These ‘Easy and Fun Jazz Activities’ will assist in turning your elementary music class into a fun and exciting place to learn music. Jazz, as an art form with full rhythms and colorful background, gives students many opportunities to learn the joy of Jazz. These can be used in teaching lessons focused on rhythm, blaring, jazz creation, or just simply as techniques in introducing aspects of Jazz into your class.
What Kind of Jazz Activities Can You Do in Music Class?
As has been said above, there are plenty of easy and fun jazz activities that are perfect for children. These activities are immersed in basic concepts of jazz, like improvisation, rhythm, and creativity. Not only will the students be taught about the history of jazz, but they will also be able to learn by utilizing their bodies through movement. They will also get to practice sounds and rhythm through vocal play. It provides that learning is achieved effectively with some element of fun and enjoyment.
Jazz Listening and Movement
Listening to jazz is one of the most effective ways for students to do that. Introduce students to famous jazz songs by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald and let children dance to the music. You can use this activity in conjunction with easy and fun jazz activities such as dancing to the song, ‘’What a Wonderful World‘’ or even developing simple body drumming patterns. As the students listen, they will be able to impart the type of tempo, rhythm, and patterns of jazz music.
Rhythm and Call-and-Response Exercises
Rhythm exercises are thus an integral part of any easy and fun jazz activities curriculum. Teach onset-rhythm games in which you play a short rhythmic phrase and students answer back. It aids students in making better sense of the improvised, or conversational, nature of jazz. We can also complicate the lesson by incorporating modern jazz singer records and tasking students to match rhythms.
Basic Jazz Improvisation Activities
This is all about jazz and the ability to teach children in a fun process about such concepts as improvisation is really great to do. Young students should perform basic exercises in acting ability using instruments such as piano or xylophone. Encourage students to “play what they feel” while at the same time helping the learners continue to be on beat. When they start to feel relaxed you might introduce a different flow over the tracks or could ask them to compose their riffs.
Jazz-Inspired Sing-Alongs
A new jazz album can be used as a great tool to expose students, especially young ones, to the genre of jazz vocals. Select a lively and easy-to-learn song, such as “A Tisket A Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald, and invite students to sing along. Explain the choice of words and rhythms in the lyrics to enable the learners to appreciate the difference in jazz singing. This activity is ideal for those students who love singing and extol the genre that is based on vocals.
Exploring Instruments in Jazz
It wouldn’t be jazz without the instruments you see. To introduce the students to the instruments of jazz, it’s important to arrange different stations where the students can get familiar with the sounds some of them produce, such as the trumpet, saxophone, or drums. Allow them an opportunity to experiment with small patterns of percussion instruments on their own or to listen to live or recorded examples. This can be followed by students analyzing various instruments from the greatest jazz albums and their positions in jazz ensembles.
Jazz Storytelling and Improvisation
It goes without saying that jazz and stories are two concepts that practically combine seamlessly. First of all, mix such elements as storytelling and improvisation by giving students the opportunity to develop their own jazz stories. During the storytelling, suggest the students act out with their voices or music as a way of developing this skill. It can be storyline-driven or just an ode to a given feeling through songs. This is quite entertaining and can also be a great concept for teaching about improvisation and Jazz in general.
Jazz Rhythm and Movement Games
Using dance regarding hand jive stimulates learning on swing and rhythm that forms the basis of jazz music. Develop clapping, stomping, or using instruments and hitting the tables following steady patterns from jazz tunes. Ask them to clap along to various tempos – from the modern jazz singer’s rhythm singing to the tricky drum kit groove of famous jazz tunes.
Introducing Jazz Through Art and Crafts
Listening to a piece of jazz music, ask students to make pictures expressing the mood of the composition. They can explain the mood or rhythm of a music piece or describe images representing the instruments used in playing jazz so that they can learn to appreciate jazz from a vantage point of artistry. As such, this simple and enjoyable jazz activity will assist students in understanding the music’s emotional content and form.
Mini Jazz Performance for Parents or Peers
Finally, come up with a mini jazz performance and incorporate everything learned in a finale for parents or peers. Students can perform what they have learned, it could be a simple rhythm, an improvised beat or even singing. This is a good way of creating a winning and appreciation of accomplishment for all the students about jazz. As part of the song and dance performance, the show can use songs from the greatest jazz albums or jazz songs produced by the students.
Conclusion
Using easy and fun jazz activities in your elementary music class is a great idea when it comes to adding the component of jazz to the student curriculum. By listening to the records, moving, and using rhythm exercises and improvisation, the students can get acquainted with jazz.
When kids and adults sing along to songs, or if they are fiddling with instruments having the opportunity to listen and play jazz music and come up with their own melodies, it does foster a lifelong appreciation for the style. Allow the energy of jazz to fill your class, and what you are going to see is the creativity in your students grow!
