CONTENT: 7 weeks of lessons for a medium ability KS2 class, though it could even be used as entry level for KS3. Powerpoints include a handful of games, warm ups, rhythms, breaks, hand signs, etc. I usually deliver these lessons in around 30-40minutes but I still try to spend time improving timing and playing to a pulse even by the end of the year. I use both the Apito whistle and the animations available in Powerpoint to have 4 Apito whistles appear on the screen to add a visual element (a wireless presenter is handy). MAKE SURE YOU INSTAL THE FONTS NOTES: The rests on the Surdo part are meant to be played with a bare hand. Ganza shakers are usually encouraged to make a < shape going up, back to the chest, down, back up to the chest (repeat). For the Tamborims I tend to get them to try an 'on/off' pattern similar to the Agogos adding + for closed on beat 1 + 3 and o for open on beats 2+4. I normally tell Agogo players to put their hand out as if they are shaking someone's hand but in this case the handle of the Agogo. From there I get them to make sure they are keeping close to the instrument and playing using their wrist. I said this goes for all other instruments too. For more, see my KS2-KS3 Samba book.

This is a great scheme for teaching chords, singing, guitar, bass and drums. It's great for Musical Futures with pupils forming bands as well as looking at different classic rock bands. They could learn to play some guitar (or ukulele) and bass as well as some drum beats (even if it's by playing the beat using the keyboard setting). Though the scheme is set in to 5 sections, this may take longer than 5 lessons and can be adapted to add in any devices or elements you need to add in. Included in the scheme: Powerpoint with 5 sections Worksheets for singing & chords, guitar riffs, bass riffs and drum beats Audio for all the songs used Video examples for drums, bass, guitar and singing Font: Rockwell See: Ukulele Chords, Guitar Chords, Bass Notes worksheets

I have put together 7 pieces from different Disney films based around the world. Quite a few Disney songs have a lot of chords in them or have needed transposing. Some still have harder chords used but I have a lot of pupils who have been bought Ukuleles as a result of doing whole-class lessons so these pupils tend to be able to do them. I usually split pupils in to a chord per team (6 chords, 6 teams), then 2 chords per team then split them in to easy chords and hard chords. These are not lesson plans but to be used along side other aspects of teacher (tab, notation, geography, language, etc). I have also included the Uke-Hero game I developed in these slides in case you do struggle for other things to do with pupils between songs. NOTE: You may need to download the videos for each song to input in to the slides (see: YouTube) Look out for part 2 to this covering countries like China (Mulan), Australia (Nemo), Norway (Frozen)...

This is a 5 week scheme I'm using for Summer. Rhythms are all dinosaur themed and I have adapted 'Walk the Dinosaur' used in Ice Age 3 to fit with Samba and to introduce more Singing in to Samba Lessons. Some rhythms are quite complicated but have found that exposure helps a lot of pupils as well as allowing those that are more capable to expand their reading abilities. Most will rely on their listening skills. Included: Powerpoints for 5 weeks Lesson Plans for 5 weeks Audio for 'Walk The Dinosaur' Font for Powerpoints Fonts used: Jurassic Park and Century Gothic

I have put together a book of all Major, Minor, Major 7, Minor 7 and Dominant 7 chords for Ukulele, Guitar & Keyboard. Root notes and chromatic notes for Bass Guitar are also included. All chords (apart from keyboard) are presented on an updated version of the normal grid/charts used practically everywhere online. I have found that this is easier for pupils to understand as they look more like the instrument than the normal black & white grids. However, it is easy to transfer from this updated version to the traditional look. When I do a song sheet for a song on ukulele I can quickly copy and paste the chords I need from here. Likewise, when I am doing a song sheet in the style of Musical Futures I can copy and paste chords for each instrument then all I need to do is all the lyrics and maybe a snazzy title and picture. Everything is of high quality in case you were thinking of printing them to place around your room or print as a booklet for pupils to refer to as and when needed. Tip: if pupils still struggle reading the grids then suggest that they rotate them left 90 degrees so that they lay the same way as you would then see them when looking down at the instrument (providing that you hold the neck of the instrument in your left hand).

This is an adaptation of the song 'Samba Lele' for KS3 pupils. It can be performed as 3 different sections or as 2 sections with parts layering up and pupils working in 2 different teams. Planning for 4 weeks is included as well as an mp3 of the tune to help. There are a few games included in this and pupils can swap colours around to get the most out of improving their timing (opposed to just remembering when to do one bit). I have also transcribed a handful of pop tunes for Boomwhackers if you want to take it further (see my other resources). Font: Amatic SC and Century Gothic (see: Font Pack to download the fonts I use)

I have done this with KS2 (years 3 + 4) on glockenspiel and it has gone down really well. I have used something similar with year 8 pupils (also including opportunities for ukulele, drums, guitar, bass and composition) but this is a good starting point for pupils before they get to high school. Progress is set out over 4 lessons, looking at the 12 bar blues, chords (broken) / walking bass lines, Blues melodies, flat/sharp notes and improvisation. There is a song that I came up with that pupils love to sing that works nicely with getting them to improvise in between too. Those that excel can also be pushed using the 'Blues Bass & Melodies' sheet to help expand their vocabulary for improvisation. Font: Century Gothic

I have used this with year 3 but found it best with year 4 and up. Prior knowledge of reading rhythms helps but if this is not the case, it will probably take about 6 weeks. Samba Maracatu is an early type of Samba music. It's great for teaching pupils about clavé rhythms and the Maracatu rhythm itself is quite unique to the style. This is only a short topic (I usually do it for 3 weeks - easy, medium, then hard rhythms), however, with some of the rhythms being quite difficult you may want to pad it out or incorporate other elements like singing. The Powerpoint is set out so that you can drag & drop the elements you want and move them around to make a lesson from them. This is not a scheme of work. Font: Amatic SC (see my other resources for the font pack)

Here we have 4 pieces to learn while looking at music in advertising. The main points of learning are keywords such as Jingle, Underscore, Voice-Over and Foley. Musically, there are lots of quaver rests, 1st time and 2nd time bars, repeat marks and D.C. markings (as well as one piece in 3/4). Parts have been split to work in groups of 2, 3 or 4. Some pupils may want to play chords and bass, both melody parts or chords and melody (or any other combinations). This is not 4 separate lessons but a template to adapt around the 4 pieces. You may want to just focus on one piece, use them as steps of progress or as inspiration for writing their own.

This is great for those teaching Samba who aren't sure where else to go with it. It's also great for getting singing in to Samba lessons. I personally start exploring different sub-styles of Samba as well as fusion styles and songs from those styles. Pupils don't need to be able to read rhythms but it helps if they have some knowledge. There are words that go along with each rhythm so can be learnt by ear anyway. There are a set of easier rhythms and a set of harder rhythms as well as both Jimmy Cliff's Samba Reggae and Bob Marley's 'Three Little Birds' for singing along to. The later can be used to get pupils to think about how to turn certain words and phrases in to things they do in unison. This can usually be stretched over a full half term, as the 4 sections I have split it in to are set as stages not lessons. Included: Powerpoint Audio files Video of Olodum live Font used: Amatic SC and Century Gothic

This scheme is best suited to year 8 and 9 pupils. Pupils can perform individual parts or two at a time. The powerpoints are set out in sections (intro, ode to joy, spring, pachelbel's cannon and theory / knowledge) for you to move around to suit what you need and when. The main piece for the scheme is Pachelbel's Canon to be performed as a class once pupils have progressed through playing different parts. Ode to Joy & Spring have notes added, Pachelbel's Canon has not so that pupils can learn more about reading notation. Included in this scheme: Powerpoint Instrument ear training audio Scores for Ode to Joy, Spring & Pachelbel's Canon Audio for teaching texture Audio for Pachelbel's Canon Font: Apple Chancery

1. Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Japsen) 2. Get Lucky (Daft Punk) 3. In The Jungle (Lion King) 4. Love Me Again (John Newman) 5. Shake It Off (Taylor Swift) 6. Titanium (Sia) 7. Under The Sea (Little Mermaid) All in C major, though some pieces use little of certain notes. Pupils can be grouped with either chords or melody based on ability. Or, pupils can all be part of performing the melody or all be part of performing the chords. Audio is to play along with, for call & response purposes or just reference of sound. The sounds in the .mp3s are not Boomwhackers but Sibelius sounds. As reading the notation can be confusing to some, these are meant to be a guide for the teacher using them, however, Powerpoints for each piece are on their way soon to help with this.

This is just the book from the full Samba series I have been working on for the past 2 years made up of rhythms and a line of progression I have used with year 3, 4 and 5 pupils. The full series comes with Audio, Powerpoints and more (COMING SOON). There are 8 pieces included with call & responses, breaks and rhythms as well as songs to use in conjunction with teaching Samba. Also included, especially suited to non-specialists or even just those struggling to communicate rhythm effectively, 3 different methods for teaching rhythm to KS2 and KS3 pupils. Any feedback on this book would be massively helpful to me before I embark on one for snare drum/drum kit, tuned percussion and ukulele. A free (reduced) version of the book is also available.

I have transposed the following 6 songs to be in the best suitable key for pupils as well as backing tracks in those keys too. Some of these tracks have been altered and some times do not include the full song for ease of playing. Before the lyrics begin, the intros of each song are the same as the originals. What I usually do is teach pupils at least C, Am and F before doing any of this. G and Em too for the higher ability. For each song I first split them in to groups to play each group (again, ability based), I then split them in to groups that take 2 chords each or 1 finger chords, 2 finger chords and 3 finger chords. Finally, I either then have pupils that play all the chords, 1/2 finger chords and 2/3 finger chords. Hold Back The River is available with backing track for free to try (see my other resources). 1. Hold Back The River - C Am F G 2. Human - Am F Dm 3. Roar - C Am F 4. Rockabye - Am F G Em 5. Thriller - Am D E7 G C F 6. Titanium - C Am F G Em

In the style of Guitar Hero, this is great for teaching pupils the 4 strings of the ukulele and to play them at the right time. It can be used as a competition between students or just as a general teaching tool.

This is great for year 8 and 9 pupils. It's a great way to get pupils to access a topic about classical music. It helps pupils in identifying instruments, families of instruments, listening skills, reading treble and bass clef, performing as part of a section as well as at the end performing as part of an orchestra in a section, conducting, etc. Parts are differentiated for different abilities and higher ability pupils can try things like transposing, 2 hand playing, merging parts to form chords, etc. Included: 5 weeks of Powerpoints (though I usually end up extending it) Work booklet Work sheets with all parts Audio for ear training Audio for 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 conducting Audio of Star Wars Video of John Williams conducting Font (will need to be installed) NOTE: Some of the numbers given for each instrument on the keyboard may be slightly different but these are the most common GM sounds.

I usually do this with year 7 or 8 depending on ability. I have included 2 versions of this scheme; version 1 uses simpler notation such as crotchets, crotchet rests and quavers. version 2 uses semi-quavers, quaver rests, etc. There is a booklet, worksheets, a Powerpoint, backing track looped, drum kit part, etc. The powerpoint and worksheets use both traditional notation and simpler graphics to communicate the rhythm.

This is a great one for playing syncopated rhythms within an ensemble. Parts have been differentiated for different levels of player but I have also included a .zip file with the notes already added to the parts and an .mp3 to either play along to or for reference. If you need the Sibelius file send me an e-mail to tbrads90@googlemail.com and i'll send it over. I would love to hear how it sounds if you do play it with you group so let me know how you get on!