Meter, Meter, 3-4-5 | Free Music Lesson Plan (Time Signature)

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Ask students, "Who can find a pattern in the music classroom?" Before the students arrive, set up several visual patterns around the room, such as three red books and three green books stacked on a table.

Step 2
Tell students, "There are also patterns in music. The most common beat patterns are 3, 4, and 5. If you play an instrument, you have probably seen time signatures at the beginning of a piece of music." Write 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 on the whiteboard. "The top number tells us how many beats are in each pattern."

Step 3
Ask students to identify how many beats are in each pattern for the time signatures on the board.

Step 4
Tell students, "One way to discover the meter of a piece of music is by looking at the time signature. It's also possible to hear the pattern. In 3/4 meter, the first beat is strong (loud), and the second and third beats are weak (soft)."

Step 5
Tell students, "I'm going to play a piece of music with a three-beat pattern. Next, we'll play the pattern by bouncing a playground ball on beat 1, and by tapping rhythm sticks together on beats 2 and 3."

Step 6
Pass out the playground balls and rhythm sticks. Alternate students so you have one with a ball, then one with sticks, and so on.

Step 7
Start the recording. With guided practice, ask students to perform the three-beat pattern (Bounce-tap-tap). Rotate the instruments every eight measures so everyone gets a turn.

Step 8
Tell students, "Now I'm going to play music with a four-beat pattern. In 4/4 meter, the first beat is strong, and the next three beats are weak. We will show this by bouncing the ball on 1, followed by tapping the rhythm sticks on beats 2, 3, and 4."

Step 9
Start the recording. Have students perform the four-beat pattern (Bounce-tap-tap-tap). Rotate the balls and sticks every eight measures.

Step 10
Tell students, "This last piece of music has a five-beat pattern. In 5/4 meter, the pattern is a little different depending on the music. The first beat is strong no matter what. After that, you just need to listen to find out how the composer organized the music. The "Mission: Impossible Theme" groups the beats like this: Strong-weak-weak-Strong-weak. We'll bounce the ball on the strong beats and tap the rhythm sticks on the weak beats just like we did before (Bounce-tap-tap-Bounce-tap)."

Step 11
Start the recording. Have students perform the five-beat pattern (Bounce-tap-tap-Bounce-tap). Rotate the instruments every eight measures until the song ends.

Step 12
Check for understanding. Ask students, "What was the same about the pattern in every meter?" The answer should be, "A strong beat always started the pattern. Weaker beats followed." This is even true for 5/4 meter, as the strong beat on beat 4 is not as strong as the first beat.