Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson in which students will learn to play the rhythm tracks of the song “Believer” by Imagine Dragons, exploring different percussion instruments and playing techniques.
🎲 Activities included:
💻 Materials:
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
What is the song about? (e.g. about finding growth through misery. Have you ever been sad or unhappy about something but in the end it made you stronger?)
Not counting the voice, which instrument in this song is the most important, in your opinion? (Drums. Some parts in the song are just drum solos, like the intro, and in the other parts, the instrument is still very loud, in-front.)
What is the genre/mood/tempo of this song?
What adjectives would you use to describe this song?
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Ask your students to put their hands on a desk or any other surface.
Ask your students to tap the rhythm shown in the picture (4 quarter notes and 4 eighth-note triplets) together with the Intro section of Believer a couple of times - press play!
Next, press the Plus button - it will make the song a bit faster. Do the same exercise again!
Finally, press the Plus button again - the song will be in its original tempo. Do this exercise again! By now, students should feel comfortable tapping quarter notes and eighth-note triplets one after the other!
🕐 Time: 10 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
You can loop Verse 1 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button.
If the tempo is too fast, you can slow it down by pressing the “﹣” button up to 4 times on the left side of the “Play” button.
When you're comfortable with the slower tempo, you can try playing the Verse 1 at a faster speed and try to reach the original speed!
Tip: Give special attention to the eighth-note triplets - see if the students are not rushing them or tapping too slow. If the students are using body percussion, it is better to use their feet/hands interchangeably while doing the triplet rhythm (e.g. right-left-right or left-right-left hands or feet).
🕐 Time: 10 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Again, you can loop Verse 1 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button if both groups need more time to get acquainted.
🕐 Time: 10 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Again, you can loop Verse 1 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button if all groups need more time to get acquainted.
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
Tip: if the students need a practice run, you can either press the Minus button to slow the song down and practice with that OR let them play half of the song in the original tempo.
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎲 Activity:
🕐 Time: 3 min
🎯 Objectives:
🎲 Activity:
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by…
In this lesson, students will learn to play the rhythm tracks of the song “Believer” by Imagine Dragons. Students will learn three separate rhythm tracks and perform them in a song.
The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons. If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.
⏰ Time: 45 min
🎓 Grades: 1-12
🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...
💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:
💻 Materials:
🕐 5 min - Believe Me
What is the song about? (e.g. about finding growth through misery. Have you ever been sad or unhappy about something but in the end it made you stronger?)
Not counting the voice, which instrument in this song is the most important, in your opinion? (Drums. Some parts in the song are just drum solos, like the intro, and in the other parts, the instrument is still very loud, in-front.)
What is the genre/mood/tempo of this song?
What adjectives would you use to describe this song?
🕐 5 min - Split The Rhythm - 1 & 3
Ask your students to put their hands on a desk or any other surface.
Ask your students to tap the rhythm shown in the picture (4 quarter notes and 4 eighth-note triplets) together with the Intro section of Believer a couple of times - press play!
Next, press the Plus button - it will make the song a bit faster. Do the same exercise again!
Finally, press the Plus button again - the song will be in its original tempo. Do this exercise again! By now, students should feel comfortable tapping quarter notes and eighth-note triplets one after the other!
🕐 10 min - 3rd Rhythm Line
You can loop Verse 1 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button.
If the tempo is too fast, you can slow it down by pressing the “﹣” button up to 4 times on the left side of the “Play” button.
When you're comfortable with the slower tempo, you can try playing the Verse 1 at a faster speed and try to reach the original speed!
Tip: Give special attention to the eighth-note triplets - see if the students are not rushing them or tapping too slow. If the students are using body percussion, it is better to use their feet/hands interchangeably while doing the triplet rhythm (e.g. right-left-right or left-right-left hands or feet).
🕐 10 min - 2nd Rhythm Line
Again, you can loop Verse 1 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button if both groups need more time to get acquainted.
🕐 10 min - 1st Rhythm Line
Again, you can loop Verse 1 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button if all groups need more time to get acquainted.
🕐 5 min - I Believe!
Tip: if the students need a practice run, you can either press the Minus button to slow the song down and practice with that OR let them play half of the song in the original tempo.
🕐 5 min - Discussion
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by…