News & Views Tuesday, March 19, 2024

JAZZ in the Classroom Monday, February 19, 2018

recommended by Jen Sper and Alissa Ruth, School Choral and Classroom Music Specialists

Introduce the world of jazz to your elementary music students! These great new resources will immerse your students in music through singing, playing, and improvising.

leon-00124232-fPlay-Along with Jazz by Tom Anderson
Your students will riff from the rafters with this collection written specifically for classroom instruments. Styles that groove like dixie, swing, bebop and hard bop are introduced in a sequence that reflects the overall history of jazz as well as levels of difficulty. Scat singing is optional but can add a boppin’ alternative to playing instruments so all students can participate. Basic drumming feels are included for even more play-along opportunities. Stand back and let the music-making begin. Swing, stomp and riff until everyone is in the groove! Full scores and helpful teacher tips with optional unpitched percussion ostinatos are provided, along with digital access to play-along audio recordings and separate PDFs of the Orff instrument and recorder parts. Songs include: Saints’ Stomp, Riff Raff, Swing’s the Thing, Boppin’ Robin, A la Mode, Hard Bop Candy. Suggested for grades 4-8.

lorenz-75_1052h-fRecorder Jazz Time by Darren Fellowes
A young musician’s first introduction to jazz can be a powerful experience. This book makes jazz accessible to beginning recorder players by giving straightforward instruction on jazz concepts before each piece. A piano accompaniment includes more extensive jazz music to make the recorder player a part of an authentic jazz experience. The CD also includes backing tracks with piano and other instruments appropriate for each song. Most songs use only the natural notes on the recorder, with a few instances of F-sharp and B-flat. Suggested for grades 3-6.

leon-502676Jazz for Young People, Volume 1: New Orleans & Jelly Roll Morton by Sharon Burch & Wynton Marsalis
Introduce students to jazz through great literature combined with learn by doing! The first of ten volumes, Jazz for Young People includes step-by-step lessons that combine content and audio/video recordings of Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center artists with interactive student learning, including classroom instruments that every music teacher already owns or can easily afford. This easy-to-present resource is designed for a teacher who may or may not be trained in America’s art form – bringing jazz to the next generation. DIGITAL DOWNLOADS include step-by-step lesson slides to project, audio recordings of each song and Wynton Marsalis sharing background information, as well as reproducible activity/assessment worksheets, plus free access to corresponding video clips for each lesson. Perfect for the general music classroom (grades 2 and up), beginning jazz ensembles and community jazz education courses. Volume 2: Louis Armstrong is also newly available!

Find more classroom resources on our website, or contact us for more information. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

About the Authors:
Jen Sper has been with Stanton’s since 2006. A former middle school and high school choral director, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music. An active choral singer and accompanist throughout the Central Ohio area, she also enjoys good food, running (to counteract the good food…) and the Muppets.

Alissa Ruth began working at Stanton’s in the summer of 2016. She is a former middle and high school choir director and holds a Bachelor of Music in Education degree from Capital University. She is an active choral singer in the Columbus area, and spends her free time running, doing yoga, cooking, and watching Netflix.

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