Though this is not one of my popular rhythm play-along videos, I have to say that it is one of my favorite ones. This is a Halloween-inspired rhythm play-along video with all live, instrumental selections. Many of the five selections are ones you would hear during the month of October. I would suggest this play-along for older elementary to middle school students, especially if you were preparing for a variety of meters, including 3/8, and a variety of rhythms and musical symbols.

Selections

I chose snippets from the following five selections because I adore these pieces and they have a lot of musical concepts to offer:

1. Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue”

2. Dukas’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”

3. Mussorgsky’s “A Night on Bald Mountain”

4. Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”

5. Saint-Saëns’s “Dance Macabre”

Musical Concepts:

There were plenty of musical concepts to present, perform, and/or review with these selections. I focused on:

• Meters of 4, 3, 2, and 3/8

• Repeat signs

• Bar lines

• Roll symbol

• Fermata

• Quarter note

• Half note

• Dotted half note

• Eighth notes

• Eighth rest

• Quarter rest

• 3/8 rhythms of eighth notes and eighth rest patterns

Grade Levels

This is a challenging medley. Even when I slowed down some of the tempos, reading and performing the complex patterns would be most appropriate for older elementary and middle school students.

How to Use in the Classroom

This one lends itself to preparing 3/8 meter, introducing it, practicing it, and then performing it. It also focuses on various metes, musical symbols, and a lot of different rhythm patterns.

The meaning of the songs could be researched and discussed depending on what you can teach in your school. If Halloween-themed music and lessons are not allowed, this medley would not work well in the classroom.

Manipulatives

The manipulatives include the rhythm patterns and resources of the songs and composers featured in each selection. You can find them on https://buymeacoffee.com/elmusedtech

Please enjoy this latest installment of medley rhythm play-along videos!

Resources

DrGrDo. (2012, October 20). Camille Saint-Saëns - La danse macabre. YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71fZhMXlGT4

Lincoln Center. (2016, May 4). Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (New York Philharmonic, 1992). YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lWvl3yVH_Y

mahlerman77. (2013, May 29). Mussorgsky - A Night on Bald Mountain. YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fizh0M8TczA

Seattle Symphony. (2020, March 20). Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nMUr8Rt2AI

Xaver Varnus. (2018, January 31). XAVER VARNUS PLAYS BACH’S TOCCATA & FUGUE IN THE BERLINER DOM. YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHNLdHe8uxY