As the year draws to a close, many elementary music teachers, myself included, are beginning to plan their annual Nutcracker study. Whether you concentrate on the composer, the story, the instruments (which is my preferred approach), the dances, or other elements of the music, it's likely that you're considering, devising, or utilizing the work of another teacher to help instruct Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. Enhance your collection with a Rhythm Play-Along of a medley of six selections from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker!

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Rhythm Play-Along

In this rhythm play-along, I created a medley using five selections:

• Miniature Overture

• March

• Coffee

• Tea

• Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

• Trepak

The musical elements that are used:

• Quarter note or Crotchet

• Half note/Dotted half note or Minim

• Eighth notes or Quavers

• Quarter rest

• 4 and 3 meters

• Accents

Each rhythm pattern consists of two bars or measures of music usually repeating between four to eight times. I would show each rhythm pattern first so the students can review them before they perform the play-along. This is also a good time for me to assess their rhythm reading skills depending on the grade level.

Conductors

When picking the right conductors for a piece, I based my choices on either the dominant instrument or the characters present in the selection. For instance, the Miniature Overture had an outline of a conductor to represent the conductor, while the March was symbolized by a nutcracker. For the Coffee selection, I chose to include a guitar conductor to provide an exciting audio experience and a different sound than the usual orchestra. Similarly, the Tea had the piccolo as the conductor and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy was conducted by the celesta.

Credits: This shows my age as these were in my iTunes from when I used to upload CDs I owned in the 1990s.

1. Miniature Overture: https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-classical-mood-great-overtures-mw0001858711#credits

2. March: https://www.discogs.com/release/9479265-Various-Music-And-You-Sample-Record-Grade-K-6

3. Coffee: Christmas Eve Album with Various Artists

4. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: https://www.discogs.com/release/9479265-Various-Music-And-You-Sample-Record-Grade-K-6

5. Trepak: https://www.discogs.com/release/9479265-Various-Music-And-You-Sample-Record-Grade-K-6

Coming Soon!

Get ready for more fun and engaging content with our upcoming play-along videos! We'll be adding new ones throughout December, along with our highly anticipated End-of-the-Year Top Ten Countdown. Be sure to tune in from December 23 to January 1 as we ring in the New Year with daily videos you won't want to miss. See you soon!