I’ve talked a lot about Quavermusic this year. It has been used a lot in my teaching and me being me I wanted to make sure it’s use was meaningful and productive to my students. The best way I’ve found to use the site is to give what I call “missions” to my students. In other words, a web quest. It is a series of steps that direct a student around a website or series of websites to make it a meaningful lesson or experience. What I give is a short and sometimes funny or out there introduction before giving them the steps to complete. I keep them short because of my class time limit and my students that complete these are only 3rd through 5th! Here are my top 8 in no particular order, it is the concept, the introduction, and then the steps to complete:

Pitch:
High to low, low to high, up and down it’s worth a try! Did you know, without pitch melodies would be quite boring? Follow the steps below to discover the meaning of the musical word ‘pitch’!

Clown pitch game – Head to the lab and click on the organ. You will travel to the ear carnival! Practice listening for high and low pitch on the first game. All you have to do is read the directions and poke the right clown on the seesaw.

Bell game– There is a hidden bell game in the shop! How exciting! Find the game and play it. Read the directions carefully, it’s not about size it’s about sound!

Qcomposer– Now here is the test. Head to the studio and click on the piano. Write me a 3 measure melody on the top line. Remember our melody writing rules and only use quarter and eighth notes!

Melody:
Laaaa laaa laaa. I feel like singing today! But what shall I sing? Can you help me? Make your way through Quavermusic.com to find me the perfect melody! Hurry up though I can’t hold out singing much longer!

Play melody on piano on front of building– B A G A, B B B, A A A, B B B, B A G A, B B B, A A B A G..what is that mysterious melody? Play it on the piano on the front of the shop and write your guess on the board!

Ear carnival intervals– Head to the lab and click on the organ. You will travel to the Quaver ear carnival! Play the game in the middle. Listen to each note and try to figure out how many spaces apart they sound. Click on the right cup before time runs out!

Qcomposer– Here’s your chance to get creative! 5 measures, access to all of the notes, remember our melody writing rules and write me the best melody you can!

Note names and values:

HELP! I bumped my noggin while snorkeling off the coast of Zimbabwe and cannot remember the names and values of the notes and rests on the board so I can teach you. Can you teach me? Help me fill in the missing information on the board by making your way around Quavermusic.com

QMeasureup– Head to the music room and click on the arcade center. Play a game of Qmeasure up! It’s like tetris but instead of fitting in pieces you are fitting notes into each measure. 4 beats per measure only!

Qstrum– Boogie to the studio and click on the guitar. 10 measures maximum for this rockin’ tune. Click on a chord and then fill in a measure using the notes under “durations” by dragging and dropping. Remember to only use 4 beats per measure! Change chords every measure to add some rock and roll flavor to your song.

Astronotes– Go back to the arcade in the music room and play a game of Astronotes! Here’s the catch though, before you shoot it, you need to say the name of each note!

Rhythm and beat:
Tee Tee Tah Tee Tee Tah, There’s a mysterious beat coming from the closet! Help!! I think it’s the beat monster. We need to follow the steps around Quavermusic.com to discover our inner beat and rhythm and feed him some rhythms before the beat monster gets hungry!

Instrument in the shop– There are lots of instruments sitting around in the shop, how many can you find that will give you a beat that is steady? write one guess on the board before continuing.

Metro– Head to your favorite spot on the metro and listen to the music..can you find the beat in the song that is playing? Clap your hands to try to fin it!

QBackbeat– Now go to your last stop in the studio and click on the drum set! Gimme a killer beat, take your time, do your best, do not just fill in everything that is there! Pick and choose.

Style:
Time for an adventure on the Quavermusic metro! You all have full day passes to explore the world of Quaver and discover all of the music at each stop. Learn about at least two of your favorite stops and find your musical style!

Metro– Head on the metro to at least two spots that look interesting to you. Listen to what Mr. Quaver has to say and listen to the music. Click on menu and find out where you are on the map before heading back to the station!

Quaver Diploma– Pick one stop and try for a diploma at that stop by clicking on menu and book. Read about the music of that stop and answer the questions. If you get the diploma write your name on the board with the name of the stop to let your class know you got it!

Pick an instrument that would be most common in the music and write a short song about it– Head back to Quaver headquarters and hop into the studio. Pick an instrument in there that would be found a lot in the music you listened to on the metro and create a 3 measure song on that instrument. Listen to it and think, could I hear this in the music I’ve been listening to?

Composers:

Oh No!!! Bernard the Turtle (one of our musical friends in my classroom) built a time machine to travel back and meet his favorite composers. He said he would be back by now but he is not! Can you follow the steps around Quavermusic so we can find him?

Phone box – In the shop you will find our time machine the phone box! Jump inside and visit a composer that is listed. Learn about that composer by listening and read about him in the book, write a fact about them on the board!. Play the puzzle before you leave!

Slide puzzles– There are composer slide puzzles hidden in the shop! Can you find one and complete it?

Carnival– Beethoven lost his hearing at an early age. Head to the ear carnival by going into the lab and clicking on the organ. Really use your ears as you play the games at the carnival.

Chords:
1..2..3! 3 notes together is a chord to me! What else do you know about chords? Can you build one yourself? Can you build happy or sad chords? Follow the steps on Quavermusic.com to become a chord architect!

Find instruments in shop that have chords– There are many instruments that decorate the shop. How many can play those 3 notes at the same time? Write at least one guess on the board!

Carnival Chords– Head to the ear carnival by going to the lab and clicking the organ. Play the chord carnival game. Listen to all 3 notes the guys in the dunktank and choose the right ball. If the chord sounds happy then it must be major, sad is minor, BIG is augmented and if it sounds small it must be diminished!

QComposer– Now it’s your turn you chord architect. Head to the studio and click on the piano. Build me 4 F chords, 4 C chords, and 4 G chords using quarter notes only on the top line! Play your chords after to listen to your amazing work!