Teaching Through the Popular Music of Today

• Maria Del Valle
• Posted 2/14/22
• 0 comments

Why teach something that the kids already know? Why should I teach music that my students hear all of the time? I hear both common questions from music teachers when they consider incorporating popular music in their general music class. What if we considered that teaching popular music is not about teaching students’ songs they already know, but instead as an opportunity to know more about our students? 

When we stop and think about our students, do we know what type of music they listen to? Connecting with our students and allowing them to share their musical interests makes students feel like they have a voice, are seen, and bring joy into the classroom. 

Popular Music Activities 

Turn and Talk

First, find out what type of music students like to listen to using Turn and Talk.  Ask questions in class about students’ favorite artists or genres.  Next, students describe what song is their favorite and why. Complete this activity individually or as a class. Consider creating a space on the board, sharing a Dropbox file, or creating a space in Google Classroom for students to make song suggestions. Getting the song suggestions ahead of time allows you to vet the songs before sharing them with the class.  

Creating Playlists

Periodically, I like to create a playlist with my students. To populate playlists, ask your students to write down songs they would like to listen to on different occasions, like rainy days, when they feel happy, or songs they might fall asleep to.  

Using the playlist activity, I learned that my students and my father love the artist Bad Bunny. I also learned about the genre of K Pop, and that “Dynamite” by BTS is of the top 5 all-time favorite suggestions made by my students.  

I have noticed a greater sense of connection between myself and my students when I also share what songs I am listening to, what new music I discovered, and what I am currently learning to play on my own instrument. 

Steady Beat Games

Once you know which songs are popular, find ways to incorporate these songs in music class. My students love to play steady beat games to the songs they love. Play a song and call on a student to create a dance move. The other students in the class imitate the dance move while maintaining a steady beat. When the leader changes their movement, the class mirrors. In a second variation, students create a dance move to a steady beat for eight beats, and the class imitates for eight beats.  

Teaching Form

Teaching form is another fun way to use popular music. Students may already know the refrain in a song. This gives them the background knowledge to identify which parts of the song are the same or different, then move to label each section as the music changes. Students can create ostinato patterns to accompany the song or create rhythms to play on hand percussion or bucket drums. 

On Recorder

When I teach recorder, I like to find instrumental versions of popular songs in the key of C, G, or D. I have students imitate or echo phrases from the songs refrain and then play along with the accompaniment of songs such as “Havana” or “Brown Skin Girl.” Students are often inspired to figure out how to play the melody on the recorder.  

Reading Music

Students are also motivated to read music on the staff when I provide them with sheet music to their favorite songs. In 2016, all of my students were so excited to learn the notes B, A, and G on the recorder so they could play “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” by Silento. 

Building Bridges

By incorporating the music students are familiar with, we build a bridge between the music students engage with at home and school. When students feel valued, it creates trust. So, the next time you ask them to listen to a different style of music, you have laid the groundwork to keep their minds open. Creating a dialogue about what types of music are important to each student helps our students to become lifelong learners and lovers of music.