Using Chrome Music Lab to Create Music Digitally

Students will:

• learn how to create a song in Chrome Music Lab

• understand how to create their own song on the platform

• experiment to create their own music

Vocabulary Words:

1. Tempo: Tempo is the pace, or speed, of how fast or slow the music is played.
    
2. Rhythm: Rhythm is the counting of where the notes are at.
    
3. Melody: Melody is the main notes in order from left to right.
    
4. Chord: Chords are typically three notes that sound pleasing together. 
    
5. Instrument: Instruments are tools that you use to play music.
    
6. Harmony: Harmony is the notes that are less important than the melody, but are still heard.
    
7. Note: A note is a single unit of music. Each note has a different sound.

To prepare for this lesson:

• Visit the website Chrome MusicLab to learn how to use it.
   
• Watch the video How to use Chrome Music Lab ending at 5:05.
   
• Create an assignment in your Learning Management system such as Google Classroom to have the students turn their projects in.

See Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4student website in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

1. Have your students go to https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/.
2. Let students play around with the website to see if they can guess what each colored block represents and how they would change what instrument plays their creation.
3. Watch the video How to Use Chrome Music Lab 
4. Pause it as each new idea comes up.
5. At 1:26, pause the video and let the students create a melody that is similar to the example in the video.
6. At 1:49, pause the video, and let the students change the tempo and instrument playing on the bottom toolbar.
7. At 2:25, pause the video and let the students add and change the percussion using the bottom toolbar.
8. At 3:07, pause the video, and let the students restart their project, or add a chord using the shift button on their keyboard.
9. At 5:05, end the video, and let the students add more chords, changing every measure. They can also add percussion, change the instruments and tempo.
10. After completing the video, have the students save their projects by clicking the save button in the bottom right corner.
11. When done, have the students copy the link, and add it to the assignment in Google Classroom or your Learning Management System. 

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding
• The teacher will walk around and assess students to see if there are changing chords held for more than 1 beat.
• Teachers can also create an assignment in Google Classroom or their Learning Management System to turn the link of the project into.