Tracks for kids' improvsisations!

Improvisation is so important for developing kids' musical creativity and independent musicianship!  Here are some super fun YouTube backing tracks for kids to improvise melodies to.  

My students use recorders to improvise to these tracks, but they would also work with xylophones, voices, or ukuleles playing melodies.

Process:

• Start the track and demonstrate some of the improvisation for the students.
• Show them which notes they are allowed to use for the improv.
• "Trade 4's" with the students, where you improvise musical questions, and as a class they improvise musical answers
• Give students time to explore possibilities with their own instrument, improvising to the track.
• Allow volunteers to demonstrate their improvisations, having students clap after the solos as if it was a jazz performance, and flowing from one soloist into another.
• Add more pitches to what they are able to use in their improvisations, repeating the process. 

1. Guitar backing track in A-Aeolian, with Am and G as the main chords:

      Have students improvise rhythms first on A, then melodies with A and E since they're LA and MI

     Next A and G only

     Then A, G, and E

     Then A, G, B, and E. 

     Remind students that A is the resting tone so they could make some of their phrases end on A.

     If you're having your students improvise with ukuleles, they could play Am and G chords improvising strumming rhythms, or they could play melodically in the process described above.

2.  Slow rock E minor backing track

      

3. Fast rock E minor backing track:

     Kids improvise with E, G, A, and B first.

     Then let them add D and F# if they know how to play them on recorder.

Crazy 8's: chant in 8/8 meter

Here's a chant playing with 3 + 2 + 3 groupings in 8/8 meter! This could be a great one for flow, or perhaps some unpitched percussion at the beginning of every measure or the ends of phrases. Feel free to share activity ideas in the comments!