Subject: [MK8] Star Wars Lightsaber Beat/No Beat

Here’s another idea I’ve been using for a couple years…. We talk about music having a steady beat and some music having no beat.
I show my composer info for John Williams.
I have prepared pool noodle that are cut in half to use as “lightsabers”. I explain they are now Jedi Padawans and are in Jedi training. If they hit anybody with their lightsaber or are not following the directions they must put their lightsaber back in the bin and are reduced to Jedi level Zero!
While the students find a partner, I pull up my iTunes list of Star Wars music “Beat / No Beat” playlist. I pick a volunteer and show them what to do when I play music with a beat and music without a beat. For music with a beat we tap our lightsabers together. And for music without a beat we hold out lightsabers up, lock eyes with our partner and walk around them slowly.
We pass out lightsabers and have some Jedi training fun! For each song, when it starts, before we do anything with the lightsabers, we give a thumbs up for “beat” music and thumbs down for “no beat” music.
To make things easy for me I’ve created a list of music excerpts that I use. When the music stops we put our lightsabers in rest position (pointed toward the floor) and wait for the next excerpt.
The kids ask for this all the time too!
Hopefully I explained this well enough too.
D. Brian Weese
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