Lesson Plans Page | Piano Practice - Lean On Me
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Lean On Me - The Life and Music of Bill Withers
Our students love the song ‘Lean On Me’ by Bill Withers. Most of the students recognized the tune, but did not know anything about the composer and original performances.
Lesson 024 – Bill Withers – Lean On Me
Dates ____(Multiple Sessions for performing the song)
The 2nd through 5th Grade students receive one 35-40 minute lesson per week.
Lessons © www.musictechteacher.com
Objectives:
* To learn information about Bill Withers and his compositions
* To learn how to play the song ‘Lean On Me’ on the keyboard using half, quarter and eighth notes
Materials:
- Lean On Me by Bill Withers (elementary song arrangement for keyboard by Ms. Garrett)
- Projector for displaying information / video saved from YouTube with a performance by Bill Withers from 1972
- Handouts with brief biography of Bill Withers
Procedures:
1) The teacher will teach students about the life and music of Bill Withers (born in 1938). Students may read aloud the information on pages below from (Archive - umusicpub.com Universal Music Publishing Group) and discuss some of the important facts and compositions about the composer.
2) Students will watch a brief video of Bill Withers performing the ‘Lean On Me’ song in 1972. (Video from YouTube saved to the teacher’s computer. All YouTube advertising removed from video.)
3) Students will learn to play the song, ‘Lean On Me’ from an arrangement by Ms. Garrett for elementary music students. The song uses half, quarter and eighth notes in two or three different sections, depending on student level. Some of the students will perform this arrangement in a school program.
4) Extra Work – Students may use the Hot Potatoes software program to create a quiz about the life and compositions of Bill Withers.
Ask students to notice.....
- From reading the story about Bill Withers, describe some of the important events in his life that led him to become a composer.
- Name some of Bill Wither’s famous compositions (Lean On Me, Ain’t No Sunshine)
- Do you think that it takes a lot of (hard) work to compose popular music today? (Yes! Composers spend many hours writing their music. It is difficult in the music industry today to get your music published and performed by musicians. Some songs become famous or ‘classic,’ while many others do not.)
Evaluation
- Students will be able to provide information about Bill Withers’ life and compositions.
- Students will be able to play at least one or two of the sections of music from Lean On Me by Bill Withers (elementary arrangement by Ms. Garrett)
- Complete the Bill Withers Quiz on our site.
