033 - How to Teach Music Literacy Using Color
Episode description
If you walk into an elementary classroom, you might notice that everything is color-coded: signs and charts on the wall to labels on bins to pieces of tape marking certain spots on the floor.
This is because colors are easy for most young children to recognize and differentiate between.
But in music, our baseline is black and white, the colors of standard notation.
For this reason, color can be a helpful tool when teaching music literacy and developing music-reading skills. Elementary educator Amy Curletto wrote, “When we use color in a systematic way it can help students retain information better than just using black and white.” (source)
Today, I’m sharing four simple, unique strategies to use color to teach music literacy.
For show notes + full transcript, click here.
Resources mentioned:
*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Why You Should Be Color-Coding Your Classroom (James Stanfield)
Colored chime bands by ChimeWorks
Electrical tape for color-coding handchimes
Rainbow-colored hair ties for color-coding instruments
Color-coded fabric staff — available in two sizes: Junior (18"x14") and Large (28"x28")
Colored dot stickers for color-coding handchimes or creating your own colored music charts
Colored music notation stickers
Flat.io — create your own colored notation!
12x12” colored cardstock — great for illustrating musical form
Colored bean bags — a fun way to analyze musical form
Erasable pens — my students love these!
Highlighters are great for marking repeated patterns or phrases
The Psychology of Color: How Do Colors Influence Learning? (SHIFT eLearning)
Colored pencils are great for marking dynamics or adding your own
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