Tony Bennett VH1 Storytellers for VH1 Save the Music Lessons for Elementary School Music Classes With Special Guests The Backstreet Boys Lesson 1 of 4

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Students will discuss how a positive attitude contributes to learning

Students will interview an adult relative or friend who sings or plays an instrument

National Standards: Content Standard 8 - Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts; Content Standard 9 -Understanding music in relation to history and culture


Materials

• Videotape of Storytellers for Kids starring Tony Bennett, featuring The Backstreet Boys.
• Television and VCR
• Music research questionnaire copied from this site

1. Have students view the first two segments of the video Storytellers for Kids starring Tony Bennett, featuring The Backstreet Boys.
2. Lead students in a discussion about how Tony Bennett became a singer. This might include any of the following:
   • He's been singing from early childhood
   • He and his family sang every Sunday--gathering in a circle with singers taking turns in the center
   • His mother, brother, and sister "felt so positive about singing"
   • A school grouping into the "black crows" didn't discourage him because he knew he could sing
   • Frank Sinatra's compliment changed Bennett's life--"My first reaction was I have to live up to that accolade for the rest of my life. I have to become disciplined..."

3. Ask students how the members of the Backstreet Boys learned music. They might include any of the following:
   • grew up singing in church choirs and school choruses
   • took voice lessons
   • entered talent shows
   • played instruments (drums and piano)

4. Lead students in a discussion about where they have opportunities to sing or play an instrument.
5. Ask students if they have ever heard the first song Tony Bennett sings on the videotape, "Ac Cent Tchu Ate the Positive" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. (You might inform them that it was the number one Billboard hit song in 1945.)
6. Discuss with them the message the lyrics convey.

   You've got to accentuate the positive
   Eliminate the negative
   And latch on to the affirmative
   Don't mess with Mister In-Between.
   You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
   Bring gloom down to the minimum
   Have faith or pandemonium's
   Liable to walk upon the scene.
   

7. Lead students in a discussion of why a message of a positive attitude is helpful to learning a new skill or developing a talent. Have the students discuss what is positive about Bennett's attitude. What is positive about the Backstreet Boys' attitudes?
8. As a homework assignment, have students find out how an adult they know who plays an instrument or sings (preferably a family member, family friend, teacher, or neighbor) started with music. Hand out copies of the "Music Research Questions" below. During the next class period, lead students in a discussion of what they found out.

Student Name_______________________

Music Research Questions

Please ask a family member, friend, or relative the following questions.

Name of Person Interviewed______________________________________

Relation to Student______________________________________________

1. Do you sing or play an instrument?

2. Where do you perform? ( At family gatherings, with a community band, at church, etc....)

3. How often do you practice?

4. How old were you when you started?

5. Was anyone else in your family musical?

6. What do you enjoy most about playing or performing music?

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
   
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
   
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
   
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
   
5. Reading and notating music.
   
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
   
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
   
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
   
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.