ClipCard: The Patterns in Music

The Essential Question
How can the patterns we create using dots, lines, shapes, and colors mimic the patterns and rhythms we hear in music?

Objective
Students will demonstrate their understanding of regular and irregular patterns by using paint pens to create patterns on a found object (recycled 45 disc).

Materials
found objects (we used recycled 45s, but this would just as well with traditional vinyl records), acrylic paint pens

Procedures
1. Introduce students to the concept of pattern in art by discussing how elements like dots, lines, shapes, and colors can repeat to form a pattern. Artists such as Andy Warhol and Gustav Klimt can be great examples of repetition and pattern.
2. Play music out loud in your classroom for students to listen to. I like to offer a variety of styles, including fast and slow songs, from different time periods. Point out to students when you hear things repeat or change throughout the song. Allow students to point out repeated elements they hear in the song.
3. As a group, discuss how the patterns in music and art are similar. Ask students questions about whether specific shapes or colors came to mind while they were listening to the music. Make connections between art elements and musical aspects (e.g., dots and short quick sounds, or long wavy lines and drawn-out notes).
4. Give students a 45 disc (or a vinyl record) and acrylic paint pens. Challenge students to use lines, dots, shapes, and colors to make a pattern on the surface of the record that reminds them of music. They can use a specific song for inspiration, or a broader genre.
5. Use tape or hook and loop fasteners to hang the completed artworks in the hallway. This project makes a great group display. Students will be excited to show their work to their peers, and teachers will get a kick out of telling students how they listened to music on these discs back in the day.

Assessment
Students will complete a gallery walk to view each otherʼs work. Have students break into groups of three or four and try to guess what style or genre of music they were each thinking of when they created their patterns.