Music and Art Lesson Plan: Explore Mood with an Easy Guitar Melody & Autumn Art Project

Discover a creative, integrated arts lesson plan perfect for homeschoolers and middle school students. Students learn to play a simple guitar melody using tablature, analyze the music's mood, and create a unique piece of autumn-inspired visual art. This lesson includes step-by-step activities, differentiation strategies, and assessment guides to help students connect emotional expression between music and art.

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Lesson Plan: The Art of Autumn - Music and Mood

Subject: Music and Arts
Topic: Connecting Music and Visual Art through "Autumn in My Heart"
Target Student: 12-Year-Old Homeschool Student
Estimated Time: 60-75 Minutes

Materials Needed

  • Acoustic or classical guitar
  • Access to the internet (for YouTube)
  • Printed copy of the "Autumn in My Heart" (가을동화) main theme guitar tab. (Search for "Autumn in my Heart guitar tab easy melody" for a simple version).
  • Art supplies of the student's choice (e.g., colored pencils, watercolor paints, markers, pastels)
  • Paper or a small canvas for the art project
  • Pencil and eraser

1. Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

  • Perform: Play the main melody (first 4-8 bars) of "Autumn in My Heart" on the guitar using tablature.
  • Analyze: Describe the mood and feeling of the music using descriptive words (e.g., "sad," "gentle," "longing").
  • Create: Produce an original piece of visual art that represents the mood and theme of the song.
  • Connect: Explain how their artistic choices (colors, shapes, subject) were inspired by the music.

2. Lesson Activities

Part 1: The Feeling of Autumn (10 minutes)

  1. Listen & Feel (Hook): Play the original version of the song "Autumn in My Heart" (also known as "Reason" by Jung Il-young). Ask the student to close their eyes and just listen.
    • Discussion Prompt: "Without thinking about the guitar yet, what does this music make you feel? If this song was a color, what color would it be? If it was weather, what would it be? What images or memories come to mind?"
  2. Introduce the Goal: Explain that today's goal isn't just to *play* the song, but to *understand* its feeling and turn that feeling into another form of art.

Part 2: Decoding the Music (20-25 minutes)

  1. Introduction to Tablature (Direct Instruction):
    • Show the student the printed guitar tab. Explain it simply: "The six lines represent the six strings of the guitar, with the thinnest string on top. The numbers tell you which fret to press down."
    • Point to the top line on the tab and the high E string on the guitar to make the connection clear.
    • Demonstrate the first few notes of the song slowly, saying the fret numbers aloud as you play them. For example: "Okay, the tab says '0' on the first string, so we play that string open. Then it says '3' on the second string, so we press the third fret on the B string."
  2. Guided Practice (We Do):
    • Have the student try to play just the first two or three notes. Focus on clean sound, not speed. Offer praise and gentle correction on finger placement.
    • Play the first phrase of the melody slowly, and have the student play it back to you. Use a "call and response" method.
    • For a visual aid, pull up a clear YouTube tutorial that shows someone playing the melody slowly with a close-up on the frets. Pause the video after each short phrase to let the student practice.
  3. Independent Practice (You Do):
    • Give the student 5-10 minutes to quietly practice the first full line or two of the melody on their own. Encourage them to go at their own pace. The goal is familiarity, not perfection.

Part 3: From Sound to Sight (20-25 minutes)

  1. Creative Brainstorm: Revisit the discussion from the beginning. "Now that you've played some of the notes yourself, how does that change the feeling? Let's brainstorm some 'Autumn in My Heart' words." (e.g., falling leaves, melancholy, gentle rain, memories, warmth, gray skies).
  2. The Art Challenge (Creative Application):
    • Instructions: "Your mission is to create a piece of art that looks the way this song sounds. You can use any of the art supplies we have. It doesn't have to be a realistic picture; it can be abstract, with just colors and shapes that show the feeling. While you work, I'll play the song softly in the background."
    • Provide the student with paper and their chosen art supplies. Play the music on a loop at a low volume to create an inspiring atmosphere.

Part 4: Mini-Recital and Gallery Walk (5-10 minutes)

  1. Share the Music (Performance Assessment): Invite the student to perform the part of the melody they learned. Applaud their effort and progress.
  2. Share the Art (Creative Assessment): Ask the student to present their artwork.
    • Guiding Questions: "Tell me about your artwork. Why did you choose these colors? Does this shape represent a certain part of the song? How did the music guide your hand?"
  3. Wrap-up: Briefly praise the connection they made between the two art forms, reinforcing that art is all about expressing feelings, whether through sound or sight.

3. Differentiation and Inclusivity

  • For Extra Support:
    • Focus on only the first 4-5 notes of the song. Celebrate mastering a very small piece.
    • Use fretboard stickers or a marker to label the first three frets on the guitar.
    • Provide a "color-by-feeling" guide where colors are matched to moods (e.g., blue = sad, yellow = happy) as a starting point for the art.
  • For an Extra Challenge:
    • Challenge the student to learn the next line of the song by ear or from the tab.
    • Encourage them to try adding simple, single-note bass notes on the beat as they play the melody.
    • For the art project, challenge them to incorporate text (a word or phrase) from the song's lyrics or themes into their visual design.
  • Inclusivity Note: Briefly mention that the song is from a famous Korean drama, which helped popularize this style of music and storytelling globally. This frames the lesson within a positive, cross-cultural context.

4. Assessment

  • Formative (During the lesson):
    • Observe the student's ability to locate notes on the fretboard based on the tab.
    • Listen to their verbal descriptions of the music's mood.
    • Check for understanding by asking, "Can you show me what a '3' on the B string looks and sounds like?"
  • Summative (End of lesson):
    • Music Performance: Student plays the learned melody section. Assessed on effort, rhythm, and note accuracy (not professional quality).
    • Art Presentation: Student's explanation of their artwork, evaluated on their ability to connect musical concepts (mood, tempo) to their visual choices (color, line, subject).