Choosing an online music provider can be difficult with all of the choices out there. I have created a list of my top three subscription music services. I based my choice on price, available music, ease of use and type of device the song will work with.

1. iTunes: This service is great for the casual music downloader and is probably the one most people are more comfortable with. The software is free and you pay per song. Songs cost either $1.29, $.99, or $ .69. You can also download movies, music videos, books and games. The major draw back to iTunes is that the songs only work with an ipod, not any MP3 device. http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview/

2. Rhapsody: This is a subscription music service in which you pay a monthly fee to download music. This site is great if you are going to be downloading a lot of music. There are a wide variety of artists, songs and genres to choose from, some which are only available on Rhapsody. If you do not subscribe, songs cost about the same as iTunes but work with any MP3 player. Subscription price is $14.95. http://www.real.com/rhapsody/

3. eMusic: This site is probably one of the cheaper ones out there, costing only $11.99 month for 24 songs which averages to about $.50 per song. Unfortunately, there are not as many artists available on this site but if you are more interested in older music or underground music it has a lot of music. Songs work on any MP3 player. When you sign up you get 25 free songs, but they limit your choices. http://www.emusic.com/

Introduction to Abstract Art

Subject: Art

Grade Level: 10^th

Objectives:

1. Students will understand the relationship between visual art and music.

2. Students will create their own visual representation of a song.

3. Students will discover how visual art can affectively portray an abstract thought.

Materials:

Ipod

Ipod Speakers

Songs: “Jessica” Allman Brothers

“Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” Bach

“Here comes the Sun” The Beatles

“ Honesty” Billy Joel

“Put Your Records On” Corinne Bailey Rae

Three sheets of white paper

Bowl

Water

Paintbrush

Acrylic paint ( white, black, red, blue, yellow)

Procedures:

1. Students will gather materials.

2. I will show examples on abstract art from Picasso, Rothko, and Pollock.

3. I will lead a discussion about how Abstract artists can represent an idea, emotion or thing without using recognizable images.

4. Students will listen to a portion of the first song.

5. Students will choose colors and shapes to represent what that song makes them think of or feel. They will be allowed to begin with concrete images but will be encouraged not to.

6. After the end of the clip, students will label each painting with the name of the song and the artist.

7. Students will repeat steps four, five and six for each song.

8. At the end, students will have five examples, one for each song.

Closure

Students will choose their two best examples and hang them on the chalkboard. We will have a class discussion about how the images differ and about how they are similar. We will also discuss reoccurring images, designs and colors. Students will then go home and find two examples of abstract art and research those painting they choose.

Evaluation

Rubric

	1 Attempts task (Does not meet standard)	2 Partially completes task (Some standards met)	3 Proficiently completes task (Meets standards)	4 Expertly completes task (Exceeds standards)
Color	Color choice is unclear and unorganized. Colors are straight form the tube.	Some thought has been made connecting color and emotion but it is unclear. Color mixing is incomplete and only a few colors are mixed.	Color choice is interesting and connects to emotion. At least three colors are mixed.	Much thought went into choosing colors and about their connection to the music and the emotions in the music. Colors are well mixed.
Creativity	Student uses recognizable images to portray emotion. Little or no attempt is made to develop image.	Student does not use recognizable images but relies on standard ideas that represent that emotion (ex: yellow bursts with jagged edges for surprise). Some attempt is made to develop original concept of that emotion.	Student may rely on some conventions but uses them in a new way or places little emphasis on this convention.	Student does not rely on recognizable images and conventions to represent emotion.
Concept	Chosen emotion is unclear and composition does not reflect emotion. No connection is made between music and emotion.	Some evidence of emotional connection between art and music but still unclear.	Student connects his or her piece to the song in interesting way. May rely on lyrics for ideas but shows the song’s message.	Student connects his or piece to the song in a new original way. Does not rely on lyrics alone but also on musical content. Piece shows the true emotional content in the song.