Tempo Cop (Tempo Identification Game) | Free Music Lesson Plan - MakingMusicFun.net

Music Lesson Plan

Step 1
Tell the students, "Today we are going to play a tempo game called Tempo Cop."

Step 2
Tempo means "speed of the beat." The four tempos you will need to know for the game include:

Each corner of the room has a "Speed Limit" sign with one of these tempo terms on it. Composers use these terms to tell performers how fast to play their music.

Step 3
Practice each tempo. Lead the class in a "pat-and-label" exercise to help them feel the speeds.

Largo: Pat knees slowly.
Moderato: Walking speed.
Allegro: Fast.
Presto: Very fast. (Students may need to alternate hands to keep up).

The physical movement will help them internalize these tempos and terms before the game begins.

Step 4
Check for understanding. Test their memory by pointing to the "Speed Limit" signs around the room. As you point to each sign, have the students start patting that specific tempo. This ensures everyone knows which corner matches which speed.

Step 5
"Let's play the game."

Game Rules
1) Choose one student to be the Tempo Cop. This student stands in the center of the music classroom.
2) With the eyes of the Tempo Cop closed, the other students move to a corner silently during the countdown. (This is a "blind bet" where you guess which tempo the teacher will play next.)
3) After the music plays, the Tempo Cop must correctly identify the tempo and call out the matching term to "ticket" the drivers in that corner.
4) If the music is "Presto" and the Cop calls "Presto," those students are out. If the Cop guesses a term that doesn't match the music, everyone is safe.
5) If a student is "caught" by the Cop, they go to "Traffic School" and are out for the rest of the round.
6) Students in Traffic School stay active by playing a steady beat on percussion instruments. Their role is to match the tempo of the recordings, keep reinforcing the tempo terms, and silently choose the tempo of each musical snippet.
7) The last student that is not caught is the winner and the Tempo Cop for the next round.

Step 6
Choose one student to be the "Tempo Cop," ask them to stand in the center of the room, and hand them their official Tempo Cop "badge." Let the rest of the class know that they will be "drivers" for the first round.

Step 7
Start the game! Ask the Tempo Cop to close their eyes. Tell the "drivers" to quietly choose a corner before the countdown ends.

Step 8
Play a short snippet of one of your recordings, then stop the music. Ask the Tempo Cop to open their eyes and call out one tempo term (Example: "Presto!").

Step 9
Check the results! If the music played was Presto and the Cop called "Presto," everyone in that corner is "caught" and heads to Traffic School. If the Cop's guess doesn't match the music, the students in that corner are safe. The last student remaining is the winner!

The Tempo Cop Tools

Crank up the fun even more with these tools! Use the 10-second countdown to get drivers to their corners, then sound the siren to make the "bust" loud and clear! Want to really grab their attention? Use an acoustic phone amplifier or a microphone to make that siren sound like the real deal!

Extension

Ready for a bigger challenge? Swap your "Speed Limit" signs for different terms like "Adagio" or "Vivace". You can also try playing the same song on the piano at four different tempos to see if your students can tell the difference.