As the BIG football game of the year comes up, everyone has football fever. Whether you watch for the game, or the commercials, or you watch for the music or just enjoy some snacks, people do get into the Super Bowl. Even though my Lions aren’t playing, I think it’s important to acknowledge something that a lot of your students are likely aware of or excited for. Here are some musical ways to include The Big Game in your music class.

The Performers

Since we are music teachers….
Every year the music at the Super Bowl is a big deal! While they may not always be the most family friendly shows (even though they are labeled as such), there are still opportunities to include the performers.

This year’s line up:

  • Star Spangled Banner: Jon Batiste
  • America the Beautiful: Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle
  • Lift Every Voice and Sing: Ledisi
  • Halftime: Kendrick Lamar with SZA

Some ideas:

  • Bios of some of the performers with videos
  • Other work they may be known for!
  • Compare/contrast styles, pull out musical terminology (EX: style, dynamics, tempo, etc)

Historical Performances

There are some ICONIC performances from the Super Bowl that must be acknowledged. They are fun to pull out and show our students some of the giants of music on one of the biggest stages in the world. All of the performers for everything are listed here but you have to keep scrolling.

Here are some of the BIG performances that people still talk about:

Whitney Houston 1991 (Just. WOW.)

Aretha Franklin, Dr. John, and Aaron Neville (2006) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV053VL35qA

Luther Vandross (1997) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIsIE4EethQ

Prince Halftime Show (2007) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WYYlRArn3g

Michael Jackson (1993) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOnTuSqrvbM

Stevie Wonder & Gloria Estefan (1999) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_qDBmvKJso

Commercial Music

I personally am not a big TV watcher but some of the commercial jingles from my day were BANGERS. Mentos? KitKats? Meow Mix. Folgers which made you want that coffee you didn’t drink when you were a kid.
There are still some fun commercial jingles out there. What fun would it be with your older students to try to dictated the melodies?

Some they may be familiar with: McDonald’s, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Kit Kat. Or find out which ones they know! Personally, my child loves the jams from the Jet’s Pizza commercial but that one is more about the bass line.

Marching Bands

While we think of marching bands as a college football thing, this is still a great time to include some awesome marching bands!

Make sure you do a variety of styles:

DCI Style Bands: Here’s a show from Phantom Regiment in 2021

Flashy Bands – much less difficult halftime drill, lots of engagement from fans! Pregame shows are no joke and much more physically challenging. There is also a cool video from halftime where a certain band made Michael Jackson do the moonwalk that you can find on YT but being from Michigan and having marched in the Yellow and Blue band below for a year, I just can’t seem to make the link generate a preview…..

HBCU: Style and soul for weeks. Literally one of my musical regrets that I never experienced this as a kid or musician.

Jackson State University at the Southern Classic in 2021

Football Themed Musical Activities

Keep in line with the theme but with activities you need to do anyway! Here are a few fun football related ideas for the classroom.

This Football composing set is perfect for some game related fun in a way that is musical. Check it out here.

For a fun warm up, this animated football vocal exploration works perfectly. It also comes with pre-drawn pathways. Check it out here.

I hope this has given you a lot of ideas!

Melissa Stouffer-1

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